I'm just trying to walk myself home.
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Today I am leaving to Return to the Camino, To go on something I’m calling Humility Walk Why? Because bombs are falling in Syria again. Because people of color are being disproportionately killed in the US. Because poor people are sitting in prison even though they are innocent, just because they can’t afford bail. Because …
A Visit to The Home of The Beloved Saint Francis of Assisi What can I say about Assisi? I hardly know where to begin. Maybe it’s best to start with the ending. As I left the convent in Assisi, the same nun who welcomed me in, took hold of my face and kissed me twice, …
Snapshots of a A Walk to Civita di Bagnoregio, an ancient hilltown in Italy reachable only by a pedestrian bridge. So 2500 years ago, some very ingenious folks (Etruscans) built this city on top of a hill. Hill towns are a common theme in my travels around Italy, but Civita is special because you can …
A Walk in the Black Forest in Germany Last summer, we knew our time in Germany was winding down, at least for a while, so we spent our Saturdays finding new trails even though we were perfectly happy to walk the same gorgeous trails around Tübingen over and over again. The boys had gone camping …
Last spring we went camping for a weekend in Bavaria, Germany. From the moment we told folks we were moving to Germany, people told us we had to go and visit Neuschwanstein Castle (German: Schloss Neuschwanstein). It was raining when we stopped there on our way to our camping spot, but that was ok, because …
Walking through Autumn in Southern Germany (Baden-Württemberg) Y’all, the autumn was so beautiful in the little town we lived in last year. In the morning, you would walk to town and the hills would have a Scotland-like mist over them, but the afternoons were usually gorgeous blue skies and incredible color. I walked in the …
Walking and Eating in Venice with Walks of Italy I think that you plan a trip to Venice because you’ve seen how gorgeous it is in pictures and in films. And when you go, the canals, bridges and alleys of Venice will totally fulfill your expectations by being as enchanting as you always imagined. But another reason …
Lichtenstein Castle (German: Schloss Lichtenstein), also known as the “Fairy tale castle of Württemberg,” is an 1840s Biedermeier style Gothic Revival castle built on a large rock near Honau, Reutlingen, in the Swabian Jura situated in the Tüblingen region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. -wikipedia We set out from our flat in Tübingen on a recent Saturday to hike to Lichtenstein Castle. After taking a bus and a train to the nearby town …
When you have lived somewhere for three years and you invite your friends along on what is to be your Final Walk In Scotland, apparently people feel obligated to come. Or maybe they just don’t want to miss a final opportunity to climb a munro with you. Or maybe lots of folks want to make …
We’ll have to get up early. We’ll need to leave by 6am, but I’m pretty sure we can do it all in one day. It will take us over three hours to drive there, somewhere between 5 and 7 hours to climb it, and then three hours to drive back home. Plus I think we should …
Persley Walled Garden + River Don = 87.5% of My Aberdeen Life Near daily I have walked along the River Don. It is the path to school. The path to town. The path to Tesco. On long summer evenings I walk it after dinner and watch the sky change colors. I know I will breathe …
A Walk from Aboyne, Scotland A light drizzle was falling on us as we made the drive to Aboyne, Scotland. It was a Saturday morning in March. Nearly Easter. We were headed to meet our friends Patrick and Nicola for a walk with our kids and theirs. Soon we were standing around in the car …
Snapshots of Grasmere: Hike To Easedale Tarn From my bottom bunk, I couldn’t see the mountains that were visible the day before. No one was awake yet, so I let them all sleep while I got up to contemplate the wisdom of dragging my mom and two boys up a misty hill. “The weather looks …
Bennachie is one of our favorite spots for a quick trip to the countryside from Aberdeen, Scotland. We love it in all seasons.
November arrived in Aberdeen all golden and glowing, but today at its close, it is icy and crisp. I’ve stomped through lots of wet leaves this month, but today the leaves are frozen and crunching beneath my boots. I’ve driven down to Aberdeen Beach in all sorts of weather this month to wander along the North …
Hello Beautiful Scotland in Fall! The colors of the leaves right now are my consolation for 4:30 sunsets. They are AH-MAH-ZING. Every time I go outside, I take about fifty pictures of trees and leaves. So here are my twenty highlights from the last ten days or so. A spot discovered near Aviemore while visiting Cole …
An Epic Climb in Northwest Scotland: Suilvan Epic climb days always start early and end late. We started walking in low autumn light towards the hulking shadow rising in the distance. Our goal was before us. I love walking behind my boys. And their friends. We made this climb during October holidays with another …
Scotland in September started out in the sunshine. I had a visit from a very dear friend. Kelly and I have been friends since we were in elementary school and she has visited me everywhere I have ever lived. She is the sort of friend with whom you can pick up like you have never …
I will forever remember it as one of the loveliest walks of our entire time in Scotland. It was Taido’s birthday weekend and we talked Ben and Simon into getting out for a longer day so we drove a little further than usual (over an hour) and hiked a little further than usual (over 10 …
Chasing Daylight in August: Cruden Bay in the Rain Friday night, 11 pm The chance for rain had gone up to 90%. Taido had been checking the weather hourly all evening, watching the increase from a 10% chance to “almost certainly it’s going to rain.” Now he was feeling uncertain about our plans for a …