Story by Crystal Gabrielle. Photos Copyright © Crystal Gabrielle & Matt Steinmetz. Thanks to Santa Cruz local Matt Steinmetz for contributing photos for this story. ——— RAIN, RAIN AND MORE RAIN. I was excited to be at my new house-sitting job in Corralitos, California, but for...

Story by guest blogger Teresa Davis. Photos Copyright © Teresa Davis. IN THIS DAY and age of fast food and drive-thru, it’s nice to find a cafe where you can go in, sit and enjoy a really great meal. In Moscow, Texas—and “Yes, Virginia, there really is a Moscow, Texas”—there is such a...

Story by staff writer Betsy Villanella. Photos Copyright © Betsy Villanella. WHEN I WAS a teen, I found out that my parents were going on a vacation to Hawaii to meet my brother, who would be there for R&R during his service in Vietnam. It disappointed me greatly when I was told I couldn’t go...

Story by staff writer Judy Clement Wall. Photos Copyright © Judy Clement Wall. NOT LONG AGO, I heard Neil Gaiman read a story about adventure. Actually, he read a piece about wanting to write a story about adventure. His wife laughed at his wild ideas about including aliens and pirates and duels and...

Story by Milli Thornton. Photos Copyright © Brian Williams. A LONG TIME AGO, back when people wrote real letters with a pen and paper and mailed them with a real stamp, I was infected with the lust to some day have coffee and beignets at Café du Monde in New Orleans. I was living in Australia and...

By guest blogger K.M. Weiland. Photos courtesy Amy Weiland. FOR THE RECORD, I hate blueberries. Here at home in western Nebraska, I avoid them like lizard avoids the cold spot on a rock. So when I am given the opportunity to go blueberry picking in eastern Tennessee, I expect to enjoy the picking but...