We are enjoying a simple but happy retirement together. Well, one of us is more retired than the other. We have been together 31 years. In 2016, Sue turned 70 and Lee Ann turned 60. We will write about our "adventures" from both our perspectives and as a couple. Sue enjoys baking, cooking, walking and her great-granddaughter, Lincoln. Lee Ann enjoys running, biking and learning. She still works part--time at two businesses, Kairos Communications and Cedar Creek Sustainable Planning Services.
(Sue and Lee Ann spent five months planning a vacation to the five national parks in Utah, plus Monument Valley in Utah/Arizona. Everyone should visit the American West. Here is what we saw and did.) Saturday, October 21 – At 7:45 a.m. I was standing in line outside the Poison…
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Maybe not everyone thinks of pairing bird-watching with African-American history. Well, we do. And near Cambridge, Maryland, you can do just that. We recently spent a spring day visiting the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in rural Dorchester County, Md., followed by a drive through Blackwater National Wildlife…
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“I don’t know why he moves me.” – Mary Magdalene Paraphrasing Mary, I have been singing, watching, rewatching and inhaling “Jesus Christ Superstar” since the Easter Sunday live performance. And I don’t know why it moved me so. After all, I am a huge “Sound of Music” fan too, and…
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A season that starts off with “You are dust and to dust you shall return” seems like a good time to contemplate dying. So Sue and I signed up for a Lenten retreat called “Life After Death: Intimate Union with Infinite Love.” When I was younger, I always pushed back…
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Outside, the wind chill was 8 degrees. The five women who had spent the night at the Code Purple shelter were drinking coffee and eating breakfast, trying to figure out how and where to spend their Saturday. The night before, I had called 911 when a sixth woman, a diabetic,…
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At the beginning of each year, I take resolutions seriously. And when those resolutions start to flag, Lent kicks in. So it is like a one-two punch to focus me on spiritual and other goals. Of course, that doesn’t mean everything sticks. I am always amazed that I can wake…
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November 2 – For two retired women, visiting five National Parks (plus Monument Valley) in 10 days was probably a bit ambitious. Now that the trip is over, we have some insights: Our favorite parks were Bryce Canyon, Zion and Arches – close but roughly in that order. A revised…
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Wednesday, October 25 – Driving through southern Utah, the landscape changes are often immediate and stunning. From a rolling sea of slickrock to high-altitude pine forests to towering red rocks, it’s hard for us East Coast flatlanders to absorb. Approaching Zion National Park, the rocks again change to red –…
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October 25 – The most wondrous 2.5-mile trail I have ever walked was breath-taking, in more ways than one. The one must-do hike for me on our Utah National Parks itinerary was a combination of the Navajo Loop and Queen’s Garden trails at Bryce Canyon. An elevation change of 320…
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October 22 and 23 – You are still miles away, near the hamlet of Mexican Hat, when you first spy the iconic buttes. Cars and RVs start pulling over for pictures; some tourists wander onto the highway. It’s the famous Forest Gump view of Monument Valley. We booked a premium…
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