This weekend marks the National Park Service‘s birthday, so to speak. It’s the 102nd anniversary of the creation of the NPS (August 25, 1916) and as I looked through my photos to pick one out to post, I thought about why I wanted to mark the occasion, just for me,…
There is a romantic ideal to Texas, a rugged romance stemming from the Old West (yes, capitalized). It’s leaning cowboys with their iconic hats tilted against the sun, galloping horses and grazing cattle, and the idea that Texas can survive whatever is thrown at her. Maybe because, well…she’s done a…
My To-Read shelf, my physical to-read shelf, got a little out of control at the end of 2016. I normally like to keep this shelf visually manageable: one bookshelf maybe about 1/2-3/4 full of books from which I can pick the next read based on my mood. As I read…
The third weekend in October I took a road trip south to Goliad, TX to participate in my first bike ride. I should begin by noting that I started biking – leisurely – over the summer with early Sunday morning bike rides to a nearby coffee shop. I’ll sit with…
With its beautifully designed streets, pastel painted buildings and glimpses of the Rio Tejo beyond, Lisbon is a romantic city. But Sintra is a force to be reckoned with in terms of romance, starting with the ruins of the Castelo dos Mouros high up in the hills. Sintra is a…
I’ve been asked a number of times what my favorite thing in Portugal was, and while ultimately there was no one thing that I preferred above the others and the trip itself was an amazing experience, the first thing that most often comes to mind is the Castelo dos Mouros,…