I'm just trying to walk myself home.
On a bright June morning, somewhere in Spain, I set out from a hotel with three friends. We followed the vague instructions of our host and wandered the streets of Sarria in search of a well worn trail. The Camino de Santiago. After spying a couple of bikers with seashells, we picked up our pace …
Standing at my gate in Madrid Waiting to board a flight to Santiago de Compostela I first spotted them Scallop seashells Dangling from the backpacks of pilgrims With tears involuntarily filling my eyes I watch these souls, a group of girlfriends a mother and daughter a man all alone a gray-haired couple Fellow pilgrims, my …
Friends! Are you asking yourself how it could possibly already be August? Yes, me too! I quickly chronicled our July wanderings for my last two posts, because I knew that I was holding onto quiet days in August for opening up the treasure box that is my memories of The Camino de Santiago in June. …
Our second week of walking new trails in Scotland was on the Kintyre Peninsula in Scotland. My sister and her husband, Robert, and their three kiddos were in town in July for two weeks. The first week we spent in and around Aberdeen, and then we rented a second car and headed west. We stayed …
Friends! The end of the summer is upon us! I lament the end of this season every single year, and it’s gotten worse since we moved to Scotland because of the horrible dread of the shorter days around the corner. So instead of nursing my melancholy that the best of 2015 is behind me, I’m …
Chasing Daylight in July has been all about being outside with friends and family. Some of the those days have been drop dead gorgeous. But most of them have seen at least a few hours of rain. However, the weather has not stopped us from making the most of our kids’ short summer holidays. As …
The spring and summer months are so full around our house that sometimes I move from one event to the next without fully processing the first one. That is a little bit how it was to go from the Speyside Way in the middle of May to the Camino at the beginning of June. But …
I really can’t believe it but 2015 is half over already. What even? The way time moves so. very. fast. is part of why I love doing these monthly outdoor challenges, because even if the month is over before I blink, I can still look back on these cards and my days of walking and …
Chasing Daylight in July should not be hard. The days are long and the walking opportunities abound! We are currently in the Lake District and later this month, we will spend a week on the Kintyre Peninsula (West Coast of Scotland), so I hope to wrack up the steps on my FitBit and discover some new …
My Mama Polly Stone-cold sober, she was more free in spirit than most people are three sheets to the wind. I won’t be able to be at her memorial service today, but as my family has gathered photos and stories back home, I have been thinking about all my grandmother has given to me over …
It’s been rainy and cold in Aberdeen for days. Like, how can it even be summer? I turned my heat back on a couple of days ago. Simon and I have been building fires in the backyard while my family sends me whiny texts about the heat in Arkansas. Cray. The highlight of our week …
Excuse me, miss, can I help you? I knew I was in trouble by the tone of his voice, but I was buying time. Um, no, actually, I don’t think so. I answered meekly. He came back with, What are you doing, exactly? Me: Well, we’re just walking down this road. (stating the obvious) And, …
We had expected to be at the end of the day’s walk by 5pm. We got an early start on our fifteen mile day, heading out under blue skies that promised to turn rainy later in the afternoon. We reached our highest point before lunch. All downhill from here, I thought. Piece of cake. I …
Back in April, when the whether was delightful and my mama was in town, I fell in love with a new bit of Scotland’s east coast. The walk begins near Cruden Bay, where we found a wee boat with my mama’s name on it: Julie! Blue skies + rugged coastline + castle ruins = …
Just popping in with a quick HELLO! from the Camino. How are you! Are you loving our silly videos? We’re loving making them. Here are a few links I’ve been collecting lately: A friend from back home sent me this link to a blog of a gal who’s walking the full Camino this month …
You might remember that my May challenge was a three day walk: The Speyside Way. The Speyside Way is actually a 5-8 day walk (depending on if you add a couple of spurs) through Speyside, an area of Scotland that is famous for single malt whisky production. This area is close enough to where we …
If you’ve been around here a while, you might remember that I love to plan small adventures. Extraordinary days of exploring the world around me.
But every once in a while, I want to go on what I like to call: A Grand Adventure!
While I was on The Speyside Way a couple of weeks ago with my #SpeysideSistas, we had lots of fun making videos. I shared little 30 second clips of our walk on Facebook throughout the week, so I thought it would be fun to make a highlight reel with bits and pieces. Hope you enjoy!! …
So, York. Last week I mentioned that I took my mama to Berwick-Upon-Tweed on a little train journey + YHA adventure. Our next stop was York. We spent two nights in York, again arriving late. We ate dinner on the train on Friday evening, walked to the hostel, had drinks in the common room (ale …
The cruel irony in this story is that I have become almost smug in the fact that I am an experienced train traveler.