The cabin is technically just fifteen minutes from the main road, but cut off from cell reception and internet, feels a world apart. Signal entirely cuts out just a couple minutes along a winding, gravel track that requires A to engage the four-wheel drive and grip the steering wheel firmly as he navigates tight turns... Continue Reading →
Travel, transition, and taking stock
This weekend I was filled with a sudden urge to write. For months, whenever I contemplated writing, I felt a big, threatening blank space rise up in my brain. Initially it was because I was in the thick of a lot of international travel, sudden decisions, and a busy workload at work, leaving little time to write. As... Continue Reading →
We are water – finding gratitude in fall colors and on long walks
Fall colors are in full display in Arlington and DC. Reds, yellows, oranges, and browns along with some greens, here and there, still holding on. As we enter the holiday season, I find myself traveling inward, reflecting on loved ones and past experiences, planning for the future, but trying, as much as possible, to stay present. The... Continue Reading →
Camping in Glorious Shenandoah
Made golden through the patchy fog, the dwindling light of sunset greets us as we head into Shenandoah National Park. The multi-lane highway gradually drops off to a one lane, tree-lined road whose meandering, curving rise into the mountains is offset by sudden switchback turns. Mist, indecisive between opaque and translucent, rolls up around the car,... Continue Reading →
Taking it Slow – Home Leave and the California Coast
I pull the short, sharp fruit knife out of the drawer and set it to work slicing up an array of beautiful, fresh California fruits. It slides through the soft apricot that falls apart from its small, hard center but needs some added pressure from my hands to get through the just ripe apple. How... Continue Reading →
New Orleans: Bourbon Street, Boat Rides, and Beignets
There are two things on our mind as we land in New Orleans: food and jazz. It is just a quick taxi ride to our Airbnb in Tremé, a residential neighborhood of narrow, colorful wooden houses with tall shutters facing the streets. We fly into New Orleans on day 19 of our post-China leave and... Continue Reading →