After what is probably the longest travel day of my life, I’m in Texas and settling back into my normal routine. Getting from Tokyo to Austin was an interesting journey that involved: a two hour commute to the Narita airport waiting around until 6:30pm Japan time on Tuesday evening to board for our flight Flying 12(?) hours until we landed in Dallas at 4:30pm Texas Time… aka 2 hours earlier than we left a four hour layover in Dallas where…
I’m heading to Japan in less than a week for a trip I’ve wanted to go on since I was eighteen. A lot of people are drawn to Japan through anime or manga or all things kawaii. Though I have a healthy appreciation of Sanrio and certainly love miniature plastic food, I’ve been pulled to Japan by Bill Murray. I have this little game I ask people when the conversation is dull or I’m getting to know someone new. What’s the…
One time my super cool California friend took me to La Jolle Cove near San Diego, and I was surrounded by sea lions and harbor seals. This trip was made even more fantastic by three things: I listened to a This American Life episode years ago all about the cove and the battle between animal activists and beach patrons. It’s really interesting, and you can listen here. You can get close enough to touch the animals. Of course I don’t…
I spent my New Years with old friends in the California desert. Joshua Tree reminded me a lot of Big Bend in Texas. It’s a surreal, almost alien like desert landscape. While Big Bend was red and mountainous, Joshua Tree was tan and filled with boulders. Both are beautiful. My itinerary in Joshua Tree consisted of hiking with my friends and hanging out at the house after. There’s really no night life to speak of in the desert towns near…
Last night I cried over a sea otter. I have cried over dog rescue videos, countless horse movies and of course my own pets – but sea otters are a new one. In July of 2006, Tim and I took our first trip together to New Orleans. He grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi which is a small town less than two hours from the Big Easy. Even though Tim’s roots were in Mississippi versus Lousiana, he would tell strangers he…
I’ve always had a sort of horsey travel bucket list of destinations I wanted to go to solely for their horse factor. Since I’ve been fortunate enough to travel a bit in my life and consider myself a bit of an adventurer, I’ve actually got to cross a lot of those destinations off my list. Kentucky for all this horse. Vienna for classical dressage. Wellington for Hunter/jumper land. You know what isn’t covered in that list above? Quarter Horses. Despite…
I survived the first anniversary without Tim. If they made widow merit badges, that would be a big one. Honestly, dreading the day was worse than the actual day. I knew it was going to be rough, so I scheduled a trip back to North Carolina to see family and friends. It was the first time I’d been back home since everything has happened, and I wasn’t sure how things would feel. When emotions can be rocky, I find food…
A few weeks ago, my raccoon brain listed that I might be thinking about taking a road trip. That was more than a might, because I’m plotting my biennial pilgrimage to North Carolina for Christmas this year. Tim and I made this trip two times together. The whole thing started because my company closes between Christmas and New Years every year, leaving me with a lot of extra vacation. Since we have family & friends in North Carolina, we figured it…