We are all in this together

While I completely understand that many people are mourning the passing of somebody that was influential on their lives, I personally urge everyone that might read this post to think about somebody in their lives today, an ordinary person, that has influenced your life in a positive and meaningful way and let them know. Maybe what Anthony and Kate needed was somebody to call and tell them that they were loved, valuable, that they were thinking about them. Everyone knows someone that could be struggling today and sees suicide as their only way out of their pain. Who knows what life you may save with a simple phone call or a text message? I’m not saying that this is the only possible solution but I’ve found it’s always better to do something than nothing. #supportlife #bethechange

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If you are having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 1-800-273-talk (8255), or the Suicide Crisis Line, at 1-800-784-2433, or text 741741.

Christmas in Puerto Escondido

The family decided to take another holiday in the sun, this time we ventured down to Puerto Escondido on the pacific coast of Mexico.

As a family, it's sometimes hard to travel as a group, with three teenagers in tow, and making sure that everyone has what they need but we made the best of it and survived relatively unscathed.

First day at the beach in Zipolte

We had a mix up in our flight schedule so we arrived a day early to the ocean and decided to go to Zipolte, the only "official" nude beach in Mexico.   

Sometimes the simple moments are the ones remembered...

Getting out and exploring cities is one of my favorite things to do.  While we were at the grocery store, I spotted this donkey tied up on the street and couldn't resist.

This guy ran one of the restaurants on the beach at Carrizillo.

Adventure Is Where You Find It

Fortunately, if you're willing to be creative, adventure doesn't have to be too far away. I ended up going out to Bend for a family commitment and decided to stay overnight and explore the China Hat wilderness area. 

The drive over Mt Hood proved to be its own snowy adventure

Hilltop Views

I stayed one of my favorite hotels, the old St. Francis Hotel, and was able to take advantage of the soaking pool, theater, and the late night fire pits under the string lights to enjoy an evening cigar.

The beautiful soaking pool

Dinner at Fusion 5 was nothing to scoff at.  The executive chef has received numerous accolades and now I understand why! 

The firepits at Hugh O'Kanes always beckon me with their ambiance, even in the coldest weather...

After a relaxing evening, Samantha and I headed out into the wilderness to see what we could find.

Country mailboxes on our way into the Badlands  

After miles of exploring, we put the Jeep to the test a few different times, both ascending and descending some pretty treacherous rocky trails.

She performed like a champ the whole time... 

Samantha usually prefers co-pilot to backseat driver

The drive home was its own adventure in the varying seasons that one can experience in a single day in Oregon.  

The Beauty of Prague

“Your time is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

— Steve Jobs

After several days in Paris, we flew on to Prague for a few days of walking around the city and taking it all in.

It's been 18 years since I've been in Prague so it's nice to be back and sharing it with my daughters.

I visited Prague in the fall of 1998 and fell in love with this city. It was a simpler city then, with much less tourism, but it is still just as beautiful... 

Having been the only city not bombed during WWII, the old gothic architecture mixes with the somewhat newer construction in very unique ways

Walking through the streets, the cobblestones and the sunlight have a unique and magical quality to them in this medieval city.

Sunset down the streets of Prague. * * #borntoroam #getoutlivelife #gathernomoss

The beginnings of Easter Market in the Old Town Square today

St Vitus Cathedral in the Prague Castle

An amazing salad of greens, pomegranate seeds, mango, and mozzarella "foam"...

A moment of sisterly love as we walked to dinner...

I think one of the most heartwarming things for me to watch was to see how my daughters bonded when they were walking around together. I would look ahead of me and see them holding hands at an intersection, having them both be older than I "remember", it's a wonderful opportunity to see them still be such good friends and share in the travel experience even though they fight like cats and dogs at other times.  

The stained glass intricacies at the cathedral today were amazing!

Lilia has always expressed an interest in varied architecture and how it differs in the religious aspects of thechurch and how it's based around their history and the style and ideals of the country. It was really interesting to be able to take her to the Saint Vitus cathedral in Prague after her seeing the different architecture in Paris.  

Because Prague was one of the very few cities that was not born during WWII, much of the original architecture still stands which makes a profoundly different than many cities across Europe.  

Another view from St Vitus Cathedral, I'm enthralled with the old Gothic architecture

Paddle boating along the Vltava river today with the girls

And sometimes, you have to find silly and fun things to do after brunch, like take a paddle boat around the river, rather than go to yet another cathedral or walk around the historic city....

Evening walk to dinner

Traveling to European city, or anywhere for that matter, requires a different sort of timeline when you're traveling with teenage kids.

They very often want to go and see things but, given the nature of teenagers, they also want breaks in between. We would end up going to visit sites in the morning and then heading back to the apartment for the afternoon to have some downtime.  We would then head back out for the evening time for dinner and possibly a walk around the city.  

While it was often different from the way that I used to travel by myself, I found it to be somewhat relaxing to be able to take an afternoon nap while the kids decompressed

Prague really is a beautiful city...

Michal and Dária's place is just as they describe. The apartment is beautiful and, while it is on the third story of a walk-up building, it is most definitely worth a stay. The freshly remodeled apartment is well done in every way and exemplifies the old beauty of Prague