Travel Blog - A Thousand Places I Saw Before I Died

227. The Seattle Space Needle – Seattle, WA

As if experiencing the beautiful and colorful city of Seattle from street level wasn’t enough, seeing a 360° view of the city from 520 feet in the air was sure to put our day in Seattle over the top. Coming from Chicago though, which I truly believe has the world’s best skyline, I was feeling a bit partial to my hometown and skeptical that this would even come close. But what definitely sets Seattle apart from Chicago is its view of the surrounding offshore islands and mountain ranges–of which Chicago has none. View of Mt. Rainier in the shadow of the city Ferries and ships crossing beautiful Elliott’s Bay I had missed a visit to the Space Needle my first trip to Seattle due to the rainy, cloudy weather while I was there. This trip, however, it was unusually clear and sunny for February and we decided to make the most of it. After a full day at Pike Place Market — another Seattle icon — we thought there could be no better way to end the day than seeing the sunset from the top of The Needle. We expected that since it was such a brilliant day, the line would be long... Read More»

226. Norge Ski Tournament – Fox River Grove, IL

When thinking of outdoor adventure or unique things to do outside (especially in the winter), I often forget that fun can be found right in my own backyard–literally. No airfare, luggage or security lines here–only things needed are an entrance button and your best viking attire. In Fox River Grove, IL the last weekend in January, the Norge Ski Club holds its annual Norge Ski Tournament. This year’s competition (its 106th) hosted top rated ski jumpers from all over the world including Slovenia, Norway, Finland, Poland and the U.S. each hoping to qualify and advance to future tournaments or win medals in their respective divisions. With over 1,000 attendees daily, it’s also a popular event for spectactors. Some begin tailgating in the parking areas long before the gates open and others wander in and out throughout the two day event-a $10 button will get you in for both weekend days. Food including chili and hot dogs is available for purchase as well as plenty of Jägermeister and Fireball shots to keep your spirits up and warm you from the inside. If your sad that you missed this event, no worries,... Read More»

225. Sequoia National Park – Visalia, CA

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks were the last stops on our Northern California Road Trip. Both parks lie in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Central California, about 230 miles north of Los Angeles and about 275 miles southeast of San Francisco. And, even though Kings Canyon and Sequoia sit adjacent to one another, there is a distinct difference between them. Kings Canyon features dramatic vistas, rock faces, and valleys while Sequoia is more heavily wooded and gets its name from the absolutely massive trees that grow throughout the park. Estimated to be up to 2,700 years old, these giants rise nearly 300 feet tall and are more than 100 feet around. Even more interesting is that they can only be found here on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada where they flourish. Sequoia is also home to the General Sherman tree, which by its sheer volume, is known as the largest living single stem tree on Earth. ON EARTH PEOPLE!!!! It was so tall that I couldn’t photograph the whole thing but here is the best shot I took. I felt honored just to be in its presence! You can also drive through a fallen tree log... Read More»

224. Kings Canyon National Park – Fresno, CA

Kings Canyon National Park, sister park to Sequoia, was the final stop on our epic four National Park California road trip. While most feel it is not as grand as her neighboring sister or upstate cousin Yosemite, by some measures we felt it was much more and had saved the best for last. Most noteable is the fact that the park holds the deepest gorge in the United States and is home to the General Grant Tree–the third largest tree in the world. But most enjoyable for us was the fact that the park was far less crowded and unspoiled. Driving the winding scenic Highway 180 with its deep valley, skyscraping trees and rugged rock outcroppings made for an unforgettable day. We stopped countless times at every available pull out to photograph the breathtaking views, Redwood Mountain Grove, and almost hourly changing weather as we climbed and descended the road through the park–I swear we experienced all four seasons in just 8 hours–snowing at the top and sunny and 70’s at the bottom. Our only regret was that we had only allowed for a one day visit and due to rain/sleet/snow rolling in and out the entire day,... Read More»

I normally reserve this spot to highlight a particular destination but with temps in the teens and seasonal depression kicking in, I'm really trying to look to everything that is Summer right now.....warm nights, flip flops, swimming, barbeques, motorcycle rides and thunderstorms just to name a few. So I thought I'd take this month to share my absolute favorite thing about this short season---THE SKY!!! Sunrises, sunsets, a good storm and the rainbows that follow provide some of the most amazing, colorful, and dramatic photo ops. Please enjoy the slideshow of some of my most loved "Summer" pictures from locations around the globe.

Burj-Khalifa-Tower-Dubai-Photos-Images-Pictures-Videos-11-800x600 (3)

What's the punchline you ask? Well......there isn't one....just like there aren't any bars in Morocco. More specifically, there aren't any gender neutral establishments serving just cocktails. No joke! Let me say first that I'm by no means an alcoholic and do not base my travels on such. But I do take my vacation time seriously and as a time to really relax, unwind, and enjoy myself....that usually involves cocktails. Sometimes that might mean having a nice glass of wine at a corner cafe while people watching or parked in a lounge chair sipping fruity, slushy, umbrella rum drinks while simply staring at the waves roll in and out. That's what vacation is to me--I'm talking comfortably numb here, not sloppy drunk. Anyhow, prior to traveling to Morocco I had researched a bit of the muslim culture and what to expect prior to my trip there and what I needed to do to prepare.

Read More...

In the bustling city of Fez there lies an oasis from the medina madness and probably the most heavenly place I've ever had the pleasure of resting my weary travel bones. In fact, I created a separate post all about Riad Laaroussa in my list of A Thousand Places and would fly all the way back to Morroco just to stay there again. As part of a very long restoration of the entire property, a room close to the entrance foyer was discovered and owners Fred and Cathy spared no expense at saving the once crumbling Hammam. Intrigued, we decided our visit to Morocco or The Riad Laaroussa would not be complete until we had experienced this ancient ritual for ourselves so without much hesitation, my friend Diana and I made a reservation for what would be a lesson in grace, dignity and pain management.

Read More....

To Blog or Not To Blog? An Inside Out Look at Creating An Authentic Life. A lot of well-meaning friends and even family members are always telling me “You’re so lucky!” and “Must be nice…You’re really living the life!” And, while most days I do feel pretty blessed, I always want to tell them that luck had nothing to do with it. Truth is, I’ve never won anything in my life (tell a small lie--I once won 2 turkeys in a fire station turkey raffle but I’d hardly call that my ship coming in). I don’t consider myself a “lucky” person but I don’t consider myself “unlucky” either. What I do believe, however, is that attitude and gratitude have everything to do with how I live and what opportunities come my way.