I am a Sweaty Betty. Always have been, always will be. I don’t know if it’s an official gene, but I got it from my father who was the same way. Though there is no cure for the condition, there is a treatment: air blowing on my face. It doesn’t…
The Dog Days Of Summer
Though mid-June, the humidity that accompanies this month and the two that follow every year in Southeastern Pennsylvania had graciously delayed its arrival into the region. On this day, temperatures in the high 80s were not formed by heavy, thick, warm air that once inside your body covers your bones…
Bonneville Salt Flats – Part 2
For Part 1, click here. Getting out of the rental car at Bonneville Salt Flats, my sneakers crunched on the salt crust. The appearance of the bright white surface screamed ice and snow despite the 93-degree temperature. Walking a few feet from the vehicle, I reached down to feel…
Pony Express
The Pony Express was a pioneering mail delivery system that used a relay of horseback riders. Operating for just 18 months between 1860 and 1861, riders sped across nearly 2,000 miles of rugged terrain between Missouri and California. It was a reliable process with letters being delivered in about 10…
Piper Can Be A Little Squirrely
Piper will carry part of his afternoon snack, Nutri-berries, up to the top of his mansion (we never call it a cage), the area known as the penthouse. This is a relatively new behavior in the last year. To see him carry a snack in his mouth almost the size…
Bonneville Salt Flats – Part 1
About 100 miles west of Salt Lake City near the Nevada border are the Bonneville Salt Flats. They are a densely packed 46-square-mile salt pan, a vestige of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville. The massive prehistoric lake covered much of the Great Basin region roughly 12,000 to 32,000 years ago. As the…
Shirts Tale
My husband pulled up to the curb and I hopped out of our rental car to use the bathroom at Bryce Canyon National Park. The woman already waiting turned to smile at me upon my arrival. “What is Sister Rain?,” she asked, seeing my t-shirt with its name, logo, tagline…
These Shoes Feel Just Right
One of the places I feel the most visually impaired is in an airport. No matter the location – in my aggressive home airport of Philadelphia or the much more chill vibe found on the other side of the country – fellow travelers either don’t see (that’s ironic) or ignore…
Utah State Capitol
While putting together our itinerary for the week, I came across a few photos of the Utah State Capitol, yet I was not prepared for the real-life grand home of the state’s government. Its neoclassical architecture is more DC than SLC. Situated on Capitol Hill in Salt Lake City, the…
A Hole Lot Of Love
“You’ve got a Piper poop on your shoulder,” I tell my husband. He was wearing a dark blue shirt so I could see the light spot. “It’s not a poop, it’s a hole,” he informed me. There is a current, popular expression: This is why we can’t have nice things….