Have you ever had a strong desire to discover your roots—I mean, where you hail from, the place where your grandparents or great-grandparents once called home? It seems a lot of us have. Ancestry.com claims more than 15 million people are currently in their network, and more than 16 million have gone through their DNA analysis. Sometimes, the results are …
As a person born in the latter half of the twentieth-century, I entered the modern world with its motorized cars, having no experience of transportation modes in earlier centuries. Later I married a man who reads car magazines, like Road and Track, with voracious interest. Yet, as a woman intrigued by history, it’s an exciting find to walk into a …
Merry Christmas and many blessings to all who’ve spent time reading and responding to my blog over the last several months. You are appreciated more than you know and in my heart and in my prayers. May you know God’s light and love as you move into 2021. Stay safe and healthy! Good people all, this Christmas time Consider well …
Like me, you probably noticed the Christmas season started a little early this year. Shattered and shuttered by COVID’s impact on our lives, the symbols of Christmas sprang up across our community almost immediately following Halloween. Perhaps even you put up your Christmas tree and hung lights before Thanksgiving. According to a Denver Post article on November 19th, home decorators …
Since Christmas is just around the corner, I thought it only fitting to give tribute to the season and why we celebrate Christmas. So, I’m switching things up for the next few weeks. My emphasis is on the history behind Christmas and its celebrations. Today, I’m looking at the Christian Church’s celebration of Advent. Celebrating Advent has been a family …
No one can argue the significance of that fateful night on April 14, 1912 when the Titanic went down in history as one of the most tragic ship wrecks of all time. The enormity of it—the sequence of events, the intricacies of the lives of those who survived and those who did not, the dynamics of how the ship sank—has …
Almost 400 years have passed since the First Thanksgiving. It’s hard to imagine that Americans in the 21st century could have much in common with a boat-load of people who hadn’t yet gone through the Industrial Revolution, let alone comprehend the complexities of the computer age. How can we compare in any way to their world in 1621? In many …
Fans of the Harry Potter franchise may recall that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s (Philosopher’s) Stone kicked off the film series in September 2000 with a final scene at Hogsmead Station. Hagrid waves goodbye to the students, having lived through their first year at Hogwarts. The scene foreshadows the future as they continue their magical journey. Hogsmead Station actually exists, …
By now you’re probably aware today is Veterans Day, if you live in or are a citizen of the United States. If you’ve Googled anything in the United States, you’ve seen an interesting rendering of what looks like an American Flag on the homepage. But why do we celebrate Veterans Day? Originally called Armistice Day, it was declared in celebration …
Have you ever visited a place that so staggered you that it had an indelible effect on your life? Some veterans and their families experience overwhelming tears when they visit the Pearl Harbor National Memorial in Waikiki, Hawaii. Others feel that same emotional tug on their hearts when they see the 911 Memorial and Museum. Many who tour Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, …
Today, our journey takes us to the Near East to the ancient Nabatean city of Petra. We will be heading south from Amman, Jordan to an area below the Dead Sea. Petra had been on my bucket list for years, so I approached it with great enthusiasm. Nothing could have prepared me for the breath-taking awe of the 2.7-mile (4.3 …
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live underground? Today in my History, Travel, and Adventure Blog, I switch directions back to Europe and take us to a lesser-known, but no less fascinating place in the Andalucían province of Granada, Spain. Located on a plateau at almost 3,000 feet (913 meters) in the shadow of the Sierra …