When the early miners came out to California, gold was not the only thing they found. They found hills and giant trees like nothing else they had ever seen. After years of ravaging the forests for these enormous giants, the Calaveras Big Trees State Park was created to both protect them, and educate us on…
You’ve spent weeks or months planning the first best spring break vacation. Flights or train tickets are bought, hotels reserved, you have tickets to your tours and shows, reservations at great restaurants. Then you hear the news. A little virus in China. Then Thailand, Singapore, no Europe and the US. It happened so fast. What…
On September 1, 1885, Walter J Mercer, like so many before him, went to California looking for gold. And he got it, but in a most unexpected way. Under a tree, he found the enterance to a huge natural made cavern. Immediately thinking he found a gold cavern, he staked a claim and had his…
We as a family often go up to Sacramento to soak in the history of California’s great gold rush. But after our trip to Folsom, I had an itch to explore more of California’s Gold Country. My husband had a birthday and the kids had off of school that day, so we decided to take…
As I was planning my flight for a quick business trip to Chicago, I looked at my family calendar and at the flight options and I tried to figure you the minimal impact on my household while getting flights that work for me. I needed to be in Chicago for one day, for a conference,…
I started out 2019 with some great goals. I was going to get back into working out. I was going to focus on my career and finding my happy spot. I was going to go on great trips, and including a trip to Bali for my 40th birthday and my first ever solo trip. I…
Regular readers of my blog know of the continuing journey of my father, who has been battling stage 4 oral cancer. After much soul searching, we as a family decided to forgo my salary for three months and let me take a leave of absence from work to care for my dad. Surgery was scheduled…
As we drove toward what would be our last hotel in Bali, we were all a little sad knowing that the vacation was coming to an end. We pulled into the palm tree lined driveway and up to the welcoming reception pavilion of the Tandjung Sari. We didn’t know it at the time, but we…
The whole reason for our two week tour through Bali was as a celebration to me for my 40th birthday. And while the whole trip was fantastic, I could also say that my actual birthday was my favorite birthday ever. And it wasn’t even perfect, but it came pretty close. I woke up with my…
On our first day in Sunar, we had an early morning wake-up call. A driver was coming to our hotel to take us to our adventure with Waka Sailing. Audley Travel set us up with this excursion for the day. On the menu, sailing to Nusa Lembongan, snorkeling, lunch, sun, and a pleasant sail back.…
Having just left a quiet, jungle paradise, the the chaos and people of Ubud was a strange site. I wondered how we would get to a hotel that advertised itself as a retreat and boasted peace and tranquillity. Then, just as quickly as we entered the madness, we left it. Just a few minutes later,…
For those who know my family, they know my husband is the cook. I can cook…if I have days to plan, shop, prep, and have all the ingredients in front of me and plenty of time to do it. My husband can make a meal from the ingredients of the kitchen in 30 minutes. Since…
Being married to an Indian, especially one who is a huge Carnatic music fan, I had seen my share of Indian classical dancing. Precise movements, vivid facial expressions, and elaborate costumes. From what I researched on line, Balinese dancing was similar. But I was in for a surprise and treat when we were taken to…
Our first day in Ubud promised to be a fun experience and I can unequivocally say it did not disappoint. Our awesome guide from Destination Asia picked us up at 9am from the Wapa di Ume, and we headed in our ridiculously large van for about an hour outside Ubud. There we were welcomed into…
The drive from Bali Barat National Park to Ubud was four hours of long curvy roads. We, and more importantly the guide and travel agent, knew that the kids could not do that in one go, especially during the daytime. So we factored in two stops, The twin lakes and Ulun Danu Baratan Temple. Our…
