Did you know Germany has over 400 zoos? 414 zoos to be exact. That's more zoos than the entire United States! Here's a sneak peak into the oldest and largest zoo in all of Germany, the Berlin Zoolischer Garten. You might also like to know that it's not only the largest zoo in all of Germany, but the largest collection of zoo animals in the entire world. Notice I didn't say largest zoo in the world, because it's second in physical size only … [Read more...]
The Road to Everywhere: Why You Can’t Put Off That Trip Any Longer
As the van pulled away, I stood on the porch of my Nebraska home and wondered what life would be like now that I was fatherless. After three years of watching him suffer through chemo, radiation and surgery, I came home to see a hospice van sitting in my driveway, and knew it was over. I was just 19 when cancer took my dad. But the premature loss wasn't exclusively mine. Only 58-years-old when he passed, my dad should have had plenty of … [Read more...]
On Location at the Napa Valley Film Festival
Wine, camera, action! Luscious wines and innovative independent movies in enticing venues on a gorgeous fall weekend in the Napa Valley? The Napa Valley Film Festival gets two thumbs up from my husband (“Mr. TWS”) and me! As film buffs and wine enthusiasts with a special affection for Northern California wine country, Mr. TWS and I indulged our senses at the third annual (but our first) Napa Valley Film Festival, which ran from November … [Read more...]
Rattler
You plan on some things, and others just happen. Usually you don't plan on getting bitten by a rattlesnake for example. It's just one of those things when you're out in desolate country; alone, weather beaten and emotionally off guard. Of course you could argue that inserting yourself into desolate and dangerous country is, in a way, inviting an encounter with an ill-tempered reptile. True I didn't know when setting out on my two-month canoe trip … [Read more...]
A Story of Travel and of a Girl
This is a story of a travel and of a girl; of long ago memories. So long ago that I cannot even remember the girl's real name, nor many of the places; only that it inspired love. What better trip is there than that? It started as a mini-trip to San Francisco with a college roommate. He and I were to travel on a budget of zero dollars, excluding a full tank of gas. We wanted to see Haight-Ashbury, the hippy scene of '67. After collecting glass … [Read more...]
Language Abroad: When Your French is Bad, An English-Speaking Stranger Can Become an Intimate Friend
It was five days into my research trip to Rennes-le-Chateau, a village in the French Pyrenean foothills, and I was lonely. Gathering details for my novel, I had hiked the hilly red dirt of the countryside dotted with helm oaks and dry broom, had walked the narrow roads of the village to the accompaniment of squawking roosters, and had admired the humble stucco houses. I stood in the rooms of the presbytery where my characters -- a priest and his … [Read more...]