Category: In This Together

Fish Pedicure

After dinner, the boys wanted to visit a fish spa. Dad said no, so I fulfilled my uncle duties by treating the nephews. The fish made a beeline (fish-line?) for less-scrubbed parts of the boys’ feet. The fish pedicure was still in progress when Dad posted pictures on Facebook.

Backpacking with Kids in Andalucía: Snapshots of Nerja

My partner and I are backpacking in Andalucía, southern Spain, with our nephews (10 and 11) and their parents. We flew into Malaga from the States, then immediately started traveling by train, inter-city bus, and foot. We hope to complete the trip without ever taking a taxi. The map at the top of this post…… Continue reading Backpacking with Kids in Andalucía: Snapshots of Nerja

Burning Energy in Granada

Somehow our nephews had energy for roughhousing in the hotel pool after riding an inter-city bus to Granada, a metro ride to the city center, and a strenuous walk, backpacks on backs, up the hill to our hotel, just outside the walls of the Alhambra.

A Random Walk through Nerja

After dinner we walked. At each intersection, our nephews threw a coin in the air. Heads, we turned right, tails, left. Once, the coin rolled into a crack between cobblestones. After a failed attempt to lift a cobblestone, we walked straight ahead. The game ended at a gelateria.

Remembering

Cycled through Fort Snelling National Cemetery, surrounded by 225,000 graves of military veterans and their immediate families. Later this month, a flag will be placed at each veteran’s grave marker for Memorial Day.

Blue Tarps in a Park

The homeless at [Tokyo’s] Ueno Park were up early Monday, with hundreds of the park dwellers quietly disassembling their tents and packing their belongings onto carts soon after dawn.Pushing carts laden with their possessions, they plodded toward a small empty plot hidden by bushes and trees.Around 9:40 a.m., about two hours after completing the evacuation,…… Continue reading Blue Tarps in a Park

Crawfish Boil

It was perfect weather for a New Orleans-style crawfish boil at the home of my in-laws. The food was tipped onto the table, and we picked food up with our fingers. The table was covered in plastic, rather than (traditional) newspapers. These days, our newspapers are digital.