Since I went to Malawi to teach, getting out to see the sights was not a top priority. However, my one Sunday between teaching did make for an interesting day. It began with participating in a worship service from which I learned a lot about Malawian church culture. The day ended with a quick trip to the best known tourist area of Malawi, Lake Malawi. It was definitely a good day. The church I attended was on the campus where…
Discovering Malawi, a Red Bricks World
I didn’t go to Malawi as a tourist to travel through the various parts of the country. I went to teach. Most days I never even left the compound where I stayed. However, I did get out a few times, and from that I want to share some impressions of this lesser known country. When I mention going to Malawi, often the first question people ask is, “Where is that?” Malawi is in the southeastern portion of Africa. It is…
Malawi Travel; Whose Plan?
One of the first blog posts I wrote was entitled “Why Travel?” My purpose was to suggest that there are more reasons to travel than just the traditional idea of business or pleasure. However, after a recent trip to Malawi, I think I have found a variation of one of my reasons. See what you think. To understand my thinking you must understand that I am a teacher. I believe teaching is my calling and gifting. While I made my…
Palms to Pines Road Trip
A fellow blogger Mike in his travel blog often talks about the value of just wandering in a city with no particular plan. This was about to happen to us. After realizing we were not going to go up in the Palm Springs Tram, we cast about for a way to spend out final day in Palm Springs. We ended up wandering through the nearby mountains traveling what is known as the Palms to Pines scenic byway. It had never…
The Delights of Joshua Tree National Park
One of our priorities when we visited Palm Springs, California over Christmas was a trip down to Joshua Tree National Park. With the nearest entrance only about an hour away, it makes for a great day trip to get you out in nature, nature that is quite unusual. Joshua Tree National Park is a large park in the desert. It actually covers two desert environments which have distinctive flora in them. The Joshua trees are not all over the park…
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Palm Springs Impressions
This past Christmas our family decided we wanted to do something different to celebrate the holidays. Hawaii was at the top of the list, but it is so expensive to go there at Christmas time. After some discussion we settled on Palm Springs, California. None of us had spent any time there, and we thought we would enjoy some warm, sunny weather over Christmas rather than the typical cold, wet, gray skies of Seattle. While we did stay in Palm…
What are You Taking Pictures Of?
With the cameras in phone becoming so powerful, the number of pictures taken on a regular basis around the world has increased to an amazing number. In April the WordStream Blog reported that 95 million photos and videos were shared on Instagram per day. That just boggles the imagination. So what are these photos about? Anyone interested in traveling has likely taken numerous pictures, but what do our pictures say about us and our understanding about the world? In recent…
Two Interesting Day Trips Beyond Las Vegas, Nevada
Most people go to Las Vegas, Nevada for gambling, drinking and partying. However, if you grow tired of these activities or are just not into that sort of thing, it doesn’t mean you have to sit in your hotel room. Here are two options of things you can easily do in a day or even in an afternoon. However, they are on opposite sides of the city so it is probably not the best to try to do them on…
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Autumn in Pinnacles National Park
Pinnacles National Park is a newer national park. It only became a national park in 2013. Perhaps because it is newer explains the reason why many people aren’t even aware of it. While it is located just 80 miles south of San Jose, it is the 13th least visited national park in the United States. Only a little over 233 thousand people visit in a year. Compare that to the 4 million who visit the popular Yosemite National Park just…
The First Christmas Journey
The tag line for this blog is Life’s a journey. Travel often. Learn much. In our day and age travel is fairly convenient. We may fuss about the crowded planes, uncomfortable hotel rooms, or expensive meals, but truly we have it so much better than those who came before us. Consider Mary and Joseph. They went on a journey, but not one they chose. They were commanded to go to their ancestral home for a census, and the timing couldn’t…