Several nights ago, Eric called me outside. A gentle breeze from the bay rustled through the palmettos, the intoxicating scent of jasmine filled the air, and the woods were alive with hundreds of tiny dancing lights. I haven’t seen fireflies in such numbers since I was a kid. Ordinarily, we hightail it out of here […]
Author Archive for Laurel (AKA chickadee) – Page 8
Never in a million years did I think I would be writing a blog post about surviving a pandemic. But here we are. And although I’m an optimist by nature (and determination), I fear that we’re in for a long ride. We’re one week into our stay-at-home orders in Florida, but we started our own […]
This morning, my first thought upon awakening was, “Wow, THAT was a wild nightmare.” And then I remembered that this is reality—the world, as we know it, has essentially come to a standstill. The Best Laid Plans… If all had gone according to plan, we would have been on the road last week. We would […]
These are difficult times. Surreal. Like everyone else we know, we’re trying to find balance in a world that has suddenly been turned upside down. Our travel plans have fallen prey to the pandemic, and we’re staying put in Apalachicola for who knows how long. Nature and poetry are two things that soothe my soul […]
I thought that I was going to enjoy writing about our summer and fall adventures and catch up on our blog while spending the winter in Florida dealing with my parents’ home and possessions. But in the past six weeks, I’ve only managed one post. My focus has been on clawing my way through decades […]
Every year, just for fun, I choose a few critters that I would like to see in our travels. In 2019, on my wishlist were Green Kingfishers (success in South Texas!), Atlantic Puffins, and moose. Our best bet for seeing Atlantic Puffins—and getting close enough to photograph them—was to head to the Maritimes. Of course, […]
I can’t seem to move forward in life without first taking time to look back and reflect. That is never truer than at the beginning of a new year. (I know, I know…we’re already halfway through January. You should be used to me by now.) Along with looking back, my attention is being pulled far […]
After our low-key week in the Adirondacks, we entered Canada in early July for our summer of adventures. Crossing the border into Québec, we were greeted with a cheery “Bonjour/Hello!!” and were quickly on our way. Our first destination: Québec City, an enchanting 400-year old city with strong ties to its French heritage. It’s like […]
We knew from the outset that we were only going to get a glimpse of the Adirondacks. This enormous swath of wilderness covers more than 9000 square miles, from the center of New York state to the Canadian border. More of an issue, though, is that we abruptly hit ‘travel burnout’ at the beginning of […]
We choose our travel destinations for lots of different reasons, but I think this was the first time I wanted to go somewhere simply because of the name. To make it even more enticing, Glimmerglass State Park is located just a few miles outside of Cooperstown, New York, an idyllic little town that’s home to […]
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If you enjoy hiking, biking, kayaking, birding, art, music, quirky towns, good food, and good friends—you'll enjoy traveling with us. Join us as we explore the backroads of North America—we love company and comments!