Journeys

With both hands-on knowledge of the U.S. space program and the enthusiasm to seek out space history, we share what we know and where to find space-related destinations worth visiting.

Sandra explores her family's deeply rooted love of gardens, with the centerpiece a month-long road trip with her mother to seek out spring beauty during azalea season in the Southeast.

Circling the state of Ohio while centering our travels on a conference in Columbus, we brought along bikes and hiking gear and searched for outdoor adventures.

For a full month, we rambled through Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, finding bike trails to ride most mornings before digging into the cultural history of the region in the afternoons.

From Fort Myers Beach, we grabbed a ferryboat to Key West for a whirlwind weekend before a conference in Cape Coral. After a few days in Punta Gorda, it was road trip part two down to Key West for a second time.

Being chased north by Hurricane Michael, we rarely had a day we could take the bikes off the back of our car. On those foul-weather days, we hit more museums in three weeks than we'd seen in a year.

A journey within a journey, we were focused on the Shenandoah Valley to check out a new bike trail in Front Royal and find out how they've progressed as a Trail Town on the Appalachian Trail. We couldn't miss Natural Bridge on the way home.

On our way to and from Michigan, we made a point of visiting small towns throughout the South, looking for places to hike and bike as well as a sense of place. Quirky destinations hit our radar as we progressed, so we slowed down to let the journey unfold at its own pace.

Before and after a conference in Duluth, Sandra put in some miles on the Superior Hiking Trail and took a road trip up the North Shore of Lake Superior to experience the "Scandinavian Riviera."

Centering our travels on attending the ALDHA Gathering in Abington, Virginia, we made a fall foilage foray, riding the Virginia Creeper Trail and other trails while enjoying state parks and National Forests in the Southeast.

Five days of exploring the Bartram Trail by bike, on foot, and while paddling, with experts to guide the way between points on this new National Recreation Trail in Florida.

A week's worth of hiking, biking, and paddling before, between, and after conference activities centered on Brooksville and Weeki Wachee, Florida.

Biking - or walking - the Florida Keys from Key West to Key Largo is a thing, thanks to the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail. As John biked the marked route, Sandra visited natural attractions and trails with a tropical flair.

The story of our Appalachian Trail thru-hike together that taught us to work as a team. We posted these articles in real-time as we walked from Georgia towards Maine.

Two Caribbean island nations with two very different cultures, both share a common bond of their founding by British and Dutch slave-owning sugar cane plantation bosses, and a love of rum.

How better to relax and leave the travel planning to others than to take a cruise? Three days through the Bahamas was hardly enough, but Holland America Line made such a positive impression we're thinking of a longer stay at sea.

Some of the weirdest landscapes you can imagine can be found where the North American and European tectonic plates are straining to pull apart, the friendly and otherworldy country of Iceland.

In the produce-rich region surrounding Portland, fall means harvest time. On a series of guided tours, we circled all around Mount Hood, hiking, biking, and foraging, before heading to the Willamette Valley and the Oregon Coast.

Panama wasn't on our radar at all. But when John's father offered to take us on a trip, he had a transit of the Panama Canal in mind. It was our first sampler of what an all-inclusive guided tour is like, something his parents had done worldwide for more than twenty years of their retirement.