As someone with a great sense of direction who usually can find my way just about anywhere, I didn’t anticipate any challenges as I prepared for our trip to London. Then I looked at an Underground map and the headaches began. The map makes travel around London seem overly complicated. With dotted lines, overground routes,…

If you have no idea when to use “Wingardium Leviosa”, or don’t really care what house you might be sorted into, then a visit to the Warner Brothers Studio in Leavesden is a waste of time. For everyone else – especially those who would like to pet a hippogriff or see how an invisibility cloak…

Looking for a unique coffee spot? Some of Indiana’s small towns posses hidden gems, local coffee houses that offer wonderful brew plus charming atmosphere for anyone looking for a stop on their route or just a place to be inspired while working for a few hours. As a writer, I pretty much can work on…

Some know the famous highway by the old song, “(Get Your Kicks) on Route 66.” Some know it from books like “Grapes of Wrath”. My daughter knows Route 66 thanks to the animated movie Cars, which is the biggest reason we took a detour prior to a Las Vegas vacation to spend a few days…

Though Atlanta now sprawls far beyond its original boundaries, the best way to experience it is still at its heart in downtown. New construction sits side-by-side with the city’s history, with nods to those who have shaped Atlanta architecturally, culturally, and socially. The city’s symbol is the phoenix, and just as the mythical bird renews…

One of the themes of Tom Wolfe’s novel “Look Homeward Angel” is that you can’t go home again. It’s one of my few memories from reading the book, which was part of our 11th grade syllabus. The book was long and daunting, and perhaps we wouldn’t have gotten through it without frequent in-class reading and…

I’m not exactly a Disney fanatic. While I enjoy the Most Magical Place on Earth, my life doesn’t revolve around trips there.  For the cost of visiting Hollywood Studios, my family could go to Mexico three times. Instead of a week at EPCOT’s World Showcase, we could see the Doge’s Palace in person for roughly…

For the past seven years I’ve been a pageant mom. Not the “Toddlers and Tiaras” type  who knows about flippers and butt glue, I’m talking about the type of pageant mom who comes out of the woodwork right before Advent and whose job isn’t complete until Christmas Eve. As the organizer of our church’s annual…

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… (technically 1977 in Atlanta) I saw the movie Star Wars for the first time. As a youngster who had never experienced science-fiction, the film blew me away. It was a world beyond my imagination and I was hooked. Then Disney decided to do something bold…

One of my favorite writing jobs is for StandOutTruck.com. I get to write about small local businesses and what makes them unique. I also get to write about cool people who are discovered by Stand Out Truck owner, Mychal Connolly. Mychal was once a kidpreneur – a young entrepreneur –  and now when he spots…