You’ve seen Under the Tuscan Sun, right? You know, the one where a North American woman finds herself visiting Tuscany and decides to buy a property, then the hilarity of house fixing in a foreign land ensues. Yeah, that’s me right now, but in Lagos, Nigeria.
Last year, my cousin Kathy contacted me and my sis and the rest of the family on our mother’s side to get together for a family reunion. It had been way too long since we had seen one another — our last reunion was in July 2005! Since then, unfortunately, we’ve only seen each other … [Read more]
Last June, we found ourselves happily basking under the sunny skies of Los Angeles. Chuck and I were looking forward to spending three-days in the golden state of California. It was my first time in LA and I didn’t know what to expect. But what I immediately fell in love with were the beaches, the … [Read more]
After the subtle hues and dusty drives of the Serengeti, we made our way over the Indian Ocean to visit Tanzania’s island paradise. Zanzibar island, just a few miles off the coast of the mainland, is part of Tanzania. It became one country in 1964. The mainland was originally named Tanganyika and when they united … [Read more]
“Tanzania is not a real place.” I uttered this pretty much every day, to every person, on every post, when we visited there in fall 2022. And a year later I am finally putting my thoughts down here and I’m now wondering, “was it all a dream? It was real, right?” Actually, it was both. From … [Read more]
After an epic first two days on safari, we bid farewell to Steven, our ranger in Lake Manyara, and hello to our Ngorongoro ranger, Joseph. He drove us through Tanzania for an hour or so until we reached the crater viewpoint… Yeah, breathtaking. Ngorongoro Crater Lodge We then drove along the crater’s rim until we … [Read more]
After a couple days exploring Lake Manyara, it was off to the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge for a couple of nights staying on the top rim of the world’s largest inactive, unbroken and unfilled volcanic caldera. Yes, I needed Google to get that description. But before setting off to safari down in the crater, our ranger … [Read more]
Take a ride on the wild side. Our first day of an eight-day safari had us vibrating with anticipation. Or was that the first stop, Lake Manyara National Park, where it seems to house all the ecosystems: lake, marshlands, saline flats, grassy plains, lush forests, rocky escarpments. All brimming with wildlife. Weeeeeee! Let’s do this! … [Read more]
In spring 2022 most of the travel restrictions had been lifted and Chuck and I were itching to hit the road somewhere. We thought a U.S. road trip to the south would be fun. Especially to our ears if we hit up some of the great music cities of the south. Think jazz in New … [Read more]
After exploring the history, the beach, the jungle and the village, the last bits of our Nigerian adventure I want to highlight is the large city of Lagos itself. The bad (traffic), the bold (flavours) and the beautiful (fabrics, Victoria Island). So, without further adieu… The traffic It’s insane. I.N.S.A.N.E. I can’t think of any … [Read more]
Hello friends! It’s been a minute on here. That’s because I started a new job last fall and I’ve been absorbed in it ever since. If you know me personally, you probably know I have worked in digital spaces, specifically in content marketing and social media for quite awhile. But last year, I decided to … [Read more]
Let’s face it, for the most part — and I mean REALLY REALLY most part — 2020 sucks bags of dirt. Big bags of stinky, grimy, dirt. As Muhammad Ali once said: “The year floated in like a bull in a china shop and stung like not only a bee, but a wasp and a … [Read more]
I miss hugs, i miss human interaction, i miss gathering with my community
The last few years have been hectic. HECK-TIC! My partner Chuck and I have been furiously renovating our new home, figuring out how to parent teenagers and also figuring out how to cohabitate with each other. That left very little room to ponder and write about my trip to Italy with my sister Sherri. But … [Read more]
Last night, I was watching the Stingray Retro channel, like I do, when this music video came on… Classic. And when the video credits appeared I almost fell out of my chair! Look at that date! Really? 2003??? That song is from 2003? That’s 17 years ago! Jesus, I didn’t think it was that old. … [Read more]
