hiking

First Day of Summer

Monday is the first official day of summer, but why wait till next weekend when you can enjoy summer this weekend. Hit the beach or cool off in at a good movie in the theater (but pass on the candy and popcorn). Or consider the best of both worlds at Mansfield’s Drive-In theater.

Maybe take a leisurely raft ride down the Farmington River.

Hiking is always a favorite activity of mine. And Connecticut has lots of places to hike. I like Devil’s Hopyard and the Heublein Tower.

Have a picnic with friends or just you and your favorite book.

Machu Picchu

I spent the past three weeks traveling in Peru. The first week we hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu–a place as magical and mystical as everyone says and pictures attempt to show. The stone city rivals the pyramids. Machu Picchu may not be the engineering feat the pyramids were, but resting high on the peaks of the Andes where misty clouds glide in and out, it certainly feels more relatable. People lived here; they didn’t just get buried here.

Getting to Machu Picchu via the Inca Trail was a challenge, but made the arrival even better. Camping in the Andes for three nights provided some of the best views I’ve ever gone to sleep with. I haven’t stayed in any hotel that provides views of snow capped mountains and waterfalls with brooks so loud you can’t hear anything but water cascading down rocks. Until morning. Somehow roosters overtake the sound of water.

It is a journey I would recommend.