In 2017, my husband and I took our four oldest grandchildren on a 2,750-mile road trip that we completed in eight days. The oldest child was 9 and the youngest was not quite 5 and we spent 40 hours together in the car. You read that right. 40 hours!  I'll never...

My husband teaches philosophy at the university level. His area of expertise is Stoic philosophy and his “guy” is Epictetus, a Stoic Greek philosopher who lived in the first century and taught that philosophy is a way of life, not just a theoretical discipline. I would tell you how to pronounce his name but I’m…

My dream trip was originally planned for August of 2020, but we all know what happened that year. COVID put an end to everyone's travel plans. That summer, I had hoped to take my oldest granddaughter to Prince Edward Island to celebrate her 12th birthday. Sometimes...

My recent trip to Prince Edward Island with four of my granddaughters proved just how perfect Amtrak train travel is for grandparents traveling with grandkids. I call it GRAMtrakking. No, you can't take a train to PEI. It is an island, after all, and although there...

I kind of fell into this trip at the last minute, without my usual preparations. I did - and didn't - necessarily want to do it. Did, because I always enjoy taking trips with my grandkids and didn't, because I had just returned from a 12-day somewhat rigorous trip...

Just when I thought things couldn't get any more "exciting" (i.e. - stressful) in the week leading up to our trip, one of my granddaughters fell off our back deck onto the lower deck, resulting in a scratched up face and bloody nose, a concussion, a sprained right...

What is this? Actually, it could be just about anything. When you are traveling - or even if you are just planning a trip - so many things can happen to throw a monkey wrench into your best-laid plans. These things can test your patience, your problem-solving...

What Baby Boomer doesn't know at least the refrain from Nat King Cole's rendition of "Get Your Kicks on Rt. 66"? Rt. 66. The "Mother Road." Neon signs, mom-and-pop motels, offbeat and quirky over-sized roadside attractions. Growing up in the 50s and 60s, I...

In August of 2020, I had a marvelous trip to Prince Edward Island, Canada, planned with my 12-year-old granddaughter - which COVID totally torpedoed, of course. As disappointed as I was about not getting to go to PEI, I was determined that she and I come up with...

My hometown of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, is often described as a charming little burgh with a bit of a New England flavor. In the center of town is a completely natural waterfall tumbling over a broad shale shelf. Some say the name comes from the fact that Native Americans in the area were “chagrined” when they came to that...