Category: Travel
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The West Highland Way with Ali
Last week I returned home from the UK after having hiked the West Highland Way (WHW), Scotland’s premier long-distance trail. Beginning north of Glasgow in the town of Milngavie and finishing in Fort William, home of the UK’s highest peak, I experienced this 96 mile journey over eight days with friends both old and new….
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Mont Blanc with Ali
The invitation: Me: Any chance you’d be up for a hiking adventure this summer? Olga: I would LOVE it. It’s amazing what a simple inviation can intiate! I’m guessing the majority of our core memories in life begin after the extension of a simple invitation. This summer was no different, but while the invitation itself…
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How I Became a Guide at the Corrie Ten Boom Huis Museum
“Welcome to the Corrie Ten Boom House Museum. My name is Ali, and I’ll be your tour guide today.” In November 2021 just a few months after my family and I moved to The Netherlands, we decided to go walk around the adorable city of Haarlem for the day. It’s a city that I was…
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Walking in a winter wonderland: My Top Five Favorite German Christmas Markets
Nothing ushers in the holiday season like walking through a winter wonderland. And nothing is as enchanting as when that wonderland is situated along cobblestone streets and old half-timbered buildings. German Christmas markets are festive with lights, music, and oversized Christmas pyramids yet cozy with hot mugs of spiced glühwein to warm your hands and…
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From the water’s point of view: My Top 10 Favorite Places to Kayak
Some of my best memories as a child include playing in or near water. Pools, lakes, seas, or oceans, I didn’t discriminate. As a young girl, I played every pool game imaginable from underwater tea parties to Marco Polo, and I lost track of how many times I was “baptized” by friends in the shallow…
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Stockholm
We were scheduled for our home leave during the summer of 2024, and while it was great to reconnect with family and friends, I was a bit sad about leaving The Netherlands during their best months of the year and heading to the Southwest US where temps were soaring. I was equally sad about not…
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Tenerife
Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, is located off the western coast of Africa in the great Atlantic Ocean. While this is a location that my husband lobbied for, for quite some time, I was not on board initially and would continually suggest other places that I wanted to visit first. It wasn’t until…