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[Amsterdam, NL, May 26, 2024] I left my hotel at 8:15 am – bright and early by European standards. The street outside my hotel was basically deserted…. of people, that is. It was, however, filled with evidence of Saturday nights’ debauchery and cleaning crews were busy picking up trash and washing the streets. I had a 9 am reservation for the Rijksmuseum. I followed roughly the same path as yesterday and did… Read More
[Tromso, Norway, Jan 16, 2024] As unexpected as my trip to London was, my side trip to Norway was even more so. My friend Maria had been working at Pukka Travels, an adventure tour outfitter in Tromso, since October. Nicknamed “Gateway to the Arctic”, Tromso is 217 miles above the Arctic Circle but enjoys fairly mild temps due do the Gulf Stream. Ash was going to be busy with his conference for… Read More
]London, UK, Jan 15, 2024] On my last visit to London, I had walked by St Paul’s cathedral but since I was still a travel newbie, I didn’t go inside. I rectified this mistake on this trip! Entry was included with our London city pass. St Paul’s cathedral is Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece. He was commissioned to design the church after the Great Fire of London in 1666. There has been a… Read More
[Charlotte, NC, Oct 12-13, 2023] With our side trip to the Great Smoky Mountains over, it was time to drive back to Charlotte. Lena and I desperately needed coffee, but the only Starbucks shops in town were in the casinos! Cherokee is the Atlantic City of the South – it has 3 casinos, which is a lot for such a small town. Just like in Biloxi, MS, I almost ran into my… Read More
[Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Oct 10, 2023] Once upon a time, the 6 of us lived in LA and ran every Saturday together to train for the LA marathon. Four of us knew each other from business school, and the other 2 were Olivia’s friends that eventually became ours, too. Over the years, a few of us have moved away, so when an opportunity to get together arises, we don’t pass… Read More
