Practical travel information for practical travelers
2012. Really? It’s 2012 already? At times it seemed like it would never get here, while other times I wanted a few more hours in a day and days in a week. I’m taking some much enjoyed time off over the holiday season, but I’ll be back into the swing of traveling in just a [...]
I’m really getting into the holidays spirit. The tree is up and decorated, I’ve baked and eaten a few holiday cookies, and I found myself humming “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” the other day. I had a day in the city last week and a couple more scheduled for this week, and seeing the [...]
I didn’t go shopping on Black Friday. I felt no need to join in the throngs who mobbed stores at midnight or lined up even earlier. As I think about the approaching holiday season, I realize how little I need and how much I have. It may be a perspective that has come with age, [...]
It’s customary to think about the things we are thankful for at Thanksgiving time, and I suppose I’m not one to break with tradition. I do know, however, that I need to celebrate those things for which I am thankful on a more every day basis, so let today be day one – day one [...]
July 4th, 2011. In the United States it was a holiday celebrating the 235th anniversary of the country’s independence. Back home friends had get-togethers with family and friends. There were steaks, chicken, and burgers on the grill. There was time for a game of baseball, badminton, or maybe a little time to be out on [...]
St. Patrick’s Day may have started as a religious holiday, recognizing the patron saint of Ireland, but today most people experience it as a most secular event. It’s still a public holiday in Ireland, Newfoundland and Labrador and Montserrat, with plenty of celebrations around the world that include parades and turning everything green. I’m traveling [...]
I’m currently on a plane (yay inflight wi-fi), heading to Shreveport-Bossier for my first Mardi Gras celebration. When I was younger, the idea of partying and whooping it up at this quintessentially decadent holiday had great appeal with all the drinking, parades, and beads. Somewhere along the way to adulthood, the allure faded and the [...]
Veterans Day was first observed on November 19th, 1919 by a proclamation from Woodrow Wilson celebrating the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. The Congress, a number of years later, passed additional legislation that made the day a legal holiday and calling it Armistice Day, a day dedicated to the cause of [...]
Today is a federal holiday here in the United States as we celebrate Marting Luther King Jr. Day. The holiday was created by legislation and signed into law by President Reagan on November 2nd, 1983. The legislation established the third Monday of each January as a federal holiday honoring Dr. King. It was first observed [...]
In addition to traveling, Mary Jo likes lingering over a cup of coffee, wandering in a museum, sipping wine at a cafe, enjoying a relaxing massage, and sharing it all with friends and readers.
Her most recent travels were to Portugal and Italy.
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