My husband and I are frequently up by 6 am; he works out at 5:30 am. So why the hell would we wake up voluntarily at 5:45 am, fumble through the cold and pitch dark and drive 10 miles from our hotel? Here’s why: The Adirondack Balloon Festival in Glen Falls, New York, was held…
Author: katrina
24 Hours in San Francisco – Beanies & Bikinis (Pack Both!)
Mark Twain once said “the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” The typical summer day in San Francisco rarely tops 70 degrees. The day we were there the thermometer sputtered to reach 60. We drove up from Los Angeles and added layers with each passing hour during the ride. When…
Feeling Small in Big Sur
Big Sur is unforgiving. I could wax poetic and quote those before me about its striking coastline hand carved by the Creator, how it’s the most amazing place where land meets sea, how it’s the Earth as God intended. And all of those things are true. But after a few days on the Creator’s coastline…
Downtown, Uptown and All Around
I spent a hot, sticky day in Manhattan yesterday covering a lot of ground, both above sea level and below. The adventures began with a 55 mph drive south on the Henry Hudson Highway in my 2002 beat up Honda Accord. During the ride in, I notice the Hudson River looks steamy. When you can’t…
The Gardener Who Painted
Considering the rock star quality Monet’s paintings still have nearly a century after his death, and the buzz that continues about the New York Botanical Garden’s exhibit “Monet’s Garden,” it’s hard to imagine that at one point, the old master struggled for work. Unapologetically, I’ve enjoyed Monet since I can remember and, as a teenager,…