There are a few places in this life that beckon us back again and again. Longwood Gardens is one of those places. And, when the fountains are dancing to the music of the Beatles, I’m not sure it gets any better.

The Persian Rug. While in Iran, we spent time in the City of Kashan. It is the city in which Abi was born and where many of his relatives still live. We were graciously invited to the home of his Aunt Nahid. She has the gift of weaving extraordinary Persian rugs.

Travel shaming, is it a thing? Is it a natural emotion born out of … out of what? Envy, economics, frustrations, illness, sadness, manipulations, where did it come from?

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.

Capela de Peregrina. Chapel of the Pilgrims. Pontevedra, Spain.

On the morning of day nine, while walking the Camino Portuguese, we set out from Arcade. Our next scheduled stop was Pontevedra, just 7.5 miles (12 kms) away. No big deal, right?

Steak Frites in Montpellier, France.

It was an unexpected stop on a 3-month cross-Europe rail adventure. As it turned out though, the 4-day visit to Montpellier proved to be one of our most favorite experiences. And, by far, one of our best meals.

The New Normal. Is this even a thing? Can we have an actual new normal? It would seem, from this writer’s perspective, that we have no choice. I don’t believe for one minute life will return to what we knew as normal. I’m not even sure that would be a good thing. People didn’t pay attention, life was taken for granted. Sadly, there are still millions who are not paying attention to the science. I do hope though, that more people than not are actually waking up to the reality of the new normal.