Woke to a symphony of birds calling thru my open window, then the gentle whoosh of a brief rainfall (they call this the rainforest for a reason). Lindsey called me out on the deck to see three big white cockatoos in the tree, amazing! I’ve only ever seen them in captivity. A pair of Rainbow Lorikeets swooped by and a tiny yellow sunbird landed on a branch right in front of me. Tried to take photos but they were much too fast. We headed up...

  Acclimating to a new country can be challenging, even when the native language is English, especially after a long flight and crossing many time zones. The first leg of my trip, to Australia, took 30 hours, and includes a 15 hour time difference. But it was made so much easier by my lovely hostess Lenore, her housemate Lindsey, and 4 legged friends Lucas and little Patch! Lenore picked me up at the airport, and whisked me off to the local...

Goodbyes are hardly ever easy, especially when you are leaving those you love. Saying goodbye to family, and friends you’ve known for decades, as well as those you’ve recently met but adore, is a challenge, brings up feelings of nostalgia, sadness, anxiety, emotions we see as not fun. You remind yourself it’s not forever, you will be coming back, though at this point you have no idea when. And maybe some of those friends will...

Have you let go of anything recently? Maybe some shirts you never wear, gave to GoodWill, or a few books you’ve already read, shared with a friend? It feels good to let go, even if it’s something small. But what about the big things? A job you dread going to every day, or a marriage that died long ago, even if you’re still living together? A house you can no longer afford, or that’s just too big now that the kids have...

You’ve bought your plane ticket and packed your bag, and you’re ready to go! But wait…it seems like every time you cross one thing off of your to-do list, you add 3 more. Things like research and buy traveler’s insurance, as apparently most US insurance doesn’t cover you when you’re out of the country. You need to figure out where your mail is going to go, where your car (if you keep one) will be stored, how it needs to be...