The Key to Quito, Ecuador

What we THOUGHT was going to be a simple stopover on our way to The Galapagos Islands, turned out to be a gem of Colonial American history.

Quito’s Colonial Center is perhaps the largest and best preserved historic center in the Americas, and was the first New World city to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

And don’t get us started on the gigantic, winged Virgin Mary… CONTINUE READING >>

What we THOUGHT was going to be a simple stopover on our way to The Galapagos Islands, turned out to be a gem of Colonial American history.

Quito’s Colonial Center is perhaps the largest and best preserved historic center in the Americas, and was the first New World city to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

And don’t get us started on the gigantic, winged Virgin Mary… CONTINUE READING >>

Solvang: A Dollop of Denmark in California

Take Native and Spanish influences, intermix with ingredients from across the Pacific, add a dash of good old American cowboy western and…Eureka!, it’s Solvang, California.

CONTINUE READING >>

Take Native and Spanish influences, intermix with ingredients from across the Pacific, add a dash of good old American cowboy western and…Eureka!, it’s Solvang, California.

CONTINUE READING >>

Jousting with Middle Age

What is middle aged? I suppose we are implying the middle of our lifespan. So let’s say eighty years. That makes forty, give or take a few years, middle aged. Ninety is certainly a possibility, so, forty-five. Some of us might even live to be 100, so I can even go as high as fifty.

After that it gets a little curious. Fifty-five? Well, people have lived to 110, so let’s call the late fifties the absolute top side of middle age.

If someone sixty-plus is going around claiming to be middle aged, basically they are declaring… CONTINUE READING >>

What is middle aged? I suppose we are implying the middle of our lifespan. So let’s say eighty years. That makes forty, give or take a few years, middle aged. Ninety is certainly a possibility, so, forty-five. Some of us might even live to be 100, so I can even go as high as fifty.

After that it gets a little curious. Fifty-five? Well, people have lived to 110, so let’s call the late fifties the absolute top side of middle age.

If someone sixty-plus is going around claiming to be middle aged, basically they are declaring… CONTINUE READING >>

Let Us Introdoos-ya to Noosa, Australia

The area is stunningly beautiful — packed full of national parks, state forests, beaches, and wildlife — and is quite the foodie town!

Join your GypsyNesters as we jump into adventure, cavort with kookaburras, drop bears and mamils, swim at the base of a waterfall, and eat and relax our way through Noosa… CONTINUE READING >>

The area is stunningly beautiful — packed full of national parks, state forests, beaches, and wildlife — and is quite the foodie town!

Join your GypsyNesters as we jump into adventure, cavort with kookaburras, drop bears and mamils, swim at the base of a waterfall, and eat and relax our way through Noosa… CONTINUE READING >>

Am I a Snow Plow Parent? 7 Modern Parenting Terms

This glossary of modern parenting terms from around the world provides a cautionary tale through definitions. Could a Snow Plow Parent accidentally raise a Kidult in a perpetual state of Adultescence?

Snow Plow Parents
Like the snow removal apparatus, a Snow Plow Parent will be sure to… CONTINUE READING >>

This glossary of modern parenting terms from around the world provides a cautionary tale through definitions. Could a Snow Plow Parent accidentally raise a Kidult in a perpetual state of Adultescence?

Snow Plow Parents
Like the snow removal apparatus, a Snow Plow Parent will be sure to… CONTINUE READING >>

Wachau Talkin’ About? Austria Along the Danube

In this region — far removed from any modern hustle and bustle — the river winds beneath church towers, vineyards, and ancient castle ruins as it passes the hamlets that dot the hillsides along the banks.

No wonder the entire area has been named a UNESCO World Heritage… CONTINUE READING >>

In this region — far removed from any modern hustle and bustle — the river winds beneath church towers, vineyards, and ancient castle ruins as it passes the hamlets that dot the hillsides along the banks.

No wonder the entire area has been named a UNESCO World Heritage… CONTINUE READING >>

The Fiberglass Menagerie – the Mecca of Roadside Ginormous Stuff

Ever wonder where they came from? So did we! 

Nothing lifts the spirits while traveling through America quite like the sight of a fiberglass colossus looming in the distance. On a summertime roadtrip, through the shimmering heat from the highway, a form begins to take shape…

A sky-scraping Abe Lincoln, a Paul Bunyan the size of a small office building, a life-sized brontosaurus or a fish that could swallow an airliner — all have great power to inspire, or at least attract… CONTINUE READING >>

Ever wonder where they came from? So did we! 

Nothing lifts the spirits while traveling through America quite like the sight of a fiberglass colossus looming in the distance. On a summertime roadtrip, through the shimmering heat from the highway, a form begins to take shape…

A sky-scraping Abe Lincoln, a Paul Bunyan the size of a small office building, a life-sized brontosaurus or a fish that could swallow an airliner — all have great power to inspire, or at least attract… CONTINUE READING >>

St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest, Hungary

Szent István Bazilika, Saint Stephen’s, serves as the main church for Budapest. It is named for Saint Stephen I of Hungary, who tradition says became the country’s first King on Christmas in the year 1000… CONTINUE READING >> 

Szent István Bazilika, Saint Stephen’s, serves as the main church for Budapest. It is named for Saint Stephen I of Hungary, who tradition says became the country’s first King on Christmas in the year 1000… CONTINUE READING >>