A Bit of Inspiration, and Reflection from Gabriel Byrne

A Prayer for My Daughter

You are born in love and pain.
Given to us for a short time only.
Before we must let you go again, with love and pain.
One day you'll come to know how close they are, one to the other.
You are a treasure, a blessing, a prayer's answer,A jig in my Irish soul.
You are me, and I am you.
You are both of us, the love of your mother and me.
Let me be worthy of you.
Let me lead you to truth, to beauty, to the mystery of the universe.
You will ask me great questions, and sometimes I will not know the answers.
Perhaps we are not meant to know some things.
That is life too... a seeking.
It may be our only purpose here.
All things are changing, always.
Yesterday is dust, tomorrow a dream.Our gift is now.
And so, my sweet angel, may you know love, and be loved in return.
May you know truth, and laughter, and peace, and happiness,And may the great spirit of the universe enfold you in his arms, and keep you safe, for always.

by

Gabriel Byrne

Troll on the move...or watching?

These little folks are located throughout Wroclaw.  Originally a symbolic part of the Solidarity movement,  they seem to be secretly breeding at night. I'll be on the lookout for any that resemble Edward Snowden.  Although the mini-statues may be part of another NSA program. 

Midsummer's Eve Lunacy!

Every summer solstice in Sweden they pay homage to an ancient pagan tradition and have massive celebrations.  This is no exaggeration.  On midsummer eve and day it is akin to Christmas.  Businesses close early on midsummer eve and celebrations carry on from morning and in some instances into the following morning. 

It is worth seeing. Essentially a festival for the sun god (as good as any I suppose). People dance around a fairly phallic pole and sing songs. Many people wear special floral wreaths and occasionally a traditional costume.

As with many celebrations in the western world, it frequently involves a substantial consumption of alcohol. 

If you have a chance to visit Sweden to experience it, I suspect you will find it quite charming.  Even better for those without a local contact would be to reach out through virtualtourist.com or coachsurfing.com and see if you can wrangle an invite to an actual midsummer party.

Have fun....

Turbo traveling.

As those who know me are aware, I travel nearly nonstop. To do so requires financial freedom, or a job without geographical constraints.  But even those with less ambitious travel plans can benefit from getting some basic travel knowledge.

First, sign up for AAA (if you are from the USA) and if you are old enough (50 & from the USA) AARP. You get good discounts and extras which if you travel even reasonably often more than pay for membership fees.

Second, and this requires decent credit, get into the mileage game.  I will offer some extra thoughts later, but plenty of advice can be gotten from: www.thepointsguy.com, www.millionmilesecrets.com and travelsort.com. If you want to see the world these sites help.

Mind you, I prefer to use miles exclusively for business class international air travel. The hassle to get a free ticket in coach isn't worth it to me. Esp. if the flight is less than say four hours.  But if you want to go to Asia,  the Pacific,  Africa or Australia,  a seat you can truly sleep in makes a huge difference.  Forget the "snob" appeal, it is great to hit the road as rested as possible.  A tall order on a 12 to 18 hour flight in coach.

Anyhow,  there is a start. A little homework goes a long way.

Good luck and safe travels! 

More Elk, CA photos. ..

Let the images inform you....

Northern California - Elk

When I book travel for an area that is a bit "off the grid", there is a certain degree of skepticism that floats around in my head.

Nonetheless,  Elk sounded sufficiently interesting so off we went. Our accommodation ended up being the Elk Cove Lodge.  Fantastic.  As is the area.

To me you get the Big Sur experience and views without the throngs of traffic. The downside is that your dining and accommodation options dwindle considerably.  To me, well worth the trade. But everyone has their own personal preferences.

Enjoy!

Mount Rainier

A fantastic final day on our west coast tour of the USA.  Magnificent.

Back with my friendly Android....

With the ability to post smaller notes (not quite of Twitter constraints) perhaps we shall stumble forward with the blog. Facebook remains in the rear view mirror.  Too much for my personal taste.  Obviously a minority opinion.  And so we begin.

Currently renting a house that I sold four years ago.  Still love it. Though love renting it much more than owning it.

Nestled in the archipelago outside Stockholm it is in an idyllic natural setting.  Plenty of walking swimming and wandering in the woods. 

A nice start to seeing the kids for the summer.  We have plenty of memories here. Now we have a week to create even more.