The Working Mom's Travels

02/15/2024

Happy Valentine’s Day to me! My (re)new(ed) passport came in today ♥️ Where should I go? Which destination should be its first stamp?
📓Side note: the expedited renewal service is soooo worth it! I sent everything in not even three weeks ago.
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11/18/2023

“… fly-fishing can be literature..” ♥️

Ernest Hemingway's landmark short story of a veteran's …

07/07/2023

I finally made it to Milwaukee Art Museum for the Scandinavian Design exhibition! Given my Scandi/Nordic obsession, I had to get there before the exhibition ends on July 23.

🇫🇮 From the museum website: “Scandinavian Design and the United States, 1890–1980 is the first exhibition to explore the extensive design exchanges between the United States and Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Iceland during the 20th century.”

🇳🇴 Can’t really talk about Scandinavian influence on the U.S. without mentioning LEGO. From the display placard: “Arriving in the United States in 1961, Denmark's LEGO was marketed as a building toy for enhancing children's creativity.
Town-Plan, the first model sold in the U.S., emphasized open-ended imaginative play and was designed by Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, the son of LEGO founder Ole Kirk Christiansen.
A 1965 ad featuring this set stated: ‘There is, in this nervous world, one toy that does not shoot or go boom or bang or rat-tat-tat-tat. Its name is Lego. It makes things.’” It’s those last few lines that get me. I’ve said hundreds of times over the years that I do not enjoy LEGO; I just was never interested in it, even as a kid. But the comment about it being one toy that doesn’t go book or bang made me appreciate LEGO a little bit more. I had never thought of it that way.

🇸🇪 The second photo includes more examples of Scandinavian/Nordic influences on children’s items.

04/08/2023

Tomorrow, I’ll be boarding a plane for the first time in a year, and then boarding a cruise ship for the first time in more than 20 years! What should I expect? Any tips?

01/23/2023

I don’t even remember the last time I visited St. Joseph, Michigan. I just know it’d been a long time. I was never a big fan of the destination. It always seemed dull and crowded. I could never understand why so many people loved it there.

Well, we visited this past weekend and it’s not at all what I remember! We had such a nice time checking out restaurants, breweries, markets, shops, and even the beach. And, since it’s January, the town was not crowded at all. That’s just how I like it.

08/15/2022

Sure would. Stockholm, Buenos Aires, Rome, Sydney…

In which cities would you want an apartment?

07/28/2022

Would you walk through this tunnel? 😱 This is underground at . It’s totally creepy and totally cool. And according to some, it’s totally haunted 👻

07/27/2022

A few shots from inside one of the The Village at Grand Traverse Commons cottages that is yet to be renovated. The only way to (legally) access this building is with the guided history tour.

07/26/2022

The Village at Grand Traverse Commons is such an interesting place. For more than 100 years, it existed as a state-run asylum that followed the philosophy of “beauty is therapy”.
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When the hospital was decommissioned in 1989, discussions ensued about what to do with the expansive property. More than a decade later, the land and buildings were purchased by the Minervini Group. The group began an immense undertaking: renovate, preserve, restore, and repurpose the site. The result is a residential and commercial development that includes darling shops, incredible restaurants, and beautiful grounds. A handful of abandoned and empty structures still do exist for which the Minervini Group has plenty more planned.
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I’ve visited The Village at Grand Traverse Commons twice now and it’s one of my top spots in Traverse City. I also highly recommend the guided history tour (which I’ve also done twice now) - it’s fascinating.

07/25/2022

Finally made it over to Torch Lake and I was not disappointed. The lake itself and the surrounding area remind me a lot of New York’s Finger Lakes Region (one of my favorite places in the world). If I can’t make it to Keuka, Torch Lake will do!