Exploring the American Landscape
Moving to Winston-Salem has given us two new calendars to govern our lives. The first is the seasonal cycle, featuring four honest-to-goodness seasons, each with distinctive delights and challenges. The other is the academic calendar. Several of my volunteer activities are university-affiliated, and my library gig is work-from-home this summer while renovations are happening on … Read more
In North Carolina we are emerging from winter and embracing the promise of spring. The trees surrounding our home are furred with buds ready to burst open and we are getting a few tantalizing days of warm, sunny weather interspersed with cooler temperatures.The change in the seasons seems like a good time to reflect on … Read more
Looking back through the archives here on the blog made me realize that I haven’t written one of these annual wrap-up posts since 2021 (though, to be fair, I did write a summary of our summer RV travels in 2022 which was chock-full of the usual driving / camping / cost statistics). The last two … Read more
The last trip I posted about included a recitation of the many delights of the Blue Ridge Parkway; less than a month after we returned home the Parkway was severely impacted by Hurricane Helene. The storm inflicted terrible damage on many communities in Western North Carolina, and the damage to infrastructure was widespread. Sadly, our … Read more
After our last airplane/train/city adventure in Chicago, we decided it was time to take the edge off the summer heat with a mountain hiking trip. We also wanted to do a “big” trip to celebrate our 20th anniversary, but without the hassle of plane travel. Thus was born the idea of a leisurely road trip … Read more