The Laptop Traveler
  • Home
  • About
Author

Renae

Renae

Blog

Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Commemorative Coin

by Renae November 6, 2022

A few weeks ago, my husband and I attended the International Living Bootcamp in Atlanta. What an inspiring time of learning about living, working, and retiring overseas! We learned about Panama, Ecuador, Portugal, Spain, Italy, and many other locations with thriving expat communities, lower costs of living, and opportunities to experience other cultures.

One of the vendors at the event offered opportunities to invest in gold and silver coins. As a promotion, they gave out this commemorative coin in honor of Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. I thought that some of you might like to see it.

The front

I used my printer’s scanner to grab this image; the text is blurry, but you can see the coin well.

A small card holding with a .999 silver-plated commemorative coin in honor of Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee.

Here’s another image, this one taken with my husband’s phone camera. Not so good—you can see the text, but the coin looks off, which is why I ran it through the scanner.

The back

Did you like this post? Share it!
0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrEmail
Blog

Runway 5K at Asheville Regional Airport 2022

by Renae November 6, 2022

I’ve loved and feared airplanes my entire life, the fear flowing from a solid 20-year run of having plane crash dreams. I haven’t had (or remembered) a dream like that in many, many years. So maybe I’m free from the fear.

The love? It’s still there, strong as ever.

But if you’d have ever told me that I’d be ON an active runway, with planes taking off and landing right next to me, I’d have laughed! Yet that’s precisely what I was able to do by participating in Runway 5K at Asheville Regional Airport in October 2022.

I’m not a runner, although I do want to try Couch to 5K someday soon. So I came in close to last place in the race, which was a-okay by me! I was there to see the planes.

Here are a few images and a video from the event, and a link to a full photo gallery, including more videos!

Maybe next year, I’ll be able to RUN the event!

We arrived at sunrise.
Me with my husband; I was SO excited!
I’m glad my son JR was able to attend with us!
At the starting line!
The pose—and the poser


The real stars of the event were all of the airplanes taking off and landing during the event!

Like this one!

Here’s a gallery of photos and a few more videos from the event.

ENJOY!

P.S. I’d love it if you’d take a moment to comment so I know you’ve been here!

Did you like this post? Share it!
0 comment
1 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrEmail
Blog

Asheville Today – AVLtoday

by Renae November 6, 2022

The best daily newsletter I’ve ever seen hails from the 6AM City group, which seeks to “engage local communities by creating new ways to consume, participate [in], and share local content.”

I’m subscribed to their Asheville newsletter, as well as their newsletter from Greenville, South Carolina, which is just about an hour away from us. But they also offer newsletters for many other cities in the United States.

When AVLtoday offered a subscription not too long ago, I signed up—that’s how valuable I find their content. Seriously, just take a look at some of the stuff on offer.

EVERY MORNING.

And now for the reason for this post! I received a card in the mail last week from AVLtoday to thank me for becoming a subscriber. I thought the card face was pretty cool, so I decided to share it here 🙂

Wonder what their careers are like?! 🙂

6AM – Welcome to the Conversation – a card from AVLtoday
Did you like this post? Share it!
0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrEmail
Blog

Christmas at Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC

by Renae November 6, 2022

This is a marketing postcard, sent to me because I’m a Biltmore Estate Passholder. We joined last year thinking we’d have lots of opportunities to ride our bikes around the Estate, but it never happened. We did get to do Candlelight Christmas at Biltmore though, which is when we signed up. And we did visit the grounds several times during the year. But, alas, because it’s just too far for us to visit regularly (a 40-minute drive), I don’t think we’ll renew for 2023.

Christmas inside Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina

From the back of the card:

Discover how our Floral team created a ‘Winter Landscapes’ decor theme to honor the works of Frederick Law Olmsted, Biltmore’s landscape designer—plus insider details on the twinkling lights and firelit nights of Candlelight Christmas Evenings, our Holiday Happenings Guide for the season, and much more.

Did you like this post? Share it!
0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrEmail
Blog

Santa Fe, New Mexico

by Renae November 6, 2022

My oldest son has long wanted to visit Santa Fe, New Mexico. His wish finally came true in October, 2022, when his girlfriend surprised him with a trip there for his birthday! He said that they walked along the very street you see in the image. He also said he was surprised that almost all buildings there are made of adobe. It’s a regulation, I guess.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Interesting factoid: The vehicle in the image is NOT from the States, as that is not a U.S. license plate.

Did you like this post? Share it!
0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrEmail
Blog

Official Postcrossing stamp from Germany

by Renae November 6, 2022

I’m pretty sure it’s been more than 10 years since I’ve posted on this blog. But I never forgot it! I always knew that someday, I’d be back. I love travel and my postcard hobby and learning about the peoples, places, and cultures of the world too much NOT to return!

What a delight, then, to mark my return with this official Postcrossing stamp from Germany, courtesy of a very kind Postcrosser who sent me this treasure while asking for nothing in return. Amazing! (I did send a little something ☺️)

First off, is the envelope, handmade from paper that talks about the Postcrossing stamp! Unbelievable! I’m already gobsmacked.

Official Postcrossing stamp from Germany—on a handmade envelope about Postcrossing!


Then, inside the envelope, I am gobsmacked further.

The backside of the postcard, with a kind note from Albrecht and an unused Postcrossing stamp from Germany!


The sender, Albrecht, actually attached an unused Postcrossing stamp to the postcard inside the envelope! Isn’t that unbelievably generous?!

The front side of the postcard has to do with Albrecht’s love of calligraphy and stationery—loves I share, as well.

Front side of the postcard

Collecting and sharing postcards is a passion of mine. I’d love to parlay it into a business. Maybe I’ll start a stationery subscription box, as my favorite service, Spotlight Stationery in the UK, is closing.

Or maybe I’ll simply be a travel blogger. Making my way around the globe, helping others coming behind me to do so as well. Time will tell. And I look forward to that story!

Did you like this post? Share it!
0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrEmail
LifeNature

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

by Renae June 7, 2017

Myrtle Beach is a five-hour drive from my place; I’ve been out there for a beach vacation once.

Here’s what the internet has to say about it:

“The hub of the Grand Strand, Myrtle Beach is known for its 60-mile string of beaches. The city is a major tourist destination known not only for its laid-back beaches but also for its warm weather, a large array of seafood restaurants, celebrity-designed golf courses, and the SkyWheel which is one of the country’s tallest Ferris wheels.”  

Did you like this post? Share it!
0 comment
63 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrEmail
BlogLink-worthy travel piecespersonalreflectiontravelwriting

Rick Steves’ most spiritual places in Europe — and one of my own!

by Renae November 16, 2011

With credit to Wikipedia

Here’s another travel piece worth sharing: Rick Steves’ “Five Most Spiritual Places in Europe.”

From his list, I’d most like to visit Assisi, as I have felt a strong connection to St. Francis from my elementary school years, when I attended a Catholic school in Philadelphia.

I loved being in church singing the song:

Make me a channel of your peace;
Where there is hatred let me please sow love;
Where there is injury, your pardon Lord;
Where there is doubt, true faith in You.

The Sarah McLaughlin version is my favorite; listen to the sample on Amazon and see for yourself!

I’d also like to add a visit to Chartres to my list. I would like to drive toward the town and see the church TOWERING in the far distance, in the same way that pilgrims would have seen it back in medieval times.

Did you like this post? Share it!
0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrEmail
BlogLink-worthy travel piecespersonalreflectiontravelwriting

The stuff MY travel dreams are made of

by Renae November 15, 2011

Where shall I go today?

Wow — this article called Living in Paris – The Great Escape reads like the life of my dreams!

But wait — it’s not that I want to “escape” and leave my “hum-drum” life behind; that’s not what motivates me. By this stage in life, I’ve learned that the chickens are NOT always fatter, the bugs are NOT always fewer, and the heat is NOT always less blistering on the “other side.” Whatever problems I have now will surely follow me no matter where I live, as “where I live” is not really the issue; where I live and what I do are not what drive me to want to travel.

In fact, just today I read and shared on my Facebook wall a quote by Dale Carnegie that speaks to this very matter:

“It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing, that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.”

What drives me to travel is the desire to EXPERIENCE and SEE the world! I want to learn about other cultures … experience life as others experience it … meet people who live differently than I do. I want to SEE, HEAR, SMELL, TOUCH, and TASTE the world!

My “hum-drum” life will come with me, I’m sure. I’ll still be working as a freelance writer and editor. I’ll still have my loved ones–my husband and kids–by my side. I’ll still be “me” inside, but I’ll be that person and do those things with the people I love, but somewhere else!

Oh, reader, let me tell you, when I read this article, I almost swooned, so strong is the desire to travel. I could absolutely imagine doing the things the author wrote about:

  • Visiting out-of-the-ordinary places
  • Savoring, sipping, shopping!
  • Strolling cobblestone streets
  • Retiring where life is affordable, the bread and wine cheap and plenty 🙂
  • Strolling farmer’s markets to hear the sounds of a tongue I barely know or am just learning
  • Buying health insurance for $1,500 a year?!? (That one is a bit hard to imagine!)
  • Darting to the beach one weekend, and across the Pyrenees (with a stop for skiing!) on the way to Spain the next

And it’s not just Paris I’m interested in. I’d like to experience life in many places, too many to name. I imagine doing home exchanges in the summers, when the kids are off from school, spending a month or two in another country while another family spends the time in our home here in the States.

Ah, yes….

This is the stuff that MY dreams are made of…. 🙂

Did you like this post? Share it!
0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrEmail
Art CardsBlogNorth CarolinapostcardsUSA

Art in the Park, Asheville, North Carolina

by Renae November 8, 2011

Art in the Park, Asheville, North Carolina

I’m not sure where I picked up this advertising card for Asheville’s Art in the Park 2010. I really like the artsy image though, which shows Asheville landmarks. (Asheville is about 20 miles north of me.)

Did you like this post? Share it!
0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrEmail
Load More Posts

About Me

About Me

Meet The Laptop Traveler

Hi. I'm Renae Gregoire, The Laptop Traveler. I'm the one dressed in purple. The guy with me is my husband of 20+ years, Craig Gregoire. He travels with me :) Hope you enjoy your stay here!

Join me on social!

Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin

The Laptop Traveler: My journey through the world via postcards

Get notified about new posts!

Subscribe

* indicates required

Recent Posts

  • Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Commemorative Coin

    November 6, 2022
  • Runway 5K at Asheville Regional Airport 2022

    November 6, 2022
  • Asheville Today – AVLtoday

    November 6, 2022
  • Christmas at Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC

    November 6, 2022
  • Santa Fe, New Mexico

    November 6, 2022

Welcome!

Welcome to The Laptop Traveler, my way of sharing and connecting with others interested in postcards, travel, and the countries, cultures, and peoples of the world. Please take a moment to leave a comment if you see something you like. It's good to know people are visiting and reading. Hope you enjoy your stay!

Looking for something?

What's happening here?

5k advertising airplanes architecture art art card art cards asheville assisi Biltmore brazil cards Central Park chartres China Christmas churches city view colorful corner culture dreams England europe germany green home iceland kansas landscape lithuania missouri New York City north carolina poinsettas postcard postcards postcrossing prison salvador Texas travel university USA writing

Archives

  • November 2022
  • June 2017
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • July 2011
  • May 2011
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • December 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • April 2007
  • March 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • September 2006
  • August 2006

About me

About me

Popular Posts

  • Buy a bag; help villagers in Malawi, Africa

    July 11, 2009
  • Acacia Erioloba by Christine Marais, Namibia

    September 3, 2010
  • Oranjestad, Aruba

    October 3, 2010

Get Notified About New Posts!

Subscribe

* indicates required

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin

@2022 - All Right Reserved. Copyright Renae Gregoire, The Laptop Traveler


Back To Top
The Laptop Traveler
  • Home
  • About