I’m in San Diego for the weekend. (Yay!) Jim and I decided not to wait until January to take a quick trip out of town like we have for the past two years, and when we were discussing our December Destination, the only requirements were that it would be warmer than Chicago AND that we could use airline miles to get there. I thought of Southern California immediately because it’s truly one of my favorite places in the whole world. He really doesn’t like Los Angeles very much, so I suggested San Diego and he was all for it. It’s not lost on me, by the way, that I have…
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Concrete Jungle
New York City’s Central Park is amazing. I have been there several times and there’s always something new to see. I was looking forward to walking around there on Wednesday afternoon, and as Liz and I moseyed through the winding paths I took tons of pictures. All of the scenery is impressive, really. I mean, check out this gorgeous view of The Mall, the main walkway that runs down the center of the Park on its southern end. The beauty that nature provides was only half of it. I am, for some reason, drawn to concrete ornamentation. Central Park is full of it and I created quite a collection of…
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Shells, Sea Glass And Colones
I told Liz that, while in New Jersey, I wanted to take a side trip down the shore to the Seaside Heights area, which was hit the hardest last year by Superstorm Sandy. She and I headed down there this morning and took a long stroll on the boardwalk. The businesses that are still intact on the boardwalk (there are lots of them!) are closed for the season and we were two of just a handful of people out there, not counting all of the construction workers who were fixing everything. As quiet as it was, I was able to imagine a bustling, noisy, funnel cake-smelling amusement area thanks to…
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Greetings From New Jersey!
I have been waiting for this day for what seems like forever (amazing how three and a half months can feel like forever!): I’m back in the same state–the same room, even!–as my sistuh-from-anuthuh-mutha. I’m so excited to be here I might possibly cry at some point. It’s been interesting, telling people before today that I was going to New Jersey. I got questions like, “Why would you go there?” and funny looks ranging anywhere from scowling to nose crinkling to head shaking. New Jersey has a bad rap. In fact, I was going to embed a video of Fred Armisen portraying former New York governor David Paterson on SNL…
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Go Solo, Go! (Just Go.)
Last week while in Columbus I was enjoying dinner with some new friends and one said, “Melisa, I think it’s so great that you and your husband travel alone sometimes.” Naturally, I agreed wholeheartedly, and I’ll tell you why. It’s not that I don’t enjoy traveling with Jim, because I do (very much!). It’s not even that I prefer solo travel, because I don’t. It’s just a different kind of experience. I love any and all kinds of travel: solo, with Jim, with the whole family, with friends…get it? I LOVE TRAVEL. It’s definitely not that I need to get away from home and my family. I have found that…