Given my vocation—writing about the environment and law—it’s virtually impossible for me to silo work and play. Most often, they are one and the same, which is the way I want my life to be. I am sometimes surprised by…
Category: Russia
Romanov Dynasty Ended 94 Years Ago This Week
Former Czar Nicholas II and his family were killed in Yekaterinburg on July 16 or 17, 1918. The whereabouts of their bodies was unknown for years until they were discovered in 1979. The bodies were exhumed in 1991, and today…
Cruise Ships: Where Smaller Is Better
Cruising always promised glamour and excitement for me. My grandmother, tired of being married and with an empty nest, ran away, not to join the circus, but to sign on with a cruise line. I have yellowed postcards from her…
A Long Ride on a Slow Boat to Moscow
I had been in Russia less than 24 hours when I realized that the overused maxim—“It’s not the destination, it’s the journey”—would be particularly applicable to this trip. I was told the first day’s jaunt to the Hermitage was delayed…
Never Be the Slow Zebra
The Youthful Adventurer and I were snorkeling in the Galapagos Islands when we saw the shark. He kept swimming; we kept swimming. It was exciting to see one and good that he was a distance from us and that the…