This weekend marked five years since we first began camping at Loyd Park, a little piece of paradise about a half-hour from our “sticks and bricks” home in Oak Cliff. It would be challenging to count the many weekends we’ve spent at our favorite backyard campground, and the many times we’ve extended our stay from…
Once upon a hot week in July, Jon decided to vacation in Phoenix. As the plane was about to land, the pilot announced that the temperature was 117 degrees. The woman in the next seat turned to Jon and said, “It’s a dry heat.” Jon responded, “It may be, but it’s still hot!” Our weekend…
We hadn’t been to Loyd Park since January, when we promised ourselves we would never return. At the start of 2020, the park implemented a price increase that made us reconsider Cedar Hill State Park as our weekend destination. After spending eight consecutive weekends at Cedar Hill SP, we were required to shelter from home…
An April 3, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to striking sanitation workers in Memphis, telling them the reason he had joined them in their month-long protest of their working conditions was simple: “We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are determined to be people. We are saying that we are…
While far too many stir-crazy Americans threw caution to the wind this weekend and ventured out of their COVID-19 isolation chambers to hit beaches, boardwalks, and bistros throughout the land, we spent our time at the Sanger KOA reflecting on the meaning of Memorial Day. The official observance of Decoration Day began in 1868, when…
Little did we know on March 22 that we would spend the next eight weeks sheltering in place at Hampshire amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Jon began working from home on March 18, and will likely continue doing so until at least June. We’ve limited out outings to shopping for essentials, and then only Cliff goes…
For most of the 19th century, Great Britain engaged in a diplomatic practice that came to be called “splendid isolation.” The nearly century-long policy was characterized by a refusal to enter into permanent alliances or commitments with other European nations, effectively leaving Britain without any friends. The policy ended with the 1904 Entente Cordiale and…
With much of the nation struggling to figure out what we’ve got on our Purell-soaked hands, we headed to Cedar Hill State Park, which proclaimed itself “a premier social distancing environment.” To be sure, the COVID-19 outbreak has profoundly affected daily life: no public gatherings, no Broadway shows, no trips to Disneyland, no March Madness,…
The conversation about COVID-19 — a new strain of coronavirus disease that has quickly spread to 89 countries around the globe — continues to dominate every encounter, even those between strangers at camp. While there is cause for concern, it’s also important to keep the outbreak in perspective. The 1918 flu pandemic killed 675,000 Americans…
As we prepared our Date Night dinner, Josh Groban’s version of “Pure Imagination” started playing on our Amazon music station, bringing to mind “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” the movie for which it was written. Cliff said, “we must see it again,” and Jon agreed, saying “let’s watch it tonight!” And so, despite having…
The weekend found us returning to Cedar Hill State Park, this time to a site near the water’s edge. After enjoying a tenderloin steak grilled to perfection along with roasted potatoes, charred asparagus, and sauteed mushrooms and onions, we settled into a viewing of “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” The 2019 biographical drama, starring…
When Jon was a young boy growing up in Illinois, the state observed two individual presidential holidays in February: Lincoln’s Birthday, on February 12, and Washington’s Birthday, on February 22. Beginning in the 1960s, efforts were made to join the two days as a way of giving equal recognition to two of America’s most famous…
We knew we were in for a treat this weekend, with the Snow Moon at its zenith on Saturday night. But we weren’t prepared for the celestial show that awaited us. On Friday and Saturday, we witnessed spectacular sunsets and moonrises, as well as moonsets and sunrises — all from our new favorite perch overlooking…
The weekend weather forecast was almost unbelievable: clear skies and daytime temperatures in the upper 60s and lower 70s. Even though we had taken Cloud 9 to A&P Vintage Trailer Works for our washer/dryer repair last weekend, we were determined to go camping this weekend, if we could get the Airstream back in time. A…
Once again, MLK Day found us camping out, but due to unforeseen circumstances. We had planned to take Cloud 9 in to the repair shop for a dryer fix, but that had to be postponed until next weekend. And we thought we would have to take Maya in to the vet each day for a…
