farlands | traveling near and far

This is my first post tackling something not rosy about travel.  Many places I go, including my home city, have people who are who are homeless.  Sometimes it's subtle, other times, you can't miss it. Shortly after I arrived in Seattle, I saw the tents. I was in the cab heading into town from their airport, and my first thought was "that's kind of a strange place to go camping."  However, it quickly became apparent that what I was seeing was row after row of a tent city. While I was glad people had decent tents for shelter, I was also surprised and depressed.  There were just .... so many.....!  Or perhaps in this case it was more in the open and easier to see. Downtown that weekend, I saw a panhandler get treated rudely by a more affluent resident, and I felt bad for the panhandler.  By the end of the weekend, I must admit I felt some of that rudeness toward panhandlers on every corner myself.  I felt like I couldn't walk one block without being a...

It started off as a conversation last Thanksgiving.  My cousin Beth (actually, my husband's cousin) mentioned she was going to be in New Orleans for a conference.  It had been a while since I myself had been to the area, for either work or travel. Even though the schedule was getting pretty full for that month already, I decided to take the plunge and go on a short work trip, and stay over the weekend. My traveling companion Beth in front of Jackson Square Even though the work results were less than stellar, the weekend vacation was wonderful.  Beth booked a bike tour though buzz nola , and the resulting 3-hour bike tour was informative, and to my surprise, relaxing. The weather cooperated and as the tour group wove our way in and out of neighborhoods I would have never gone to on my own around the city, I was in a stage of happy delight.  Late into the tour we stopped at City Park and shared mini muffuletta sandwiches and a mango freeze near some gorgeous old o...

Food in New Orleans is consistently some of the best I've enjoyed anywhere. The mission for this visit was for oysters, and all four evenings hit the mark. We started with charbroiled oysters in a fair amount of (yay!) butter and Parmesan at  Drago's with Jeff's cousin Beth and Aunt Peggy Ann. It was the first night in town and everybody was hungry and happy to dive in. Round 1: charbroiled.  Photo credit to Passionate Eater The next night was the fried oyster appetizer at  Mr. B's Bistro  in the French Quarter, shared with my work-related dining companions who made the recommendation. There was a light lemony sauce, which we scooped up with pieces of pillowy French bread housed in white paper sleeves. Tender with a bit of crunch.  Photo credit to Mr. B's The following night I introduced Beth to  Cochon's oysters in chili butter. Strangely, these were not quite to the level that I have enjoyed them in the past - I think the oysters ...

I knew it was going to rain that day both in Seattle and on Vancouver Island.  And I was ready.  Being a Wisconsinite, bad weather doesn't scare me.  A long as you are warm and dry, anyone can enjoy being outdoors and sightseeing. Heading out to walk to the  Clipper terminal from the hostel (after ducking back inside my room to grab my hat and fleece), I was happily strolling along in the drizzle. About ten minutes in, I felt it. It was cool.  On my right toe.  Hmm.. Wait, my left heel.  Hey, what's going on here?  Realization: my shoes for the day are NOT WATERPROOF. You can almost feel the drizzle! I thought about going back and changing into my cute leather flats, but I didn't want to ruin them and I also didn't have a bunch of extra time.  So I trudged ahead, realizing I was going to have to suck it up. My Toms are the best touring shoes. Socks, no socks, they are washable, they pack up super small.  But I realized I had n...

I started writing this post knowing that our RTW trip will not happen for quite some time.  With more snow on the ground and coming in another wave, I was back to thinking of snowshoeing, not gardening. It’s an apt metaphor both for travel and for home life right now - in the gap. Over the weekend, I was getting some extra work done, and have a new responsibility that is taking more time than I originally planned.  So, I decided to add it to my calendar as a recurring entry.  I went into Outlook, hit the yearly button, and counted on my fingers and selected the end date for the task. It felt so good. At this moment, we're enjoying our work. And, the boy is in late high school, so he needs to finish that. I've also thought about all of us taking a gap year together, but we have only saved $5,400 USD so far and the goal for a budget is closer to $100,000 USD for the both of us.  I'm sure we could add him to the mix for not a whole lot more, and maybe we will....