Artist Ashley Dull

One of the things I love about being a writer is all the cool people I get to meet.

Since it's my job to share stories, I often find myself seated across people who've got great stories to tell. More often than not, these people are also doing something they are passionate about.

Ashley Dull is no different. She's a landscape artist who paints with oils. She is enthusiastic about her work, eager to learn about the world and ambitious in how she hopes to change the world.

Her paintings reminded me of Van Gogh and Monet all at once. Her paint is layered on in thick, clumpy strokes that take weeks to dry, and while her images make up a coherent image from far away, the closer you move in, the more blurry the image becomes.

And her colors were amazing. She mixes her own and I must say, whatever color she is using to create her blue skies just amazed me. It is so vibrant!

Local Minneapolis Travel Planner

While working on a story for the newest issue of Minnesota Bride, I interviewed a woman named Jen Knoch.

She started a business called Radar Concierge and she will plan your Minneapolis night on the town or your Minneapolis weekend stay.

For example, if you're a bride who knows out-of-town guests will be visiting Minneapolis for a long weekend when they come for your wedding, you can contact Jen and she will plan out a bunch of activities for them -- perhaps dinner reservations, some entertainment options and some lists of local exhibits at area museums. Whatever. You tell her what your guests would like and she will plan it.

She also works with travelers who are coming into town for other reasons and looking for things to do.

I thought this sounded like a great job. There have been many times that I've found myself in a city without a guidebook and have wondered what to do with myself while there.

Of course, my bridal story turned out to be a much longer article than just this one bit. If you're interested in the whole thing, you can check it out here:

Minnesota Bride Notebook Winter 2010

Ride an Electric Bike

A couple years back I wrote an article about electric cars. As an added bonus, I got to take an electric car for a test drive.

Now, though, I'm writing about electric bikes. And, again, as an added bonus, I got to take an electric bike for a ride!

Granted, I didn't take it outside. It's still winter in Minnesota after all. I rode it around inside of a mall, which was a treat. I've never ridden a bike through a mall before.

And I'd never ridden an electric bike before either. Truthfully, I was a tiny bit concerned about hopping on and revving the motor. Would it speed off, make me loose my balance and leave me floundering on the floor?

No. It was just like riding a bike! Only faster. And more fun!

If you'd like to check out the resulting article, here it is:

No Peddling Required

Sisters from Kerala, India

I interviewed a nun. Er, a Sister, actually. Until recently, I didn't know the difference between a Sister and a nun. Now I know that a nun is cloistered and doesn't go out in public while a Sister is out and about in the community.

The woman I met is a teacher at a local Catholic school. She is originally from Kerala, India, but has been living in a Minneapolis suburb for the past 37 years.

She had such an aura about her and when I found out that one of her greatest joys is teaching geography, well, I just wanted to plop myself down in her classroom for a bit and soak up whatever knowledge about the world she had to share.

If you'd like to read my story about the Sisters involved in my local area, you can read the article here:

Sisters in Service at St Therese School

Blind Hiker on the Appalachian Trail

Last week I got to interview a man who is about to do an amazing thing.

He is blind and he is going to hike the Appalachian Trail without a guide or a guide dog. His name is Michael Hanson and he is the Blind Hiker.

He is kicking off his hike in Georgia in March and hoping to finish the hike by arriving in Maine in September. He'll be blogging about his journey along the way whenever he reaches available Internet.

He's going to be carrying technology downloaded onto his cell phone that will guide him on the route.

A documentary film maker will be following him. Even though the film maker can see, he plans to stay out of the hiker's way. In our interview he joked that the worse the hike goes, the better his material will be.

I was really inspired by my meeting with Michael Hanson, the blind hiker. I'll be following his journey on Facebook, too.

If you'd like to learn more about him, you can read my article:


Blind Hiker to Tackle the Appalachian Trail


Photo by Mark Trockman.

Wayzata Students Bridging the Ocean

I interviewed a group of area high school students who are in the process of starting a nonprofit organization to collect money and build schools in Vietnam.

Most of the kids involved are high school juniors, and I was impressed with their vision and drive. They are calling their group Wayzata Students Bridging the Ocean.

As I was interviewing the group, one of students said something that really stood out for me. She said: "I've always been told that I can make a difference and finally I am."

Yes, I thought. When I was growing up, adults also said the same to me. Even now, as an adult, the message still circulates that each and every one of us can reach out and help others. We can all make a change, even if its small, in the way the world operates for another person.

But how often do we really seize this opportunity and actually do something about it?

After that interview was finished, what this one student said continued to linger in my mind. I am proud of these students for having carved out an opportunity for themselves in which they can feel they are making a difference.

It doesn't really matter if their organization turns out to be a smashing success that continues for years or a one-time mission trip. What matters, I think, is that these teens are empowered.

Having had this experience so early in their lives, who knows what else they'll be able to image for their futures, and for the futures of others.

If you'd like to read the article, here it is:

Wayzata Students Work to Build Schools in Vietnam

Photo (c) Mark Trockman.

How to Travel with Your Spouse

My story about how to travel with your wife, husband, boyfriend, girlfriend or life partner has been posted at GoNomad.

If you'd like to check it out, here's a link:

Love the One You're With: How to Travel without Killing Each Other

Bevy of November Articles

I had a whole crop of articles come out this month. Since I'd written a number of them several months ago, it was a surprise to watch them all pile up and realize how busy I'd been.

There was the story I wrote about fair trade sugar, and another about a Minnesota man who has taken a position within the Obama Administration. And then there are a handful of others.

Like the one I wrote about a tattoo artist. Or another about a man who installed a geo-thermal heat pump in his house. Or tips for organizing your kitchen pre-holiday madness. Or where to find interesting and yummy coffee drinks in town.

Or this one, about an area man so addicted to bargain shopping that he left his job and started a web site devoted to bringing customers great deals.

If you'd like to read about Brian Larson of Razor Dog! Deals, click through to my article here:

Bargain Hunter

Fair Trade Sugar Cooperatives

This month, an article I wrote about fair trade and organic sugar was published.

It was an interesting story for me to research as I spent my college years in Moorhead, Minnesota where, each fall, sugar beets are burned to produce sugar. The stench of the burning sugar beets would fill the town's air with a distinct, unpleasant aroma. Because of that experience, I found it interesting to learn more about where sugar comes from.

This story, though, concentrated mostly on imported, fair-trade sugar.

If you're interested in learning more about the topic, you can read my article here:

Fair Trade Sugar Cooperatives Sustain Communities

Photo (c) Wholesome Sweetners

The Closest I'll Get to Barak Obama

This might be the closest I'll ever get to Barak Obama.

In July I interviewed a man named Bud Philbrook who works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. My finished article about him was finally published a couple weeks ago in Hamline Magazine, the alumni magazine for Hamline University.

Philbrook earned his law degree from Hamline and is currently serving the Obama Administration as the deputy under secretary for farm and foreign agricultural services.

His title is a mouthful which means, in his own words, that his job is "to promote United States agricultural exports and to help fight world hunger."

Philbrook was nominated for his position because he has a wealth of experience dealing with global cultures and developing nations. Twenty-five years ago, he and his wife founded an organization called Global Volunteers.

While it's currently a popular choice for travelers to spend their vacations volunteering, Global Volunteers was at the forefront of this trend.

During our interview, Philbrook spent a lot of time talking about the injustice of malnutrition when it comes to children. Children who are not properly nourished, no matter where they live, don't usually do well in school.

In my opinion, one of the most striking things he said in the course of our interview was this:

"Children who don't do well in school don't grow up to be Mozart, Mandela or Confucius because their brains aren't fully developed. They can't recognize their God-given potential and because of that they can't help improve the human condition."

If you'd like to read the whole article, you can see it here:

Mr. Philbrook Goes to Washington

Photo from Hamline Magazine.

As Seen in National Geographic

Be sure and pick up a copy of the November/December 2009 issue of National Geographic Traveler Magazine.

Turn to page 104 and you'll find a photo taken by me!

The picture is one I took during an air boat tour of the Atchafalaya Swamp in Louisiana last summer. It is in the magazine in support of an article about the town of Breaux Bridge.

The publication of this picture was a total surprise. I hadn't submitted it to the magazine or anything. A few months back I got an email from a photo intern at the magazine. She'd seen the picture on my blog and wanted to know if National Geographic could purchase it. Of course!

Here's the blog post she saw.

Organic Blue Agave Nectar

A few weeks ago, I worked on a story about fair trade sugar. In researching that story, I spoke with one of the founders of Wholesome Sweeteners, a company that imports and sells fair trade sweeteners in the U.S.

Wholesome Sweeteners sells nine different types of fair trade sugar, but it also markets fair trade honey from Mexico and fair trade blue agave nectar, also from Mexico.

The blue agave nectar is harvested from the blue agave plant, which is also used to make tequila.

The nectar is sweet, sweeter than sugar, so you use less of it, and it has a low Glycemic index, which means that it breaks down slowly in your body, which means you don't experience a "sugar high."

I'm now obsessed with blue agave nectar. I have a bottle that I've been trying out on everything -- in coffee, on grapefruit, etc.

I recommend it!

Neighborhood Block Parties

The timing of this feels like a joke.

This month, a local magazine is featuring a story I wrote about neighborhood block parties, an activity that usually takes place (at least in this neck of the woods) when the weather outside is nice.

And yet, in the past week, just as the article was unveiled, it has snowed here -- TWICE!

Ah well. If you'd like to get a jump start on planning next year's block party, you can get ideas from my story: Neighborhood Block Party

Wine Tours in Hungary

Ask me where you should go for a really great glass of wine and Hungary probably wouldn't be the first country out of my mouth.

But maybe I should rethink that.

According to Jamison Bachrach, owner of Wandering Puffin, a travel provider specializing in Eastern Europe, Hungary is a wine-lovers paradise.

Check out his suggested nine-day food and wine travel itinerary for Hungary.

Plantation Homes in St. Francisville, Louisiana

GoNomad recently published a story I wrote about a touring plantation homes in Louisiana.

I stayed in a small town called St. Francisville. It was a quiet place dripping in Spanish moss and oozing in Southern charm.

John James Audubon, the famous bird watcher, spent a part of his life living in this neck of the woods. And befitting his legacy (maybe?), I encountered a turkey there!

If you're interested in the story, you can read it here:

St. Francisville, Louisiana: Plantation Homes, Spanish Moss and Southern Hospitality

If you'd like to read some of my blog entries from this trip, you can do that here:

Louisiana Blog Entires

High School Students & Summer Study Abroad

Last week I interviewed some high school kids from the Twin Cities who spent part of their summer doing a science experiment in Costa Rica.

They were there studying leaf-cutter ants. But they also got a hands-on experience when it came to encountering a developing nation. They spent 10 days in a rural environment where roads were dirt, phones were scarce and Internet was nonexistent. Yet they would all go back and do it all over again.

In preparing for the article, I spoke with their chaperon and program administrator, who also happens to be a guidance counselor at their school.

She said today's kids can't wait until they are juniors in college before they have a study abroad experience. Colleges and universities are looking for incoming students who are already able to think beyond their communities.

As to why parents of high school students should look into abroad experiences for their kids, the counselor said: "Globalization is happening everywhere and now these kids are a part of it."

If you'd like to read the final article, here it is:

Travels Abroad Expand Horizons

Anthony Bourdain in Cabo Polonio, Uruguay

Anthony Bourdain is following in my footsteps!

Hubby and I have taken to watching the show, "No Reservations," on the Travel Channel. We have our DVR set to record them all -- new episodes, old episodes -- we have such a backlog!

The other night we sat down, scrolled through the choices and saw there was an episode in Uruguay. We pushed play and what do you know?!?!?! Anthony Bourdain went to Cabo Polonio and met Raul!

I too met Raul! I mentioned Raul in an article I wrote about Cabo Polonio. I'm glad to know he's still there doing his thing.

Watch the No Reservations Cabo Polonio segment here. It's kicks off right away in Cabo Polonio.

It's Still Me Wig Studio

I met a fascinating woman the other week.

Her name is Jan Strassburg. She survived breast cancer and then went on to open a wig studio so that she can help other women who are suffering from hair loss regain some dignity during their own battle with disease.

Her wig studio is called It's Still Me -- words she heard herself say to her step-daughters the first time they saw her wearing a wig.

If you'd like to learn a little bit more about the wig business, you can check out my article here:

Nurturing Growth


Photo by Mark Tockman

Painted Turtle Chocolatier -- Yummy!

A new chocolate shop opened up in town.

The sweet shop, called The Painted Turtle Chocolatier, sells these really unbelievably delicious chocolate covered potato chips.

I know about the potato chips because I was at the store and sampled a few too many of them!

I was there interviewing the store's owner, Patty Godfrey, about the shop. My article about her and her chocolate was published this month.

If you're interested, you can see it here:

Sweet Stop

Photo (c) Plymouth Magazine

Where to Spa in Las Vegas

There's more to Vegas than black jack, all-night buffets and risque showgirls.

There are also spas -- glorious, relaxing, totally self-indulgent spas.

And lucky me, I got to live the utter bliss of a Vegas spa this spring when I visited the city.

My article about the experience was recently published on GoNomad.

If you'd like to check it out, here's a link:

Las Vegas Spas: Why Gamble When You Can Relax?

You can also read my blog posts about the trip:

Las Vegas Blog Posts