Journal
Poland Day Ten: Back To Exploring Krakow, And It’s Churches, History And Food
It was a 10 minute taxi ride from the train station to the beautiful Sheraton Hotel in Krakow, which is located near Wawel Castle just outside of old town. I arrived around one p.m. After checking in the hotel and settling in my room I immediately sent my cloths for some much needed laundering. …
Read MorePoland Day Ten: Back To Exploring Krakow, And It's Churches, History And Food
Poland Day Eleven: Krakow: Kazimierz and Schindler’s Factory: Good, Evil And The Horrors Of Hate
Sorry for the delay in my blog posts about my recent trip to Poland but I had some technical problems with some photo galleries. I think I figured it out now . In my last blog post, we were entering our van for the short ride to the Kazimierz district of Krakow. I visited this…
Read MorePoland Day Eleven: Krakow: Kazimierz and Schindler's Factory: Good, Evil And The Horrors Of Hate
Poland Day Eleven: Krakow. Chopin And Pierogi, Some Relaxation After A Long And Reflective Day
It was late afternoon when we returned to out hotel after our long walking tour of Krakow and emotional visit to the Schindler Factory museum. The rain and cold weather had taken a toll on us and we were tired but we had little time to rest. We had early dinner reservations at the famous…
Read MorePoland Day Twelve: Auschwitz and Berkenau
I awoke to another cold and rainy day in Poland, which set the mood for our visit that morning to the death camps of Auschwitz and Berkenau. We left our hotel early and walked in the cold rain the approximately half mile to where we met our tour bus. Walking in the rain on the…
Read MorePoland Day Twelve: Auschwitz and Birkenau
Poland Day Twelve: An Evening In The Wieliczka Salt Mine
We did not have much time to rest after returning from our tour of Auschwitz and Birkenau. We had arranged an evening tour of the famous 700 year old Wilelczka salt mine about a half hour bus ride from Krakow, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. The mines have been operated continuously for 700 years…
Read MorePoland Day Fourteen. Our Walk Through Warsaw Continues.
After leaving St Ann’s church we continued our tour of Warsaw, now walking along the Royal Route and the many beautiful buildings, churches and monuments that are found there. We walked past this impressive statute of Adam Mickiewicz, a famous Polish poet, There were many statues along the streets which were crowded with tourists taking…
Read MoreTurn, Turn Turn, To Everything There Is A Season
And turn life does. It has been over a month now since my life has so drastically changed as a result of the untimely and tragic loss of my sister and brother-in-law. During that time I have continued my daily walks in the woods of Northeastern Pennsylvania, trying to find the peace and comfort the…
Read MoreAnother Winter Walk Along The Lehigh River
The arctic weather continued on Sunday here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. I awoke in the morning to find a temperature of -4 degrees at my house. The wind had subsided and the clear skies meant we would have some sunshine. I knew it would be cold but I wasn’t staying inside. I decided to return to …
Read MorePuerto Rico: Day One: Travel To, And Arrival, In Old San Juan
I began writing this post somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. I was on my way to historic and hurricane devastated Puerto Rico. I was thinking of a place to visit closer to home than my usual more exotic adventures. I love to travel but have not traveled since the tragic loss of my sister and…
Read MorePuerto Rico Day One: Getting To Know Old San Juan
After my arrival in Puerto Rico at the Luis Munoz Marin airport I took a taxi to old town San Juan . As soon as walked up to my hotel, the Gallery Inn, and entered the gates I fell in love with the place. It was like walking into an art gallery. I was greeted…
Read MorePuerto Rico Day Seven: Farewell To the Rain Forest And Back To San Juan
I awoke with the first light of dawn from a heavenly sleep at the Rain Forest Inn. The chorus of the frogs was ending. I stepped outside as a warm tropical rain fell on the forest. I crawled into a hammock and listened to the gentle falling rain, the songs of the birds awakening in…
Read MorePuerto Rico Day Eight: Reefs, Beaches, Cemeteries and Reflection On My Last Day In Puerto Rico
It was my last day in Puerto Rico. As usual, I was again up before the sun. I wanted to watch the sunrise and searched Google maps for a good place to do that. I decided to drive to what looked like a reef about three miles from my hotel. Traffic was light and I…
Read MoreFlorida Day Six: Farewell To Florida: Key Largo To Fort Lauderdale
The heavy thunderstorms were over and it was cloudy and a bit cooler when I awoke on my last day in Florida. I decided to again hike in the Hammock Botanical State Park. As I began my walk I found the storm left a lot of puddles on the wooded trails. Once again I was…
Read MoreNorway Day Three: A Rainy Drive Through The Misty Fjords
After my reflective morning walk, I returned to my room at the Clarion Edge hotel in Tromso early Saturday morning. I had a nice breakfast and was off to explore the famous fjords of Norway. I remember first learning this strange word, fjords in an elementary school Geography class. I remember trying to imagine how…
Read MoreNorway Day Five: Reindeer, Puffins Seals And Sea Eagles On A Bird Safari In The Rain
I was greeted with a heavy rain and some snow on my arrival in the northern port of Honningsvag Monday morning. It was around 11:30 a.m. and it was windy with temperatures in the mid 30’s. I had signed up for an arctic bird safari offered by Hurtiguten cruise line . I made my way …
Read MoreNorway Day Five: Honningsvag. A Short Walk Under The Elusive Arctic Sun.
After leaving the bird safari on Monday afternoon I retrieved my luggage from the ship and walked to my next hotel, the Scandic Bryggen in Honningsvag. It was raining again. I was told the hotel was just around the corner. Well, I guess four blocks would be “around the corner” but it still wasn’t a…
Read MoreNorway Day Seven: Back At Sea, Another Cruise On The MS Finnmark
On Wednesday morning I once again awoke in Norway without having seen the midnight sun. I was up early, the MS Finnmark was scheduled to depart Honningsvåg at 5:45 a.m. for my cruise back to Tromso. I walked to the dock 1/2 hour early in a windy snow shower. I thought the ship would be…
Read MoreAnother Loss, Not As Tragic But Heartbreaking Still. Goodbye Mom, Until We Meet Again.
I am sorry for not getting any blog posts up the past few weeks. I have turned the page on a new chapter in my life. I lost my mom, Marie M. Butala Skokoski on August 3 at 4:20 pm. It has been hard on me , especially coming after the tragic loss of my…
Read MoreMosquitoes And Goldfinches: A Mid August Walk In The PPL Wetlands
Although I haven’t been posting blogs to my website, I still have spent a lot of time hiking in the woods of Northeastern Pennsylvania these past few weeks. I find comfort walking, especially in the woods. I spent a many hours reflecting on my mom’s death. And the still senseless loss of my sister and…
Read MoreNot Many Mushrooms, But Some Cool Critters On A Hike With My Macro Lens.
Although I haven’t been posting on my blog these past few weeks, I have continued taking my hikes. And I continued my search for wild mushrooms. These photos were taken on a hike with my macro lens a few weeks ago, before the torrential rains fell on the woods of Northeastern Pennsylvania. There were only…
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