Ligeia

Overnight at the Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa, Florida

We had just enjoyed the three-day weekend celebrating Independence Day, Tampa Bay Lightning was to play game four of the Stanley Cup finals and Tropical Storm Elsa, which kept threatening to become a Cat 1 hurricane, was on her way. Chrissy reminded me that she had received a free night stay at the Seminole HardContinue reading “Overnight at the Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa, Florida”

Riding In a Pride Parade

I love Pride! I get invigorated hearing “Happy Pride” from complete strangers, I love watching the parades and reveling in the amazing loving energy! My absolute favorite part of the parade, whether seeing it for the first time in the 1990s in my home town of Baltimore or in the Tampa Bay area where IContinue reading “Riding In a Pride Parade”

Visiting Egypt as a Lesbian

“There’s no one around”, she whispered to me as we waited for the old-fashioned elevator to reach the floor of our AirBnB. As we stood in the hallway of this old apartment building on the Nile in the Dokka district of Cairo, Chrissy leaned in to kiss me. “No!” I said suddenly and pushed herContinue reading “Visiting Egypt as a Lesbian”

Visiting Bok Towers in Lake Wales, Florida

Bok Towers was always one of those places that I meant to visit one day. Yet, every time I found myself traveling on I-4, I always came up with an excuse as to why I should skip this unusual, yet relatively local, destination. One day, I finally ran out of excuses. The promise of botanicalContinue reading “Visiting Bok Towers in Lake Wales, Florida”

Vegan in Egypt

“Small, medium or large?”, the young waiter asked us from behind his mask. El Tahrir, an Egyptian chain restaurant, serves only one item: koshary, a traditional Egyptian dish that is a popular street food and that also happens to be vegan. Within a short time, a medium bowl appeared with a bed of noodles, lentils,Continue reading “Vegan in Egypt”

Camping in the White Desert, Egypt

“Don’t flush”, Chrissy told me, “I have to go too”. I laughed from my squatting position over the sandy hole I had just dug with my hands. I quickly took stock as to how I got to this point – peeing while watching the sun rise over the White Desert in western Egypt. The previousContinue reading “Camping in the White Desert, Egypt”

Spending My Birthday at Peacefield in Newberry, Florida

I had just survived Covid and 2021 was not even a week old. The thought of spending my 48th birthday at an animal sanctuary appealed to me even more than usual. My internet search landed me at Peacefield in Newberry, Florida, a place I hadn’t even heard of but was only a few hours driveContinue reading “Spending My Birthday at Peacefield in Newberry, Florida”

Valentine’s Day in Cancun, Mexico

It was just after midnight and so officially Valentine’s Day. Chrissy gave me a card she had thoughtfully written and brought with her to Cancun. Inside were wonderful words of love stating how happy she was to have met me. What a wonderful way to begin a holiday that I hadn’t celebrated in over aContinue reading “Valentine’s Day in Cancun, Mexico”

Skydiving in Zephyrhills, Florida

“Ok. It’s time” “We’re first?” My heart jumped and the next thing I knew I was falling out of a plane into what everyone on the ground saw as a partly cloudy day. Skydiving had been on my bucket list for quite awhile and was frankly one of the scariest activities on my ever-growing list.Continue reading “Skydiving in Zephyrhills, Florida”