One Year on the Road

My mom grew up in St. Louis and moved back there (to Webster Groves) after she and my dad divorced. I was grown then, so I never actually lived there, but it was home base, where all we kids returned…

In the late 1800s, Hot Springs was a hot-bed of health-craving tourism. Luxury bathhouses lined the main street, backing the steaming hot natural springs at the base of the area’s largest hill. People paid good money to come for a…

Crater of Diamonds State Park, near Murphreesburough, Arkansas, includes an active diamond field. This is the only public land in the country where you can actually search for diamonds and keep whatever you find. Kate is a big rock hound…

When I tell people I was born in Arkansas, they often do a subtle double-take, raise an eyebrow, and scrutinize me with this new information in mind, as if I’d just revealed I was really a different race or had…

We had been in Texas for over a month – visiting my sister in Sugarland, seeing a cousin in Dripping Springs, flying our goddaughter in for a weeklong visit in Austin, then meeting up with our friend Marsha for a…

It was early afternoon before we peeled ourselves away from Inks Lake and hit the road, soaking in the wildflower views as we drove out of Hill Country. Marsha was flying out of Dallas at 10:00 in the morning, which…

Last May, we met my sister and brother-in-law at this state park campground (see Inks Lake). It’s a great park, with some wonderful lakeside sites. A good place to return to. We couldn’t get in on the weekend, but I’d…

West of Austin is Texas “Hill Country,” known for its gently rolling hills and, in the springtime, its proliferation of wildflowers. Bluebonnet is the state flower, and it’s especially revered by Texans, who are often seen posing amid roadside patches…

We headed into Texas Hill Country at the peak of the bluebonnet season and on the weekend of the Burnet Bluebonnet Festival. When I was planning our itinerary for Marsha’s week in Texas, I latched onto this festival as a…

Marsha is one of our closest friends. She’s married to Claire, with whom I received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Santa Cruz a few weeks ago (see Recognition in Santa Cruz). Kate and I were married at their home on…

My sister and brother-in-law have a log cabin on Lake LBJ in Sunrise Beach. We stayed with them there last spring (see Sunrise Beach Cabin), and we came back again for another visit. I’ve always loved log cabins, and this…