The whole concept of a “bucket list” has become popular since the movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Ironically, I first encountered the movie on a plan en route to the Kona Coast in Hawaii. This had been a place I had wanted to go for years. Without realizing it, I’d created a bucket list and had just crossed off something. But that doesn’t mean my bucket list of destinations was now empty. Costa Rica sounded nice. So did the Galapagos Islands. (more…)

I sat in the passenger seat of the Chevy van, a place which had sat on and off for the last fourteen and a half years. Humidity was building up in this early hot summer morning. In that steam, a drop of water crawled down the windshield, like a teardrop. In the state of mind that I was in, it seemed as though the van was crying, knowing that it fate was sealed. (more…)

One of the nicest airports I have dealt with is the Albany International Airport. Located just outside the city proper, it is a medium-sized airport that provides many connections to major hubs like O’Hare International in Chicago, as well as Toronto and Philadelphia. My flight to Chicago was on a United flight, and I found getting to the airport easy, and the staff helpful. I’ve heard people say that they have had a terrible time flying, but my experience with the airport was very pleasant. (more…)

To tell you the truth, when I first talked about going to Hawaii with my husband, we weren’t talking much about beaches. I have never been one to hang out in the sand and catch some rays. Ironically, I have spent a great deal of my life hanging out at sandy shores. Mostly, the beaches were background scenery for what I really came to the place for: the water. Oceans, lakes, sounds, bays: I would either swim in them or walk beside them, the water being the star, the beach being nothing more than an understudy. (more…)