Twenty Questions (E20): The Blogosphere

Sometimes I struggle to sit and write something. Today is one of those days. The motivation is just not there. I often schedule my posts, as I like to write when the mood strikes me, but I am a regimented person (so I've been told) and I don't want to have five posts one week and none for the next few, so in order to maintain some sense of order, I just schedule them for the next week or the one after. However, sometimes I know that I will not be able to respond, like when I am out of service hiking, and to me, there is no point in putting out something when I know I will not have time to have interaction. In that case I would skip a week or two. 

However, aside from sometimes not feeling motivated or being out on a trail somewhere, usually blogging is a regular thing in my life. I mean, I am writing this as the 20th list in a list of 20 things because I have been blogging regularly for 20 years after all. So there must be something special about it. Today I will tell you not one but twenty things that I have gotten out of the blogging world in the last 20 years.  

1. A creative outlet. Despite being very left brained, I must have gotten some of my parents creative juices (my Mom is an excellent artist and my Dad sketches the annual Christmas card by hand every year) and having a blog lets you let the juice out somewhere! I even started a photo a day blog back in 2010, and check out this one which shows the first time I went to visit Lisa! 

I used to take artistic photos of food

2. A place to vent. I have a lot of pet peeves. However, I was taught to say nothing if I could not say nice things, so instead of saying them to someone's face, I put them out into the interwebs. Haha. It doesn't make sense but it feels good, and I also love reading the responses I get to these kinds of posts! 

3. A sense of community. If you are reading this, you know. I mean, if you know, you know, right? All it takes is one comment and before you know it, you have found kindred spirits around the world. I definitely used to be a reader and a lurker, until I realized how important being present was and how sometimes someone needs to have that little bit of encouragement. I now even comment on small YouTube channels and IG posts, as I understand how much a comment means to someone! A heart/like is nice, but a comment sure does go a long way, and is a much better way to make long term friends! 

4. IRL friends. Oops I kind of already went overboard on the last point, but these comments mentioned above have become real life connections! As you know, in 2024, I met up with several bloggers on my ride across North America, and in 2025, I met up with a few European friends! I have also met several other blogging friends IRL over the years. I remember the first time I was heading to meet up with Lisa, my friend told me to "text her when I was safe!" 15 years later, I am still alive. :)  

A few of the past meetups!

5. A more open mind. We don't know what we don't know and blogging has helped to know more things. Whether it is reading someone else's blog, or a comment on my own, I have learned things, and I think that has made me a better person. For example, did you know that Australia has over 600 national parks? Thanks Melissa! Keep those facts coming! 

6. A journal. For this 20 year project, I started reading back a little, and wow, some of my past entries are very fun. I actually kept a real journal before I started blogging, and I still have them, but they are in a box, and it is so fun to be able to see where I was or what I was thinking over the years. I wish I was better at chronicling things, but I am loving what I do have so far. 

7. Good fodder for my future book. People have told me I should write a book, and if I ever do, I will definitely use this blog as material! You may be surprised (or not) to know that I also often keep a voice journal, a pretty detailed calendar, and a LOT of notes on my notes apps, so I could probably stitch something together. Any publishers/editors out there? 

8. More patience and understanding. I think any time you put yourself in a vulnerable position, you feel a bit of empathy for other people who are doing the same. I think many people sitting behind a computer who don't have to look other people in the eye are happy to judge without qualms. However, I know how that feels, and I don't want to do that to someone else. I think everyone should walk a mile in the shoes of the person they are planning to judge before they are allowed to speak. This luckily also translates to realms that I have never been in. So when you talk about how much stress you are in due to your new job or whatnot, even if I have not experienced it myself, I can relate more! 

9. A good laugh. Whether it is other people's comments, or my own wit, which is not that witty but hey, I can still laugh at myself, blogging makes me laugh! Or...my favorite thing (and this makes me realize that it has been a while since I have done one of these posts) funny signs seen around the world. Or this.... 

I also thought it was really funny that this bone looked
like a joint, but I think I was the only person who laughed.

10. A sense of belonging. No matter what, there is someone going through the same (or similar) things as you are. Getting to find those people is so precious. I guess on one hand the internet is good for that, as sometimes in your regular life, you may have many friends just due to proximity even though they are not the "best" fit. However, sometimes with blogging, you can find people who get you, and that is priceless. Whether you just finished your first trail race, or you are trying to sell all of your stuff to move across the world, you will find your people! 

March 2024 - Empty house!

11. Some tech skills. Hey, I learned HTML! Of course now it is much easier, but back in the dark ages of 2006 you had to do some coding from time to time. I am still pretty good at finding a tech glitch or solving a problem, and I think a lot of that is from doing this blog (and being frugal; DIY fo-eva cuz!) Or....I learned how to do this....

My trip to the North pole by bike (NOT!)

12. A thicker skin. This kind of goes hand in hand with #8, as I think that when you are in their shoes, you understand others, BUT sometimes the haters are gonna hate. I have dealt with a lot of spam and trolls and whatnot, but now I just delete and block. The end. I may have maybe had issues with it before but now it is like water off a duck's back. Most of the time. 

13. Great book discussions. Oh the books I have read! I don't know what I would do without the blogging community when it comes to reading. I don't listen to even one book podcast, but luckily for me, many other bloggers do and they have fed me so many good recommendations. Of course, now many of them (you) are IRL friends, and so we have many ways to swap ideas, but at the beginning, the other blogs were my book saviors. 

Reading with Pablo 😊

14. An ability to shine. I don't like to put myself out there, but I think over the years I have become more comfortable with myself being here. I am still embarrassed about some things, and I still want to protect myself and my people, identity-wise, but I feel a lot better about trying new things, showing them to people and being ready for whatever happens. You don't know unless you try, right? 

15. Routine. I love routine. As I mentioned at the top, I sometimes get a flurry of creativity and can write 5 posts in a couple of days. However, I generally keep my schedule regular because I love the routine. Every Monday I post and then I get the joy of comments over the next few days or so, and that keeps me buoyed throughout the week. I can take the time to thoughtfully respond and not feel rushed, and the back and forth is very satisfactory. 

16. Some solid feedback. For the most part, people are kind. And sometimes it is nice to hear other people's perspectives, and you never know, they may become yours one day. I think that putting yourself out in the ether is very vulnerable, but it can be so satisfying to learn and to grow, so that makes it worth it. 

17. Connections. As I mentioned in this post, it is amazing how close of a connection you can make with other people online. If you would have asked me in 1997 if I was going to be friends with anyone on AIM, I would have thought you were cray-cray.

18. Accountability. When I first started running more, and even signed up for my first half marathon, I started a blog to chronical my journey. I ended up merging it with this one, as despite liking categories and boxes, it was easier to just update everything in one place. However, it kept me accountable (despite the fact that literally nobody read it)!

I used to run a lot

19. A lot of lists. Lists is my top category! I do love a good list, and I actually enjoy going back to look at some of them. One of my favorites is the AMA question lists. I love not only answering them, but also hearing other people's answers to the same ones! 

20. Great interactions. I have a few lurkers. They know who they are (HI GUYS!). Sometimes one of them will comment, but usually I get a text or an email from them with a comment about one of my posts. I am good with that; I love the interrelations that my putting myself out there (which I am not comfortable with sometimes) evokes. 

In case you want to know about some of my blog origins, you can read this post where I talked about where I got my start as well as some other general blogging information. 

Tell me! If you are a blogger, what has being in the community done for you or how has it changed you? If you are not a blogger, what does reading blogs or participating in the community do for you or how has it changed you? 

Twenty Questions (E19): One of Each Please

Sometimes the differences you encounter when traveling are difficult. They are unfamiliar and some of them take a while to get used to. However, sometimes you see things and you wonder why they are not as common at home. This could be that they are there but we don't know about it, or maybe they're just less used. Either way, today I will talk about 20 things from other countries that I think I would like to see more of or maybe adopt for myself one day. 

1. European tilt and turn windows. Turn the handle one way and you open it like a door; turn it the other and you tilt the top open for air. We do have these (Pella brand for one) but they are expensive (can be $2000 for one) and I just don't see them very often.  

2. Japanese toilets. To be fair, these are also in other Asian countries. Regardless of where they are, there is nothing better than sitting on a warm toilet seat and having a nice squirt of water for when you are done. Also, some public ones play music or make soothing noises, so that you can have complete privacy no matter where you are. 

3. Taiwan lines. The people in Taiwan know how to queue! There is a queue for everything from food to trains, and it is very clear where you should stand, and pretty much nobody (except tourists) cut in line! Everyone just patiently waits. 

Waiting for food

4. Italian pizza. The first time I had a Naples pizza, I was in love. I also rather like eating it with a knife and fork, and I love that I can eat an entire pie myself. 

5. Electric kettles. Hot water in minutes? Yes please. I had a kettle that I would put on the gas range at home, but I do love being able to heat up water with the push of a button, so much so that I got my brother one for Christmas since he makes French press coffee every day. (Bonus item! I also love the electric induction stoves.)

6. Hot water dispensers. Taiwan often has a hot water dispenser instead of a kettle and the water in them is boiling! So if you want a cup of tea, you can have it in less than a minute! 

7. UK electrical outlets. In the UK, you can often turn each outlet independently off and on. In addition, they sometimes have power strips with the same function, so even if you have six things plugged in, you can just flip one switch to turn off power to that specific thing. However, don't do what I did and plug in your phone to charge and not realize for hours that the outlet was off! 

Don't forget to turn it on!

8. Coffee culture. I think this is more of a romantic notion, as I am not really one to sit in a coffee shop for a long time, but I kind of want to be that kind of person...I think? 

9. Hawker stalls. We need more street food! I love the night markets, hawker stalls and street food stalls in Asia. The food is fast, hot, cheap and it's delicious! 

Taiwan

10. Thailand massages. Let me be clear, I do not mean Thai massages. Those are painful! I want the gentle one. Getting a massage for less than $10 is a pretty good deal in my book! Daily massage, anyone?  

11. Self cleaning public toilets. We actually have these in San Francisco, but they end up being homeless abodes. However, I wish they would work like the ones in France do! 

12. Pho for breakfast. I love sitting down at a tiny little table off a random alleyway in a Vietnamese city and eating beef soup for breakfast. Top that off with the fact that it is often only $2 and it is right up my alley! 

Sign found in Vietnam

13. Cycling culture. I know some cities at home have it, but it is not as common as you will find in some of the other parts of the world. 

14. Weekly (or sometimes daily) outdoor markets. Getting fresh in season food is so easy in many places! It would be called a "farmer's market" where I am from, and the prices would be sky high, but in many places, this is just the weekly market, and its the best place to shop! 

Fresh market in Sarajevo

15. Carafes of wine. House wine is delicious and a half liter is a perfect size for me if I am dining solo. Actually it may be a tad too much, but sometimes they have smaller options, like 25 cl (about 8 oz). However, when in Rome, ya know... I like them too because you can get a small one of each kind. 

Beef Bourgogne and wine in Dijon

16. Food on the plane. If you fly KLM, even on domestic flights, they still give you a sandwich on the plane! I actually don't mind getting my own food in the airport or beforehand; however, it is kind of fun when you get a meal for a sometimes very short flight! 

17. Cheese markets. We need more cheese markets. Big wheels of cheese. Stinky cheese. Soft cheese. I actually have a great one near where I lived before (the Cheese Board; if you have not been there, go, but don't go on a weekend!) but we still need more! 

Dijon, France -- Les Halles

18. Bullet trains. The Japanese Shinkansen and the French TGV go approximately 260-320 km/h (about 160–200 mph). They are not cheap, but man it is nice to get somewhere fast! Fun fact: The fastest bullet train speed achieved is 603 km/h (375 mph). In contrast, a normal commercial airliner's cruising speed is around 800-965 km/h or 500-600 mph. 

19. Being naked. Hear me out here. I know North Americans can be a bit modest, but there is something kind of freeing about some cultures and their blasé manner about nudity. I definitely have had Swedish people just whip off their clothes right in front of me, but it may surprise you that in many hot springs or spas in places like Japan, Georgia and Türkiye (and more) that it is very common to have little to no clothes on. 

20. Recycling. It is different everywhere you go, but some countries really have it dialed in pretty well! Most European countries are very diligent, and the last two places I have been (Taiwan & Japan) are pretty strict as well. I am not sure if it is true, but it seems like both of them do it the same across the country, whereas in the US for example each city or county may have a different system. 

What thing have you noticed in another country (or region of where you are from) that you liked a lot or wanted to adopt in your own location? 

Twenty Questions (E18): Where I Find Inspiration

Oftentimes, someone else's post sparks something inside of me; sometimes its an emotion, or an idea for a post of my own, or inspiration about something like travel, saving money, books or life. For this list of twenty, in no particular order, here are 20 blog posts from around the interwebs that have made me go hmmmm for one reason or other. 

TRAVEL

1. Melissa always does great travel recap posts, but I especially liked the one about some of the things she will do next time she makes it back to Paris. She also has posts about what she DID do when she was there last. I have bookmarked all of them for future reference. In fact, just check out her travel category in general if you are looking for ideas. 

2. Another blogger with a good travel category is Birchie. She has decided to see all of the state capitals, and their capitol buildings, and their flags. She also has many other interesting round ups about hikes, bike rides, Frank Lloyd Wright and Hitchcock. 

3. Another world traveler is Coco, who does multi-year long stints abroad for her job, and has lived in several different places around the world (and is "picking up" Portuguese now that she is living in Brazil). I really enjoyed her post about Raja Ampat, which is a place I also have on my list! 

4. If you ever are headed to Nova Scotia, check out Elisabeth's posts about her home turf. She is a walking NS guide! She also just started a multi month European trip, and will have plenty more travel fodder coming up soon. I can't wait to get some future travel ideas from her adventures! 

5. Toot, toot! If you didn't guess by my blog title, I also like to travel! :) You can find my jumping off page here for a list of where I have been with links to some of the destinations! Or for the TLDR, here is the best of 2024 or best of 2025 to get you started. 

LIFE

6. Birchie's post about how she is feeling so far about retirement. This is definitely something I could talk about and relate to! I am waiting for episode two to hear how she is feeling now (a couple of months past the last post).  

7. San's post about friendship (which was inspired by Rachel's post about friendship), and how hard it can often be to make and keep good friends in your vicinity. I definitely relate to this, especially as I move around the world. The life of a nomad can be hard in that aspect sometimes! 

8. One of the early posts I read of Rachel's was of her thoughts on the usage of phones at the dinner table. She actually has a lot of thought provoking posts about smart phones and life. The funny thing is that when I was staying with her, we were at the dining table having tea (the drink, not the meal), and I pulled out my phone to look something up, not realized that "at the dinner table" meant "any time you are sitting at the table" and she asked me to please put my phone away or take it somewhere else. I 100% support her request and I felt bad for breaking a rule that I was fully aware of! 

BOOKS

9. Engie talks a lot about books. She even hosts an online (cool bloggers) book club a couple of times a year, and she puts a lot of effort into moderating it, with questions, quotes and plenty of mentions of hats! She also does a lot of reading challenges, but my favorite are her monthly wrap ups, where I often get ideas for future reads. 

10. I love a good wrap up, and Birchie's year end book reviews are right up my alley. A fellow Excel nerd, and lover of analysis, she keeps track of her books throughout the entire year in order to give us this yearly list. She also does a TLDR shoutout at the top, so if you don't feel like reading the entire list, you can still get some good ideas from the summary. 

11. Lisa's blog is private at the moment, but if you have access, you will know that she is a reader to no end, so much so that she and her boys go to the library nearly every weekend, and the boys get stacks and stacks of books to read. I also love that she has the same first world problem that I do, and that is that you can never have enough books on hold! I don't know what she will do once her kids get old enough to want their own eBook holds! If you just have time for one post, check out her Best Books of Years Past post. 

12. Elisabeth reads a lot more non-fiction than I do, but I get a lot of good ideas from her nonetheless. Also, I enjoy her yearly wrap up, and she separates it out into non-fiction and fiction in case you like one more than the other. 

13. Stephany and I are thriller twins. Usually if she likes it, I will like it. Her monthly wrap ups and annual reviews are super organized and have tons of fun stats and charts and are a joy to read. 

14. Julie has a ton of book reviews on her blog, and she does a great job reviewing them consistently (which I strive to do better). If you are looking for ideas, you will find a lot of them on her site! She reads all kinds of things, so there is a book for everyone there. 

LISTS

15. I love Michelle's 101 things in 1001 days list! It inspires me to make one of my own. I definitely have way more than 101 things and I do have lists of things, activities, places etc. that I want to do, but I need to organize it better into a cohesive list for sure. 

16. Suzanne's list of 20 lists that she could have done for Engie's 20th anniversary. Funny, I forgotten that I had bookmarked this, and it would have been a great resource for my own 20 list project, but I didn't remember I had it. However, I did accidentally do a couple of these anyway (peeves, 20 year old me) and I will be using the last one on her list next week, so stay tuned! 

17. Tobia also has a 101 things in 1001 days list and actually she is on her third iteration of this list! I love that this means she has already done over 202 things that are important to her. I think we all should aspire to make one of these lists and get started working on it! If you are not sure what things you want to try, you can get plenty of ideas here! 

LAUGHS

18. This post by Nance about backing into parking spots made me giggle, but also inspired me to write an entire full post about the subject, which I have scheduled for a future day when this list project is over, so stay tuned! 

19. Most posts by Nicole, but I like it when she talks about menopause or her honeypot, as those ones are always good for a laugh. She has a way of telling a story that makes you giggle and also want to hear more stories. She can talk about a book I read and didn't even like and I am still entertained. 

20. Argh, I ran out of numbers, so this will be a double header. If you want to laugh about stories in the life of a busy person, look no further than either Ernie or Kae's blogs. Both are busy working mothers, although they are in definitely different places in their lives. Ernie is a mother of eight(!!), including two adopted kids, and spends her days watching toddlers for a living. Kae is a mother of two teenage boys, one of whom is headed to college soon, and both of whom have various sports and events happening in life. I am awed at both of these strong women! Ernie's last post was aptly called 5 Eff-Ups Friday, and I enjoyed Kae's February recap in which she asks, "did February actually happen?" 

Obviously there are so many more of you who I get inspiration from, but I would need a list of 100 (or more! Maybe 101 blogs to read in the next 1001 days?) to list them all. So, even if you are not featured on today's list, I am still following along and am inspired by you! 

What or who has inspired you lately? 

Twenty Questions (E17): My Capitol Collections

As soon as I saw Birchie's post about State Capitols a while back (she also collects, and ranks, state flags), I knew I had to do a post of my own about my "Capitol Collections." However, I have so many that I thought I would do a list of 20 of them. Some of these I have posted about before and some I have not, but one day maybe I will expand on some of them. I think that while having no material things, I do collect many experiences, and I definitely collect a lot of photos, so I will talk about a few of them below! 

1. I collect street art. The street art everywhere is fascinating, and some is quite good! I am always taking photos of it and love it when I come around a corner and boom, there is a cool piece of art staring you in the face! I will definitely do a post with some of my favorites, but here are a few. 

2. I collect space invaders. I had to put this as a separate one, as it is kind of fun! These are everywhere and I first saw them in Lyon and later found out that there is an app where you can collect them when you are traveling and make a game out of it! How fun is that?  

3. I collect toe dips. I love dipping my toes into whatever body of water I can find, and sometimes I even dip my entire body. In 2024, when I was riding around, I dipped in all five of the great lakes, and in 2025, I added the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and the North Sea to my toe dipping list. I don't pass a new body of water without taking a dip! 

No mountain too high, no river too cold (PC: Bugsy)

4. I collect states. I have mentioned before that I have been to 43 of the 50 so far, and will eventually get to the last seven. Luckily I have already knocked off Alaska and Hawaii, so the ones I have left could be an easy win if I set my mind to it. I can't tell you my favorite, but let's just say that if it has mountains, I am probably a fan. There are definitely many that I want or need to go back to! 

5. I collect countries. As of February 2026, I have been to 70 of them, but I am not really checking boxes because I love going back to places that I have been before. Of the 70, I have been to about 30 of them more than once, and some of them, I have been to more than five times (Austria, Canada, France). 

6. I collect baseball stadiums. This is definitely a very casual collection, as it is not something I strive for, but more of something I do if it is convenient. I have been to the Yankee stadium (new), Fenway (Boston), Wrigley (Chicago), Candlestick (old SF Giants), Oracle (new SF Giants), Coliseum (Oakland), Dodgers stadium, and Busch (St. Louis). I have also been to a baseball game in Busan (South Korea) and Yokohama (Japan). (FYI: supposedly there are 30 MLB parks; one in Canada and 29 in the US)

Fenway

7. I collect post cards. I had an entire box full of post cards when I went through my stuff, and I scanned them all because I could not bear to get rid of them. Some of them were from my childhood, some were sent to me when I lived in France, and some were from my grandmother, who passed away a few years ago, but was a prolific letter writer. They are all a glimpse of the past, and I cherish every one of them. 

8. I collect hiking trails. I have hiked in at least 50 of the 70 countries I have been to, and probably about 20 of those were overnight hikes. I especially enjoy hiking in countries like Scotland or Sweden, where you can pretty much wild camp where you want. This can be the case in many parts of the U.S. and Canada too. 

9. I collect National Parks. I have only been to 19 out of 63, but I am making my way down the list very slowly. I feel like at some point I will acquire a campervan and drive around to many more of them. It's on the to do list. 

Bryce (PC: CA)

10. I collect hellos. I think I can say hello in the language of every country that I have been to. Some may take a minute to dredge up, but it is funny how some of them stick. I was last in Japan in 2001, and I still remember how to say hello, good morning, good afternoon, thank you, excuse me, good-bye and good evening. I am also pretty good at remembering bad words and can swear like a sailor in Tagalog. I generally don't greet people like that though.

11. I collect snacks. I love trying new things, and snacks are no exception. I found a favorite cookie in Türkiye, and I could recommend several things at the 7-Eleven in Taiwan. I am not a big sweet fan usually, but do like trying them all, for the sake of data collection, naturally.

12. I collect ice cream. One sweet I never turn down is an ice cream. When I was on a bike, I often would reward myself for a hard day with a tub of ice cream. I have been taking it more easily lately, especially in light of my cholesterol being a bit high, but believe you me, when the girls meet up with me in Thailand we are going to find some and eat it. Although I generally get vanilla or mint chip, I love trying new kinds and some of my favorites are coconut, Thai iced tea, ube, and green tea. 

13. I collect travel mishaps. I have done some dumb things while traveling. I've missed trains, planes and buses, I've added an extra zero to a withdrawal amount and ended up with way too much cash, I have forgotten my ATM card...the list goes on and on. You can find more of the stories here. 

14. I collect book recommendations. I don't use Goodreads to mark "want to read" books anymore, but I do have a wish list on Libby that has, I am embarrassed to admit, 655 books on it. Why so many? Because I keep getting good recommendations, and despite being able to put 34 books on hold at the same time, I still don't have enough room on my holds shelf, so inevitably, they go on my wish list. To be fair, this was imported over from my Overdrive account, which I had for about 10 years before I had Libby, so I have spent a good amount of time collecting them. At this point, it is not really worth culling them, so there they sit. The other thing is that they don't automatically get removed from the wish list after you read them; you have to do that manually. I am not great at doing that, I will admit. 

15. I collect hearts. I used to collect heart rocks, but I gave them to my Mom when I moved, and now I just have photos. 

16. I collect doors. Who doesn't love a colorful door!? Where does it lead? What is behind it? Why is it so short/tall/round? The stories you can make up are endless. 

17. I collect people. I have had the most interesting interactions with people. I don't always seek them out, but when I do, I do love hearing a person's story about where they are from, and what they have done in their lives. When I was in Wales, I was having dinner at a pub, and I met a woman who did tours of the area and we got to chatting about life and travel and it was a wonderful way to pass a couple of hours on a cold night. I talked to a man from Sarajevo who played soccer in the streets as the city was under siege and other people were ducking bullets while doing their daily grocery shopping. As much as I often need alone time, I do love learning about other people and hearing their perspectives. Isn't that what makes the world go round? 

An Israeli, an Albanian and an American walk into a bar...

18. I collect old men. I have worked with a lot of older gentlemen and I tend to get along with them quite well. What constitutes an old man, you ask? Well it's hard to say, because I keep getting older and older, but they stay the same age. (5 points if you can name that reference!) Old ladies are okay too, but most of my workplaces have been 80% older men and 10% younger men and 10% women, so when in Rome, you know? I tried to visit one of them in Washington on my bike ride but he did not answer his email, so I fear the worst (although I looked for an obit and did not find one!) I just texted another one today to say hi, and I remember him telling me about 20 years ago about how he had three day long hangovers and I had no idea what he was talking about. Well Steve, now I know what you mean! 

A different Steve, who passed away from 
cancer at 57, which is NOT old. 

19. I collect animals. I don't have one of my own, but believe me, when I see one, I am going to stop and say hi. Be it slimy or slithery or furry, I like all of the creatures of the world. I would love to pick them up sometimes, but I know that is not the best idea at times! And I would never try to pet a bear. 

20. Last but not least, for Birchie, I collect Capitols, because, why not? However, I do not usually go inside; I usually just ride or walk by them! Actually, I have been in the California capitol building and the Texas capitol building for sure. I can't really remember if I have been in any others. I have seen the capitol buildings in Boise, St. Paul, DC, and Madison. Sadly, I have been to many of the capital cities, but did not visit the capitol buildings. Sorry Birchie. 

The only ones I have photos of:
Boise, Austin, DC, St. Paul & Madison

What collections do you have? How many state (or province or territory etc. depending on where you are from) capitol buildings have you been to? 

What I Learned, Looking Forward, Looking Back: February 2026

I like February; having four weeks means there is an organized manner to the month. Exactly four weeks with no extra days hanging off the ends. It is short but sweet, and is a good time to start planning for the months ahead. I did get some planning done, started my continuing education for my licenses and even worked on my taxes! So it was a productive month, all in all. Here is the look back for the month. I will also be adding notes on new foods, books and documentaries set or about the countries where I am traveling, and completion of any items on the looking forward post I did last week. This month, I will also go over a few of my FIGS, hosted by Elisabeth! 

Please copy and paste the questions at the end and add your answers to the mix! 

Where was I? Taiwan

What new food did I try? Peanut Ice Cream Roll (rice paper, peanut crumbles, ice cream and cilantro), aka the Ice Cream Burrito. Delicious. 

What country related books or documentaries did I watch? 

Read: Daughters of Shandong <-- China/Taiwan
Watched: Island in Between  <-- Taiwan

Both courtesy of Diane. Thanks! 

Did I complete any other items on this year's looking forward list? 

✅Rode a bike in Taiwan 
✅ Sent > 5 post cards

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FIGS: Lunar New Year decorations and celebrations, finishing a good book (see below), getting a clean bill of health, random morning catch ups with several loved ones, a few runs along the river, mostly great weather, a couple of fun and challenging hikes, dragon fruit smoothies, boba tea, getting my taxes 90% completed, getting my continuing education 90% completed, 7-Eleven takeout meals.  

7-Eleven Chicken Breast Bento
Tofu, egg, chicken, cabbage and rice

Just heat and eat! Cost ~ $3.00

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1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that? 

January: Devouring the Sweet Potato
February: Back in the Groove

This is a play on words as I (1) pulled a muscle in my back and had to read a lot and recover for a while. However, it could not have come at a better time, as I was (2) in the same place for one month, hence the "in the groove," as I was also able to get back into a routine of sorts for the month, even if it was not as active as I had hoped. 

2. What did you learn last month? 

I learned that firecrackers are lit during Lunar New Year to scare away evil spirits and the mythical monster "Nian," while welcoming good fortune, joy, and prosperity for the coming year. This ancient tradition signifies a loud, celebratory start to the spring festival. The noise and bright flashes are believed to attract good fortune and prosperity for the new year. 

How did I learn this, you are wondering? Well, this goes on not just for one day, but for about two weeks, or maybe more, and it happens all day long, but especially around 11 pm or 12 am! When I left at the end of the month it was still happening and the actual New Year day was on the 17th. They are VERY loud. Also, paper slips representing things like money, cars and homes are burned to honor ancestors and deities by providing them with money, goods, and, by extension, wealth for the afterlife. This is a crucial expression of filial piety (care for elders), ensuring spirits are well-provided for in the new year.

Needless to say, the month of February was very loud and smoky! 

3. What was the weather like where you are? 

It was mostly nice! There were a few rainy days, but all in all the weather was probably highs around 21 C / 70 F and lows around 9 C / 48 F. There were a couple of hotter and cooler days but it was very temperate for the most part. 

4. What event last month was your favorite?

Being in a place that celebrates Lunar New Year was a lot of fun. I mean, I have been lucky to live and work in San Francisco, where we have reportedly the oldest Chinatown in North America as well as one of the largest outside of Asia. This means that I have a rudimentary knowledge of the customs or events during this time. However, it was tenfold in Taipei! Also, in San Francisco I learned how to say Happy New Year, but I only learned it in Cantonese, so I have had to learn it again in Mandarin! The decorations and the lights and the lanterns are very striking and very impressive to say the least. 

5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? 

Book: The Moor's Account by Laila Lalami

Movie/Show: I usually don't have Netflix, but my Airbnb had it, so I binged Outlander. It was fun to see some of the places where I was only a few months ago. When I was in Scotland, I had not seen any of the episodes, but we did pass by some of the filming locations, and I actually stayed with a friend in Linlithgow. The palace there (where Mary Queen of Scots was born, and where my friend got married!) was Wentworth Prison in Outlander. 

I also got an Apple TV subscription with one of my credit cards and I need suggestions! Do you have any? 

Podcast: The Thoughtful Travel podcast. If you are looking for inspiration for destinations, or like to hear stories of why people travel, their mishaps along the way, traveling with kids and more, you may want to check this out! 

6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

I had a hamburger in Taiwan on one of my last days there. Why is this funny? Well, if you know me, you know that I like to eat the local food. However, I was meeting up with some new-to-me friends, and when I asked them if they wanted to go to the night market, my friend said that her husband was "not an adventurous eater" and that he liked going to Western food places. So not only did I have a hamburger, but I paid more for one beer and one hamburger than I probably have paid for my last 8-10 meals out at local places (and for the beer, I essentially paid San Francisco prices for it). However, the moral of the story is, that if you want to make new friends, you have to (literally) pay the price. PS they were both very nice people and I would hang out with them again. 

7. What are you looking forward to this month?

I am looking forward to hiking the Kumano Kodo (PDF map here) in Japan. Like the Camino in Europe, it is an ancient (1,000 year old) pilgrimage linking three grand shrines. It is considered a path for healing, purification, and spiritual reconnection with nature. You know me, I love spiritual reconnection with nature! Also, there are Onsen, which are thermal baths, where you go naked, and I think that is something that I need to try at least once in my life. 

Your turn! To copy/paste, highlight the text below and click CTRL-C, then put the cursor in the comment box and click CTRL-V.

FEBRUARY:

1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
2. What did you learn last month?
3. What was the weather like where you are?
4. What event last month was your favorite?
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? 
6. Tell us one funny recent story. 

MARCH: 

7. What are you looking forward to this month?

Bonus question! Do you have any suggestions of what to watch on Apple TV? Have you ever been to a naked thermal bath? 

Twenty Questions (E16): 2026 Looking Forward

I am a goal oriented person. However, in recent years, I have found that I prefer to mostly keep them to myself, and/or not be so rigid with some of them. However, in 2026, I do have a few things planned that I am looking forward to, a few fun things I would like to try to do, and a few fun goals as well. So let's talk about some of them, in no particular order! 

1. Ride a bike in at least two new countries and two new states. Last year, I borrowed a bike in the Netherlands, rented a bike in France, Latvia, Lithuania and Bulgaria, and borrowed Rachel's bike while in Wales. In the past, I have ridden in Australia, where we rented bikes to go from winery to winery, which only works for the first couple of stops! And of course in 2024, I rode through the US and Canada. So I feel like four new locations is doable! I already know that one of them will be was in Taiwan, I think one could be Japan if I can find a place with the right gear, and I am also planning to do a multi week bike trip in the US this summer, which would actually cover two or possibly three new states. I would like to keep this tradition going, and have tentative plans to go to Italy and Norway in 2027 for some cycling there. 

West Coast Taiwan

2. Go to at least two new states in the US. Currently, I have been to 43 of the 50 states, and I would like to get to 50 in the next few years! The ones I have not been to are South Carolina, West Virginia, Delaware, Arkansas, Ohio, North Dakota, and South Dakota. My crystal ball tells me that doing the ones that are kind of in a clump makes the most sense, so here's looking at you, Dakotas and Ohio! These will not be states that I plan to ride my bike through, although that would be cool if I could combine the two goals...hmmm.... 

3. Possibly go to one new Canadian province or territory. I may stay in North America (or  possibly central) for the second half of this year, and if I do, I might try to include a new Canadian province in my round up. I have not been to Saskatchewan, Manitoba, PEI, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, or the territories of Northwest Territories, Yukon or Nunavut. I have a long way to go! However, I feel like the clump method could work for some of these as well. 

4. Possibly go to one new Mexican state. Keeping with my Americas theme, I may head down to Mexico and likely would go to either Oaxaca or Guanajuato. FYI, Mexico has 31 states plus Mexico City, and so far I have only been to seven of them, I think! I have a way to go to get all of them! Getting to all of the provinces and territories of Canada is definitely a much easier goal, numbers-wise.

5. Introduce the girls (A & L) to Thailand. In April, K, A and L are going to meet me in Thailand, where it will be so fun to introduce them to some of the things that K and I used to do when we went there for the very first time. K and I went to Thailand in 2002 and it really was our first foray into a foreign land (not counting places like Europe or Canada in this mix). We were excited but not sure what we were getting into. It was great, and was easy to get around and the food was good and the people were wonderful. We want to show the girls (A is 15, L is 11) what fun it can be to really travel and to get out of your comfort zone a bit (although with YouTube, I think these things don't seem as strange or scary as they did when I was a kid). Plans include seeing an elephant sanctuary, doing some volunteering, eating lots of food, going to the floating markets, and of course seeing some temples and Buddhas! 

Bangkok - 2002

6. More family time! This year, my non-traveling Mother has agreed to go on an Alaskan cruise. I could not sign us up quick enough! I think it will be nice not to have to move, or pack and unpack, and I have heard that Alaska is the creme de la creme of cruising. I also feel better having done one cruise myself so that I will not be a complete newbie and kind of know the drill a little bit. 

7. Go to the World Cup! You may know that the 2026 World Cup is being held in Canada, the US and Mexico (the Americas theme continues!) and I will be going to a couple of the games with K! It will be a fun thing to do, and actually she and I tried to get tickets in Germany in 2006 and I tried to get them in 2010 for Africa and did not get picked in the lottery. So this has been a long time coming! 

World Cup 2018

8. Read one country themed book for each country I go to. A caveat is that it has to be a new one. For example, I have read books about Japan during WWII already (this one is a good one), but I would like to read one NEW book about Japan, ideally either before or during my time there. PS if you have not read Memoirs of a Geisha yet, what are you waiting for!? Diane gave me some great ones for Taiwan (if you are interested they are: Taiwan Travelogue, Green Island, and Daughters of Shangdong) and I recently finished Homeseeking, which talks about China and Taiwan as well. Do you have any books you recommend related to: Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, the U.S., Canada, or Mexico? I like historical fiction if you have any suggestions! 

9. See at least one National Park that I have not been to before. Apparently the U.S. has 63 National Parks (when did that happen? I thought there were around 50!) and I believe that I have been to 19 of them. I may even end up seeing more than one, but for now I will keep my number realistic. 

10. Volunteer more. This year I have scheduled some volunteering, and I would like to do better at making this a more regular habit. I have done it here and there in the past, and my favorite time was when I was in Bolivia and I volunteered for a month at an orphanage; it was both rewarding and eye opening and I also liked being in the thick of things, learning more about the locals, and even getting a little bit better at Spanish! 

11. Read one book in a foreign language. In 2020, I read the first Harry Potter in español, and I have the second one downloaded. I just need to get in the habit of reading a little bit each day. It is pretty slow going, as I have to look up a lot of words, but I found that if I put Google Translate onto conversation mode while I am reading, I can read passages aloud (in Spanish) and it will translate those for me out loud, so it saves me having to highlight words a lot! 

12. Be more active than I was last year. In 2024, according to my running watch, I was active for 1,284 hours (107 hours a month). My goal this year is to just have at least one more hour of activity than I did last year. 

13. Send 52 pieces of snail mail. This will not include holiday cards, which I do send as snail mail, which means that I have to send about 4-5 postcards a month. Last year I did not count, but I probably came in right around this number, so it should not be too difficult to do the same this year. 

14. Try at least one new food a month. This is not going to be hard, and I have already gotten started on this list by trying a wax apple and many different Taiwanese dishes. 

Wax apple

15. Go hiking in Japan. The accommodations are booked, so I see no reason that this will not happen. The hike I am planning on is the Kumano Kodo, which is a pilgrimage hike similar to the Camino, but in this case, it will only take about four days. 

16. Watch at least one documentary for each country I travel to. I usually just do this on YouTube, and have watched the following so far: 

The History of Taiwan in 15 Minutes - obviously this is very short, so I am still looking for another option. 
The Entire History of Ancient Japan - it is a bit lengthy but very interesting to hear about some of the women in power, and how Japan has become what it is today. 

Does anyone have any suggestions for Thailand, US, Canada or Mexico? 

17. Hike in at least one new state. I always like trying new things, and have enjoyed exploring places like Idaho, Wyoming and Washington. This year, Bugsy and I are planning on meeting up in Montana! I may also have some other opportunities for hiking in other new states too. 

Bikepacking in Montana 2024

18. Sign up for and run at least one running race. I know, this sounds simple, and if you asked me five years ago about this, I could tell you 5 or 10 races I had done that year. However, I have not run a running race since 2023 and I think I would like to get back into the groove a little. Plus it is a great motivator to actually train, and I think that it will be helpful. Plus I have a friend who has a goal to run his first marathon in 2027, and I told him I would do it with him, so I need to get my bootie in gear. 

19. TBD - you never know what may arise! 

20. TBD - you never know what may arise! 

Do you have any books, podcasts or documentaries you recommend related to Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, the US (haha), Canada, or Mexico? What is your favorite state or province in the US, Mexico or Canada, and why?