Thoughts, tales, and travels

April 27, 2026

Amtrak trip: Sacramento to Glenwood Springs

Wednesday, April 22, 2026 After the previous night’s pleasant dinner, the one thing we weren’t worried about was the quality of the food. As soon as we boarded the California Zephyr in Sacramento, however, we were informed that there was no dining car. The lunch plans were not clear yet–they...

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April 23, 2026

Amtrak Journey

Eugene to Sacramento. Sacramento to Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Glenwood Springs to Denver. Tuesday, April 21. We left Eugene station around 5 and headed east by the I-5 underpass that we walk under so often on our home-base park walks. We were barely acquainted with life in a mini sleeper car...

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April 6, 2026

No Kings

Hopped on a bus with some neighbors last Saturday to defend American democracy. It was a gorgeous day. Crowds were huge and peaceful. It’s bizarre to be living in an actual world where real people are so responsible, passionate, thoughtful, and generous with their time. And then turn on the...

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February 7, 2026

San Diego Celebration

Had a wonderful getaway with family to celebrate my 75th birthday. The weather was cloudy and chilly, but nobody was complaining. Everyone was coming from worse weather at home. We had everything we needed at the Bahia resort on Mission Bay, including a restaurant with firepit tables. Bill’s grandson Charlie...

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December 21, 2025

Alice Pauline Anderson

My maternal great-grandmother, “Grandmom Martin” (1882-1974), was the first of my ancestors to settle in the small bayside town of Bowers Beach, Delaware. But it wasn’t by choice. Alice Pauline Anderson, born in Philadelphia, lost her mother when she was about six years old. I was told when I was...

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October 16, 2025

Autumn Walk

A beautiful day on earth. Blue sky above drifting fog. The cormorants are back. I’m so happy to be able to walk 3 miles in the park with Bill. His recovery from knee replacement surgery is going smoothly now, so he can take the ups and downs and uneven surfaces...

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October 9, 2025

Still a classic

I read this novel for the first time when I  was about 13 years old on my best friend’s recommendation. I believe it was the first book I chose from the adult room in the Dover Public Library. My mother’s father started out as a sharecropper, and the voices of...

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