Escaping the Empty Nest
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Guest Posts
  • Travel
    • Places >
      • United States
      • Europe
      • Asia
      • Middle East
    • Tips
  • Family
    • Empty Nesting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Musings
  • Living Abroad
    • Paris Life
    • Moving
  • My Novel
  • Subscribe

Traveling with Menopause

9/11/2018

2 Comments

 
Picture
I went to Spain to visit my friend who is guest-teaching at a university there. Only speaking the Spanish I have learned from menus, songs, and signs posted around Texas and California is a little challenging. I can say Donde esta los ban֘os (Where is the bathroom) and Besame (Kiss me) and No hablo espan֘ol (I don’t speak Spanish). Then I learned that ban֘os is used more in central America and they say something more complicated in Spain, but I’m sticking with ban֘os and hoping they get what I mean. With those sentences and my fearless-with-foreigners personality, I can get most anything I need.

Read More
2 Comments

Airplane Etiquette

5/10/2017

4 Comments

 
Picture
Flying is no longer the elegant, special thing it was during aviation’s early days.

Now, air travel is more accessible and more affordable. It’s more casual. And sometimes, it’s meaner.

Read More
4 Comments

How to Look More-or-Less Like Yourself Far from Home: A Personal Journey

3/22/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
When I travel, I usually just maintain my personal care as best I can until I get home. However, long-term travel is hard on a middle-aged body, so if I didn’t want to look like Tom Hanks in Castaway, I’d knew I’d need some extra TLC.

Read More
0 Comments

Introvert's Guide to Meeting People on the Road

12/15/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Travel lets you see the world, experience new cultures, and taste delicacies you never knew existed. It can also be a lonely time if you’re traveling solo or you’re with your people but need a break from them. This is especially true for long-term travel, when your best buddies are a million miles away. 

Read More
0 Comments

Travel Gear That Works For Me

12/4/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
I’ve been on the road for about eight months, and in that time I’ve learned what really works for travel, short and long term. Here’s what  I’ve been using.

Read More
0 Comments

Travel Made Me a Racist (But I'm Working on It)

11/20/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
I have always tried to treat everybody I met with respect. Turns out, my outward actions were not the problem. Sometimes I treated people nicely in public, but perpetuated racist ideas in private. Or in my own head.

Read More
0 Comments

So Close, and Yet So Close

8/29/2016

6 Comments

 
Picture
How do you survive a cross-country trip in a Mini Cooper with loved ones? Especially if you're an introvert, and the loved ones are affectionate, open, devoted extroverts? Here are my tips.


Read More
6 Comments

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love to Travel

7/21/2016

14 Comments

 
Picture
Since we started planning our round-the-world trip and move to Paris, people have asked me a lot of questions about our motivation and purpose. They wanted to know why I like to travel so much, why I want to move to another country. Some think it’s an great idea. Some think we’re crazy. Some think it’s a waste of time. I think it’s a grand adventure, but I agree that it’s rather unorthodox. But really, why do I like to travel? And why do it in such a big way?

Read More
14 Comments

A Mature Person's Guide to Crashing with Loved Ones

7/5/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
​“But Yvonne,” you say, “why would I, a mature responsible homeowner in a stable relationship, ever need to crash with anybody? Not only do I have an extremely predictable lifestyle, Corporate America has me covered during all transitions!”

Well, good for you. However, you never know what might happen. You might be between jobs and Corporate America lets you down, between relationships, sick, between houses, or between awesome opportunities which require you to let go of your house. Just in case, read on.

Read More
0 Comments

Airbnb Restores My Faith in Humanity

6/15/2016

7 Comments

 
Picture
​Our family has, by design, stayed in every kind of accommodation during our travels: hostels, hotels, motels, time shares, relatives’ couches, glamping, Airbnb, and our youngest kid was an actual Boy Scout who camped.  (My husband and I camped before children, then gave up when the babies started coming.) We stayed in a variety of places because we want our children to be ready for anything, no matter what their circumstances or income. We want them to be able to live out of a suitcase, haul their own stuff, sleep wherever, eat what’s put before them, and treat everyone they meet with respect.

Read More
7 Comments
<<Previous