Teach.Travel.Find.Design

Traveling inspires me.  A place will come to mind, I'll ruminate on it, start to obsess over it, transition to actually researching and studying maps, and then decide it's a non-negotiable to visit. Best end of year teacher gift ever! That's exactly how I ended up visiting Portugal this summer.  My original dream was to visit small seaside towns in Spain, take the ferry over to Morocco, and then wander the coast of Portugal - what actually happened was some quality time in Houghton/Wyton, England, a few days in Barcelona, and then on to Portugal. Mar Bella Beach, Barcelona  Reflecting inside of La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona  And, it was incredible.  Every single moment. The most charming village, Houghton/Wyton When talking to a friend that recently spent her 40th anniversary in Portugal, I realized that what I loved so much about the trip was the quality time with the friends I was with - the freedom from a schedule to sit outside (of course) at c

For those of you that know me well, you know I scoff at the thought of a stay-cation.  Traveling is as essential to my being as water.  So, when I was invited to spend a weekend in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, I began to rethink the beauty of being so close yet so far from home. In order to indulge in a weekend away, I had to thoughtfully weigh the pros and cons of reallocating time from making and funnel it into time for connecting and decompressing. You see, my full time gig has this glorious thing...it's called Fall Break. Ledges Overlook...need to go back for some fall color I promised myself I'd get up at sunrise each day (not asking too much as it rises at 7ish am now) and try a new trail.  It was time to break the pattern of the comfortable - no biking the towpath, no Oak Hill/Plateau trails, no Ledges Trail - Ok, I was on the Ledges Trail for a bit on Friday but just to the Overlook. How can one resist? So, there I was, restless, waiting for the sun