Author: Lisa

Travel Nightmares

Travel Nightmares

People often ask, “Has anything terrible happened to you so far?” I have to admit that no (fingers crossed), nothing really awful has happened during our journey. Sure, we have bad days, and I’ve narrowly avoided countless collisions with crazy motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, deer, and 

How Portland made me feel like an old lady.

How Portland made me feel like an old lady.

I should have known better than to get my hopes up. I had really high hopes for Portland, but Portland didn’t return my compliments. Instead, Portland made me feel old, boring, dreadfully normal! Maybe I should thank Portland for giving me a preview of how 

The Free Day

The Free Day

It’s wonderful to have a free day – not a day off (though that’s wonderful as well), but a day where you spend no money, all day. True, no day is ever really free. We’re always “paying” a portion of our car payment, car insurance, 

Foggy Memories in Olympic National Park

Foggy Memories in Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park is made up of many separate, unique areas. If you don’t pay attention, you’ll miss them. The park covers a large part of the Olympic Peninsula, across the Puget Sound from Seattle, plus a narrow strip of land along the Pacific Ocean. 

Seattle’s Green Coup: The Death of the Plastic Bag

Seattle’s Green Coup: The Death of the Plastic Bag

It’s true. As of July 1st, 2012, the plastic bag is dead…murdered by the city of Seattle, complete with full (and hilarious) obituary in the Seattle Weekly (which reminded us of our dear old Chicago Reader, except with even more advertising). Quote: “In lieu of flowers, please 

It’s almost over!?

It’s almost over!?

One recent afternoon I had an awful realization. We’re almost done. We have about two weeks before we need to be in Sonoma, CA. About 20 days after that we plan to be in Milwaukee, WI. Two weeks after that we fly to London from 

A Seattle Ramble

A Seattle Ramble

One of my favorite things to do in a city is to pick a direction and just start walking. One morning we set out on Seattle’s 50th Street headed west, with the locks and fish ladder between Lake Union and Puget Sound our loose destination. 

Playing House in Seattle

Playing House in Seattle

We had five glorious days…five days to house-sit for a family friend in Seattle, five days to remember what it’s like to live indoors, in one place, in one of the most interesting cities in the country. I’d been dreaming about this for weeks. I 

Peaceful Mt. Rainier

Peaceful Mt. Rainier

Peaceful…that’s a joke of course. There are signs everywhere warning you that Mt. Rainier is still an active volcano. It’s a little unsettling to bed down for the night or set out for a hike after reading signs that warn you of potential geothermal activity 

Writing haiku in Glacier National Park

Writing haiku in Glacier National Park

Inspired by a boardwalk nature trail with haiku on the panels, we returned to our campsite to compose our own silly haiku. You remember haiku from elementary school? Those three-line poems with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the 

Snowed under in Glacier National Park

Snowed under in Glacier National Park

One of the great things about mountain parks like Glacier National Park and Rocky Mountain National Park is that they give regular people easy access to the tundra. What, you don’t want to hike 8,000+ vertical feet or over 10+ miles just to get a 

Visiting Lake Pend Oreille and My Dad’s College Buddy, Jeff

Visiting Lake Pend Oreille and My Dad’s College Buddy, Jeff

While passing through northern Idaho, we stopped to visit one of my Dad’s college buddies, Jeff, and his wife, Mary, for an action-packed 24 hours. Jeff and Mary have a place on Lake Pend Oreille (means earring, loosely), a large lake north of the more touristy