"Get out, get out, NOW!"

Thom shouted, his voice cutting through the night.

I immediately heard a strange hissing sound, and my heart sank. My first thought? The air mattress. That glorious air mattress is my lifeline to comfort on the hard floor of our popup tent atop our trusty Tacoma truck. I couldn't lose it.

But within seconds, I realized it wasn’t the air mattress deflating. A dense, white cloud began to fill the tent, suffocating the space where, just moments ago, I felt safe.

There wasn’t a moment to think...

We were camping at Burnside Lake in Toiyabe National Forest, just south of Lake Tahoe. 

The lake shimmered under the early evening sun, a hidden sanctuary wrapped in the stillness of the wilderness.

After setting up camp, we decided to hike the nearby trail, which led to massive boulders overlooking the lake, giving us a 360-degree panoramic view. The sunset painted the landscape in gold, and the air was crisp and clean.

For a moment, life felt perfect

By the ...

"Do the thing you think you cannot do: “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face."   Eleanor Roosevelt

Traveling alone as a woman can be an exhilarating and transformative experience. 

It offers a unique opportunity to discover the world on your terms, pushing your boundaries and gaining a profound sense of self-reliance. 

In this blog post, we'll explore my journey traveling alone, highlighting the empowering aspects and offering tips for a safe and enjoyable solo adventure.

Empowerment through Independence

I had traveled alone in Europe, but it had been many years. I was nervous, scared, and aware that I’d make all the decisions by myself…a thing that always makes me nervous.

My solo adventure was for only two days. I left the friends I’d been traveling with for two weeks in Greece and flew to Rome.  I‘d booked a room near the Vatican. The host had arranged for me to be picked up at the airport, so I felt...

It wasn't the clean air or the clear starry sky nights that were the most nourishing. It wasn't the fact that I got to spend 5 days camping with my best friend or that I hiked on smooth flat rock with gorgeous views that made me feel alive. 

All of those things made my heart sparkle and glow. 

But what surprised me the most was the quiet. The stillness. 

It was startling in a way to be in complete soundlessness. I had forgotten about being out in the middle of nowhere how quiet life can be. 

I realized that living in a city or town, the sounds from the freeway are running in the background, even though for me, my house is nowhere near the freeway. 

It was the stillness and deep quiet without the background noise that soothed me the most. 

Canyonlands with Dear Friends

We started in Canyonlands, Utah, with 5 other couples. Now a delightful annual affair, we hiked, ate together, talked and laughed, did yoga up on a rock, and listened to Dave Van Manen play his guitar, Helene Van...

March 2023 satellite photos of both Cyclone Judy and Cyclone Kevin

Vanuatu...the tiny island nation where my son and my 3 grandchildren live has been hammered by two back-to-back cyclones in the past few days. Cyclone Judy and Cyclone Kevin, category 4, cyclones slammed across the island within 24 hours of each other. 

If that wasn't enough to make your head swirl, somewhere in between these two cyclones, the country shook from a 6.5 earthquake. There was a lot of damage. It was brutal. 

The people of Vanuatu are used to natural disasters.

In 2015, they were battered by a category 5 cyclone. Cyclone Pam was ruthless. The recovery took years. 

In 1987 when I lived in Vanuatu, Cyclone Uma was a force and wreaked immense havoc. I remember a sleepless night, trying not to be completely freaked out that the roof was going to blow off while I held my 15-month-old toddler on my chest and my husband held our 3-year-old.

It was a long night to hear the winds howling and howling. It was ...