Prisoner of Hopes

Category: Nature

  • Gardens and Galleries in Verbania: Travel Goals Italy

    Gardens and Galleries in Verbania: Travel Goals Italy

    Some days just exceed my expectations. I wake up to a beautiful pink sunrise. The rain has washed the earth clean and the birds are singing their thanks. We have no where to be and take our time, lingering over coffee. We drive around the lake to Verbania and the Villa Taranto. I am not…

  • Mottarone, the Tiniest Alp: Travel Goals Italy

    Mottarone, the Tiniest Alp: Travel Goals Italy

    The morning broke cool and cloudy. Because the forecast for the rest of the week included rain, we decided to drive up to the top of Mottarone. The smallest mountain in the Alps. The tiniest Alp. The road was surprisingly busy, and unsurprisingly winding and narrow. Gangs of cyclists clogged the road. Once we got…

  • Alpine Adventure: Travel Goals Italy

    Alpine Adventure: Travel Goals Italy

    It is raining this morning. Light misty rain, but moving into an all day steady drizzle. I search google maps and apple weather for patches of dryness to see if anywhere close is a better (drier) way to spend our day. Rain. Check again. More rain. Eventually, I find dry patches high in the Italian…

  • Lost in Time: Travel Goals Italy

    Lost in Time: Travel Goals Italy

    Isola Pescatori, the island of the fishermen, was meant to be a brief stop. We sought out a quiet restaurant on a remote alley, away from the tourist boat crowds. The waiter took us up flights of stairs and seated us in a window overlooking the rooftops. The pasta was fresh and regional, accompanied by…

  • Isola Bella- The Beautiful Island: Travel Goals Italy

    Isola Bella- The Beautiful Island: Travel Goals Italy

    The day started slowly. We changed plans again and again. Finally we decided to go to Stresa to see if we could find spots on the Centovalli rail and boat excursion to Switzerland. The people at the travel agency were great and so helpful. We laughed and chatted, only to find out that the tracks…

  • Stress Free Stresa: Travel Goals Italy

    Stress Free Stresa: Travel Goals Italy

    It is a rare day that we both awaken at about the same time. In sync, we enjoy coffee. My husband decided to try Italian toasted bread. You buy it prepackaged and already toasted. It is hard as a rock. I took a hard pass. He is desperate because there is no toaster in the…

  • Skunked

    Skunked

    Friday started out normally. I had laundry running and was packing for an upcoming trip. As I moved from room to room, I caught whiffs of an unusual odor. I kept working. There was a heat wave, with temperatures reaching 100 and I wasn’t too keen on working outside in between my zoom calls and…

  • Give a Hoot: Rural Road Trips Missouri

    Give a Hoot: Rural Road Trips Missouri

    Encounters in nature are calming and peaceful. Sayings like ‘leave only footprints, take only pictures and kill nothing but time’, remind us that our wild spaces should be protected. Every outdoor enthusiast seems to understand the gift and works hard to protect and preserve natural spaces. Unfortunately, there are others that are not so in…

  • Can You Help?: Travel Goals Missouri

    Can You Help?: Travel Goals Missouri

    When we signed up to be a campground host, I wasn’t fully aware that part of the job would be managing crisis. I should have expected it, but mostly I thought about cheerfully sharing camping stories and answering guest questions. I guess it is a good thing that I have decades of prior experience as…

  • Campground Host: Rural Road Trips Missouri

    Campground Host: Rural Road Trips Missouri

    This month, instead of a grand overseas adventure, we decided to see what it would be like to serve as a campground host in a Missouri State Park. I love to camp and I love the woods, but will I still be in love at the end of the month? My morning ritual is to…