Prisoner of Hopes

Author: Roxanna Mechem

  • Museum Memories: Travel Goals Japan

    Museum Memories: Travel Goals Japan

    There is something satisfying about a museum. Maybe it is the orderliness or the care that goes into restoration. Perhaps it is the reverence for the objects ranging from the everyday to the rare. I am excited to see how Japan preserves its history and art at the Tokyo National Museum. We quickly discover that…

  • False Creek Ferry

    False Creek Ferry

    Today we take bus 10 to Granville Island. The bus lets us off at an overpass and we try to follow Google Maps down under the elevated main thoroughfare and onto an underpass walkway that leads to the market and the docks. It isn’t as straightforward as we think it should be, but we manage.…

  • Timeless Temples: Travel Goals Japan

    Timeless Temples: Travel Goals Japan

    In Kyoto, it seems there are temples at every turn. We are actually looking for something to eat when we stumble on the Higashi Hongan Ji Temple. We think we are walking toward food trucks, but the tents and trucks are part of a tea festival and we don’t have tickets. It is a bust.…

  • First Look Vancouver: Travel Goals Canada

    First Look Vancouver: Travel Goals Canada

    I may have mentioned in an earlier post that we like to take a big red bus tour of new cities on the day of arrival. Why, you ask? Well, we are usually tired after a long plane ride and struggling to stay awake to avoid jet lag. The bus driver does all the navigation.…

  • Totem Garden: Travel Goals Canada

    Totem Garden: Travel Goals Canada

    Today, I am standing in Stanley Park, Vancouver. I have a virtual meeting and here on Brockton Point I have great cell service. I find a secluded area and take the call. It is just around the corner from the Totem Park. While I talk, I have a front row seat to the parade of…

  • Scholarship: Character Matters

    Scholarship: Character Matters

    In this post, I invite you to embrace your inner word nerd. Because I want to talk about scholarship, and it is about to get semantic in a totally nerdy way. We’ve been having a discussion at work about core values and moral virtues and character strengths. (Sounds totally exciting right?). It turns out that…

  • Arrival: Travel Goals Canada

    Arrival: Travel Goals Canada

    Most days I love my rural home. Those days I am up before the sun, happily curled up in my favorite chair drinking coffee and either reading or writing. Today we have an early (5:30 am flight) and we live an hour from the airport. If you do the math; factoring travel time, airport parking…

  • Walking Tokyo Or Why I Think Your Feet Are Key To A Rich Travel Experience: Travel Goals Japan

    Walking Tokyo Or Why I Think Your Feet Are Key To A Rich Travel Experience: Travel Goals Japan

    There is never any doubt in my mind that the best way to get to point b from point a is to walk. This rule only applies when we travel. At home, I am more than happy to waste gas to take me three quarters of a mile to buy a luke warm latte made…

  • Tourist Mecca or Sacred Mountain?: Travel Goals Japan

    Tourist Mecca or Sacred Mountain?: Travel Goals Japan

    Today’s destination is Fushimi Inari Taisha, a temple that has over 3 miles of trail up Mount Inari. The mountain temple path is lined with over 10,000 Tori Gates. My son has picked the location because of internet reviews and photos of the Tori gates. It does look impressive and a little intimidating. However, if…

  • Prudence: Character Matters

    Prudence: Character Matters

    “It wouldn’t be prudent. Read my lips. No new taxes. A thousand points of light.”. If you are old enough to remember Saturday Night live in 1989, you can likely remember Dana Carvey’s impression of George Bush Senior. I can picture it. I haven’t heard anyone use the word prudent since then. Prudent. It is…