If you're in the area: John James Audubon in Henderson, Kentucky

I grew up in Henderson, Kentucky, but knew very little about John James Audubon State Park in my time there. I went to its picnic shelters every summer for family reunions, church socials and class parties. I swam in the lake a couple of times. I went with my elementary school class to what was then a small museum space that didn't have much in it. My parents would say that the park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and what a great program the CCC was, but I didn't really understand what they meant. To me, in the 1980s, the park was the place with lots of picnic shelters, with a lake to swim in, with the museum that, from the outside, looked like a beautiful fairy tale castle, and with a carriage house or something nearby that was never open except for the bathrooms. And a golf course I had never seen (and still haven't). It was nice... but not anything I ever recommended as a must-see place to visit. 

Here we are almost 40 years later and the park has been transformed into a wonderful destination and celebration of both the work of the CCC and conservationists, with a kick-your-butt back country trail and access to a lake that I only heard about as a kid (back then, I don't think there was an open trail to it). The cabins are beautiful and I believe they are open for rentals year-round. The main lake no longer has swimming, having been restored to make it more wildlife-friendly, but I believe you can take a kayak out on it.  

The museum space inside is GREATLY expanded with artifacts and information from the life of John James Audubon and why his work led to the creation of Audubon societies all over the world. There's also regular presentations inside about the importance of wildlife conservation and the wildlife of the area. That always-closed carriage house - actually, the Tea House - is now open and serves as the park's office (and it's totally worth it to visit - the woodwork is gorgeous). And events (hikes, presentations, workshops, art fetivals and more) abound - you need to follow the park on Facebook to be able to keep up. 

The trails are amazing. There's over six miles of trails, and some will have your calves screaming because of the inclines. We didn't get to do the expanded trails along the river, which you access outside the park on Warbler Road, next to the Ohio River, but we did do the backcountry trail and I'm still hurting from it. 

The trails do NOT allow dogs except for one, near the campground. But you can take your dog on all of the roads through the park, and that's a few miles of terrific, scenic exercise. Wish they had trails along the roads to make it safer for walking along them. 

The park now has reminders about the CCC everywhere: a statue, a couple of plaques, mentions in the museum, and more. My parents' mentions of the CCC have stuck with me all the years and, after studying the CCC in high school and at my university, I became a CCC fan girl: when I travel, I immediately notice CCC-built structures in parks and public spaces, and make a point of visiting any that might be nearby as I travel. I have a photo album tribute to the CCC, noting all of the CCC-built places I've been and memorabilia I've come across. 

We went to the park over two days: the first just to hike, and the second, to spend time in the museum. If you go, be sure to take some snacks and water - there's no restaurant in the park. 

The park is easy to turn into if you are coming from Henderson, but REALLY difficult to turn into if you are coming from Evansville, Indiana. Please be really, really cautious when turning in and out of the park onto Highway 41. 

With all that said, I do have some criticisms of the park. Here is an email I sent to the park manager, the head of Kentucky State Parks, and the Friends of Audubon State Park group after my November 2023 visit: 

I visited John James Audubon State Park during my Thanksgiving holiday in Kentucky. I haven’t been there since I was a teen - more than 40 years ago. The vastly expanded museum and hiking trails, the restored lake, the quality of the groundskeeping - it was amazing. I was particularly pleased to see so much information about and tributes to the Civilian Conservation Corps - that is a legacy I always knew, because of the park and because my father always noted it when I was growing up. I have followed the park on Facebook for years and knew the park now regularly had events - guided hikes, science talks, workshops for kids - but being onsite and seeing everything for myself, firsthand, really brought home what a treasure the park is now. Kudos to everyone who has, over many years, made this possible. Well done.

However, there are some things I feel compelled to note that need to be addressed urgently.

One thing that should be simple to fix: please put closed captioning on your films on rotation in your theater. This is a very easy fix, something anyone with video editing software could do for you. I bet there are students or faculty at area universities and colleges that would be happy to make this happen for you on a volunteer basis. This would help both the hearing impaired and people who are not native English speakers to better experience the films.

I was deeply disturbed by the lack of focus - even mention - in the museum that John James Audubon enslaved people and that he dismissed and belittled the abolitionist movement. When the Audubon family lived in Henderson, Kentucky, they had enslaved people working for them in their household, and they bought and sold enslaved people. Think of the families they broke up. Think of the lives they destroyed. This is all well documented on this web page of the National Audubon Society's own web site: https://www.audubon.org/news/the-myth-john-james-audubon

Why not reproduce this web page on a series of display boards and put these up in the museum? Why not be open and honest and transparent on the very dark side of this man? You don't have to answer this question - was he a good man who did something horrific or was he a bad man who did something good? - but welcome the discussion! The answer, either way, could lead to a lot of self-examination by visitors.

The other very large hole in all that's wonderful about the park is the lack of prominent acknowledgment of the people settled in the area long before European Americans came: no statue, no information board, no anything that I could find. That's as shameful as not acknowledging Audubon's enslavement of people and his defense of slavery.

I hope that all of this is being addressed already by funders and supporters of John James Audubon State Park. In fact, if there is a fundraising campaign to make any of this happen, let me know: I'll donate to it and publicize it.

Here is the response I got. I'm pleased about the revamp, but wish, in the interim, they would just print out the web page I mentioned, as a couple of large signs, and just put them on some easels. 

Dear Ms. Cravens,

I wanted to express my gratitude for your visit to Audubon State Park during the holiday. I'm delighted that you had the opportunity to enjoy our park's trails and grounds. I will be sure to share your kind words with our grounds team. It is a priority for us to preserve and convey the unique history of the park, particularly our association with the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Thank you as well for suggesting the addition of closed captioning to our videos. I believe this is an excellent idea and being personally aware of the challenges faced by individuals with hearing impairments, I fully understand the importance of such accommodations.

I wanted to inform you that the Kentucky Department of Parks is currently working on the design for a comprehensive restoration of the Audubon Museum building. As part of this restoration, we intend to revamp the museum layout, install new display cases, and incorporate significant information and scholarly works pertaining to the entire life of John James Audubon. It is essential for us to not only celebrate Audubon's contributions to natural history and bird depictions but also acknowledge and comprehend his history as an enslaver and anti-abolitionist.

While our collection of indigenous art and artifacts is limited, we are continuously searching for items that will enrich our understanding of the area's history. Our objective is to present a comprehensive history to our guests, allowing them to interpret the information in their own way.

Once again, thank you for sharing your ideas and concerns with us.

Best regards,

David Miller
Park Manager
John James Audubon State Park

Visit New Harmony, Indiana

New Harmony is a picturesque historic town on the Wabash River in Posey County, Indiana, and if you are anywhere nearby, you absolutely should take a day to visit. I grew up in Henderson, Kentucky, and I had never been until last month, almost 40 years after moving away - embarrassing, because it's so close by! It's about 26 miles from Evansville, Indiana. It's midway between St. Louis, Missouri and Louisville, Kentucky. 

The best days to go, IMO, are Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday - lots of businesses are closed Monday and Tuesday. Go in dry weather, because you will spend a lot of time outside. 

The town is filled with beautifully-preserved houses and buildings from the 1800s. I highly recommend renting a golf cart outside the Atheneum, the large white modern building next to the Wabash River at the edge of town, to tour the town. Get a map while you are there or download one on your phone. 

Understanding the history will help you appreciate the town even more:

New Harmony was established by the Harmony Society in 1814 and was originally known as Harmony (also called Harmonie, or New Harmony). It was a settlement for a group of German Lutherans who had separated from the official church in Württemberg and immigrated to the USA. They were nonviolent pacifists who refused to serve in the military and tried to live by George Rapp's philosophy and literal interpretations of the New Testament. The Harmonites believed Jesus Christ was coming to earth in their lifetime to help usher in a thousand-year kingdom of peace on earth. They believed that the old ways of life on earth were coming to an end and that a new perfect kingdom on earth was about to be realized. 

The Harmonites believed that people should try to make themselves "pure" and "perfect", and share things with others while willingly living in communal "harmony" (Acts 4:32-35) and practicing chastity. The Harmonites tended to view unmarried celibate life as morally superior to marriage, based on Rapp's belief that God had originally created Adam as a dual being with both male and female sexual organs. According to this view, when the female portion of Adam separated to form Eve, disharmony followed, but one could attempt to regain harmony through celibacy. Rapp often spoke of the virgin spirit or Goddess named Sophia in his writings. The Hamonites built 180 buildings in the 10 years and many are still standing today. They produced textiles, rope, barrels, tin ware, leather goods, candles, bricks, wine, whiskey and beer. Read about the Harmonites at the Harmony_Society entry on Wikipedia.

But what I am MUCH more interested is what happened after that settlement failed and was sold to Robert Owen, a social reformer and wealthy industrialist from Scotland. Owen's vision was for "a New Moral World" of happiness, enlightenment, and prosperity through education, science, technology, and communal living. Per the call of Owen inviting others to come be a part of his intentional community, in the winter of 1825–1826, the president, librarian, and several members of the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences headed west from Pittsburgh on the Ohio River to New Harmony. Academy President William Maclure, “father of American geology,” had gathered them all aboard the keelboat Philantropist [they used the French spelling]: scientists, artists, musicians, and educators, some bringing along their students, and all eager to settle in New Harmony on the Indiana frontier. Owen described it as a “Boatload of Knowledge.” 

This New Harmony was very different from the original founders: the community provided free co-educational schooling for children from infancy to adulthood half a century before the state mandated it. Town residents also established the first public library and a civic drama club. Among its prominent citizens was one of Owen's sons, Robert Dale Owen, an Indiana congressman and social reformer who sponsored legislation to create the Smithsonian Institution. It was a bold, glorious experiment in communal living with a focus on learning, on the arts and on science. But like pretty much every communal experiment in the USA, most of which were religious-based, the town failed as a utopia - in this case, because of disputes over who had power and influence and who didn't, as well as philosophic disputes. New Harmony was dissolved in 1829 and the town's parcels of land and property were returned to private use. But although Robert Owen's vision of New Harmony as an advance in social reform was not realized, the town became a scientific center of national significance, especially in the natural sciences, most notably geology. And the soul of the town continued through the work of many of its residents, including Robert Dale Owen, eldest son of Robert Owen: in 1830 he published Moral Philosophy, the first treatise in the United States to support birth control, and he returned to New Harmony in 1834.

With this history in mind, going into the Working Men's Institute - part library, part museum, part memorial to a Utopian dream - is a must.  

You should also go into any building or business that's open during your visit, like Community House No. 2, any historic church, whatever. If there is a tour of the town being offered that takes you into houses or buildings, take it! If you hear music coming from a building and the door is open, go in! 

Go into Creation Station 310 and behold the gorgeous dulcimers available for sale - and stay if the owner is playing one! He may even show you how to play one (he did with me!). Visiting Creation Station 310 was the highlight of our entire visit. 

Give yourself time for a hike or a ride on your golf cart on the trails from the open-air church to the Atheneum.  

If the Roofless Church is having a service, and it's a beautiful day, I would think that would be a worthwhile experience, regardless of your religion (or, like me, lack their of). 

I wasn't that impressed with the labyrinth, I must admit. I love the symbolism of it, but actually seeing it didn't really do anything for me. Apparently, for the original founders of the town, the Harmonists, the labyrinth symbolized the difficulties of attaining true harmony and the choices one faces in life trying to reach that goal. The labyrinth was a place of meditation for the Harmonists. Maybe if the shrubs had been full of leaves and had been higher... but I did find it interesting that the labyrinth was so important to the Harmonists, they of the Christian faith, rather than the scientifically-focused settlers who came later. 

There are also a lot of antique shops, including a record store, and some food options in beautiful settings. Christmas is a very big deal for the town. 

You can do everything in a day... but if you are looking to stay overnight, there is Harmonie State Park nearby, which has cabins, as well as some picturesque guest houses. 

The Visit New Harmony official web site has complete info on where you can stay, eat, shop, tour, etc. 

You can see all of my photos from my November 2023 visit to New Harmony here. I loved the town so much, I've been joking with my friends that it's where we should all move when we retire, to create the second attempt at a science and arts-focused learning utopia there. But... am I really joking?

Our September 2022 motorcycle adventure

I hadn't been on an extended motorcycle trip since 2020, when we went to Baja, California, Mexico and the world got COVID. I had planned on going with Stefan to Colorado in 2021, but my dog was injured and I had to stay home (Lucinda the dog is fine now, BTW). 

And so, off we went, in September 2022, for 16 days visiting historic towns and eating biscuits and gravy and riding almost 3000 miles in Washington state, Idaho, Montana and Oregon. We stayed relatively close to home and decided to concentrate on historic, abandoned towns - ghost towns - most new to us, but at least one we've seen before, many years ago, and wanted to see again. 

We had really low expectations for the trip - and it turned into one of our very best.

The travelogue is here, with photos. Or, just go look at the photos. 

Highlights:

• This bed.
• Thirteen Mile Trailhead, because it also had campsites.
• Molson historic site in Washington state, right at the Canadian border.
• Ovando, Montana.
• Return to Garnet Ghost town in Montana.
• Return to Highway 12 / Lolo Pass in Idaho.
• Washington state road 129 and Oregon state road 3 from Clarkston, Washington to Enterprise (wow!).
• Crystal Crane Hot Springs (outside of Burns, Oregon).
• Stefan saving someone's life (yes, really).
• Return to the Alvord desert.
• Rediscovering how wonderful US395 North of Burns is to ride!

Two new travel resources from me

A blog about something travel-related again! 

I've created two new pages on the travel-portion of my web site: one to encourage people to be better prepared for a public health crisis while traveling and one to encourage people to travel with respect to others and their surroundings. Both were inspired by the current global pandemic or current political climate. 

travel with respect
To be able to travel - and to travel abroad - is a sign of your privilege. You absolutely should travel if you are able - it's a wonderful, soul-enriching act. But never forget that to be able to travel depends on your economic status, your passport and how the world labels or categorizes you. To be able to travel is a privilege. People without your privilege see you, the person that has such. And, sometimes, they see your pity and condensation. Or your outright disrespect and arrogance. And that contributes how they see and treat all travelers - including me. These are tips for how not to be an asshole while traveling - and I can't believe anyone needs this guidance but, based on what I've seen - yeah, a lot of people don't know this.

Traveling during a global pandemic
Welcome to the reality that, while you are out having a great time far from home, an intense disaster, even a global pandemic, can break out and not only alter your travel plans but force you to evacuate and get home ASAP. It's actually always been a possibility, but while there were stories here and there of travelers stranded somewhere because of a disaster, or having difficulty re-entering their home country because they are coming from a place with a widespread disease outbreak, the novel coronavirus pandemic has brought home the reality that this can happen to anyone, anywhere. If you are going to travel before the global pandemic is over, these are suggestions that will keep you safe, keep others safe from you, and help you prepare beforehand in case you need to get out of a dicey situation.

I have no idea if these will really help people. I'm expecting criticism for being sanctimonious and a killjoy. So be it. 

Sweet home, Chicago...

I love Chicago.

I think the first time I went to Chicago was in the summer of 1987. I could be wrong. But I do know I took a Greyhound bus from Evansville, Indiana to Chicago, and spent my time there with my friend Dennis from high school and my friend Monica from university - both theater geeks like me. Chicago seemed like another planet, bigger than I could comprehend. I saw a terrific dinner theater production of Dream Girls on that trip ("And I am telling you I'm not going...")

I went again a few years later, to see my friend Carmen and ring in a new year. I will always associate the city with her - no one loved it like she did. She told me tales from that city that could have filled a book - I should have written a book just one what she told me.

I went a third time in 2008 or so, flown over from Germany to speak at a conference. On that trip, Stefan got to see more of the city than me, although we did have a meal at an Italian restaurant that was epic in terms of its food and in terms of the clientele - take me out for a drink and I'll tell ya about it... you won't believe it.

So, not counting the many times I've transferred flights in Chicago, this was my fourth trip to the windy city. This time, it was primarily to see a friend I worked with in Kabul, Afghanistan, who I hadn't seen since 2007. But this was the first time I'd been in charge of my own schedule in the city. My goal, other than seeing my friend, was to see the Art Institute because I felt like it was ridiculous that I'm 53 years old and still hadn't been there. Luckily, another friend drove up from Hendo to see me and she also wanted to go.

It. Was. Amazing. I love art museums. I love the permanent exhibits, I love the special exhibits, I love them all. I love the British Museum, I love the Louvre, I love the Prado, I love the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I love the Speed Museum and now I get to love the Art Institute as well.

Here's some important advice: go through the side entrance, not the main entrance: the lines are shorter, including at the coat check. Trust me on this.

We toured the American Art collection, European Painting and Sculpture, the Modern and Contemporary Art and the special Warhol exhibit. That took up almost the entire day - I would have loved to have seen more, but there's a point where you aren't seeing the art anymore, when your brain is full and it's time for a coffee.

The highlight for me? Edward Hopper's Nighthawks. It's one of my favorite images ever. I love the subject, the composition, the themes and interpretation that's on the surface and what you can make up about it. It represents so many things to me... more than I can put into a blog.

I also was thrilled to see The Picture of Dorian Gray by Ivan Albright - I audibly gasped when I saw it, because I wasn't expecting it, and I walked around a corner and, ta da, there it was! I love the movie so much, I love the story so much... did George Sanders look at this painting? Did Angela Lansbury? Sigh...

I loved seeing Paris Street; Rainy Day, by Gustave Caillebotte. I can hear the rain...

All the Degas and Renoir was a thrill - anything by those two of my very favorites.

It was nice to see Grant Wood's American Gothic and Georges Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, but they weren't the thrill the others were.

As for the Warhol: most of his stuff doesn't do it for me, and then, WHAM, I will love something. I love the Mao portrait more than I can put into words - what it represents, or, what I think it represents, I love what it mocks... it's just stunning. Same for his The Last Supper, covered in military camouflage. I LOVED Ethel Scull 36 Times: Warhol took socialite Scull to a Times Square photo booth and prompted her to take 300 black and white photographs of herself. Warhol told her jokes so her headshots would be animated. The result is a character study - it's awesome. And I laughed out loud at the Poloroid Hammer & Sickle with Wonder Bread. And I LOVED the Elvis prints, so much that I wish I had looked better, because I would have loved a photo with them (I wasn't looking good that day - not good enough for Elvis).

But I feel like most of what gets exhibited from Warhol are outtakes - and I'm not fond of outtakes for MOST artists. When I watch "scenes deleted" section of a DVD's special features, I rarely think "Oh, they should have included that!" They are experiments, they are tryouts, and they are NOT always brilliant. I think half of this could have been left out of the exhibit and we wouldn't have missed out on anything. I don't think all of his portraits are brilliant - Liza and Mick Jaggar, yes. Truman Capote or Pele? Meh.

I loved all of Chicago, from the friendly folks at my airport hotel to the gritty L trains full of hilarious people and more stories than I can possibly tell on a blog, to the glitter of the night sky. And I loved Volare restaurant so much, I went twice: the food and the service was oh-so-excellent. They fussed over my friend from Afghanistan when I brought her for her first Italian meal ever, and then recognized me two nights later and were THRILLED to see me.

I would love to have stayed at Cambria on Superior Street, where my colleague from Afghanistan got to stay, but it was almost twice as expensive a night as the place I found out by Midway, so... loved the paintings of Chicago's own Bill Murray, Harrison Ford and Michael Jordan in the lobby.

I loved the diversity of Chicago, the different American and foreign accents all around me, the hugeness of the city, the African cab drivers, and the FRIENDLINESS of Chicagoans, whether they were born there or immigrated there. It's glorious.

And a million songs go through my head when I'm in Chicago, everything from Blues Brothers covers to the Chicago song from Victor Victoria. I just so wish I'd visited when Robbie Fulks was doing his infamous weekly shows there - he's moved to Los Angeles now...

Sweet home, Chicago, indeed. I just wish I hadn't left my favorite gloves in one of the cabs I took.

More about my travels.

Motorcycle Tour of Northern California & Southwestern Oregon: 11 days, 10 nights, 2095 mile

Motorcycle Tour of Northern California & Southwestern Oregon: 11 days, 10 nights, 2095 miles, September 2019. Includes

• My first stay in a yurt
• Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument
• McArthur Burney Falls State Park
• Salmon River Road between Somes Bar and Cecilville, California
• Shasta-Trinity National Forest
• California state road 36
• Empire Mine State Historic Park and Grass Valley
• Downieville, California
• Janesville, California (they misspelled it!)
• Modoc National Forest
• Bear Camp Coastal Route in Josephine County, Oregon 
• Seeing the Southwestern part of the Oregon Coast
• historic campground stoves
• & my first water crossing!

More about my travels

Memory: 10 years ago in June

My first blog space is long gone, but many of my first blogs were captured and are on the Internet Wayback Machine, also known as archive.org, if you know where to look. 

Here's one of my blogs from the evening of 28 June 2009 - I'd been back in the USA for just over two months, after living in Germany since February 2001, and was adjusting to life back in my home country and home state. I had to change the MySpace links though:

Our adventure in Louisville continues:

Stefan went to his first baseball game (it was also Albi's first baseball game and his first dirt track race. Guess which he liked more? And Stefan went on his own to a motorcycle gathering for motorcycle travelers/adventure riders in Eastern Kentucky (hurrah! there are such people in the USA! He's been worried...)

We've also made trips to Mammoth Cave (took the Historic tour; Stefan liked it very much), Maker's Mark Distillery (free samples!), Lincoln's Birthplace and various places on Bardstown Road (the Irish pubs, the Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen, and the The Falafel House, where I dazzled the staff with my SEVEN words of Arabic).

Special thanks to my friend Jennifer, who made Stefan feel extra welcomed by donning a black wig, blacking out her front teeth, and running across the parking lot of Lynn's Paradise Cafe while yelling, "Stefan! Stefan! Welcome to Kentucky." He's still recovering from that cultural experience. I spent the whole event laying on the sidewalk convulsing with laughter.

Stefan now has his green card.

I've been listening to the local public radio station, WFPL, and often, the announcer says, "This news hour is brought to you by: The Embassy of Germany. Learn more about Germany as a vacation destination or as a partner for your business..." I'm impressed! The public radio audience in Louisville is *exactly* the type of audience that Germany should be going after, no kidding. We've wondered for the last eight years how Germany advertises to Americans. Through June, we only have access to TV-by-antennae, and so far, I haven't seen any advertisements for Germany -- guess the network TV audience isn't their desired demographic.

Watched Sheba, Baby, a rather bad movie with the fabulous Pam Grier, on TV the other day, because it turned out to have been filmed in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1970s. My how the city has changed! Awful movie, but the city scenes, and Grier's outfits, were fun.

It's so nice to have TV in English again, I cannot lie... I also got to enjoy the Tony Awards live for the first time since 2000. My verdict on the 2009 show: Best. Opening. EVA. And, as well, Greatest. Closing. EVA. Host Neil Patrick Harris was terrific (there wasn't enough of him actually), musical numbers were terrific, and except for Carrie Fisher's TRAIN WRECK of an outfit, everyone's dresses were terrific. Ultimate compliment is from Carmen Thornton, expert on Tony Awards and wine maven at Old Town in Louisville: "This stands up to the 1987 Tony award, which I have on tape." What more of an endorsement do you need?

I've taken TARC, the local bus system, a few times this summer and enjoyed it immensely. The drivers were friendly and helpful, the buses were clean, and the web site is comprehensive and detailed. Only complaint: TARC doesn't allow dogs. Highlights of my TARC trips:

• A very old black gentlemen -- one of those unofficial-mayor-of-the-neighborhood types -- regaling everyone at a downtown bus stop with incredible stories of when Al Capone and various famous performers of the era would visit Louisville, where black entertainers stayed during Jim Crow, etc.

• A middle-aged white good ole' boy standing in the front of the bus talking to the driver, telling her in his strong Kentucky accent, "Well, I don't want to sound sissified or nuthin', but that thar Yoga really helps me calm down. You'd think hittin' a hammer all day would really release all yer anger, but it don't like Yoga does."

• A young white woman telling two different people on the bus, with no shame whatsoever, that she had spent Sunday night in jail on a suspended license and what a HUGE inconvenience it was not to be able to use her car now, adding, "I've NEVER been in no trouble before" (so, dear madam, how then do you explain that suspended license?).

• Realizing why the young, large black woman looked so very, very uncomfortable in her seat in the front of the bus: the bus driver stopped at an intersection next to a hospital, even though the light was green, and honked the horn until the guy in scrubs crossing the street and wearing an MP3 player turned around to see what the noise was; the driver yelled, "Hey, come over here and help this woman over to the hospital. She's havin' a baby." When someone on the bus remarked how sad it was that the woman had had to take public transportation to the hospital to have a baby, the driver said, "Well, that's how I did it myself!"

If you had told me back in March that, by now, we would have taken our dog Albi to two bars (Molly Malone's and the Nach Bar) and a minor league baseball game, I would have said, "That's crazy! How many Hefe Weissens have you had tonight?!?" But it's true - Louisville is dog-friendly. In addition, I've seen dogs with their owners at outdoor areas of many restaurants on Bardstown Road and people walking their dogs all over town. Now, if we could only take her on the city buses and it was cooler in the summer, life in Louisville would be perfect!

USA men's soccer victory over Spain in the Confederations Cup? Rapturous. It was all I could do to stop myself from honking the horn of the U-Haul wildly as I drove across Tennessee (heading back from Austin). The loss to Brazil? Heart-breaking. And I'm someone who has had her heart broken over sports many, many times...

Yes, we road tripped to Austin, to deal with various matters, since Austin was my official home while I lived in Germany. Highlights of that trip: seeing Star Trek (awesome) at the Alamo Draft House (also awesome) while eating artichoke pizza (also awesome), playing table shuffleboard at Shoal Creek Saloon and the bartender donning a mullet wig, taking Stefan to Ginny's Little Longhorn, eating at Enchiladas y Mas and our hosts, Sharron and Ron.

Unfortunately, we're having to move again before leaving Louisville, because the place we're renting has another tenant waiting. Most of our things are in storage, and we're moving just up the street, but we still have enough to make it annoying to have to move again.

And then we'll move again at the end of July and head to Portland, Oregon (or there abouts).

And we did head to Portland, and stay, and almost 10 years later, we're still in the greater Portland metro area... or there abouts... 

More about my travels

2018 Nevada motorcycle trip

 

In the last two weeks of July, we went on our annual two-week motorcycle trip. This time, we toured Nevada, as well as parts of Oregon and a wee bit of California. We spent 13 days, going over 2657 miles / 4276 kilometers. We stayed at the historic hotel in French Glen, Oregon, rode around Steens Mountain, rode most of US Highway 50 in Nevada (the "loneliest road in the USA"), visited Eureka, Ely, Rachel and Tonopah, Nevada, stayed two nights in Great Basin National Park, stayed a night in Cathedral Gorge State Park and took the Extraterrestrial Highway.

You can read the travelogue or go straight to the photos.

As always, my goal isn't so much hey, look what I did! as it is here's advice if you want to do something similar.

Motorcycle trip in Washington State: a Smokey Adventure

I just realized that I didn't link to my travelogue about our annual motorcycle trip. This year, it was 10 days in Washington State: a Smokey Motorcycle Adventure in August.

Our 2017 trip included Gifford Pinchot National Forest (our favorite), Mt. Rainier National Park, Wenatchee National Forest (new for us), Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (new for us), North Cascades National Forest (new for us), Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (new for us), Olympic National Forest (new for us), and Olympic National Park (new for us), as well as Trout Lake and Packwood, which we've been to before, plus these new cities for us in Washington state: Naches, Ellensburg, Leavenworth, Methow, Chelan, Winthrop, Newhalem, Marblemount, Concrete, Oak Harbor, Amanda Park, Humptulips and Aberdeen.

As a result of our Washington state trip, of August 30, 2017, I have ridden 23,496 miles (37,813 km) on my KLR (Kawasaki). I've ridden 34,496 (55,516 km) overall on motorcycles (my previous bike was a Honda Nighthawk).

But what's even more fun to think about is not the number of miles or kilometers, but the things I've seen. And that's why I write travelogues.

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trying, stumbling, experiencing - it's all a virtue & it's extraordinary

I've known Marnie Webb for many years, per our association through TechSoup. Recently, she posted something to her Facebook profile that I really wanted to share on my blog. I asked Marnie if I could, and she said yes, and that it was fine to use her name. What Marnie doesn't know - but will know now - is that I cried when I read this. Because I know exactly how she feels. Exactly. It's why I started a travel section on my web site. Enjoy:

You know, in all seriousness, I spent most of my life terrified of flying. Like. Well. I'll spare you. Terrified. I got through it (I hesitate to say I'm over it because it can hit me terribly in unexpected moments) because I had to. I had to do my job and earn money and that meant, for the job I have, getting on a plane. For the job I want to have.

And then when I learned how to manage that, I replaced it with other fears. Getting lost. Dealing with languages. Stepping over some cultural line.

I would not have guessed, five years ago even two years ago, that I would be a person who has a long layover in a city and leaves the airport to explore. Who takes the public metro. Who changes currency. Who wanders confident they can get back to the airport. But here I am.

I post pictures of places that are spectacular. Rio. And this week Copenhagen and today Lisbon. I go to US cities that stun me, including a small one in northern Mississippi and big ones on the east coast. I eat dinner at restaurants, rather than getting room service, and talk to strangers. Today, in Lisbon I was resolute in practicing my faulty Brazilian Portuguese.

This change hinges on one thing: the idea that it is okay not to be perfect. That trying is a virtue in and of itself.

More than anything, I learned this from running. The slow build up to the day that I ran 13 miles because it was on my calendar to run 13 miles that day. The good days running and the bad. The injuries. All the times The Spawn slow rode her bicycle next to me and cheered me on. And then, bigger and stronger, ran next to me.

Anyway. I'm kind of marveling at it today. Perhaps because I just did something I didn't have to do -- left the airport for a little sightseeing on a long layover -- and I feel like it gave more than it cost. I wandered a city for a few hours and got on a train back to the airport. I made a mistake on buying a ticket on the metro and a stranger helped -- not different than I would do in San Francisco but something I never expected.

I sat on the steps next to the water and watched boats and people. I got a coffee and a little breakfast. I bought things for my family.

These seem small, you know. They seem ordinary. And they are. And today, to me, that seems so extraordinary.

How Trump's presidency endangers American travelers abroad

This blog elsewhere talks about the increased danger aid workers from the USA will now face when working abroad, and many of these risks are the same for anyone traveling overseas. For instance, Trump has said he will reauthorize waterboarding and other forms of torture. This, coupled with his stated attitudes about Muslims, immigrants and refugees from Syria, has the potential to put people from the USA traveling overseas at risk, not just aid workers.

When I lived abroad from 2001 - 2009, and someone discovered where I was from, the European, Arab, Muslim, whomever I was talking to was almost always welcoming and warm. The vast majority of people did not judge me by the George Bush government nor my nationality. But that was a different time and circumstance: George Bush did not frequently threaten other countries with destruction and insult entire religions. He invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, which caused the deaths of many thousands of people, but there were also people in those countries that supported those invasions, and some neighboring countries that did as well. I worked in Afghanistan in 2007, and I made sure the Afghans I worked with knew my heart was in helping them, not bombing them - and everyone I encountered welcomed me (and many are still good friends).

By contrast to Bush, Donald Trump has been boisterous with his threats and insults and promises of human rights abuses and destruction. Therefore, if you are someone from the USA that is traveling abroad, that means you need to be even more cautious about to whom you reveal your nationality.

I did not wear anything that indicated that I was from the USA when I lived and abroad, and I did not volunteer my nationality unless I was asked directly. I strongly suggest you do the same.

If you are financially sound enough - privileged enough - to travel abroad, and people can tell you are from the USA by looking at you or hearing you, you can expect people to ask you about this election and how you voted. You have to decide how you are going to answer that. If you voted for Hillary Clinton, you will probably receive a warm reception; she is well liked and respected abroad in most (but not all) circumstances, and such a vote shows you do not support Donald Trump. If you did vote for Donald Trump, I strongly suggest you lie - except in Russia, where you will be embraced as a hero.

Distancing yourself on social media, including Facebook, from the policies and statements of Donald Trump could help you as you meet people from other countries, people deeply angered and further disempowered by Trump’s foreign policy. That doesn’t mean you post anti-Trump memes on Instagram or are ever obligated to say publicly whom you voted for. Rather, it could mean posting sometimes on social media of your support of and concern for Muslim Americans, Syrian refugees, people in Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, the Occupied Palestinian territories, human rights for immigrants, etc., and your condemnation of waterboarding, torture and any violations of human rights.

Another consideration is how the Trump presidency puts women at greater risk for harassment, at home or abroad. Again, as this blog about aid and development work notes. the incoming USA President has, by his statements and behavior, made it acceptable for anyone, including politicians and other government representatives, to rate women by their looks and to insult women reporters, politicians, artists and celebrities with most vile statements about their character, appearance – even their sexuality. It will be hard to demand such comments stop when the head of the most powerful country on Earth is saying the same.

Be careful out there. Don't assume that just because things have gone well for days or weeks they won't suddenly, and violently, go wrong. Keep your eyes and ears open, and get out of any situation quickly if there is even a hint it could turn sour. And have the number of your nearest embassy on your person somewhere at ALL times.

Motorcycle Adventure Mostly in Idaho

This year's two-week motorcycle adventure tour? Idaho! And it was amazing. A couple of people gave incredulous responses when we said we were going to Idaho for our vacation. After motorcycle trips to the Yukon and back, to Jasper and Banff, Yellowstone, national parks in Utah, and, of course, travel all over Europe, we were going to Idaho?

Yes. It was my idea. I was ready for an adventure closer to home, one that didn't require us to ride for 700 miles over two days on the Interstate just to start a vacation. We'd seen a bit of Idaho every time we went over Lolo Pass for other trips, and we'd been to Craters of the Moon already, which we hugely enjoyed. If we concentrated mostly on Idaho for two weeks, we would, at last, see Hells Canyon, a legendary destination for motorcycle riders, and allow us to explore more the North East of Oregon, something we hadn't done yet since moving here in 2009.

Here is the route we went. Unfortunately, this map doesn't have many city names on it.All of the photos from the trip are online, with descriptions; in fact, I also put all the photos for Silver City, Idaho into their own photo album as well.

Here are the travel point highlights:

• Hells Canyon drive from Oxbow Bridge along the Snake River to the Hell's Canyon dam and then back over Oxbow dam to Cambridge, Idaho
• Historic Silver City, Idaho 
• Bruneau Dunes State Park, Idaho 
• City of Rocks National Reserve, Idaho 
• Sawtooth Scenic Byway, Idaho 
• Salmon River Scenic Byway, Idaho 
• Historic Custer, Idaho 
• Ft. Missoula, Montana 
• Wallace, Idaho 
• Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 
• White Pine Scenic Byway, Idaho 
• Hell's Canyon Overlook, Oregon 
• Joseph, Oregon 
• Painted Hills, Oregon 
• Little Crater Lake, Oregon

Here is the Idaho travelogue

Explore the Oregon Desert Trail - Oct 10, 2016, Portland, Oregon event

Eastern Oregon beckons for your next adventure!

The Oregon Natural Desert Association and the Mountain Shop invite you on  to learn about new opportunities to explore your public land on the 750 mile Oregon Desert Trail on foot, by bike or packraft, via an October 10th event at the Mountain Shop, 1510 NE 37th Ave, Portland, Oregon. Doors open at 5 p.m., with the panel beginning at 6 p.m. Space is limited, so register for the free event at ODTBootsBikeBoat.eventbrite.com.

Join bikepacker Gabriel Amadeus, ultra-runner Christof Teuscher, thru-hiker Brian “Tomato” Boshart, and packrafter Renee “She-ra” Patrick for a panel discussion about their adventures in the high desert, and the importance of public lands for recreation.

Enjoy free beer from Base Camp Brewing, explore lightweight gear options from Six Moon Design, and score some great raffle prizes from Six Moon Designs, Oboz, Sawyer, Clif Bar, TOAKS, Gerber, Gossamer Gear, Trail Butter, Superfeet and more.

The 750 mile Oregon Desert Trail traverses some of the most spectacular natural areas of the state’s dry side, including Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, Steens Mountain and the Owyhee Canyonlands. Thanks to thousands of volunteer and staff hours, the guide material, maps, GPS tracks and waypoints, and town information are all freely available for anyone to create his or her own Oregon Desert Trail adventure. With a western terminus in the Oregon Badlands Wilderness and an eastern terminus in the Lake Owyhee State Park near the Idaho border, this route crosses mountains, vast deserts, rivers and canyons. It links existing trails, old Jeep tracks, historical wagon roads and cross-country navigation, and is accessible at different points by bicycle, horseback and raft in addition to foot. Some sections offer easy walks along well-marked paths. Other areas require GPS skills, significant outdoor experience and serious preparation, particularly for water sources.

The Oregon Desert Trail guide

Also of note, the Oregon Natural Desert Association has asked federal agencies to consider designating the Oregon Desert Trail as a National Recreation Trail "Connecting Trail" linking the existing Fremont National Recreation Trail and the Oregon High Desert National Recreation Trail. (See othis Nov. 8, 2013 letter.) This would result in the more formal adoption of the route, allowing for signage, inclusion on federal maps and more.

The association wants feedback from users and from the communities surrounding the trail so they can work with land management agencies to refine the ODT and offer the best information possible to visitors to our public lands: Please contact the organization at renee@onda.org. And consider sharing your adventures on the trail on our High Desert Trip Reports page.

One week in February in Cuba

Cuba, sí!  For my 50th birthday (well, a month later), I went to Cuba! Why? I list all of the many reasons in my travelogue! I also write in such a way that I hope it will be helpful to anyone planning a similar trip.

Also, since it's become oh-so-fashionable to condemn Westerners for writing about their travel abroad experiences, play "gotcha!", etc. I offer this disclaimer: This is my experience in Cuba, in February 2016. I'm a 50-year-old white women, originally from Kentucky, now living in Oregon, and that's my filter. I've been to more than 35 countries - and I still don't at all consider myself worldly, wise or even mostly appropriate. I wrote this travelogue from a place of honesty and sincerity and my personal perspective, never from a place of unkindness, and it is, no doubt, rife with my prejudices, misunderstandings and ignorance about oh-so-many things - because I'm human, not a machine. I made no attempt to be comprehensive about Cuban life or culture or history - I wrote about what I saw, experienced and felt in one week there. This is account full of opinions, and I make no claims to being impartial. This is Cuba through my lenses, and when you go, or if you live there, or if you lived there, please, by all means, write about it through your lenses.

If you want to skip the travelogue and go straight to the photos, feel free, but the photos have no descriptions on them, at least at the time of this blog's publication - just too busy!

majority of our photos are here. Of course, we took way, way more photos. This is a compilation of the best, from both Stefan's and my photos, except for photos that were put into these other albums (below)

I put all the classic car photos here. I know there are some folks only want to see those. And some are bored by them. 

Here are all the photos from Hemingway's estate. 

Photos from the massive Havana historic cemetery, Necrópolis Cristobal Colon. 

And then there was a day when we went across the river to two historic forts - but at the same time, a massive festival was happening. The narrative will probably be more interesting than the photos... not exactly a pleasant day, but a very insightful one.

Know when I travel by:
Following me at My @jayne_a_broad Twitter feed

Liking my Jayne A Broad Facebook page

Lucinda's first hike! Gravelle Brothers Trail, Tillamook State Forest, Oregon

 

Oh how we have been wanting to hike with our pup, Lucy - I asked about it when we took her in for her first veterinarian visit back in January. But our vet that we shouldn't take her on any big, day-long hikes yet because, as she's a puppy, she's still developing her muscles, and a really long, hard hike could permanently damage her muscles and joints. He suggested we wait until she was at least a year old.

Since then, I've built her up to walking three miles a day, AT LEAST, broken up into two walks, in our very flat neighborhood. Now at 11 months old, and having walked more than four miles in a day a few times, we decided she could go on a half-day hike of up to eight really easy, flat miles, with lots of breaks, or a on more challenging hike with hills of about five miles.

The quest for a nearby long, scenic hike began. We had been trying some hikes out before we got Lucy, per various web searches, and were getting frustrated to find that they were not-at-all scenic. It's so great that the greater Portland Metro area is building all these hike and bike trails in urban areas - I wish everyone was - but as I don't live along these trails, I drive there and I'm disappointed to find that we're hiking under power lines behind neighborhoods - not much scenic at all. It's great if your house is right on the trail, but it's nothing worth driving to. I downloaded the guide to "Great Dog Walking Parks in Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District", but I couldn't tell how long any of the trails were. One, on Jenkins Estate, says the area is more than 60 acres, but every web search turned up just one trail, less than two miles long.

At OregonHikers.org, Stefan found the Gravelle Brothers Trail to University Falls in Tillamook State Forest, a less-than-30 minute drive from our house. It's 2.4 miles one way to the falls, making it 4.8 back and forth, and with the walk to and from the Roger's Camp parking lot, it's over 5 miles total. So that's what we decided to take - not the entire loop, but just to the falls and back out the same way. The Gravelle Brothers Trail is named for the Gravelle twins, Elroy and Edmund, who helped develop and maintain the Tillamook State Forest trail system.

We stopped at Bi-Mart first to pick up a Northwest Forest Pass. The woman staffing the guns and ammo counter couldn't handle the guys oh-so-slowly looking over every bullet option and me. Once she finally got to me, she said there were only two-year passes and day passes available - yet I could see the stack of annual passes in the drawer. Then she couldn't find the price for the day passes. It was 10 minutes of utter nonsense.

We were further delayed behind a large combine on Gales Creek Road that took up almost BOTH lanes of the road - I was terrified a motorcyclist would come around a curve and smash into one of the two giant wheels well over the center lane.

It turns out the Gravelle Brothers Trail head next to Highway 6 is very hard to find. We parked and then walked around the parking lot, amid way-too-many ATVs and dirt bikes for comfort, and were getting very frustrated at not being able to find it - and wondering if it would even be worth it, with all the noise from the riders everywhere. Even the Washington County Sheriff's Deputy that we stopped had no idea where it was - but he very nicely called someone and found out. Here's the scoop on how to find the start of the trail: after you park in the Roger's Camp parking lot, walk back down the road all the way to Hwy 6, and as you face the highway, turn and look to the left, even a little behind you - you should see a little brown sign down next to the highway barriers that ring the parking lot of the state of Oregon site right there next to the road - that is the start of Gravelle Brothers Trail to University Falls. Once you get close to the sign, you will be able to see that it is, indeed, the right trail. It starts off looking very ugly, but gets much better quickly.

The hike turned out to be perfect: a well-maintained trail, mostly dry. The flora was gorgeous this time of year: everything lush and green, lots of clover and moss and flowers that I cannot name. I loved the views from high above down onto streams below. There are some mud pits and streams we had to hop over or ford, and the rocks in the stream crossings could be quite slippery - and it can feel a bit scary when you're very high up on the side of a steep hill, trying to cross a stream on slippery rocks. There are hills, and at a few points, the trail is quite steep. You will go up and down a lot, but if I can get my fat ass up and down it, anyone can. It was shade almost the entire way, which is what we prefer on hikes. The entire day, we met about 10 mountain bikes, all of them going uphill, and only about four groups of hikers - we were stunned at how few people we met and how alone we were most of the time on such a gorgeous Saturday.

Being the dumbass that I am, I forgot my hiking sticks. I really do need them, especially for steep hikes, up or down. Luckily, some kind soul left a self-made walking stick at a point near the start of the trail where it could easily be seen. It was hugely helpful for the hike, especially for those tricky creek crossings. I left it at the trail head after we came back - hope someone else got to use it.

You think you are going to hear ATVs and dirt bikes the entire time hiking - you aren't. We didn't hear them most of the time, despite there being oh so many on their own OHV trails all around.

The footbridge over the river is very narrow and not for anyone absolutely terrified of heights. I am quite scared of heights, but can usually swallow my fear to do something I really want to - I took the ski lift one summer in Lillehammer, Norway, and though I was terrified the entire time and shivered all the way up, I was willing to do it to see the view up top, and that was oh-so-worth it. The footbridge here is so much skinnier and higher above the water than it looks in our photos. Stefan had to walk Lucy over because I was too scared - if she panics, I'll panic, and we'll both end up falling off the bridge and breaking our legs. So oh-so-calm Stefan led her over both times.

We got to University Falls at the perfect time - the seven people there were finishing up their visit and leaving. We ate lunch there by ourselves for several minutes, and when a group of people showed up, it was time for us to leave. The falls can get quite crowded, since there is a parking lot above the falls and most visitors drive there, but our timing was perfect and we avoided the crowds.

On our way back out on the trail, unfortunately, someone started shooting at a nearby quarry. The sound of gunshots so close by was terrifying. Lucy did well - she was curious, but never panicked. We met one group of hikers that had turned around and was going back to the trail head, scared of where the guns were and where the bullets were going. After about 30 minutes, the shooters let off a large explosion, and I had an immediate, split-second PTSD moment, thinking, "I've got to call security" and then realizing I wasn't in Afghanistan. I was much more annoyed than traumatized, but because of the shooting, I'd have to advise anyone who has served in a combat zone, in the military or as an aid worker, who has issues with the sounds of gunshots and explosions, to think twice before doing the Gravelle Brothers Trail.

Lucy stayed on the trail almost the entire time, and well out front of Stefan on her leash - it was only when we left University Falls that she suddenly wanted off the trail to smell things under bushes, but that only lasted for about 20 minutes, tops. Lucinda's favorite parts of the hike were meeting other dogs! She was scared of all people we met on the trail UNLESS they had a dog - then they were just dandy. At the end of the hike, as we were about to get in the car to leave, two horses came by. We think this was Lucy's first time seeing horses. She was spellbound - but didn't bark. She's the first of my four dogs not to have a meltdown over horses. As they passed, I said, "See, Lucy, see those HUGE dogs?!" And Stefan said, "Yeah, Lucy, some day, you will grow up and be that big, and then we'll ride YOU!" And Lucy chose that exact moment to give Stefan a scared look, and we laughed and laughed...

Some people did have their dogs off leash on the trail, but their dogs were right next to them, and I think that's okay - but you should not have a dog far out ahead of you, on leash or not, as they could get hit by a bicyclist, and that would be a tragedy for everyone.

The Tillamook State Forest is a 364,000 acres (1,470 km2) publicly owned forest in the U.S. state of Oregon. Managed by the Oregon Department of Forestry, it is located 40 miles (64 km) west of Portland in the Northern Oregon Coast Range, and spans Washington, Tillamook, Yamhill, and Clatsop counties. We intend to see a LOT more of it in the coming years!

2014 in review, in brief

2014: the year where nothing went as planned. I know that's pretty much every year, but this year... wow.

It started off with my book being published (and thanks to all of you that bought it).

Early in the year, I found out my ethnic ancestry, which was super fascinating. I also found out I had an ancestor named Henchcliff Higginson, and feel the need to write a novel using that name.

I paid $300 to get not-my-cat Gray Max repaired after a nasty fight with a raccoon- and that's when I knew he was pretty much my cat.

At long last came the third season of Sherlock, the first episode of which I got to watch with the fabulous Lee Family.

A certain religious group decided I was worthy of doing workshops at their annual conferences on Pennsylvania and Canada in the Spring. Yes, a RELIGIOUS group. The highlight of the USA trip was seeing Philadelphia, eating, them puking, a cheesesteak with my friend Ann L. from my theatre days, watching UK in the final four with my book co-author and then the final in the bar of an Italian restaurant in the heart of Amish country (who knew?), and spending a day and evening with Michael S, from my WKU days, and his partner, George, in beautiful Lewes, Delaware. The highlight of the Canada trip was almost being turned away at the border - that's never happened to me before!

And all that is a nice way to start the year!

But then came the sadness. And it just kept coming.

In January, I spent my last day ever with my dear friend Anne Marino, with whom I've been friends with for most of my adult life. She passed away three months later. I think about her so often... I miss her terribly.

In May, I lost my former co-worker and forever friend Michael DeLong, who died suddenly in Seattle. I almost email him once a month.

I mourned the loss of Robin Williams as much as I did my friends. I still can't believe he's gone.

But hardest of all in 2014: the loss of my incredible paternal grandmother, who I've written about again and again, and our heart-breaking last weekend with Albi. Our house is so empty without her.

I thought the highlight of 2014 would be our spectacular two-week June motorcycle trip through Utah and Nevada - 2989 miles / 4810.329 kilometers, even including my first wreck! It was an amazing adventure, one we needed BADLY.

But then, out of the blue, while we celebrated Germany's World Cup victory (oh, that Brazil game!!!) came the offer to work in Ukraine for nine weeks. Still can't believe it. And, of course, how could I be in Ukraine and not go to Chornobyl?

This was followed by a magical trip with Stefan to Dublin, Ireland, a visit in Germany (so great to see Lis, Carrie and Rita!), my first ever trip to Warsaw, Poland, and, at LONG last, a visit to Barcelona! (I've been trying to go there for more than a year and a half!)

Back in the USA in the Fall, my big issue was dealing with the animals left before when my neighbor died. I also worked to prepare Washington, County ballots in the November elections (there was an official video, where you could see me working - but it's gone now...). Sadly, because of the election work, I missed the ceremony for Stefan's promotion to full-fledged volunteer firefighter.

Stefan got to see his first professional theatre production ever: the Broadway tour of The Book of Mormon. He loved it! He also competed in the Oregon state cornhole championship and was featured before the tourney on The Oregonian.

I also finally got to see Gregg Hale - first time since the 1990s.

And as the year ends, I'm debating with myself: keep trying to consult, or try to get a full-time gig doing whatever?

Let's not mention the gas line...

Barcelona: three times a charm!

I moved my blog about my trip to Barcelona to my web site, and added some background regarding the trip.

Warsaw, Poland

I moved my blog about my fabulous trip to Warsaw, Poland to my web site, and added some background re: how the trip came about.

My sweet Irish travelogue

Long overdue: my travel blog about our recent trip to Dublin, Ireland. I have to admit that I wasn't charmed by Dublin when I visited in 2001. I liked it okay, but it just didn't really grab me - I preferred Kilkenny and New Grange so much more. But this time, I LOVED DUBLIN. Find out why...

My last five blogs have been so negative... happy to finally write something POSITIVE.

Insults on a plane

A dear friend was on a long-distance flight across the USA within the last 24 hours of my writing this blog. She was sitting next to a teenage boy. She glanced at his phone and saw he was tweeting that he was in middle seat next to "fat bitch." She said "Really, dude?" And he said "Oh, just trying to be funny."

She sat there in the seat, feeling humiliated, for almost an hour. As she said on one of her social media accounts where she related this story, which I'm retelling with her permission, "I finally decided that listening to him have fun while I felt awful was just too much."

Awful. She felt AWFUL. Can you imagine how she felt? I can. The feeling - the pain - makes my skin crawl. I know exactly how she felt.

She walked to the back of the plane and asked the Alaska Airlines flight attendants if there were any other seats available. "When they said no, I explained the situation and that I felt uncomfortable staying in my seat. I wasn't trying to get him in trouble; I just really wanted to move. They were all immediately sympathetic and the people in the last row offered for me to sit with them. The guy who swapped seats with me was really nice about it."

So, already, my faith in humanity is restored at this point in the story - the flight attendants were genuinely sympathetic, and random strangers in the last row of the plane offered to help out. That's just what you need in a situation like this - to know that you have, indeed, been horribly wronged, and that people want to help you.

As she said in her retelling,"I went back and got my backpack and said to the kid, 'What you wrote was cruel. It was really mean and not ok.' After I sat down in my new seat, one of the flight attendants went up and talked to the kid. At this point, his dad who was sitting in the row in front of him figured out what was going on. After a little while, the dad can back with tears streaming down his face, apologizing for the behavior of his son. He was horrified and I felt so bad for him. I assured him that I didn't think his son was a bad person, just a young person who needs to remember that words hurt people. We talked for awhile."

To know that the Dad was ashamed for his son just makes this all the better. That's beyond awesome. That's as it should be.

She added, "Then the boy came back and sheepishly apologized. He seemed genuinely apologetic." I should note there that I am NOT ready to cut that kid any slack. Especially since, 16 hours later, that tweet is still up. And that tweet is even worse than she's related, but I cannot quote it verbatim to show you just how bad it is because then you would be able to find him on Twitter, and she has forbidden me or any of her friends from outing him. My friend is, obviously, a better person than me.

She said, "After the flight, I saw them all again. The father and I embraced and while he had said there would be repercussions for his son's behavior, I urged him to make it about learning not punishment. The kid waved to me and again seemed genuinely sorry." Did I mention that, 16 hours later, the tweet is still there? And favorited by five different people already?

She also said, "The flight attendants were super kind and gracious and gave me unnecessary perks like a free video player." You rock, Alaska Airlines!

Of course, when she related this story, so many of her friends, myself included, jumped in to say what an incredibly classy, wonderful, awesome human being she is. My comment, "you are just pure GRACE. I mean it. I'm blown away at how you handled this. I could never, ever have handled it so well. You are a goddess."

I hope that all you parents out there will have a talk with your kids about both social media, about shaming people for any reason, including their weight, and about sexism. Explain to them that, indeed, words hurt.