Category Archives: Travel
On the Way to Homs
“Syria will rebuild,” Antoun told me. “No one in the world will stop the will of the Syrian people. For eight years, almost every country in the world was against us, but we worked together to get rid of our enemies, and we will work together to make the country great again,” he said. Continue reading
Syria Today – Part III My Family (the other half of it)
My dad says, “qalba dihab” (heart of gold), when he talks about Julia, and it’s true. She is such a sweetheart. She’s an exemplary Syrian mother, cooking and cleaning, anticipating the needs of her family, and working for the good of her family with a smile on her face. Continue reading
Syria Today – Part II My Family (well, half of it)
We watched the frogs, and looked at all the plants, and closed our eyes and stood together in silence for an entire minute, listening to the sound of the wind in the trees and the bird calls. It was a magic moment! Continue reading
Syria Today
Maybe I should start with “nishkar Allah”, which means “thank God.” I’m not entirely sure how many times I’ve said “nishkar Allah” since I’ve been here. I’ve been thinking, “thank God I’m here, thank God I made it, thank God I still have a country and family to come home to.” Nishkar Allah. Continue reading
Hiking Crescent Beach at Ecola State Park
Later that afternoon, before heading back up the trail, I found a little trickle of ice cold waterfall and some native Indian Paintbrush. When you’re hiking or walking around Oregon, it’s always a good idea to look carefully all around you. You never know what you might see. Continue reading
Saving money by cooking on vacation.
This is our cute little kitchenette. Toaster and microwave on top, two burners to the left, and a drainboard/sink on the right. There’s a mini-fridge down below.
I was skeptical, but I’m turning out some great meals in this kitchen! Continue reading
Six Things I Love About Caffe Destino
I came to Caffe Destino to check out the art. My friend, Ursula McCabe, is the artist in question. Continue reading
How’s Your Week Been? Poke at Boke, Sailing on the Water, and Jazz at Nonna.
Now I realize you might be thinking, “how can sailing count? It’s not like the rest of us can just head out for a sail…,” but here’s the thing. You totally can. Continue reading
Adrift in Long Beach, Washington – Part Three: Hiking Willapa National Wildlife Refuge and Kites, Kites, Kites!!!
There’s another art walk (denizens of Long Beach love their art), and that leads to a longer, steeper hike called “Cutthroat Climb.” It wasn’t particularly cutthroat, but it was a climb. Continue reading
Life Goes On (and on and on and on)
When I first sat down to write this, I started crying and I couldn’t make anything coherent come out. That may sound a little extreme, but I have a feeling a lot of people who read this will relate. There … Continue reading
O.K. look, here's the deal. 