In 2006 I dusted off my old walking shoes and realized it was time to drop 20 pounds and get healthy again. I started walking five miles a day every day I could manage. Almost 15 years later, I’ve logged my progress across the country and have walked farther than the distance from my home in northern Wisconsin to Seattle and then up to Anchorage. In celebration, I have visited both cities and have my eyes set on the Great Wall of China – when I finally walk that distance from my home.
Since I began my walking, I have encountered sleet, wind, rain, snow and ice. I have sweltered in the midwest humidity. I have shared deep talks with walking friends. I have been forced indoors onto my treadmill and into the local mall where I enjoy watching the Christmas decorations come out for the holiday season. I have watched my children grow from kindergarten through high school, and I have struggled with personal relationships. Through it all, my walks have kept me grounded – literally.
I have marked the progress of time as I walked with books on tape, then books on CD, then books on iPod and fianlly books on my iPhone. My distance is now marked by GPS. Sometimes, I turn the books off and walk in silence as I was taught to do by a wise medicine man in the Cook Islands; some days I walk with a friend. Most recently I have been exploring the free feeling of wind in my hair as I have been turned onto the joy of biking by my new husband.
Walking and biking don’t hurt my joints, they allows me time to chat with friends, meditate or catch up on good books or podcasts, and they encourage me to stay healthy as I look forward to far-away adventures.
On this website you will find some freelance stories I wrote a few years ago for Copley and Creators syndicates, and you will find my travel stories. They are my passion. When I head out to write a travel story, I am pulled into a destination’s history, I meet it’s people, and I explore to find the secrets that I want to share with my readers…you. Thanks for being a part of my inspiration.
