Although I had only been home a month, I had irrationally hoped to get my ideal big girl job and within a few months be settled in my big girl apartment. Since I was nowhere …

When I think of what spring means in San Diego, baseball games and announcements of new animals from the zoo come to mind. Traffic and tourists who don't understand common-knowledge speed limit. It means more …

My walk from the barracks to the connex is familiar. Begrudgingly, my boots start on the walk to work. For exactly 100 steps, large gravel rocks are the path. They are everywhere the pavement or …

Tina, my male Malagasy guide, planned a trip to the Andasibe National Park and a small lemur reserve. On the walk there we discussed different cultural aspects of Madagascar and his history. Arriving in the …

St. Francis and I are kindred spirits. I was traveling through Europe with my dog Maya, her kennel, and an old-fashioned trunk. Visiting Assisi was a must. It was a chilly November evening. A lone …

I signed up for a wildlife volunteer project in the Seychelles. In order to get accustomed to the time change and to get my PADI, I went a few days early. Another volunteer for a …

Before my sister, Stormy, began college at UCSD, I thought it imperative that she have an adventure. So for the summer, I flew her to Antalya, Turkey, where I had been living. For her 18th …

Maya, my three-year-old Border collie mix, and I had been traveling through Europe. We had started in Athens, and now we were in Split, Croatia, at a dog-friendly B&B. The owners said that almost anything …

After working in the mental health field for three years, it was time for an adventure. I purged my life of almost everything I owned, packed two old-fashioned trunks, and moved to Antalya, Turkey, with …