January 6, 2021. Everyone had placed such hope on the promise of a new year. Saying good-bye to hellacious 2020 and hello to the potential for change in 2021. Surely, life had to get better, right? Little did we know.

C&O Canal. It was a day to go outside. The C&O Canal in the Carderock Recreation Area was the destination. Turns out, we also discovered the Billy Goat Trail along the Potomac River. As much as I love winter and long for a beautiful peaceful snowfall, we embraced the warm December day and headed out on the backroads of Maryland.

Capitol Stones. You know how it is when you tell yourself you really shouldn’t have that third piece of chocolate, and then all you want more than anything else in life is that piece of chocolate? That’s what it feels like, in my mind, to have a passport collecting dust and being told we can’t leave the country. Nope, not even to pop up to Toronto, Canada to visit family. When someone tells me I can’t do something, it becomes the one thing I want more than anything. Is it just me?

The Charm of Kensington. I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Well, it’s not so much a secret, maybe more of a confession given the current state of affairs. I’m having a tough time finding the motivation to put fingers to keyboard these days. Given that there is still an international ban on US travelers, it would seem likely that not too many people are dreaming of faraway places. Although, there are definitely people out there finding a way to change the scenario of their lives as RV sales rise.

Sometimes, the best thing we can do for ourselves is to take a detour. Stop and embrace the moment wherever it may be. Our most recent detour found us walking in a field of sunflowers. But first…

We unintentionally picked one of the hottest days in early July to further explore Maryland’s back roads. Our destination for the day, Historic White’s Ferry in Dickerson, Maryland. The temperature was right around 92 degrees. I don’t know what the actual humidity level was but I’d stand by guesstimating off-the-charts. Summer, in the Washington, DC region feels swampy and mosquitoes reign supreme. The surrounding countryside in Maryland and Virginia is beautiful, but it’s hot and sticky too.

Our name says it all, One Road at a Time. It’s always been our travel mantra and lately we’ve been finding ourselves wanting to get back on the road. But in this time of Covid-19, is it safe to travel? No way we’d board a flight, but are daycations, road trips, Airbnb stays, glamping, camping and RV travel the best way to travel for the foreseeable future? We decided to take a test run daycation to Middleburg, VA to see if we could make it work; to hit the road safely.

Google memories reminded me that five years ago, April 2015, we were just finding our stride as we started walking what would be 350 miles on the Camino de Santiago across Spain. One year ago, April 2019, we set out to walk 145 miles of the Camino Portuguese. Taking on a long walk is a journey in which one can easily lose track of time and days. It becomes your life, all consuming. Now, here we are, April 2020, living by far the most surreal existence to date. I call it, life in a pandemic bubble. I can’t define it any other way. It too, is all consuming.

Social distancing. It’s the new catch phrase (hashtag). Unless you’ve been living in the most remote parts of the world, you’re well-aware of the headlines. The coronavirus has been declared, by the world health organization, to be a pandemic. And, to go along with that bit of news, it has been suggested, worldwide, that we all engage in the practice of social distancing.

What I don’t know about art could fill a book, but I know what I like and that’s all that matters, right? What’s that old saying, beauty is in the eye of the beholder? It’s common knowledge the museums of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC are well-known and highly regarded.  However, it’s not so commonly known that the Sackler and Freer Galleries, together form the Smithsonian’s museums of Asian Art.  They may not be as well-known, but they are definitely well-worth visiting.