Life is filled with surprises.

Like when you’re asked to speak on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, at the 1989 Adoptees March on Washington , where the American Adoption Congress was calling for breaking the seal of closed adoption records. And so, you do, since, after learning from relatives at 27 -- many years after both your adoptive parents have passed -- that you were adopted, you’re intrigued to discover your own origin story. After all, this actually is about you, right? Finally, fourteen years later, laws relaxed enough for the Department of Health and Human Services to arrange for co-consent opening of those records, leading me to find out my whole, real history, including the folks who share my DNA. 
 
Another unexpected life adventure for me: Joining a tiny startup that took off in a big client, big splash way, taking me with it when its principals put their faith in me in a dream writing-and-design position that let me spread my creative wings. Topping that off, that position also took me on my long-awaited first flight, small-plane style.

Or how about this: You’re taking your family on an incidental vacation in Williamsburg when you meet in the hotel lobby one well known, influential musician, whereby you have a fabulous (ongoing) discussion about how he’s inspired your own musical journey.

Then there’s making your first journey abroad solo style, during which you learn to drive on the “wrong” side of the road, on the “wrong” side of the car, when you thought you were prepared for it but weren’t, quite. But you find you’ve managed to survive that trek from Gatwick airport in London to Shropshire, near the border of Wales, not to mention not driving off that Long Mynd cliff that’s sensibly left to foot travel only by tourists and locals who prefer to avoid precarious situations. 

Then, much later on, your brother moves to Sweden and you swing by to see what Stockholm is all about. Apparently, a lot!

Which brings us fairly to date on my own excursions abroad. Yes! For those of you seeking to learn more from an expert, I’m here to learn right along with you, and my friend, co-host, and life-long traveler Christel Brown, indeed has the deets to teach us more about global travel. I can assure you, I’m excited as all of you to see more through her eyes – and to set my sights on further faraway adventures, myself.
 
So, what’s on my own must-see trip list?

Near if not at the tippy-top: Taking in the Northern Lights, aka, Aurora Borealis. Ever since creating this expansive trilogy of paintings as props for an out-of-the-way play, Almost Maine, directed by an instructor-friend in almost-nearby Southport, NC, I’ve been keen to see this remarkable phenom.

Granted the Auroras grace the U.S. on occasion, so far I’ve missed them those few times when they’ve  illuminated the night sky in my own locale. Possible options for making that view a reality are Iceland, Greenland, Norway, and Canada. From a magnificent, elite Arctic cruise via Linblad Expeditions to the modest Havila Northern Lights Promise cruise, opportunities abound for almost anyone’s pocketbook.

En route from Stockholm back to the U.S., I enjoyed a couple of days traipsing about the seventh arrondissement in Paris, but there’s much more to see there for me, including the Louvre, which I had only a brief chance to admire architecturally and from afar, on an ambling boat excursion along the Seine.

Beyond those, these five trip flavors rate high on my tasting list:

• Austria train trip from Vienna to the Swiss Alps

• Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, including Sam Heughan’s distillery

• Dublin, Ireland literary (Joyce to Yeats) and Jameson distillery tours

• Spain / Portugal / Morrocco

• Tanzania safari in the Serengeti

 
A word on that second entry: Since tasting the primacy of Sassenach Whisky not long after its release in 2020, I decided to splash it with some spiced cider at Christmas. Blasphemy perhaps to some, only until you discover how exceptionally this holiday treat blends. I liked it so much, I whipped up my own Sassenach cider advertisement. Ever since, I’ve been curious to peruse this spirit’s birthplace, first hand. 

I should add, here, that I’ve also dreamed repeatedly of soaking in those heavenly Greek vistas Christel knows like the back of her hand. I’d painted my own fictional Santorini, much as I’d done for those Northern Lights that linger on in my imagination. 

It hangs in the balance which destination will come knocking first, or maybe none of these, but something altogether different and surprising, as life’s been thus far?

Whatever the case, I’m up for seeing and experiencing whatever’s next.

xo,
Sandi, aka, Sassy