She said it would be a relaxing stroll around Loch Ness Lake. “Easy-peasy,” she said. “No poles necessary.” There would be an impressive 24-mile-long lake with spectacular views, cute B&B’s, hearty Scottish food, quaint villages, fields of highland cows, and cool weather. She was right about everything but one. The journey around Loch Ness Lake is no beginner hike. I’ve done a fourteener in the Colorado Rocky…
It was, perhaps, a bit reckless to travel abroad during a COVID pandemic. Cases across Europe have been climbing and yet, off we went on our adventure. Allow me to start by saying that if you are an anti-vaxxer or believe COVID is a hoax or you think masks don’t work, this blog is not for you. All right then, I’m assuming my readers are science-based folks who are genuinely interested in my experience traveling…
More specifically, the treasured flying items of my late husband, test pilot/former F-15 NATO 32 TFS “Wolfhound” Eric Fiore, are going home to the Netherlands, where he was stationed with NATO forces during the Cold War. In Dutch: De F-15 vliegende dingen van Eric Fiore gaan naar huis. What Happened? Eric died 36 days after a plane crash, and I donated his flight suit, G-suit, helmet, and logbook to the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas where…
Should You Travel With Tauck? No, I recommend against giving them your business. This is the final chapter of the debacle because none of the agencies I’ve contacted for help are interested in doing more than shuffling messages between me and Tauck. That is not really helpful. To read about the beginning of the mess, please click here. Part II outlines the remediation I have pursued. Click here for that story. An Abbreviated…
Tauck — A travel company acting badly, Part II This is a follow-up to an earlier blog about travel company Tauck. You may want to read it first, so you know what’s going on: read Part I. Complaints I have filed several complaints about Tauck. The BBB is not useful as they just bounce letters back and forth between the two parties involved in the dispute. It may take a bit of time for…
“I’m sorry but she’s gone.” The woman who said it was holding a single piece of paper. She turned it toward me. “I have just certified the time of death at 10:18.” It was Saturday January 29, 2022. Shala, the Siamese cat sitting guard, hissed at the woman. I had known my dear friend Kathryn Lance (KL to all who knew her) did not have long to live. She hadn’t eaten in over a…
The ALL-NEW video book trailer for The Skye Van Bloem Trilogy is now available to view on YouTube. Many thanks to the incredible Dr. Daisy for her videography. Please give the short video a look and a thumbs-up! Thank you, friends and readers.
Why are some travel companies, like Tauck, ruining travel during the pandemic? Here is my story. Please feel free to copy it or repost it. Stories, a small wooden black and red train with a cotton ball smokestack, and a crystal heart on a blue velvet ribbon. These are all my daughter has left of her father, aside from the flag that draped his coffin. Eric was a US Air Force F-15 fighter pilot and…
I haven’t written about COVID, other than to encourage people to get vaccinated and wear masks. What could I say that hasn’t already been said? That I was sad or lonely or full of despair? Boring. I feel your eyes glazing over now. So, I didn’t write about that, but I did write. I published two books in 2020, and I tried to keep busy. I was lucky, after all. I had a house, a…
Greetings, friends and readers! My holiday newsletter is now available. It’s the last one of 2021, so if you did not receive it, email me or sign up on my website at the bottom of the page. The newsletter is completely free and I blind-copy everyone on my list. Your email address will never be sold or traded for any reason. I don’t do that, ever! And, you will only get one email from me,…