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Margaret tells us that she didn't have many days off while working for her father in 1943, however she and her sister were silver medallist dancers and attended the school dances (even though they had left school). They also went for walks and did a lot of reading. When she joined...

On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   Amateur Clam Hunters Living off the land means more than hunting in the forests for small game; or digging up wild onions; or raiding beehives for honey.  Fishing in streams, ponds, and in saltwater also qualifies as living off...

  On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   E is for Ethiopia The highlands of Ethiopia are among the most beautiful landscapes on earth.  To see things that way, one must always remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  So, to find beauty in...

I was really reluctant to start the engine in the old car.   You see, I had a big problem.  Actually it was a two-part problem I faced as I sat there next to the gas pump of a C-Store in Tucson.  The first part I couldn’t do anything about because somewhere...

On the road… again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   On the road… in Germany   Neuschanstein Castle in Bavaria   Visiting Dachau Prison, the site of a World War II concentration camp was on his travel agenda.  So was spending a few hours during Oktoberfest at the...

On the road …again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   A is for Afghanistan His urge to visit Afghanistan was precisely as James Michener described in his book "Caravans."  That was many years ago and he has forgotten just what Michener said in the book about the incident...

  On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   Andre the Hunter On the road…again! was the banner adopted by the Footloose Forester that subconsciously reminds him of his years of travel, but as they say, “you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” This fantastic tale is about a...

On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   C was Ceylon   You might say that he was never in Sri Lanka, but he was in Ceylon.  He was never in Kampuchea but was once in the Khmer temples of Cambodia; he never set foot in Myanmar...

  On the road…again! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   Dominican Republic     As a country right next door to Haiti, and occupying about 2/3 of the Island of Hispaniola, the Dominican Republic was also a pleasure in contrasts.  The Footloose Forester went there...

  On the road …again!! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   M was Macau These fleeting decades after Macau had been absorbed by the People’s Republic of China, one wonders if the map makers made it easier or harder to find that former Portuguese enclave...

On the road …again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   G for Greece Greece was on his bucket list of places to see well before the popular concept of “things to do and things to see before one kicks the bucket” was made into a movie.  As a...

On the road…again! Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   M is for Madagascar   Madagascar is so puzzling as a nation that even the people who live there generally acknowledge that it would be meaningful to divide up the island into four distinct regions. If one would slice...

  On the road…again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   Canyon on the Feather River     Of several trips to the large property on the Feather River, one of them turned into a real adventure.  A land owner wanted his square mile of land (640 acres) in...

Flying through the trees like a squirrel or monkey...who wouldn't love that?  My first adventure ziplining began with trepidation and ended with exhilaration.  I wanted to take my husband on a "different' kind of trip, one that was daring but not TOO daring.  Googling around located this thing called ziplining in...

Travel Memories “I haven’t travelled everywhere, but it is on my list.” Susan Sontag.                             I confess – I have a secret passion for travel. I’m sure that the seed for my passion was deeply embedded in me at the age of 3 ½ years when I became a monthly boarder at...

Hooper Bald 5,450' (One of the highest points in the Nantahala National Forest, N.C. 2008....Car camping at it's finest!   I tell ya, I truly enjoy camping.  Now, there are different types of camping so let's get that straight right off the bat.  There is rv camping where you've got a...

On the road… again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   G is Guatemala   The people of Guatemala have always been a personal attraction because of their cultural distinctiveness.  A mixture of Mestizo, Indians, and European-looking classes have ensured that in any given place you are likely to...

On the road… again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek   Softball Overseas Part II   Within a year of completing the Cape Verde assignment, Footloose Forester was selected to serve as Senior Forestry Advisor for a USAID project in Haiti. His interest in softball came up within a...

On the road… again!Afghanistan to ZambiaChronicles of a Footloose ForesterBy Dick Pellek Softball Overseas Part I They say that when you go overseas you should plan for downtime by developing hobbies. Softball was not exactly a hobby, but a sport that enjoyed wide popularity around the world and one that did...

Describe an experience from a memorable travel destination you've been to: Hmmm... this is a hard one.  What makes a trip memorable? The adventure, the differences, the people, the trip there, what you did when you were there, the scenery, the occassion? I've seen beautiful scenic sights,great  night life, historical locations...