Blog Posts

Here are all of my blog posts.

HWP Day 1: Segedunum to Newcastle

While our Hadrian’s Wall Path itinerary from Macs Adventures has us walking from Segedunum to Heddon in one long 17+ mile day, we arrived in Newcastle a day early…
Introduction to Hadrian’s Wall Path and Our Plan to Walk It

At the beginning of this year, Janet and I were hungry to complete another multiday hike in England, but it’s difficult to choose as there are many options. There…
Three Nights in Colorado’s Gore Range

Samuel and I were hungry for an adventurous backpacking trip. It had been a couple of years since we had completed Arkansas’s Eagle Rock Loop and three years since…
Hiking the Solamere Trail in Park City, Utah

As we were in Park City for a wedding, a hike was in order. One family member had some sore chest muscles which is a symptom of altitude sickness…
Golden’s Clear Creek Canyon Park

During our trip to help Samuel prepare his apartment for his second year at the Colorado School of Mines, we’ve finally been able to do some exploring! Earlier in…
A PhD in Bible Exposition at Liberty University

TL;DR: I completed a master’s in theological studies and a PhD in Bible Exposition over four years at Liberty University. The post below outlines the timeline, shares my experiences,…
Organizing A High School Theatre’s Wardrobe – Part 2

It’s almost a year since I penned “part 1” of our journey organizing “The Warehouse” for our high school’s theatre department. Now that we have completed the project as…
Samuel and Kylie’s Alaska Cruise

On this trip, I went on a cruise with Kylie and her family to Alaska on the Norwegian Bliss! Leaving port from Seattle and visiting the southeast portion of…
Remembering D Day

On 6th June 1944 when I was cycling along the Bath Road, near Hounslow, with a big field of cabbages on my left, little did I realise that in…
Tennessee – Summary and Reflection

Visiting Tennessee was on our list-to-visit as it’s a potential move-to destination. Bailey visited with some of her friends earlier in 2024 and her inspiration was the foundation for…
TN Days 10 & 11 – Good Bye Nashville Until Next Time

Our final day in Nashville was just some chill visiting. We went to a fine Farmer’s Market, which I forgot to photograph… The girls loved browsing the stalls, with…
TN Day 9 – Horses and a Sunset

Today was about riding horses at the Natchez Trace Trailrides, about an hour Southwest of our house, back toward Franklin. But first we grabbed a quick breakfast on the…
TN Day 8 – Goo Goo and The Grand Ole Opry

After some fine sausage and cream cheese bars for breakfast courtesy of Kylie and Samuel, it was off for our chocolate making experience with the Goo Goo Chocolate Company.…
TN Day 7 – Nashville Biscuits, Murals, and The Listening Room

We experienced a fine assortment of Nashville’s best, showcasing different types of artistry. While I write this, much of Houston is without power after a devastating storm last night…
TN Day 6 – The Grand Ole Opry and more

It all started in 1925 when the National Life and Accident Insurance Company started a radio station with country music for barn dances on Saturday nights. They called the…
TN Day 5 – Welcome to Nashville

The vibe in Nashville compared to Pigeon Forge / Gatlinburg is so different. While the Tennessee accent still prevails and there are crowds of tourists, Nashville seems classier. There…
TN Day 4 – Another Waterfall and Dollywood

We could also do things separately, as we had two cars. So Bailey and Jett headed off to Dollywood because they wanted to (well, Bailey did…) and the rest…
TN Day 3 – Mother’s Day and More Bears

The first mission on Mother’s Day, as per Janet (with Bailey’s guidance) was breakfast at Gatlinburg’s Pancake Pantry. We had seen the long queue outside of it yesterday, so…
TN Day 2 – Birds, Anakeesta, and Bears

I spent a relaxed morning photographing birds while waiting for fine breakfast tacos from Bailey and Jett. Then the vulture swooped by, never landing as he soared circles continuously…
TN Day 1 – Gatlinburg and Dolly

The deck proves to be the perfect location for writing the blog! Yesterday’s Cardinal returned and joined me briefly on the deck, but was too shy for a photo.…
TN Day 0 – Driving to Gatlinburg

Who had suggested getting up at 2 am? It had made sense the night before with a 1000 mile drive ahead of us, but the logic was absent when…
Two Weeks in New Zealand

It’s time to reflect and ruminate on what we’ve done, both to help us remember this trip and to improve how we do other trips or even return. Planning…
NZ Day 13: Getting Home

This was not a day of interesting activities, but it’s a useful reference for the journey from NZ to TX. For a 3:40pm international departure from Auckland, we left…
NZ Day 12: The Finale

It was another chill day with little preplanned. We all enjoyed a lie-in after the late night, followed by a chill day. The slow start allowed me to catch…
NZ Day 11: Kiwis, Redwoods, and 2024!

We all enjoyed our lie-ins with nothing specific planned for the day. After the suggestions from Vicky yesterday and our own preferences, seeing some kiwis remained the highest priority…
NZ Day 10: SCUBA Diving in the Bay of Plenty

Our hectic schedule was making all of us pretty tired but Samuel and I had one more day of adventure booked: diving. I’d booked a day with Dive Zone…
NZ Day 9: New Plymouth to Rotorua

This was a really fun day with two very cool tours that we did en route to Rotorua. We woke up to somewhat wilder weather with heavy rain and…
NZ Day 8: Hiking the Pouaki Crossing

In summary, this was not a great day. It was a hiking day and the weather wasn’t great, but the hiking trail compounded the issue a lot! I need…
NZ Day 7: Wellington to New Plymouth

For what was mainly a travel day, we did lots of fun things too! The room was very comfortable, but the sounds of the city caused some restlessness. We…
NZ Day 6: Christchurch to Wellington

This was a travel day as we move from the South Island to the North. It was a welcome change of pace with a variety of modes of transportation…
NZ Day 5: Twizel to Christchurch

Merry Christmas! This post might reach some of you on this great day, and I wish you a blessed one. It has been for us. We had slept well,…
NZ Day 4: Queenstown to Twizel

It was a day with ups and downs, and up and down… After a brief stop on the edge of Queenstown at one of the many fine coffee shops…
NZ Day 3: Milford Sound to Queenstown

The title makes this sound like a reverse of yesterday. I guess it was, but it was still amazing. By the end of the day, we were somewhat overwhelmed.…
NZ Day 2: Queenstown to Milford Sound

We would not have believed that a seven-hour coach-ride could be so amazing, and that was just the day’s warmup! We slept very well in those comfy beds and…
NZ Day 1: Houston to Queenstown

Technically, this covers a couple of “Day 0s” as it goes from Tuesday to Thursday, though we lost Wednesday somewhere in the middle of the Pacific! After a fine…
New Zealand, Here We Come!

It’s time for our next trip, and this is a big one. For years, New Zealand has drawn Samuel to its far shores, and it has always been on…
Reflections on the Cotswold Way

After any adventure, it’s fun and constructive to reflect. The plan was not to write this up three months after we finished, but life got in the way. I…
The Cotswold Way Day 5: Painswick to Cooper’s Hill

Bus times caused us to try a section “backwards” which was fun over a great stretch of the trail. Getting back to Crickley Hill, where we left the Cotswold…
The Cotswold Way Day 4: Cleeve Hill to Shurdington

Neither our starting or ending points were on the Cotswold Way today, which reflects the logistical challenge. My gratitude for the feedback I get from y’all, either in Facebook…
The Cotswold Way Day 3: Winchcombe to Cheltenham Race Course Station via Cleeve Hill, with Steam Train

Today’s excitement included meeting up with my sister Jane and her husband, and finding ice cream at just the right time. The steam train was pretty cool too. The…
The Cotswold Way Day 2: Toddington to Winchcombe via Belas Knap

Today was made more exciting with my friend James joining us. Our last hike together was last century in Ecuador, so it was good to catch up! We started…
The Cotswold Way Day 1: Chipping Campden to Toddington

Hang on. Toddington isn’t on the Cotswold Way. But it’s close and it was a fine end to our first day’s walk. Today’s challenge was logistics. The first challenge…
The Cotswold Way: Wedding and Macbeth Preludes

Our “reason for coming” became a fantastic time in Ulverston, and we squeezed in a couple of nights in Stratford-Upon-Avon en route to the Cotswolds. We had had to…
The Cotswold Way: Our Plan

It’s time for another hike! This opportunity has been triggered by a wedding invite from friends we saw on our Grasmere rest day during our Coast-to-Coast adventure last summer…
Reflections on an Adventurous Family Trip to Oahu

I hesitate to write a “reflections” post, as I hesitated to write a daily blog of our Hawaii trip. It was just a vacation, so it wasn’t that adventurous!…
Organizing A High School Theatre’s Wardrobe – Part 1

In helping our son’s high school theatre company, Janet and I identified the need and challenge of organizing the costumes. Before starting the organization project, I researched online and…
Hawaii – Day 7

Our final morning! As with most other mornings, I woke up around dawn (5:50) and caught up on processing photos and blogging on the house’s back porch. It had…
Hawaii – Day 6

First, we headed to Waialua Coffee where we drank fresh coffee, had a tour of their small coffee and chocolate making facilities, and found souvenirs with reasonable prices. Today’s…
Hawaii – Day 5

SCUBA day! Samuel and I had picked up some rental gear from a dive shop and we were ready to go. We’d brought our own basic gear including my…
Hawaii – Day 4

It was time for a hike! We headed out at 7:30 for a 30-minute drive to the Hau’ula loop around the northern tip of the island. We waited out…
Hawaii – Day 3

Today was slower than yesterday which we needed. The highlight was the evening with Toa Luau, and their ticket included entrance to visit their botanical gardens and waterfall. We…
Hawaii – Day 2

This was a varied day as we explored the area from Pearl Harbor via Honolulu and Waikiki to Diamond Head. We had a reservation on the first boat for…
Hawaii – Day 1

What is better to do on one’s first day in Hawaii other than surfing? We’d booked lessons with a shop in Haleiwa, though I was first with some others…
Hawaii – Day 0

I hadn’t planned to blog this vacation, but a few people asked for updates, so why not. The plan is certainly to have an adventure, with Kylie and Jett…
The Theatre Journey of a High School Graduate

Preparing to send one’s youngest child to college triggers an array of hopeful forward-looking expectations and pensive reflections. These converged when I wrote an introductory email about Samuel on…
The Eagle Rock Loop in November 2022

The 27-mile Eagle Rock Loop (ERL) in the Ouachita National Forest in southwest Arkansas has been on my “list” for several years. At nearly 400 miles from Houston, it…
Reflections on the Coast to Coast

After any significant adventure, I like to gather and publish my thoughts a few days after it is finished. Such a reflective post can help others plan something similar…
Highlights of our 2022 Coast to Coast Crossing

It is difficult to get one’s head around an adventure as large as hiking England’s Coast to Coast over 18 days. To help the reader appreciate the whole trip…
Coast to Coast Day 19: Robin Hood’s Bay to Heathrow

Team Sloth has made it to Heathrow, which is where the blog’s storytelling should end. Just like there was a “Day 0” before we started, I add one at…
Coast to Coast Day 18: Grosmont to Robin Hood’s Bay

This is what we set out for when we left St. Bees. With the finish this close, my family’s primary focus was finishing. With what looked like being the…