BreakAways In the News Returns!

Posted On: March 15, 2018
Comments: No Responses As everyone knows, this site launched 10 years ago before an historic 4-month island-hopping winter with two kids in tow. Since then, sabbaticals and career breaks in the news have been occasionally chronicled by our…

Paddling Fearlessly, Hairlessly Into Life

Posted On: September 13, 2016
Comments: 3 Responses “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to get through this thing called Life,” sings Prince in Let’s Go Crazy. That’s familiar: “Get through it…” as I penned in my last post. But I would also…

Shhhhh…Don’t Mention St. John

Posted On: January 27, 2016
Comments: No Responses So I’m at a gathering and someone breaks out a travel trivia book. Live-ability, largest island, crime rate, what have ya. The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) makes the Top 10 crime rate list. But…

Experiential Science, 2nd Shifts & A New Book!

Posted On: April 8, 2015
Comments: No Responses The sabbatical inbox fills up so swiftly I sometimes long for the days of snail mail. Yet clearly people keep finding their way to the take-your-time movement. Fast Company has been particularly prolific with reports.…

Resolutions for 2015: Get Twisted!

Posted On: December 18, 2014
Comments: No Responses NOTE: This post was originally published on December 11 by my good friends at MeetPlanGo!   It’s that time of year again. The holidays get us all plumped up with feasts and fetes. Then we stumble…

Meet Joe Antkowiak, Traveler, Diver, Dreamer, Doer…

Posted On: October 8, 2014
Comments: One Response Every now and then (as this blog testifies), dreamers, schemers and BreakAway artists of all kinds come together and have gatherings (large and small) to celebrate and inspire this mission and cause called career breaks.…

Vacation FUNdamentals for the iPhone Era

Posted On: August 13, 2014
Comments: No Responses I recently returned from my annual two-week retreat to Lake Okoboji, a favorite (and sometimes decadent) hideaway since childhood. This journey included a high-school reunion, a family reunion, and a dreamy wedding on a farm: …

Faith vs. Fear: Boomers Speak Out at MSP Meet-up

Posted On: March 20, 2014
Comments: 2 Responses “I’m old!” In her final few years, that was Grandma’s response when anyone asked “How are you?” It’s true; she was in her 90s, and finally feeling her age. Still, she lived alone on her…

Buy that Damn Plane Ticket Already!

Posted On: July 14, 2013
Comments: 3 Responses A provocative blog post recently crossed my desk, written by a woman named Satori who exhorts her readers to “Do yourself a favor and buy that damn plane ticket already!” A photographer by trade and…

Closing a College: An Unplanned BreakAway

Posted On: May 1, 2013
Comments: 7 Responses The unusually cold May-Day skies were crying today—the last day I had the pleasure of teaching at College of Visual Arts (CVA). After 89 years, this St. Paul arts school on historic Summit Avenue is…