Year in review: My top ten places in 2010.

January 4, 2011Stories - about travel

“No one ever regarded the First of January with indifference. It is that from which all date their time, and count upon what is left. It is the nativity of our common Adam.” — Charles Lamb As we move further into 2011, I wanted to not only take the time to look back on the … Read More

In the volcanic valley: Day five on the North Island.

July 22, 2010Stories - about travel

In the valleys of southwest Iceland, the Great Geysir is part of a system of hot springs that, in addition to spewing boiling water some seventy meters into the air, have lent their name to the English word for ‘geyser.’ The word ‘geysir’ itself comes from the Old Norse verb geysa, to “gush” or “rush … Read More

Information overload on the North Island.

July 12, 2010Stories - about travel

Somehow, I’d ended up in Rotorua for the night. Well, I knew exactly how it happened. State Highway 1 had led me from Hamilton through Cambridge to Tirau, where I picked up SH5 to Rotorua. But I was late leaving Raglan; partly because it was such a lovely little town and partly because things got … Read More

Tirau, a small-town success story.

July 12, 2010Stories - about travel

On the highway out of Cambridge, I’d passed a large warehouse-like building with the words “Corrugated Creations” painted on the side like a built-in billboard. There were a few cut-outs scattered around the complex – made from corrugated iron, of course – large cartoon-ish images of a donkey, a car, and an alien eye, but … Read More

Surf’s up in Raglan.

July 9, 2010Stories - about travel

I have a habit of expecting a lot from myself. It began in high school, I suppose, this self-enforced pressure. While friends faced the gauntlet of their parents to achieve and succeed, I answered to no one but my own high standards. I was the one pushing myself into college admissions meetings and AP classes, … Read More