Buckle up, Buttercup! A road trip for one might be travel freedom at its finest. YOU set the itinerary, YOU drive when you want, YOU stay at each destination as long as YOU like. Sounds lovely? It is! Jamie...
The Etiquette of Street Photography
One of the pleasures of travel is taking photos of everyday scenes and people. Street photography–also called candid photography–is the genre used by travelers to capture places, moments, and emotions during a trip. It tells a story. Often worth...
My First Post-Pandemic Getaway: Starved Rock State Park, Oglesby, IL
I couldn’t wait for my first post-pandemic getaway. Like most homebound travelers, I’d done my part to flatten the Covid Curve just by staying put. I even made the best of it, embracing my inner Janus, the Roman god...
Travel Lessons from the Lockdown
How can there possibly be any worthwhile travel lessons from the godawful Covid-19 pandemic? Maybe lessons on overcoming boredom, rationing toilet paper, or finding a suitable mask. But travel? Really?? Yes, I tell you. Really. The time we now...
Casey, Illinois: Tiny Town, BIG Things!
You probably wouldn’t give Casey, Illinois a second thought. It’s a very small town (population 2,635) not conveniently located in the East-Central part of the state. In fact, it’s a hundred miles closer to Indianapolis than Chicago. But Casey...
How About an English Afternoon Tea? Pip-pip! Cheerio!
English Afternoon Tea is something of a contradiction. On one hand, it’s elegant and refined. It comes with complicated etiquette, from start to finish. On the other hand, you eat with your fingers. Never mind the bountiful utensils surrounding...
The Best Travel Films: Places People, and Plots
Travel films are more than National Geographic documentaries. (Although when I’m researching a destination, that’s where I often begin…) A common definition is “a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or tourist attractions without recommending particular...
Read Your Way Around the World: Books as Passports
Read your way around the world…whenever we can’t go where we want, for whatever the reason, we’re only a book away from getting there in our minds. If you love travel, you know the need for curiosity and the...
Guide to Armchair Travel: “Go” Now…GO Later!
Updated 1/19/2021. Armchair travel: 1. A way to visit faraway places without leaving home. 2. A sensory experience and opportunity to learn about domestic and foreign destinations in a meaningful manner. Sometimes we simply can’t get to the places...
Post-COVID-19: Will Travel Still Matter?
Updated June 28, 2020. Where to start? My last post was about Seattle and the renovated Space Needle. March 1, 2020, one day after Washington State announced the first death from COVID-19 in the United States. (It would later...