Jessie Voigts's Blog, page 59
August 9, 2022
Travel with Awe and Wonder: A Change of Life Predeparture Checklist
This summer, my husband and I undertook a move. Our relocation from Massachusetts to Arizona has been undertaken by others, no doubt. We decided to make things a little more interesting than a direct route. We headed north. Our circuitous route is winding us through Newfoundland, Portugal, and North Carolina. When one would think to take the southerly route from the Carolina’s to Arizona in the winter months, we will make Bugs Bunny’s famous right turn at Albuquerque to...
August 8, 2022
Through the Eyes of an Educator: Finding Fun
Remember when the important things in life were playing with friends, seeking adventure, and making forts? Remember when you’d wake up excited to draw chalk art on the driveway, play tag on the lawn, or catch fireflies after chomping on your ice cream treats? For some reason, as we age, the fun seems to shift to the background of life and the more mundane takes center stage...why is that? Sure, there are bills, laundry, taxes, and such— but if we’re lucky enough to have...
August 6, 2022
Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes: The SS Daniel J. Morrell
The approximate 6,000 ships that have succumbed to raging storms attest to the power of the Great Lakes. As I traveled, writing and compiling information for my three-volume travel series, Exploring Michigan's Coasts, I heard or read the tales left behind by those ill-fated ships. They add a somber, but compelling backdrop to Michigan’s waterways.
The SS Daniel J. Morrell rests on the bottom of Lake Huron in the Thumb Underwater Preserve. The Morrell went down in 1966 ...
July 30, 2022
Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes: The Lady Elgin
The approximate 6,000 ships that have succumbed to raging storms attest to the power of the Great Lakes. As I traveled, writing and compiling information for my three-volume travel series, Exploring Michigan's coasts, I heard or read the tales left behind by those ill-fated ships. They add a somber, but compelling backdrop to Michigan’s waterways.
The Sinking Of The Lady Elgin, On Lake Michigan, On The Morning Of September 8, 1860, Half An Hour After She Had Been Run Into By The Schooner Augus...
July 23, 2022
Shipwrecks of Great Lakes: The Niagara
The approximate 6,000 ships that have succumbed to raging storms attest to the power of the Great Lakes. As I traveled, writing and compiling information for my three-volume travel series, Exploring Michigan's Coasts, I heard or read the tales left behind by those ill-fated ships. They add a somber, but compelling backdrop to Michigan’s waterways.
The Niagara went down on September 24, 1856. She was built in 1846, and during her decade of sailing, she earned a legacy t...
July 19, 2022
Radio Free Imagine Neighborhood Invites Your Imagination to Take Flight
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
Maya Angelou
We learn from a young age to share our toys, treat people the way we’d like to be treated, and help a friend in need. Kindergarteners sit next to one another in their reading circles, play with blocks together, and ensure that each child has a buddy for lunchtime. The deeper details of that messaging don’t get spelled out until the later years of schoolin...
July 18, 2022
Music for Exploring Connection
It is summer at this writing, a summer of shifts and change and uncertainties across the world. It is a time of division, of anger.
It is also a summer, though, of seeking ways forward, and a time of looking for joy, for hope, for trust.
Music is a part of thinking about all these shifts and changes, of finding hope, of seeking perspectives that lead to peace.
Here's music to explore:
At a bluegrass festival in California when she was ten, Molly Tuttle sings,
Pitched o...
Five Tips for First-time Travel Abroad
If you've never traveled outside the U.S., it's natural to feel overwhelmed at the prospect. But if you're well prepared, you can make this one of the most enjoyable experiences of your life. Every traveler has their own interests and travel preferences, but keeping some basics in mind can help take the worry out of the impending travel overseas.
If you're considering an overseas relocation, you will need to come up with solutions to move your valuables, includ...
July 17, 2022
Read This: Altared: A Tale of Renovating a Medieval Church in Tuscany
As anyone who has ever traveled to Italy knows, movies like Under The Tuscan Sun, Letters To Juliette, and others are simply fuel for the fire of passion that is kindled once the visitor has had a taste of La Dolce Vita. After several years, and many trips to visit friends in Tuscany, Kyle Ball decided she wanted to buy a house in the Belle Paese, or the beautiful country. Inexplicably, she was moved to buy an abandoned church in a tiny village near Greve in Chian...
July 16, 2022
Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes: The Phoenix
The approximate 6,000 ships that have succumbed to raging storms attest to the power of the Great Lakes. As I traveled, writing and compiling information for my three-volume travel series, Exploring Michigan’s Coasts, I heard or read the tales left behind by those ill-fated ships. They add a somber, but compelling backdrop to Michigan’s waterways.
Illustration of the steamship Phoenix which burned on Lake Michigan November 21, 1847. Photo Wikimedia Commons, in the publ...
