I've never been much for the guided tour.  I think I've taken my orchestra students on too many field trips where we all strained to hear the guide talk about Mozart's time in Salzburg or the kids were rushed along through CNN and discouraged from asking questions.  Now when I'm on my own,...

Today is Talk Like A Pirate Day.  I don't know exactly when or where this started, but I like pirates and I like making ordinary days feel like celebrations, so this is a good day for me and me mateys.

This isn't the only day I get to talk like a pirate, though.  Here in Tampa, Florida we...

You don't know what you've got till it's gone.  It's an old cliche, but man is it ever true.

I had time oozing from my body this summer.  As a teacher, I was granted 7 glorious weeks to do whatever I wished.  I bought a kayak.  I visited with my parents.  I saw Toronto. ...

I spent the last week working in my classroom, cleaning instruments, selecting music for this year's concerts, writing lesson plans, and getting my head ready for my ninth year as a public school orchestra teacher.  This time of year is always hard for me--leaving summer's freedom for routine and...

I am still amazed by how little I knew about Toronto before last week's trip.  All my life I've heard about the sights in Paris, London, and Sydney, yet virtually nothing about this terrific city just a few miles from the U.S. border.  Like Tim Cahill wrote in his book Road Fever, "Niceness...

As I’m getting older, I’m beginning to have more and more friends with kids.  And I’m starting to see something that’s changed dramatically in just a couple of decades:  the great American road trip.

My family rocked the road trip.  In our...

My travel clothes are usually packed with a single goal in mind:  comfort.  Most of the time you can find me in a t-shirt, jeans, and running shoes, with a water-resistant jacket ready to go at a moment’s notice.  I like to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time, and I have...

Last night I went to a concert, and the opening act was a band from Chicago.  They were kids—it was their first road tour ever—and their stage presence clearly needed some polishing.  I was supportive, though, until they started criticizing

I chaperoned a field trip to Walt Disney World last spring, mainly so I could get a peek at Animal Kingdom.  (I incorrectly assumed that since it was a school trip, we would be doing the more educational parks.) I was crushed to discover that we were only visiting

I know there are tons of people out there who hate Walt Disney World.  I've heard claims that it’s commercial, impersonal, and some even believe that the Disney folks are “brainwashing” visitors. 

Say what you wish.  There are, though, some undeniably great...

One of my favorite Australia memories has nothing to do with the Sydney Opera House or kangaroos.  It was simply a convenience store.

Tired of the casinos and lager, my friends and I chose to take it easy...

I know pairing two words to make a new silly term is the "cool" thing to do these days.  But I have never been "cool" so Bennifer, Brangelina, and Staycation will never roll off of my tongue.

I do like the concept of that last one, though.  Whether the factor is money- or time-related, you...

I am thirty-one years old, employed, and happily married.  But I'm still paying rent.

Except for a two-year stint in grad school, I've been working since I graduated from college in 1998.  I could have easily bought a home several years ago.  Yet, something has kept me from that ultimate...

Guys love my husband.

You see, my husband Marc is a sportswriter.  This means he watches games, talks with celebrity athletes on a daily basis, and writes about what he experiences.  For many fellas, this is a dream job.  You can almost see them drool as they ask him questions like, "What's...