Category: Travel Essays

Indulging My Obsession With Japanese Temari Balls

I discovered the unique art of Temari balls in Japan and collected a variety of examples throughout my recent trip.

I am walking uphill in one of Tokyo’s residential suburbs. It’s my last day of a six week sojourn around Japan, and I am as far as I can get from the Tokyo hotspots of Shibuya and Shinjuku and still be within the greater Tokyo Metropolitan area.

I am looking for a very specialized museum, well off the typical tourist beaten path, but despite walking up and down the sidewalk, I don’t see it. My Google maps app has reliably brought me to the appropriate subway station, but now it says that my goal should be right here. Yet it continues to elude me.

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My Memories of the Eiffel Tower – Is the Eiffel Tower Worth Visiting?

Is the Eiffel Tower worth visiting? After visiting this famous icon numerous times over the past 20+ years, I would definitely still say yes!

For about 4000 years or so, the tallest man made structure was the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, with an original height of 481 feet. A few European cathedrals eventually topped out a bit higher than the pyramid, but they also didn’t reach heights much above 500 feet. Even the Washington Monument built in 1884 was only 555 feet high and only held the tallest structure title for 5 years.

Then, in 1889, Gustave Eiffel built his tower as the entrance for the Paris World’s Fair, and in one fell swoop, almost doubled the height of the tallest building in the world with his tower topping out at 986 feet. The Eiffel Tower has since become one of the most recognizable buildings in the world and the defining icon for the City of Lights. For me, the Eiffel Tower is also  entwined with many memorable visits to Paris over the past 20+ years. Continue reading “My Memories of the Eiffel Tower – Is the Eiffel Tower Worth Visiting?”

My Dilemma As A Lifelong Traveler – Is It Ethical To Travel During A Pandemic?

It is no secret that I love to travel. It is one of the reasons I started this blog. Travel experiences stimulate me mentally and physically. When I travel, I relish focusing only on the here and now. And the more I travel, the less I see any distinctive differences between me and the other 7 billion people that inhabit this globe. For this year though, all of my best laid travel plans have gone up in smoke. Yet, despite the fact that some destinations are opening up to Americans, I am not just asking myself whether I can travel this year, but also whether I should travel.

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Oh, the Places You Will Go – Looking Back and Looking Forward

An email in my in-box today reminded me that it was time to renew my domain name for this website. It’s been three years since on a whim I decided to start a blog. I wonder, if anyone had told me back then how much work it would be to start, maintain and promote a travel blog, would I have even attempted it? But, to quote one of the 20th century’s greatest American philosophers, Dr. Seuss, “Oh, the places you’ll go!”

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On the Trail to Balanced Rock in Big Bend – Taking a Hike Down Memory Lane

“I’m tired” whined my three-and-a-half year old son. He was dragging his feet and kicking up sand on the flat part of the Grapevine Hills trail to the Balanced Rock  in Big Bend National Park. As I trekked along the same trail 28 years later, I could still clearly hear his voice across time and space. How had the years flown by so quickly?

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