Hello, Ether World!

I hereby begin my life as a blogger. This here will be a collection of snapshots, travel tips, and mementos I’ve accumulated over the years–memories of the things I loved and that stuck with me through the everyday grey and beige. To set the tone, here are some recurring themes in my universe.

Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Botswana

(1) Work travel, it nudges. Invariably, I end up in extraordinary places at the worst possible time. Limitations abound: The weather is at its worst, I have only a couple of hours in a day to explore (often after closing times, and when I am about to collapse from exhaustion), and it’s almost never on weekends. This is a blessing, of sorts. The choices are so obvious and always an adventure–plus, I find, many places are more themselves off-season, off-hours, behind the scenes.

Pleasant surprises and accidental discoveries during my work travel shaped my approach to travel generally: I do the research but am also more spontaneous, more adventurous about the places we visit than ever before. Before long, this hidden-treasure hunt I’ve been forced into has become my preferred wandering style.

The Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery, nestled in the hills between El Morro and La Perla, old San Juan’s colorful slum, is an enchanting place

Racing Presidents, Washington Nationals game

(2) Home turf, it surprises. I am fortunate to live in one of the most cheap-tourist-friendly oases in the word: Washington, DC. This means free world-class museums, performances, and priority seating by the pulse of it all.

It took me years to realize that all this is still here, whether or not family visits.

Reenactors strolling at George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah

(3) Nature, it nurtures. Finally, as I search for a place to wind down, the joys are even more simplified: parks, nature reserves, gardens, my garden. Plant well, and it grows, it blossoms and brings more life. I (a nomad at heart, surely!) always resisted the family green thumb, and it skipped a generation with my parents. I thought I was safe too–until I got my very own patch of earth to greenify. Native and organic gardening and, by extension, hiking and bird watching came naturally as these floodgates opened.

Generations of  vagabond ancestors must be scandalized.

Early lotus flowers at the Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, one of DC’s best-kept secrets.

Note: All pictures on this site are, unless otherwise noted, either my own or taken by my partner, an avid and talented photographer. If you would like to reuse them, please ask for permission.