Prisoner of Hopes

Tag: family

  • Sharing the Love: Travel Goals

    Sometimes I just enjoy things so much I want to share them. European traditional market days are some of my favorite travel days. Whether it is a giant flea market or small stalls, I am all in! So it was a delight to take my brother and two of my sister in laws on a…

  • Retracing Our Footsteps: Travel Goals

    Sometimes you encounter a place you can’t wait to share. I was captivated by Orta San Guilio and couldn’t wait to share it with my family. After excitedly sharing the virtues of a visit, we drove over on a bright Monday morning. The destination did not disappoint. First we trekked up the mountain to visit…

  • Valley of the Castles: Travel Goals

    We are up at dawn. This is the first real adventure with my extended family. My brother drives us over the mountain in his rental car. I am now in the backseat. No longer the driver or the navigator, I am left to look out the side window. I try not to be a backseat…

  • Anticipated Arrivals: Travel Goals

    I love hosting company, especially if the company is family. Today my siblings, minus my youngest brother are coming to join us at our Italian retreat. The house has been cleaned. Groceries are bought and now I wait impatiently for their arrival. I take a walk around our quiet neighborhood waiting for their plane to…

  • Markets and Mountains: Travel Goals

    Today is my favorite day! When I travel in Italy, I can’t wait for market day, the day that a town has a pop up outdoor market. Usually each town has a set day for the market. In that way vendors can go from town to town, and the townspeople can plan their shopping. This…

  • Mottarone, the tiniest Alp: Travel Goals

    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…

  • 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…

  • Stillness, Surgery, and Serenity

    If you know me, you know I rarely sit still. Even when I am “watching” television, I am usually doing a word puzzle or craft project. When I am driving, I ponder and grapple with ideas. I like to be on the move mentally and physically. So when my husband finally decides (after 10 years…

  • Don’t Overstay Your Welcome: Travel Goals

    I was always taught not to overstay your welcome. This colloquial saying communicates that you should always leave before your host tires of your presence. I generally like having company, but it is hard for people with different schedules and routines to coexist. In a campground, a diverse group of people are living in a…

  • Stuck In The Mud

    It started out innocently enough. We arrived home from a lengthy trip and realized that workers were coming the next day to start replacing our deck. Our RV usually sits on a large paved pad next to our house, but that area would be needed by the construction workers. My husband, just as he has…