Category: United States

24 Hours in Chicago

9/12/2016

I just visited Chicago for the first time, and I really loved it! It has beautiful architecture, great food, friendly people, and it's both drivable and walkable, depending on your needs.

Here's how I spent twenty-four hours there. By the way, it was a beautiful August day, with unusually mild weather. I hear it can get quite steamy, windy, icy, sticky, slick, sultry, cold, or hot. Check the local weather before you go.

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California Dreaming

9/8/2016

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When I was a burned-out sad grad student in Michigan in 1991, Sam in California proposed to me. I could either stay in Michigan an extra year and finish with two degrees, or drop the second degree and my TA and leave in one semester. I couldn't decide. But every time I got in my car, California Dreaming came on the radio. I heeded the advice of the Mamas and the Papas and Sam, and fled to California. When I left 24 years later, that song came on the radio as I approached the state line. Cheers, California! I'll always love you, but I've got to go.

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Solar Roast Coffee

8/25/2016

4 Comments

You know what I love? I love people who have a great idea and work really hard to make it happen. I love it when people dream big. I love cities that welcome unique, even radical ideas. I also love coffee.

All those things came together in Pueblo, a city I love because it’s been good to my sister, whom I love.

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36 Hours in Aspen

8/23/2016

8 Comments

If you have only thirty-six hours to spend in Aspen, you can have a great time and scope out the place for future visits. Here are my recommendations. By the way, we visited in the summer, so things might be different for a winter trip.

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Zion and Me: Happy at Last

8/23/2016

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I first visited Zion National Park in 1992. My husband and I went there for our first married vacation. Because we had no money, we camped. We were terrible campers. We borrowed all the equipment, packed it up in Sam’s ancient Mercedes diesel sedan, and drove from our home in Southern California to Utah. We had trouble setting up the tent (thanks for rescuing us, kind neighbors) and ate disgusting freeze-dried food. I got in over my head hiking and cried all the way up the chain path to Angel’s Landing. In short, we had a great time! Why? Because we were young enough to endure discomfort and embarrassment, and to enjoy seeing more of God’s green earth and having fun together.

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Toilet Gallery: SFMOMA

8/15/2016

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It starts innocently enough. You decide, like you do many times a day, to go to the bathroom. At the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, you walk innocently down the dimly-lit white hallway, past the coat check. You pull the bathroom door open and BAM you are shocked and amazed by a flood of red. Red ceiling, red floor, red walls. It’s like being inside an artery.

Go to SFMOMA. Just go. And don’t forget to go to the bathroom.

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SFMOMA Cafe: Restaurant Review

8/12/2016

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I took Kid 3 to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art last week. We checked out the cafe.

I learned something that day: take it easy, and go slow. Here's why.

When Sam and I were first married, we had no money for vacations. He hadn’t been raised having vacations (Hong Kong is one city--no matter how far away you go, you might as well go home to sleep) so he always felt like we had to see as much as possible every trip. We usually came home exhausted and broke.

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Carlsbad Caverns Lunchroom: Finding Joy in the Mundane

7/25/2016

6 Comments

During our Big Southwest Road Trip, I decided to show Kid 3 Carlsbad Caverns. I was there as a child, with my dad, so even though I knew it was an awe-inspiring, majestic, magnificent place, I had already seen it. It wouldn’t be the thrill it had once been. Therefore, I decided to let Kid 3 roam around and focus my energies on something I had not experienced before: the lunchroom.

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Lubbock: Housing First

7/14/2016

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In many ways, Lubbock, Texas, population 240,000, is like many other mid-sized American towns.

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Riverbend Hot Springs

7/14/2016

4 Comments

There really is a town called Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. It used to be called Hot Springs, but they changed the name in the 50’s when they struck a deal with the TV game show of the same name. It was called Hot Springs because of the natural hot springs under the town. But I guess I can see their point in changing--having a catchy name is like geographical click bait.

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