The theme for my weekend getaway with Aga-Boom was “Late.”
Here’s how it all went down: Continue reading “A Day in Spain spent Mainly on the Plane – Aga-Boom in Barcelona October 2018”
The theme for my weekend getaway with Aga-Boom was “Late.”
Here’s how it all went down: Continue reading “A Day in Spain spent Mainly on the Plane – Aga-Boom in Barcelona October 2018”
This month I’m writing about non-powered flight which reaches out to touch the edge of space!
Source: Glidin’ High | David Magazine

I’ll kill the suspense now and tell you we made the flight.
Of course, while we were in the middle of things, that outcome was never assured. And in fact, at points, it seemed like it was highly doubtful. Continue reading “The Flight Home – July 9, 2018”
Sunday was our last day in town and we had decided to try for the Natural History Museum. It fit our requirement of being free and had the added benefit of being one of my favorite places (plus, I’m working on a story set there, so, yay, research!). But first…breakfast and then a walk to the park.
Back at Valentines Park the day before, we had seen a small play area for kids but didn’t get a chance to stop by, so we figured we could do that this morning. Monki loved it. She only recently discovered the joy of slides and swings back at home, and was getting pretty good at climbing the stairs and waiting her turn, so this seemed tailor made for her. Continue reading “Dinosaurs and Technology – July 8, 2018”
So…Remember those clothes we took to the cleaner back on Wednesday when Monki got sick in the car? It wasn’t just a wash and fold, it was actually a dry-cleaner and they said they could get them back for us Friday night or Saturday morning. Since way back then we didn’t know what was going to be happening, I opted for the Saturday morning option. Now, here we were on Saturday morning, up and ready to go out for the day, except we had to wait until at least 9am so we could make sure to get our clothes. Continue reading “Park Life – July 7, 2018”
New day, new adventure. Once again, a jet-lagged baby was up early so we had breakfast and headed out to figure out how to get into the city. We found the Ilford station and a very nice and helpful station agent explained the advantage of Oyster Cards to us as a cost saving measure and with the help of Citymapper, an app Lin had recommended, we quickly and easily made our way to Westminster Underground station. The great thing about this app is it it not only tells you what time and platform your train/bus/subway is on, but also which exit to take in order to leave the station as efficiently as possible as well as GPS enable walking routes to get you to and from the stations themselves. Truly a great app for London (and I understand they have it for other cities as well). Continue reading “Into London Town – July 6, 2018”
Legoland is located over near Windsor Castle, where the recent royal wedding had been held, and about 50 miles from us. Thankfully, due to jet lag, Monki was up early, which meant we were as well, and after a brief English breakfast at the hotel, we were off on the day’s adventure. Continue reading “Brick by Brick – July 5, 2018”
This was the trip which almost didn’t happen.
We booked it a few weeks back, thinking it would be a nice getaway before Monki and I had our birthdays. The financial logic here was that before her second birthday, Monki flies for the infant rate of very little, as opposed to after her second birthday, in which case her fare rises dramatically. And that happens if her birthday falls within the travel period, so our hands were a bit tied as to timing. Continue reading “Like 4th of July in England – July 4, 2018”
Living as a foreigner in a foreign country has certain pluses and minuses and these are going to be different for everyone involved, but one thing remains the same for everyone – dealing with immigration to ensure your resident status.
In the seven years I’ve lived in Lithuania, I’ve had to deal with it every year and every year, it’s been a different experience. This year was the most harrowing of all, though. Continue reading “Immigration and visas”
Friday July 14
Friday morning we again made it to Disneyland and were all about meeting characters. Our first stop, just inside the gates, was Daisy Duck. Since it was early in the morning, Monki was asleep by the time we made it to the front of the line, but we’ll tell her she had a great time and all will be right in her world. Continue reading “And So It Ends – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Sunday-Monday July 9, 10

Sunday morning, bright and early, all of the out of towners showed up at mom and dad’s place for brunch and goodbyes. AAron and Troy were there along with Tom. Family and other friends came by as well and there was even a cupcake to celebrate Monki’s birthday (although according to Lithuanian tradition you don’t officially celebrate birthdays before the day because that is bad luck and takes time off the back end of your life). Continue reading “Back to LA, Back to France – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Wednesday-Friday July 5-7
The next three days were a blur of seeing friends and doing things around the house with the parents.
Wednesday, I got up early to go shopping with dad. We hit several different stores, including Walmart. I ended up getting a few more things than I originally intended to and got gently ribbed for it. I can’t help it! Continue reading “Visiting Friends – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Monday/Tuesday July 3 & 4
Monday morning and we had been “in country” for nearly a week. We woke up early (no jet lag excuse, just normally get up early) and got everything packed and ready to go. We had to “check out” of our Air B&B by 11am so the house was a flurry of activity as everyone grabbed all the stuff which had migrated everywhere and corralled it back into suitcases and backpacks. Continue reading “Baked and Stuffed Bears – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Saturday/Sunday July 1 & 2
Saturday was reserved for Sea World. Like the Zoo, we were again in a situation of several groups looking at different things. And since we were on baby schedule, no one wanted to stay with us for long (mom and dad stuck it out for a bit, but then they wanted to go see other things, too). Continue reading “Like a Fish Needs a Race Car – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Friday June 30
Friday morning was destined to be a travel day. First up was having breakfast in nearby Oceanside with an old friend, Mike Wallis. I first Mike some 25 years ago when he was my instructor at a comedy traffic school and we ended up having a discussion about Satanism…as you do. Back when I lived in LA, we were pretty tight but, as happens, we drifted away into our own things. We’d chatted a few times over the years, and even gotten together for a coffee or two when I was in town, but even then it had been several years since we’d seen each other. So he came down and we went up and we met for a nice breakfast at a place called Don’s Country Kitchen. Continue reading “Old Friends and Disneyland – 2017 Summer Holiday”