Blogs from Durham, North Carolina, United States, North America

Home with all luggage Exhausted Need shower, but water not hot yet Laudry sorted and started (must love Oxi Clean!) Both cell phones charging Stay tuned for trip details and photos!... read more

I have never been much of a writer. By that I mean that I don't have the required attention span for it. I don't think that my writing is all that bad but, a few mintues into writing anything, my mind begins to wander. Which makes it difficult to record my thoughts. That's what I wanted to do when I started this travel blog a few years ago. Record what I am thinking and feeling, right when I am thinking and feeling it. Especially since traveling has always been very thought provoking for me. It always seems to give me a fresh perspective on my life and my goals. And I always arrive home feeling inspired. This blog first began when I was headed off on my first trip to Europe, and a freind suggested that ... read more

My father makes me laugh so much.......Apparently my father is having some hearing issues (but he is in denial)...so it was always so funny to laugh about what he thought we were saying!!!!! haha I am still laughing about him thinking someone was "helping the dolphins", or that I wanted to buy a "hiking shirt".... it was just such a treat when he would repeat what he thought we said... hahaha This last week I had the chance to visit a few of the Carolina Beaches with my parents and sister Brittany Noel!!!! Obviously....sun, sand, surf.... always a good time... these are some of my observations.... MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina, was beautiful!!!….. and by far the MOST crowded beach on the Carolina Coast! Extremely built up, sky rises everywhere… trying to be a “mini Vegas”……lots ... read more

After hitting the rack early last night, I was hoping today would bring great things. Best laid plans, right? After waking up on the hour throughout the night I was hardly refreshed. I woke up at 8:30 and after some brief planning, I finally sucked it up and got set to hit the road around 11:00 am. After loading up the car with all my gear, I started to leave the parking lot and noticed a shimmy in the left side of the rental car. I got out to inspect the cause and found the culprit - a flat left rear tire. So I called Avis’ roadside assistance number and they sent out a team to change the tire. Before they arrived, I checked the spare. Of course the replacement was one of those small donut ... read more

Home! All luggage arrived House fine, but grass desperately needs cutting Filthy laundry soaking - the "whites" turned the water instantly gray Need shower, but no hot water yet as tank needs to reheat Exhaused after 40 hours of travel - must nap now for several hours More soon...... read more

Life has been busy since my last entry--I successfully defended my dissertation, moved to North Carolina, started my dream job, helped Ken and the cats move into our new apartment, and started planning for my next trip abroad--South Africa! My first trip outside of the U.S. was to South Africa back in 2001. I went back in 2005 for my master's thesis project, but now that I am directing a 5-year HIV prevention project in Cape Town with couples who hang out in bars, I will be there on a fairly regular basis. My first trip for the project is mid-January, so stay tuned! In the meantime, I wanted to write about the momentous occasion of the election of Barak Obama as our new president. I found that it took me a few days to allow ... read more

So, in just eight days I leave for the land of milk and honey... and then promptly head south from France to Mali, the land of goat and millet (ooh... I do love goat). I've got my visa, I've got my shots, and I've got my Internet-generated nickname (Carravanquelo, which means god knows what)--what more do I need? (Well, I suppose a place to stay in Bamako would be nice, but that will sort itself out when the time is right.) Anyway, the plan is to leave Raleigh on September 16, arrive in Paris on the 17th, catch a ride from Charles de Gaulle to Orly and fly to Casablanca that afternoon. We'll spend a day there and leave the next night to arrive in Bamako at 2:30 am on the morning of the 19th. Wish ... read more

Wednesday afternoon, after updating my blog at the library I head out to visit a couple of parks in and around Greensboro in my attempt to make sure my pups stay happy on this trip. Obviously, they're spoiled. We walked through the Bog Gardens, the Bicentennial Gardens and Barber Park; I think that'll do it for a while, at least until Lynchburg. While I was out I decided to call Duke (only an hour away) to let them know I was in town, to see if I could maybe stop by for a short visit before Sunday. Ms. Barber, the assistant to the Director of Graduate Studies was very friendly and asked that I meet her around 10 the next morning. 10am Thursday, we met and she had taken the time to generate a 2-day itinerary ... read more