Thursday Ramble: Blogaversary

 

THANK YOU ALL! 

I hope you enjoy this blog, I truly enjoy writing it, reading your comments and responding. You bring so much to my life. 

Twenty-one years ago today, I published the first post on the Adventures of Travel Penguin. For a couple of weeks I had been guest blogger for Stephen, a friend who lives in London, while he was away on holiday. I enjoyed writing and posting, and decided I would give it a try. At first I didn't tell anyone. The first decade or so was slow, then I started posting more often. I have not missed a day since 2015.

I often ask myself, why do I blog? I do this to share my photographs, and my thoughts. The commitment to posting daily was personal, I wanted to improve my writing. By making a commitment to post everyday, I was committing myself to writing a few pages every week. Writing has become easier; I hope my writing has become better. 

I try to stay positive and upbeat in my postings. There is plenty of anger on blogs, very valid anger. I try to avoid that here. I have strong political views, I am proudly WOKE, but I generally avoid politics here. I hope this is an oasis, a safe space. 

My sincere hope is to continue writing The Adventures of Travel Penguin as long as I have photos to share and something to say. I have well over 120,000 photos in the archive, there is little risk of my running out of photos, and I am still learning to be quiet. 

My World of Wonders: September 2, 2026

What have I been doing this week? Doing too much. I was asked to score grant applications on a tight deadline, written materials for a conference I am speaking at in early October were due, and I am drafting a couple of policy papers. All of these ended up needing to be done at the same time. A bit much. Oh, and I have an article to write by the end of the month. 

Where have I been this week? The treadmill, the pool, the community center, the farmers market. Target and Aldi, I simply needed to get out of the house. The library, and Mt Vernon. 

What is on the easel? Nothing. A lack of balance in my life. 

What am I reading? A book on community living for persons with disabilities, a model for de-institutionalizing older adults. 

Where should you visit this week? Your local public library. Libraries are one of the greatest resources in your community. They have something for everyone, children, young adults, middle aged adults, older adults.  They provide access to books, music, video, millions of dollars in resources available for our use. Libraries are places to learn, to be entertained, to make social connections.  We need to use libraries, or we risk losing them. 

Where have I been in this lifetime? I put together a list of airports I have flown in and out of, 86 of them. HNL, KGG, KOA, LIH, ANC, SEA, PDX, SFO, SMF, LAX,SNA,SAN,PHX,ABQ,RNO,LAS,SLC,FCA,BIS,RAP,DEN,MSP,STL,MCI,LIT,BHM,MEM,BNA,ORD,MDW,ATL,SAV,MCO,JAX,FTL,MIA,PBI, RDU, FAY, CLT, CAE, BHM, MSY, IND, CVG, CNH, CLE, DTW, FNT, TVC, PSM, BUF, JFK, LGA, EWR, PHL, BWI, DCA, IAD, RIC, RDV, HTS, LEX, SDF, BOS, PVD, SJU, KEF, DUB, GLA, LRW, LHR,AMS, CDG, MAD, FCO, FRA, MUC, FDH, VIE, LIN, ATH, YYZ, YUL,TPA, DAB. 

Where to next? 

 

Travel Tuesday: Exploring the Art on a Ship

 

Monday Moods: Life

Congratulations, if you are reading this, you woke up alive again today. Not everyone did. I assure you some of them were very surprised to wake up dead. 

Remember it does not matter what others think, if it makes you happy and does not injure others, do it. If you want to work hard today, do so, if you want to lay around in naked in bed all day, do it. 

Use the good stuff. Doc Spo recently mentioned moving the nice cocktail glasses to a lower shelf, so they will be seen and used. If you are saving it for a special day, today is special because you woke up alive again, use the good stuff. 

Life has challenges, it matter more how we respond to those challenges, than the challenges we face.  Be like a cat, kick some sand over it, and move on. 

Avoid those who say you have to do something, or you should never do something.  Those words, have to, and never do, get the attention of the algorithms that make social media rich, and often our lives poorer. Do what makes you happy. 

Deep down underneath it all, what we all want, is a safety and comfort. A place to live, to protect us from the weather, food to nourish our bodies, safe water to drink, security - knowing that no one is going to try to hurt us or deprive us of what we need to be safe and secure. 

That is life. 

The Sunday Five: Starbucks

1: Would you stop at this Starbucks, it is between the train station and the Palace of Versailles? 

2: When was the last time, you had something from a Starbucks? 

3: How do you feel about those who believe Starbucks is evil? 

4: Describe your local alternative to Starbucks? 

5: What is your order at Starbucks? 

My answers: 

1: Would you stop at this Starbucks, it is between the train station and the Palace of Versailles?  We walked right on by. 

2: When was the last time, you had something from a Starbucks?  A couple of weeks ago in a hospital lobby. 

3: How do you feel about those who believe Starbucks is evil? Starbucks ignited and interest in good coffee in the United States at a time when coffee in the USA was dismal at best. They have overgrown their welcome. 

4: Describe your local alternative to Starbucks? Misha's on King Street roasts in-house. https://mishascoffee.com/. Starbucks closed one of their two King Street locations. 

5: What is your order at Starbucks? Iced coffee or a Venti Mocha Frappuccino. 

Please share your answers in the comments.

The Saturday Morning Post: Your Internal Attitude Affects Your Creativity

I used to say, I can't draw, now I say, I am still developing my ability to draw.  If you think you can, or you think you can't, you are right either way. By changing my self description from I can't, to I am learning how - I change my internal attitude from negative to positive or at least possible.  Developing physical skills, be it athletic moves, dancing, or drawing takes work and practice for me. It does not mean I can't do it, just that I need to work at it. 

Most coaches and teachers either didn't have the time, or simply gave up, feeding the internal dialog of "I can't." I would get a passing grade on the art class project and no encouragement to develop beyond what was done and turned in. When I was in high school in Florida the physical education teacher had us doing "football runs through tires." To keep from falling, I slowed down, and focussed on each movement. The others shouted to hurry up, and the one brilliant coach said, "take your time, your body will learn the movements with practice." He was the only coach or teacher who ever encouraged me to develop at my speed. It has taken me a lifetime to realize that thinking "I can't, telling others that I can't," is a self defeating dialog. This past year, I have changed that, to I am learning, I am still developing, I am still experimenting. This changes my practice, and as they say, practice makes perfect, from an expectation of failure to a possibility of progress and success. 

And it is not just internal. When I talk with others about what I am learning and developing, I no longer start out with "I can't really draw," I start out with, "I am still developing my ability to draw." 

What you say and think, impacts your ability to create. Consciously change what you say to yourself and to others, and it will change your creative work.  

Funky Friday: Slow Down You Move To Fast

 https://youtu.be/z1Reuyu9e_o?si=tnzAGwry4hFylMdz  

I follow several travel forums on the book of faces, about the only thing worth seeing on that forum these days.  Every week, more like every day, someone posts their planned itinerary for comments, and I can't help but think, SLOW DOWN, you move to fast. People overplan, filling every hour with movement. They plan driving itineraries based on Google Maps saying it will take 2 hours and 14 minute to drive from point A to point B, and they have to get there or they won't finish their plan. Google Maps estimates that you are going to drive close to the speed limit for the route. In a lot of places you won't, or you certainly won't want to. My advice for driving in places like Iceland and Great Britain, is double the estimated driving time. That likely means you are not going to see it all. But you will really have time to see what you do see. 

When traveling, I like to plan at least one day a week with no plans. I may just want to spend the day not moving, or there may be something I want to go see that was not on my plan. I need time for that. I need time to slow down and enjoy where I am. Even business travel should not be hurried. About 20 years ago I did a consulting project in Alaska. The travel planner for the organization I was working with wanted me to fly in, about 10 hours of travel time from where I was living, get in late at night, work all day the next day, then there was a flight that left after midnight that would be the next day, for me to fly home.  I said, NO! I flew out a day early, spent an extra day having a little time to explore, then did the training day. What I remember about the trip home was that the plane I was on backed into another plane in Charlotte and getting home ended up taking almost 24 hours of travel. 

Overcome the fear of missing out. Plan half as much, plan unplanned days, relax, enjoy and truly enjoy the ride.