A snowy March weekend hike and bike in upstate New York reminds Kit Fruscione that adventure can be found anywhere and that creating your own sunshine is important, even in the cold and gray days of winter.
Hire the Grandmothers
In this essay, Gary White explains how he and his wife use spiritual guides called "the Grandmothers" for assistance in their journeys. When Gary and his wife ask the Grandmothers to facilitate an easy transition from Portugal to Spain, they are astounded by the results.
The Mountain Candy Czar
During a guided backpacking trip, Kit Fruscione grows tired of doing camping chores and decides to use candy as leverage to get the work done for her. The sweets work, and Kit becomes known as the "Candy Czar," wielding her newfound power over the other hikers for the remainder of the trip.
Frozen on an Alp
At age sixty-four, Ellen Schecter signed up for a Tour du Mont Blanc hike despite her fear of heights. Pushing through nerves, she managed to trek along the steep and narrow trails, climb a ladder secured to the side of a mountain and cross a long swinging bridge high above a canyon. But it all came to a shuddering halt when she found herself petrified on all fours atop the rocky terrain. The mantra she had been repeating—“Feel the fear and do it anyway”—was no longer working.
Free will, farm animals and Tolstoy
What do farm animals have to teach us about free will? A lot, it turns out, as Eric Lucas sees it. As well as a lot about Leo Tolstoy's creative tension between free will and the boundaries of our universe. Tolstoy's philosophical question is eternal—and so is the love all our companions bring us, if we only open our eyes.
Letter from a New Widow
Six months after losing her partner John Lamkin, Susanna Starr wrote this remarkable letter to Judith Fein, the executive editor of YourLifeIsATrip.com. We share Susanna’s letter with permission as a chronicle of her journey through loss and a source of honest inspiration and insight.
Desert Therapy
Pamela Blair traveled to Tunisia to experience the beauty of the desert. What she didn't expect was a young camel herder who, when he found she was a psychologist, insisted she help him with a problem. He took her out to a dune, and their session began.
Following Brigid’s Way Pilgrimage in Ireland
When Elyn Aviva and her husband traveled to Ireland to walk Brigid’s Way Celtic Pilgrimage, nothing went as planned. A friend who agreed to meet them couldn’t. Hotel reservations were canceled. Car rides along country roads and unexpected encounters with friends supplanted long solitary walks in nature. Yet, the journey was every bit a pilgrimage.
Manzanar: Heartbreak and Beauty
Manzanar War Relocation Center was not on anyone's travel itinerary in 1942 when the United States government ordered 11,000 Japanese-Americans to leave their homes to be detained in internment camps. These days, visitors like writer Carolyn Handler Miller come to Manzanar National Historic Site to learn the stories of the people who were important to this place and experience a challenging mix of both injustice and beauty.
Like Daughter, Like Mother
Joan Virginia Allen was 80 years old when she told her 50-something-year-old daughter Cami: “When I grow up, I want to be like you.” Thus began an amazing journey that included travel, exploration, inspiration, transformation, and the creation of Allen’s first business.
The Challenge for Drones
Launching a small-scale drone program to aid the fight against wildlife poaching in northern Tanzania presents challenges beyond the technology for Mike Chambers and a team at Mkomazi National Park.
Traveling Back Fifty Years On My 86th Birthday
Fifty years ago, writer Nancy King was in a bad marriage, lacking authentic friendships, and focused on professional success with no idea how her life would evolve. At eighty-six, she looks back on her life and her younger self, pondering the differences and grateful for the life she’s created.
The Great Buddha
Irene Sardanis visited the Big Buddha in Hong Kong as a tourist. She returned as a pilgrim. Discover her journey to awe.
All I Wanted In Rwanda Was A Goat Brochette
When Keturah Kendrick returned to visit East Africa, she had a craving for goat brochettes at Le Poete. When she lived as an expat in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, she’d been within walking distance of the restaurant and gorged herself on skewers of grilled goat several times a week. On this visit, however, satisfying the craving proved to be an adventure of its own.
A Pirate Adventure In New Orleans
As a child, Carolyn Handler Miller’s favorite Disneyland ride was Pirates of the Caribbean. In her imagination, she saw the audacious and defiant characters as make-believe. Decades later a trip to New Orleans brought the characters to life as she explored Pirate’s Alley, the storied French Quarter passageway once used for smuggling and contraband by the “gentleman pirate” Jean Lafitte.
With the War in Ukraine, Everything Has Come Full Circle
With an MA in Soviet Studies and a Ph.D. in Slavic languages and literature, Rachel Mann, who has fought for sovereignty in her personal life, brings a unique perspective to the brutal Russian war of conquest raging in Ukraine.
Fortuitous Failure
An unexpected change in travel plans sent Terry Huntington off on an unforgettable cargo ship voyage from Canada to Australia, including a raging Atlantic storm, wild nights ashore, passage through the Panama Canal, and a mid-ocean engine failure without a speck of land in sight.
I NEVER Go to Tourist Attractions
It can be tempting to avoid popular tourism attractions when we travel. And yet, as Elyn Aviva shares in this essay, with the right intention and an open mind, it’s still possible to experience the magic that made a place special in the first place.
Into the Jungle
A visit to Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, a cultural and natural UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, takes Carolyn Handler Miller deep into the Maya jungle where she discovers a vibrant ancient culture living intimately with their environment.
Miracles at Our Lady of Peninha
When a fear of heights threatens to derail Elyn Aviva from reaching the Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora da Peninha, a place of miracles situated atop a rocky coastal outcrop in Portugal, a stranger appears to help, again and again, at precisely the moments assistance is needed most.