Stories

Travel, food and wine, life, health, and the occasional sermon on perspective. Here is the latest – the rest, with other categories, is below.

The Latest

Two Mothers Two Lessons

As long back as I can remember, my mother taught me to save. What allowance there was, was always separated out into tithing, saving and spending. Even the tooth fairy was not spared. That dollar under the pillow in return for extracted teeth got divided out, too....

Leaving 55 in 2020

2020 will probably be one of the, if not the, most significant years of my life. This was the year I had been waiting for; the year I was planning to retire.  What a year it’s been.  2020 kicked off with me suffering from and recovering from a pretty severe...

2023 Year In Pictures And A Few Words

A look not so quick back at our last trip around the sun with some not so random images along with random thoughts and pretty useless observations.

Random thoughts and mostly useless observations on the Camino de Santiago

Here are only a few of my observations and random thoughts – with some explanation if I feel like it – on our experience walking the Camino de Santiago.

Notes On The Feeling Of Freedom

When I was 18, I left the house to go to college. I took with me all I owned, a duffel bag full of clothes, a guitar, and my bed to set up in my first apartment. For the next few years I lived in the moment. Now I’m over 50, done working, and have spent the last year roaming the world. I’ve gone from having nothing to having everything, and then intentionally back to nothing again.

Photo Journal – Camino de Santiago

A look back at 2 months living and walking 800km on the Camino de Santiago from France through Spain.

Travel Blog – Travel is Work

Travel can sometimes feel like work. Vacation isn’t work, but travel sometimes can be. And it can be stressful and straining. Vacations are about relaxing and sitting, playing golf or tennis or maybe swimming in the ocean or sunning yourself on the beach. Travel...

Another Useless Travel Blog – Rovinj

Make no mistake, I would hang out in Rovinj any day, and for a quick weekend on the beach or week at a resort, it’s top notch. It’s a really cool town to wander through. The history is incredible, the food is more than okay, and there is no way to not have a good time.

Wino Journal

Stories, logs, and blogs on moving on from a life of work and routine.

Privileged Enough To Have Critera – On Where We Want To Live

Privileged Enough To Have Critera – On Where We Want To Live

I guess it comes down to this: I’m privileged enough to it have criteria. But, meeting all the criteria does not make life perfect. The right place, be it a dwelling or a physical location, is often a feel more than a place. There has to be a spark. There needs to be an emotion tied to it.

Adventure

Stories, logs, and blogs on our pilgrim journeys as we grab our backpacks (and a wine key) and walk through Spain, Italy, France, Scotland, and the great wine regions of the world – hopefully including New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Argentina, to name a few.

Urban Adventure Dublin

Urban Adventure Dublin

We had never been to Dublin and have been told by many of our friends that it was a must-visit. That, and Irish history has always been a bit of a blind spot for me that needed correcting.

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Finally A Real Airbnb Rating System

Finally A Real Airbnb Rating System

For some reason, we travelers seem to develop actual relationships with our lodging and hosts when choosing Airbnb, not allowing for honesty or even well adjusted direct communication. That, my friends, is an unhealthy relationship.

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How to throw a sensory wine tasting

How to throw a sensory wine tasting

The whole idea behind a sensory wine tasting is to explore sights, aromas, and flavors of wine beyond just the simple look, smell and sip of casual wine drinking. In sensory tastings, the goal is to actually compare and contrast what you experience in the wine with...

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The Basics Of Smelling Wine

The Basics Of Smelling Wine

Do you have cats? Have you ever smelled raw clay kitty litter? How about putting your face right down into a somewhat used litter box filled with clay kitty litter? Do it. Then take a big, deep whiff and register what you smell. Chances are, you smell clay, dust, cat...

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More Stories

Pilgrim Journal – Chamonix

Pilgrim Journal – Chamonix

Well, we are on our way. The road to Rome has officially - unofficially started in Chamonix, France. Why Chamonix? Well, we are starting our official Via Francigena pilgrim walk in Lausanne, Switzerland, and we didn’t want to take the trip from Spain to Lausanne all...

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Urban Adventure Dublin

Urban Adventure Dublin

We had never been to Dublin and have been told by many of our friends that it was a must-visit. That, and Irish history has always been a bit of a blind spot for me that needed correcting.

read more
Notes On The Feeling Of Freedom

Notes On The Feeling Of Freedom

When I was 18, I left the house to go to college. I took with me all I owned, a duffel bag full of clothes, a guitar, and my bed to set up in my first apartment. For the next few years I lived in the moment. Now I’m over 50, done working, and have spent the last year roaming the world. I’ve gone from having nothing to having everything, and then intentionally back to nothing again.

read more
Finally A Real Airbnb Rating System

Finally A Real Airbnb Rating System

For some reason, we travelers seem to develop actual relationships with our lodging and hosts when choosing Airbnb, not allowing for honesty or even well adjusted direct communication. That, my friends, is an unhealthy relationship.

read more

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Cheers! Clink.