Writing Retreat in Falls Village, CT

Tags

books, creative-writing, fiction, life, writing

One day I opened up my e-mail at work and it was an invitation to join a naturalist creative writing workshop in the Litchfield Hills of CT, specifically Falls River, CT. Immediately, I thought “yes!” so I signed up for the retreat. Yesterday was my first day at the retreat and I found out that the campus is owned by Yale University for various workshops and writing retreats. I drove down the 10 minute windy path (in the middle of nowhere, with no cell service) and wondered what I was getting myself into. Halfway through the drive, I came upon a fisher cat crossing the dirt path (cool!) and proceeded down the path.

The mood when I arrived was Birkenstocks and campfires. I immediately felt at home. Things were so relaxed and taken care of that I knew that I’d have a good time. We did a lot of journal writing, hiking, conversing (where are you from?) and bonding over the fire. By the way, the food was amaze-balls! Think chicken, salmon, salads, rice, strawberry shortcake, and fresh cut watermelon!

Last night we had a presentation about Hal Borland, the famous naturalist writer from Salisbury, CT. The tech equipment could have used some work, but his story was fascinating.

Today was another good day of writing and thinking. I met some amazing people and I’m still astonished about how curious people are about this world. I secretly love it.

I’m staying at the Falls Village Inn in Connecticut. They only have a few rooms available, but they are so incredibly comfortable and they have a restaurant / bar on the ground level. I ordered the wedge salad and a cosmo for dinner. So good and so glad I made the trek.

This was the first year that this group has put on the writing workshop. May be back for next year, who knows! But, it is highly recommended. If you’re a writer and this appeals to you, please hit me up for questions / suggestions.

Yellowstone National Park and Bozeman, MT

Tags

hiking, national-parks, travel, wyoming, yellowstone

It’s been a long couple of days, but we’re having an absolutely awesome time in Montana and Wyoming. It’s been raining since we got here, but we seem to time things perfectly so we’re not caught in a potential rain / snowstorm.

The first couple of days we were here we headed to downtown Bozeman, MT. The town is absolutely beautiful and definitely up and coming. The town is only about and hour and a half from Yellowstone National Park. We first heard about Bozeman from an EcoTour of wildlife that we took in Jackson, WY a few years ago. Our guide then said she was going to move there because there were so many more jobs there than Jackson.

On Sunday, we perused the shops in Bozeman and hit Crystal Bar, where the hit show Yellowstone was partially filmed. Lainey Wilson, the huge country singer, sang there and there was a big bar fight scene in Season 5 (see below pic where the stage was).

After that, we headed to a casino where the legal age of gambling is 18, so our nephews, who are 18 and 20 got to gamble.

My nephew Carter ended up winning just over $100 on a poker slot machine. Go Carter!

On Monday, we headed to Butte, MT to see the Berkeley Pit, which is a cool copper mine. No pictures, unfortunately. It was just too cold and we couldn’t wait to be back in the car with the heat on.

Tuesday morning was super early. We all got up around 4:30AM and left by 5AM to drive to the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park. We arrived by 6:30AM and were greeted by many tourists in Gardiner, MT.

We hit many areas of Yellowstone, but too tired to post the specifics tonight. We’re headed back there on Friday morning (we’re leaving earlier this time at 4AM to catch more photos of wildlife).

Will post about our day today tomorrow morning when I’m a little more fresh and not so tired from hiking. Till then!

Bozeman, Montana

Tags

family, life, love, travel, writing

This June, Jim, Mo, Mo’s brother (who also happens to be Jim’s best friend), my sister-in-law Sheri, my nephews Chase and Carter, and I are headed to Bozeman, Montana from June 27 through July 4 — and I honestly can’t wait.

Jim and I first heard about Bozeman while we were on an eco tour in the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. Our tour guide told us she was leaving Jackson because Bozeman was one of the most beautiful places she’d ever seen. Ever since then, it’s been on our radar.

We’re planning on taking in a local rodeo, visiting Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, hiking, exploring, laughing too loudly, and probably eating our weight in vacation food. And honestly? One of my favorite parts is that my nephews — now 19 and 17 — still want to travel with us. In a world where everyone is glued to phones and pulled in different directions, that feels really special.

Lately, we’ve been traveling more with family and friends, and I’ve realized something: the women in my family are the foundation of everything good. They are strong without needing applause for it. Honest. Hilarious. Loyal. Hard-working. Practical. The kind of women who will stand beside you when life gets messy and still make you laugh while doing it.

Sheri always has my back when my brother starts picking on me. My sister is the one quietly making sure everything is fair and squared away financially because she wants everyone taken care of. And my mother? My mother is the queen bee of all of it — the woman who somehow spent her life making sure everyone else was okay before herself. Naturally, her daughters learned to do the same.

I think a lot about that quote often attributed to Madeleine Albright: “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” Whether it was Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton, or Sheryl Sandberg repeating it, the sentiment matters because I grew up watching women support one another instead of competing with each other. My mother raised us to be kind, but not weak. Loving, but not passive. Compassionate, but still capable of standing up for ourselves when needed.

Someone asked me recently, “What’s your vision for your life?”

And without hesitation, I answered: “To spend as much time as possible with the people I love — especially traveling together.”

Because work is work. Some weeks feel heavy. Some days stretch into difficult seasons. Sometimes life can feel unfair, exhausting, or uncertain. But then I think about Montana. About being surrounded by people who truly know me. About sitting around after a long hike, laughing until someone snorts. About women in my family who made strength feel normal instead of extraordinary.

And suddenly life feels pretty beautiful again.

Mom, if you’re reading this: you might really like the movie Moxie on Netflix. You raised some very powerful women.

A Great Boat Day!

Tags

Adventure, crete, europe, greece, travel

Possibly one of the best days ever in Greece. Sheree booked us a private catamaran for the day to go over to two semi-private beaches off the coast of Crete. The first one was Balos Beach and the second one was Gramvousa Island. As soon as we boarded the boat, there was coffee, waters, biscuits, and yummy snacks. It took about an hour and a half to get to the first beach and we enjoyed appetizers and white wine.

The boat docked about 1/4 mile from the beach and most people took the small boat over to the beach. Jim decided to swim to the beach. He said that he used more muscles than he thought he ever knew he had. I decided to stay on the boat and just soak up some rays. The first mate (or tour head), Dimitri, talked to me for quite awhile. He’s Ukrainian (I asked him about his family and he said they’re fine) and we talked politics (even American) and he said that he’s very happy to be in Greece. I also spoke with the cook Jessica, who was probably one of the best cooks ever. She’s Albanian and learned to cook from a small age from her grandmother. She moved to Spain as a teenager and met Dimitri there and they both decided to move to Greece together. Cute couple!

After Balos Beach, we headed to the small island where it’s inhabited by one man that is 75 years old. We ended up taking quite a few photos and it was so nice to see Jim enjoying the Mediterranean Sea.

Here’s a cave that we found along the way.

A cool, random shot of the netting we used to lay down on on the boat.

Jim swimming in the Mediterranean.

I’m not much of a water person, so I decided not to get off the boat for the duration of the trip (but, I did dip my toes in the water!). New friend Sandy knew how much my sister wanted some Greek sand, so she spent about a half an hour picking out just the right sand (mostly pink pebbles and grains) from the beach. I sent a text to my sister and she was thrilled!

We got back to shore about 4pm and decided to head back to the same restaurant we went to the first night called Acacia Tou Aga at the top of the rural hill next to our villa. We all decided to do family-style dinner again and headed back home for the night.

It’s our last day in Crete tomorrow before flying home on Saturday. We’ll probably spend the day in Old Town, Chania again.

Good night!

Rethymno and Sheree’s 45th Birthday!

Tags

crete, europe, Food, greece, travel

We all decided to head into Rethymno Town today, which was about an hour and twenty minutes away. Jim and I listened to music along the way, which included the Allman Brothers Band and The Eagles. We arrived and immediately walked over to the fortress in Old Town. There were amazing views of the Mediterranean Sea and caves inside that seemed to go to nowhere? A little creepy (and cold), so we were happy to walk along the vistas and take a few photos.

Jim flexing his muscles? Or, pointing to the beach? Not sure which.

We had to leave Old Town around 3PM in order to get back to dinner at 6PM for Sheree Shu’s birthday dinner in downtown Chania, Crete. Dinner reservations were for 7PM and we didn’t want to be late! Course after course after course of food was ordered and we all ate family style, sharing plates and ordering multiple bottles of red and white wine.

Sunset in Venetian Harbor, Chania, Crete.

Picture of Jim overlooking the harbor at dinner.

This last picture is all four lady friends who have been friends since the 10th grade at the Williston Northampton School in Easthampton, MA. Sheree is on the bottom left and we went out tonight to celebrate her 45th birthday party. She’s the kind of girl that is the glue that holds relationships together. So, when she invites you and your significant other on a trip to Crete? You accept. You know that you’ll have a good time.

We all had a couple glasses of wine, many appetizers, full entrees, and desserts. When Sandy asked Jim what he wanted for dessert, he replied “If it isn’t chocolate, it’s a waste of time.” So, she absolutely ordered vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce drizzled over the top. He was a happy guy tonight.

We have to be up early in the morning for a catamaran boat ride to an island for some fun in the sun. Here’s hoping for nice weather, calm waters, and a picturesque landscape.

Bottoms Up! At Manousakis Winery

Tags

Adventure, Food, travel, wine, wine-tasting

The vans picked us up at 11:15am this morning to take us to Manousakis Winery. As soon as we drove into the dirt parking lot, we were greeted by the local vineyard dog.

The dog was so incredibly chill (so unlike our dogs).

We all took some selfies and pictures along the way before the winery tour.

By the way, what husband wears an Iron Maiden shirt to a Greek winery? Oh Jim, please don’t ever change.

We ended up tasting 2 whites and 3 reds, all very different from each other, but all so delicious. And, we ordered dishes for the entire table and just shared everything. I love how they do things in Europe!

On the way home, we stopped to take some photos of this beautiful Greek church.

For the rest of the afternoon, we all chilled at our villa, drinking wine and eating some Greek olives, goat cheese, and some sliced salami (the food here is amazing). Jim got to talk with Sheree’s dad for awhile. Her parents used to own a small grocery store in our hometown of Easthampton, MA. They worked from 6:30am until 10pm, seven days a week with no vacations for ten years. It’s nice to see them enjoying themselves in retirement now.

Jim and I walked into the small town again for dinner, however it looks like it was closed for Tuesday night. Luckily, Dave, Sheree, and her brother Chris picked us up in the dark and we drove to a nearby restaurant for some nice dinner. And, of course, raki as a complimentary after dinner drink.

Legs are still hurting quite a bit this morning, so we’re all going to take it easy at the villa today before heading out for dinner in Chania tonight for Sheree’s 45th birthday.

I’m not pregnant, so I took some Tylenol to relieve the aches and pains I received from the hike a few days ago. It’s true, the pain comes about 2 days after a long hike.

Planet Bark, the kennel in West Hartford, CT, where our dogs Mary and Harpoon are staying, posted a few pictures on social media yesterday. Apparently it’s really cold back home, so the owner, Jack, put Mary into a sweater so she doesn’t get cold. How cute is this? If you’re ever looking for a place to house your dogs while on vacation, I highly recommend them. We wouldn’t trust our dogs with anyone else! (actually, that’s not quite true. It’s the only place Jim and I have found that will accept somewhat difficult dogs.) 🙂

Take a Hike! in Samaria Gorge

Tags

Adventure, hiking, nature, outdoors, travel

Our day started at 4:45am this morning in order to catch our 5:25am bus to get to the top of Samaria Gorge. It was a big tour bus that picked up about 40-50 people along the way and we were the first. We traveled through the bigger city of Chania and many little towns along the way. We finally arrived at the top of the mountain around 7am and got a little breakfast at a little cafe with coffee and a spinach croissant. Really yummy. We finally started hiking around 7:45am this morning and it was only 9 degrees Celsius, which equates to 48 degrees Fahrenheit! Very chilly, so I’m glad that we brought extra layers. They even had hard hats for us to wear because of falling rocks along the trail.

The first part of the trail was very strenuous, climbing over boulders and loose rocks. Sara, our guide, said that it flattened out after four kilometers, but only slightly. There were multiple stops along the way, which included water closets and mineral springs where you could fill up your water bottle. I must have filled up my red, aluminum water bottle at least six times on the hike. About 1/4 of the way there, we hit a water closet, which included just a hole in the ground, with no guard rails to hold onto. It was a little difficult to get up!, but it was nice to hit another mineral spring to fill up our bottles.

Here are a few photos from the hike. All in all, we hiked 16 kilometers (10 miles) over boulders and many loose rocks. At the end of the hike, there was a restaurant that sold very large beers, which tasted oh so good. Some folks from our hike jumped into the Mediterranean Sea at the end, too.

Would I ever do the hike again? Absolutely not! But, I’m glad that we did it. And, friends are the best to hike with. We finally got home around 9:30pm tonight. I took off my hiking boots and my toes were definitely a shade of purple. Let’s hope that my toenails don’t fall off!

We’re doing a wine tasting and winery tour tomorrow, so it’ll be nice to be off our feet for a little while. Till then!

A Crete Breakfast and Old Town, Chania

Tags

chania, crete, europe, greece, travel

Our day started out at 9AM with a breakfast in the back of our villas with everyone that we’re traveling with. Eggs, greek yogurt, toast, fresh fruit, freshly-squeezed orange juice and coffee. So, so good.

Everyone is a really good “mixer”, where they seem to get along with everyone else, which is so nice.

We spent the day just chilling by the pool. Unfortunately, Jim had to work this morning and afternoon to get some projects done for work, but hopefully most of it is out of the way. We’re all headed for a 10-mile hike to Samaria Gorge tomorrow morning, very early, so that’s a good thing. He can’t take his computer with him and we just get to enjoy each other’s company.

Around 3pm today, most of headed to Venetian Harbor in Old Town, Chania, Crete. We walked around the Mediterranean Sea and browsed the amazing shops, where you could find handmade jewelry, little Crete trinkets, and just relax by the sea. I ended up buying this amazing handmade chunky metal necklace made by this woman who exhibited all of her artwork in this old church. Once I saw it, I absolutely fell in love with it, so I had to buy it (only 40 euro!). And, it matched my outfit…score! We walked the stone wall that led to an old lighthouse and took some pictures along the way.

For dinner, we went out to this absolutely awesome Crete restaurant where the waiters brought out at least five appetizers. Jim ordered the fresh grouper and I had the braised short ribs that had been cooking for a little over 5 hours. We talked a lot about everything going on in the world. Took a photo of Jim and Frank (super cute!)

Dinner ended around 8:30pm (again, no hurry on Crete time), so we decided to head home, but not before another beautiful photo of the harbor before we left.

It’s now 9:45pm at night and we have to be up at 4:45am for our hike, so bedtime is slowly creeping up on me. Must go to bed. Here’s hoping for some nice weather and healthy hiking tomorrow.

Can’t believe I get to spend this vacation with my friends and best bud, Jim. He’s honestly the best partner and traveling buddy ever. Couldn’t ask for anything better. Feeling very blessed.

Good night, y’all.

First Day in Crete! (and Acropolegs)

Tags

Adventure, crete, europe, Food, greece, travel

Jim and I felt the effects of the Acropolis hike yesterday this morning (our calfs, or is it calves?) were hurting quite a bit.

A quick bite to eat in Athens (incredibly delicious!) and we were off for our 35 minute plane flight to Chania (pronounced Hahniya) around noon. Friends Sunny, Sang, and Sandy were also on our flight, the same row as us. If we had taken the boat across the Mediterranean Sea, it would have taken us about 10 hours, so we easily decided that a plane flight would be best.

We arrived around 2:30pm and it was a 35 minute drive to our villa in Kissamos (it might be spelled a little differently, but I’m tired, so it’s ok). It was a little hard to find, but we asked a nearby neighbor and he guided us along the way. He pointed to a 50 foot tall palm tree and said “take a left there and you’ll find it”. Sure enough, we did!

At about 6pm tonight, all 14 of us went out to dinner at a nearby restaurant that we could walk to. My friend Sheree said “it’s a very rural uphill walk”, so we all trekked up there. It was a cobblestone walkway with, it looked like, a farm on the left-hand side and somewhat forest on the right. Sandals? Seemed ok. The restaurant was fantastic! I ordered the freshly caught rooster and homemade cavatelli pasta and Jim ordered the beef with orzo (PLENTY of leftovers).

I took some photos of all of our tables, with the cats (and newly born kittens scurrying underneath our legs).

This is my friend Sheree (who put this whole trip together), her husband Dave, and her family. If you see the guy on the left, Dave (with the straw hat), he just got nominated for an Emmy! for his cooking show with the chef Curtis Stone. He’s probably one of the nicest and funniest guys you’ll ever meet.

Here’s Sunny, Sang, and Sandy, who are also with us on the trip. Super fun!

This is our table, with friends from high school and their significant others. We couldn’t eat enough and the owners of the restaurant kept on bringing us out more and more food. Oh my goodness, we couldn’t eat another bite at the end of the night! In Greece, they’re not interested in turning the tables over like the United States. We didn’t feel pressured to leave at a certain time…their philosophy is “Eviva!” (spelling?!), which in Greek means “Cheers!”

After a couple glasses of wine and some Crete raki, we were good, so we decided to walk home in the dark using our iPhone and Android flashlights from our phones. Only a 5-10 minute walk and we were all back in our villa.

We’re going to chill at the villa tomorrow and maybe explore Old Town Chania.

Good night!

Entitled Americans

Tags

acropolis, athens, europe, greece, travel

More to come on that topic in a bit.

Our day started out hiking and trekking all of the way to the Acropolis and the Parthenon at 10am. I never knew too much about the two, but the Parthenon is a part of the Acropolis. If you think that there’s a tram or escalator taking you to the top, you’re sorely mistaken. Jim was fine hiking, but I huffed and puffed the whole way. I had purchased tickets through TripAdvisor months ago, so I thought we just needed to show up to the Acropolis at 11am and we’d be good. Unfortunately, I was sorely mistaken. Another learning moment…you should read all of the fine print when you purchase tickets to an event ahead of time. I guess we needed to meet the tour at another location, so we missed it, but lucky for us, we ended up still getting tickets to go inside.

The top was absolutely amazing. First, we saw the Dionysus Theatre, which is just below the Parthenon. They still do live concerts there. The only musician that I recognized on the bill was Michael Kiwanuka, who wrote the intro. song in the hit series Big Little Lies. There were even people on stage setting up for a concert this weekend.

Just a little further up was the Parthenon and several other structures. The day was a picture perfect bluebird day and we couldn’t help taking many pictures of these gorgeous structures.

After the Acropolis, we meandered throughout the Plaka district where the tourists where the tourists visit. We talked about family, friends, and a couple of short stories that I’m looking to publish. One is about a creative writing trip to Dublin I took last year. I think it still needs work, and the best feedback I received was from two individuals. My good friend and mentor Martha Church, who was the previous library director in West Hartford, where I work. The other was from my mom’s friend, Beth. They both told me the same thing. “Show, don’t tell.” So, I will probably re-work the short story to include some dialogue. And, who knows? Maybe it could turn into something else! A novel, perhaps?

After the tour, we met my friends Liz and Frank for a drink a rooftop bar. So nice to catch up with them. After they left, some very entitled Americans sat down…New Jersey or Long Island maybe? As soon as they sat down, they took the umbrella from our table and brought it over to their table. I said “excuse me, we were using that”. The main guy looked at me like I had five heads and said to me “but there are six of us at this table and you only have two.” Jim, being the nice guy that he is, said “Maura, why don’t we just switch tables.” I said “absolutely not” and brought the umbrella back. Their conversation was so incredibly demeaning to the Greek people calling them “rude” and other nasty things. In my mind, when you’re visiting another country, you treat the country with respect and dignity. After all, we’re on their turf. Jim wanted to leave after our beer, but I refused to leave until they did so they didn’t get the satisfaction of taking our umbrella. Jim thinks that I was being caddy, but it’s the principle of the matter.

Unfortunately, Jim received two big projects landed on him from some bigwigs at his company, so we ended up going back to the hotel so he could catch up with everything.

Dinner tonight was lovely with some more friends that joined us in Athens. Frank made dinner reservations for six and we ate some incredible Greek food and tried some ouzo on the rocks. We talked about old times in high school and what everyone was up to. A nice picture summed up our night.

It’s a late night for us in Athens and we have an early morning flight to Chania, Crete in the morning. Till then!