Posted On: June 12, 2012
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My kids are angels. Usually. But being kids, they’re often little devils too. Thus parenthood survival often requires more than patience; it also calls for the occasional manipulating, bribing and hiding—as in, hiding the truth.…
Posted On: June 10, 2012
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To paraphrase our good friend Garrison Keillor, “It’s been a pretty quiet day in Barga, Toscana.” The sun rose early. The stalls of the Saturday market were stocked and rigged. And here and there, in…
Posted On: June 8, 2012
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Dorothy Parker’s notorious quote,
I hate writing, but I love having written,” adapts well to, “I hate traveling, but I love being there.”
On this Tuscan travel adventure, the first leg of a lite-gonzo Euro…
Posted On: June 5, 2012
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The Literary Committte had bigger topics, and the family blender was on puree. But the day came down to a cat. She put up with the transfer like a real gamer, but you could see…
Posted On: June 3, 2012
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Bless their hearts; all our friends, colleagues, and community cronies have a question or 5 about our impending trip. In fact, they’re usually the same ones over and over—something like this…
All packed up yet?”…
Posted On: June 1, 2012
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Watching my daughter’s 3rd grade “Field Day” provided 11 metaphors for the packing, purchasing, and panic that were running through my mind while the children ran events on the playground.
With only five days until…
Posted On: May 25, 2012
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When the tough want to get going, tough sh*t happens. Murphy’s law? Conspiracy? Or just life? Minor disasters (that could stop your trip and ruin your day) come in many forms. Here are the latest…
Posted On: May 17, 2012
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Yee gads! The BreakAway bus leaves again in just 19 days–this time for 5 weeks in Europe with the whole famn damily of 4. We are, of course, in a calculated state of denial, which,…
Posted On: May 7, 2012
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My hat tips to the wonderful people and travel passions behind Amateur Traveler. We found each other recently for a podcast about the Twin Cities. Not only was the little journey a hoot, it also…
Posted On: May 1, 2012
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Attention vagabonds: Airbnb has become the hottest travel tool since the airplane—while bringing to life another trend called “collaborative consumption.”
I pity the sterile hotels that have to compete with this vivacious option. And as…