Santa Barbara, California: The Place I feel Free!

Santa Barbara, California: The Place I feel Free!

Everybody wants to feel independent. Everyone has their place that they feel that once in a life time feeling. Well, that place for me is the outstanding Santa Barbara, California. I love the feel of freedom that just overcomes me when I get to look at the beautiful beaches and the clear, blue sky. Feeling … Continued

Australia: The Climb

Australia: The Climb My neck hurts from looking up so much. “It’s high,” I whisper to my husband standing next to me. “It is,” he says more confidently than me. My shaking hand grips the cold metal rebar and I start to climb a tree that is higher than Niagara Falls, a twenty story building … Continued

Indonesia: A Wooden Pole in the Village

The Husband: We were zooming up the coast of Lombok, Indonesia when we saw a crowd of villagers rallying around a pole. It was early February, but the blazing sun seemed stuck on July. Earlier that day, my wife and I had rented a motorbike to visit the lush northern hills of Bali’s sister island. … Continued

Israel: A Haven For Freedom

It was 1993. My husband and I were thrilled to be taking our four sons (aged 2, 7, 11, and 13) to Israel for Josh’s bar mitzvah. We had a layover in Frankfurt before we boarded our flight to Tel Aviv. Just minutes after pushing back from the gate, Josh’s voice yelled, “Why are tanks … Continued

France: The Freedom of the Skies

A flight aboard a giant mechanical heron in France Having climbed into a weird steel and leather seat I take the reins of a giant mechanical heron and as its wings extend to almost touch either side of the enormous warehouse which has become the gallery for the heron tree project it takes flight. A … Continued

Cuba: Freedom is a State of Mind

In general, I feel free when I travel. Traveling, especially alone, offers me the chance to escape my daily life, to see a new place and the mobility involved makes me feel like I grew wings and took off into the unknown. I have traveled to many places where I felt free but the most … Continued

Goreme Turkey: If You Look You’ll Find Yourself

When I arrived in Goreme, for the first time, it was high summer. Nestled in the Anatolian heartland, Goreme was a traditional farming community like any other in Turkey except for its spectacular landscape. The arid countryside, already aged and yellowed over thousands of years, glared harshly under the heat of the day. My head … Continued

Fiji: Freedom, diving and the Manta Ray

The pool was a kid magnet. As soon as school was out we’d make excuses to walk down the street and visit the neighbors. We’d splash and play Marco Polo until our toes and fingers were creased. I’d always steal a few moments away by myself in the deep end. Diving as far down as … Continued

Nigeria: Better Way to Think

Right now, a child is crying for food. A blind woman is walking the streets and villages of Africa and Asia asking for help at an intersection. A beggar has his hands out. A classroom full of students awaits the teacher’s entrance, but can’t be seen. Someone’s heart is breaking without a comforter. Someone is … Continued

Ethiopia: Open Roads, Open Hearts

I shifted uncomfortable on the straw mat, trying not to disturb the young child with her arm wrapped around me. Her small thin body was warm in the evening wind. I looked across the mat at Oli who similarly had two small Ethiopian children snuggling up to him. We exchanged smiles. This wasn’t the traditional … Continued

We Said Go Travel