This past weekend I attended the 2015 Writer’s Digest Conference in New York City. It was only the second writing conference I’ve ever attended, and far larger in size and scale than the first. There were maybe four times as many agents and editors as there were at the first one I went to (the Missouri Writer’s…
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Renaissance
The sky is bright today The sky is bright today Pitter-patter, says the rain, beating on my thigh My hands are alive The water falls in myriad ways A fern swallows me The sky is bright today — This poem is meant to accompany this photo, which is a visual representation of an epiphany of…
Read MoreJournal: Recovered
To all of you who diligently supported my quest to have my journal returned to me when it was lost last month, there is good news (several weeks overdue): My journal was found by a fellow Southwest traveler, who is humble enough to have requested anonymity. The journal, it seems, fell out of my bag…
Read MoreAdventures in Greece: Helios, Sparta, and The Land Of The Gods
On Saturday of this past week I traveled to Gythio, the port city of Sparta. Gythio is an integral part of the Mani region, a part of larger Lakonia, which in Classical times was famed for the militaristic brutality of the Spartan warriors. “Come home with your shield or on it,” is the famous saying…
Read More10 Things I Learned While Backpacking In The Smokies
These past few days my internet-savvy friends may have noticed that I disappeared from the world for a while. My sister and I went up into the clouds, into the haze of the beautiful Smoky Mountains, to hike in the backcountry for four days. Here are ten things I learned while backpacking: 10) Water fresh…
Read MoreSeven Phrases the French Love To Use (And A Brief Update On Life)
Hey! Yep, it’s been a little while. Despite increased internet access and the time and wherewithal to write blog posts, I just haven’t really felt up to it. Book reviews seem to require too much thought, tourism posts seem to require too many touristy photo shoots, and general musings are being sorted out in my…
Read MoreLanguor in the Languedoc
I’m staying at a farm right now in the Languedoc-Roussillon area, and pretty much the only thing that the Languedoc has in common with Alsace is that both regions produce a lot of muscat, a white wine grape varietal that is most commonly made into a sweet wine, intended to be served as either a…
Read MoreCan I survive for 3 weeks without Internet access?
So here I am in the beautiful, quaint, amazing village of Gimios, France. It’s in the rugged Languedoc region located between the Pyrenees and the sea. The climate is Mediterranean and the region generally has about 300 days of sunshine a year. Everything about it is wonderful–EXCEPT I HAVE NO INTERNET. So how am I posting this, you…
Read MoreThis Is Just About Food
Hi guys. It’s time for another blog entry. But today, I walked over 20 miles, hiking through the forests of the Vosges mountains, and I’m really, really tired. So this one’s going to be simple: just a bunch of photos about food. Food that we eat; food that we make. Alsatian food, German food, French…
Read MoreIn The Cave of a Natural Winery
Whew! It’s been a crazy week. I got a really bad fever and head cold on Wednesday, was completely zonked out on Thursday, worked all day Friday, went to Strasbourg on Saturday, and yesterday spent all morning sleeping/napping and all afternoon hiking around the Vosges mountains. I hope that excuses my lack of blogging for…
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The Z-Axis 