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Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Commemorative Coin

by Renae

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

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Blog

Runway 5K at Asheville Regional Airport 2022

by Renae

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!

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Asheville Today – AVLtoday

by Renae

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
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Christmas at Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC

by Renae

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.

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Santa Fe, New Mexico

by Renae

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.

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Official Postcrossing stamp from Germany

by Renae

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!

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

by Renae

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.

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The stuff MY travel dreams are made of

by Renae

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…. 🙂

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AsiaBlogChinapostcards

Miao-style House in China

by Renae

Diaojiaolou in China

I received this interesting postcard as the result of a direct swap. It shows a Miao-style house, called Diaojiulou. On the back is says, “The Diaojiao House with Hills behind and River in Front.”

From the web: “The Miao-style Houses are of wood and high above ground. Each has several wood pillars as support. Therefore, it is called “Diaojiaolou” in Chinese. Homes are usually two to four storeys. Upper layer is used to store the provisions; people live in the middle; while fowls are sheltered under the house. An ethnic minority museum was built in this village where some ancient ethnic cultural relics are exhibited. Seen from a distance, the whole village looks like a mirage.” (Check it out at http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/guizhou/kaili/langde.htm — some interesting photos and cultural info there!)

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