I slammed my weight against the ship’s doors and they finally opened.
I hadn’t expected the wind.
It slammed into me and slid me backward along the slick deck. Ice stung my face and covered my camera in a dusting of snow.…
Pirates
We’d tried carousel earlier, standing in line while the sky alternated sun and showers.
The ride operator clapping his hands as loud as possible through every song, his face a comical smile.
When we made it to the horses, the ride had broken.…
The Whole Duck
Peking duck—its name alone begged us to try.
A waiter handed us menus.
“A whole duck serves four or five people.”
Dani looked at me.
“We’ll take one.”
Behind him, rows of lacquered ducks hung from steel hooks in the kitchen.…
Tent City
One midweek day I left for Puerto Viejo de Limón, a laid-back Caribbean town in the jungles north of the Panamanian border.
I’d intended to stay for one night and then head out and cross the Sixola bridge into Panama.
I never made it that far.…
The Donut Shop
Dani had pinned a place called “Pyshechnaya” on the map—apparently just the Russian word for “donut shop.” In Saint Petersburg now, we couldn’t find it.
We passed a security kiosk in our wandering. The guard nodded at us as we passed, but he stepped out of his booth now to investigate.…
Take the Bus
Paris to Stonehenge meant the Eurostar, the Underground, another train from Waterloo, and finally Salisbury.
By the time I reached the hostel, I dropped my backpack onto the bed and sat beside it.
I unlaced my shoes, leaned back against the wall, and closed my eyes.…
Pickup Sticks
I crashed into my hotel bed and prayed for sleep, but true sleep never came. Instead of rest, I dreamed, and in my dream, I stood on a beach.
Sand squished between my toes, and waves crashed in the background, but the sun hid behind clouds and bitter winds blew.…
One Night along the Rhine
The pavement kept changing beneath my tires—asphalt to cobblestones, cobblestones to dirt, dirt to gravel—but the Rhine stayed on my left.
I hadn’t accounted for the size of the city, and the days’ shadows had grown long when I finally reached the street where my map showed the hostel.…
Icons and Oil Lights
We’d passed the cathedral earlier that morning, five golden domes rising from white stone and snow like lamps in the fog.
Dani had tried the door then, but it wouldn’t budge.
A groundskeeper intercepted us, a bearded man in a thick coat and heavy boots, half-lost in the morning snow as he shoveled the steps clear.…
For Him
Wednesday nights at church, standing on that little stage with my friends, I jammed the same four cords.
G–C–D–C
Almost every song the same.
~
Then he stepped in—our new band leader.
He said the Lord wanted to transform our little Wednesday service—trendier songs, a real band, something that could draw a crowd.…
The Shape of the Story
A long, long time ago.
Back in the days before “bear boxes,” smart backpackers hung their food between two trees. The measurements vary depending on the expert, but your food bag should be about fifteen feet off the ground and ten feet away from any tree or branch a bear could climb.…