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…
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…
In the 1970s, comedienne Gilda Radner introduced us to Roseann Rosannadana, a commentator on Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update” segment who always ended her routine with the line, “It’s always something,” which was a favorite expression of Radner’s father. Later in life, Radner chose the catch-phrase as the title for her memoir, which dealt with…
Jon’s supervisor asked about our plans for the weekend, and he told her we were headed to one of our favorite backyard campgrounds. She asked why do we stay so close to home when there are so many great destinations just a few hours away. Well, considering we start most weekends on Fridays at 5…
