Well Traveled, Well Read

I have spent a lot of time in New York City – two years living there after college, lots of mother daughter trips (first with my mom and now with my daughter), family vacations as a teen and in my early 20s, and visits to see old friends. Today I’m on a flight to NYC for a work trip with hopes to get some free moments for exploring. There are so many ways to experience the City and so many fantastic books set in the City, so I am planning a multi-part series on NYC. If you ever need tips, feel free to write a comment or drop me a line! So here goes, part one of my three-part top 30 New York City reads, in no particular order … with some other more specific posts coming later. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is one of my all-time favorite memoirs. The story focuses on Walls’ childhood with her alcoholic but charismatic father and her free-spirited mother who wasn’t interested in the constraints of family life and childrearing. Walls and her siblings learn to take care of themselves...

In December 2021 my daughter announced to her younger, adoring cousin, her aunt, and I that her New Year’s Resolution was to visit all 50 states. Her cousin (who would follow her off a cliff and apparently also to Arkansas) agreed, and since her aunt and I were already pretty far along on checking off all the states, we also agreed it was a good project (though maybe one that would take more than a year). That’s how the four of us found ourselves hitting the road for Hot Springs, Arkansas last summer. Hot Springs was first preserved as a recreational site by Congress on April 20, 1832, before the national parks system was established, so this National Park is not our oldest National Park, but it was designated for federal protection for recreational use before any of our other National Parks. As my husband would say, that’s your fun fact for the day. This is a part of the country filled with mountains, dense woods, and large lakes, and there are lovely historic buildings dating back ...

On our quest to visit all 50 states, my daughter and I (often along with my sister-in-law and niece) are taking some off the beaten path vacations. Over Memorial Day, the four of us took our annual Mamas & Daughters trip and visited St. Louis. The girls both got to check two new states off their lists – Missouri and Illinois, and we all got to collect our National Park stamps at the Gateway Arch National Park and the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site. What can I say, I’m a nerd who loves a good list. For those who aren’t into these bizarre destinations, don’t worry, I have some more traditional destinations (e.g., New York City, Montana, Lake Tahoe) coming this summer.   When people heard we were visiting St. Louis, almost everyone assumed it was to visit family (nope). Only after explaining our 50-state project did people seem to understand (a bit), but St. Louis was once the nation’s fourth largest city and the cite of the 1904 World’s Fair and Summer Olympics. It was...