Just Beyond the Highway Read More »
A Riverside Town That Holds Its Quiet Charm It’s easy to miss the turn into this historic riverside town, where cafés buzz with conversation and music drifts through the streets. Fortunately, turning around is worth the effort. Historic Occoquan, Virginia, rests along the bank of its namesake river. Modern cars may line its streets, but […]
Summer’s Soundtrack Read More »
How the Sounds of the Season Endure As I sat reading in the late afternoon, the sounds of summer drifted through the neighborhood and into the open window nearby. The book soon rested closed in my lap. The first notes of the afternoon arrived one by one. Somewhere down the block, a lawn mower hums,
As part of a travel writing class, we were given a 500-word memoir assignment: Revisit a photograph from a trip, return to the exact moment it was taken, and write about what we were doing and thinking at the time. This essay is the result. My son and I set out for a day on
Revisiting Toy Photography Read More »
My wife and I recently binged three Star Wars movies in one day and watched a fourth the following day, the original trilogy and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We are huge fans. Afterward, I found myself thinking about my early attempts at toy photography using some of my Star Wars action figures. So, I
A Different Kind of Pause Read More »
Over time, I found myself paying attention to something I hadn’t really noticed before, the small moments just before a decision is made. Not the decision itself, and not the outcome. Just that brief pause beforehand. The moment when something could go one way or another, often without much thought at all. They’re easy to
Reply With One Word: Resign Read More »
A federal employee reflects on the government’s “Fork in the Road” offer. In early 2025, federal employees across the government began receiving an email with a striking subject line: “Fork in the Road.” The message introduced a Deferred Resignation Program. Accept the offer, and you could leave your agency within weeks but remain on the
Greek Isles Cruise and Rome Adventure — Complete Travel Series Read More »
In the spring of 2025, we set out on a two-week journey through the Mediterranean that combined a cruise through several Greek Isles with several memorable days exploring Rome. Along the way, we visited Santorini, Kusadasi, Mykonos, and Naples before finishing the trip in the Eternal City. This page serves as a guide to all
Flight Home from Rome: Our United Polaris Experience to Dulles Read More »
This is post 17 in our Greek Isles Cruise and Rome Adventure series. After two memorable weeks exploring the Mediterranean, including several days in Rome, it was time to make the journey home. Our return flight home from Rome included a first-time experience for us — United’s Polaris business class — which made the long
A Day in the Marsh Read More »
A marsh changes constantly over the course of a day. Spend enough time in a marsh, and you begin to notice how much life unfolds in the smallest spaces. Light shifts, insects rise and fall, and small lives move quietly between danger and opportunity. The leaf was still cool from the night rain. A frog
Palatine Hill and Colosseum Tour in Rome: A Walk Through History Read More »
This is post 16 of our Greek Isles Cruise and Rome Adventure series. Our final full day in Rome included a Palatine Hill and Colosseum tour, two of the most recognizable landmarks in the city and places where the scale of ancient Roman history really begins to sink in. This article is part of the