When Kyle and I both managed to get five days off at the same time in January we immediately decided that we wanted to go somewhere warm. Through Kyle’s job with the airline, we’re able to “non-rev” (non-revenue) on flights for free or at very minimal cost (international flights). Non-revving is when you get to … More Saint Martin on Short Notice
Language is a dangerous thing not only for what is said but often because of what is left out, especially during history lessons. Slavery verses enslavement. The state of being a slave verses the action of making someone a slave. “Slavery” conjures images of black bodies in chains, laboring in cotton fields, and being sold … More Our Words Are Dangerous, Especially When We Don’t Use Them
If you’ve been thinking about a trip to Europe but you can’t decide where to go—or are intimidated by the French—I encourage you to consider The Netherlands. The country is seething with history, art, cosmopolitan cities, whimsical villages, and really lovely people who all seem to speak at least seven languages. At the end of … More Two Sides to The Netherlands
For me, The Travel Bug goes by another name and that name is anxiety. When The Travel Bug (TTB) bites it leaves behind a virus which lays dormant until anytime between 6 weeks and 4 days before your trip. Often, if you’ve been bitten in the past, you will have built up some immunity to … More The Travel Bug
If you look at historical records of Sedona, Arizona weather, the temperatures in late May usually hover in the high 70s during the day. US Climate data reports that it rains so infrequently in Sedona that they have have zero days of annual rainfall. Zero. Comparably, the same resource says Columbus, Ohio has 133 days … More When it Snows in Sedona
It’s a different kind of tragedy when a great part of the collective human heritage is destroyed, but it’s a tragedy nonetheless. While watching Notre Dame de Paris be engulfed by skyscraper-high flames and billowing plumes of black smoke yesterday, my art historian friend Jenna remarked, “When the essence of personhood and how we measure … More The Power of Place
In Columbus, Ohio, there’s an area just north of Downtown called the Short North; once a neighborhood-friendly haven for the arts, it has become synonymous with trend-chasing mediocrity and drunk people named Chad. Among other more nuanced issues, the impossibility of finding parking makes the happiness meters of most who go there half-empty before they … More Bad Waffles at Belgian Iron Wafel Company
There are two topics about which I often wish I knew more: feminism and capitalism. I read a lot and I want to start a book club with myself. I’m a feminist and have a grasp of feminist history, lite. I’m familiar with the names de Beauvoir, Lorde, and I know ‘bell hooks’ isn’t capitalized, … More A Book Club of One
Mist like a sea moves through the city: tall medieval spires pierce through the undulating grey cloud. Suspended by some unseen force, they float above the streets. In the whole world, there’s nothing quite like the medieval skyscrapers that rise along Princes Street Gardens, majestically welcoming visitors into Old Town. Upon entering Edinburgh’s Old … More A Few Bewitching Days in Edinburgh
I had the opportunity to be in Chicagoland for a day and I chose to spend my precious 6 hours in the Second City at the Art Institute of Chicago. I know, it’s cliché and I know it’s one of the most visited attractions in Chicago and yes, I know there are dozens of other Arts … More A Morning with John Singer Sargent and Inspiring Women
The Ohioan 