My Wife's Damn Inheritance

Blog to Book, Travel Memoir, Jeff is begrudgingly coerced into taking a 5 month family backpacking trip to Europe, interrupting his “life”.

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Epilogue - Ten Years Later

Epilogue – Ten Years Later

The car rolled backward and I slammed on the brakes. Jill yelled at the top of her lungs, “Dad!”

“Don’t worry, honey,” I set the parking brake and depressed the clutch. I tried not to look out the window at the plunging hillsides surrounding us. I lifted my foot from the brake pedal. The car lunged backwards.

“Dad!” it wasn’t a scream, but close.

“Sis, I want to get up this hill as badly as you…

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What's Grace Got to do With IT?

What’s Grace Got to do With IT?

My connection with the Black Madonna in Montserrat was a turning point in my life. The feeling I got watching all those people lining up to see a piece of wood really annoyed me – even more when I found myself in line with them. I looked into the eyes of that statue and my feelings changed – and stuck with me for the years following our return from the trip. I realized I felt this way because I…

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Avoiding Insanity

Within six months my primary client stopped making loans and my business dried up. A friend once again came to my rescue and offered me a (insert sigh here) job. Returning to cubicle land wasn’t easy. The constant stream of blurting voices seemed louder than ever and I couldn’t concentrate. More than ever before, the workplace seemed like high school. The gossip and back stabbing was harder to…

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Venturing Out into the Wild's of LA.

Venturing Out into the Wild’s of LA.

Spending time in Europe inspired a new lifestyle. We ventured out more. We explored places like Little Saigon and tried Vietnamese sandwiches and durian smoothies. I wanted to go inside more ethnic stores rather than passing them by. I wanted to learn new and exotic recipes. One day Donna and I realized none of us had seen the Watts Towers. It was exciting to walk around and through this unique…

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Seeing Things Differently

I wanted to indulge in the things I’d missed while on the road. I sunk into my couch and  grabbed my remote. How nice it was to click through dozens of channels where actors and newscasters spoke English and described things I could understand.

Fifteen minutes later I wandered into the kitchen, opened the fridge and hung on the door. I stared inside and tried to decide between digging my finger…

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First Impressions

 Lee helped us load our packs into the back of our Tahoe. It seemed as big as a school bus compared to the tiny European cars. The airport seemed different too. Mere minutes after landing and things already seemed different. I thought about five months earlier when Lee told me this trip would change me. I hadn’t taken his words seriously.

More family greeted us at Lee and Shari’s house. Their…

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The Butler

After a good night sleep and a traditional English breakfast, we packed our bags for the last time. Donna flipped through papers, reviewing details of our flight home. I sat on the edge of my bed watching the kids. Jill savored the last few moments of her favorite BBC dating show. Chris rummaged through his pack. “These are not mine.” he said, tossing a crumpled t-shirt and sock ball at Alex, who…

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Call Me Coco Chanel

Call Me Coco Chanel

The five of us jumped off the subway, ran up the escalator, and sprinted down the sidewalk of the tidy and proper neighborhood that didn’t seem at all characteristic of our destination. We jaywalked across a busy street to a well manicured lawn not meant for pedestrians. This wasn’t “Act like an American Tourist” night, we just didn’t want to miss the reservation we’d made to celebrate Chris’s…

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Call Me Coco Chanel

Call Me Coco Chanel

The five of us jumped off the subway, ran up the escalator, and sprinted down the sidewalk of the tidy and proper neighborhood that didn’t seem at all characteristic of our destination. We jaywalked across a busy street to a well manicured lawn not meant for pedestrians. This wasn’t “Act like an American Tourist” night, we just didn’t want to miss the reservation we’d made to celebrate Chris’s…

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London Calling Back

“It’s this way.” Donna insisted.

“Are you sure?” I wiped the sweat from my forehead and looked around. Everything looked so different. Five months earlier these trees were bare and everyone was dressed in dark overcoats. Now everything was green and people walked around in shorts. Finally we found Vicarage Gate and the familiar marble columns of the Abbey House. We stood on the sidewalk and…

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Good Night Blackpool

We thought we’d take the kids out to dinner to celebrate our last night in Blackpool. As everybody else got ready, I headed down stairs to take Dave up on his invitation to share a pint. He’d converted the original parlor of the house into a small bar. On the wall he’d hung photos of famous soccer players and other athletes. He proudly pointed to those who were his friends or family members. He…

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Pleasure Beach

The Santa Cruz Boardwalk always stuck in my mind like glue. At age three I walked around that park, clutching my mother’s hand and shaking with fear. I found California’s oldest amusement park creepy. The rickety wooden roller coaster scraped the sky and threatened to fall on me. The entire place seemed haunted, yet I loved it.

Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach brought back those memories. The smell of…

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Day Tripping to Liverpool

Day Tripping to Liverpool

Everybody wants to make a pilgrimage.  To show allegiance to something important by visiting a place like The Vatican, Israel, or Fenway Park?  Around 90% of you will understand what I mean. You’re the type who’ll jump in your car and squeal your tires the moment you get a chance to get close to, stand on, or gaze upon that special person, place, or thing. Think of that something that has always…

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Hey, Do You Want to Hear a Joke?

Hey, Do You Want to Hear a Joke?

Unlike London, where travelers cue up for an agent to assign them to a taxi, the Blackpool train station was more like a Tijuana bus station. The driver delegation seemed more like an improve troupe in audition mode. They cracked jokes and acted up – clearly loving every moment of playing to a captive and vulnerable audience. These 60-something, motley crew jockeyed for my attention using crude…

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Dangerous Blackpool

After our time with our friends in Edinburgh, we headed to the seaside town of Oban, then off to Sterling. I was falling in love with Scotland and was suddenly proud that I was part Scottish, even if less than 5%. What I’d seen of the country felt welcoming, almost like the American Midwest.

Our plan was to fly to Dublin after Scotland. Ireland was supposed to be the last hurrah on this adventure…

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Slow Down Driver, Wanna Stay Alive, Wanna Make this Journey Last

Slow Down Driver, Wanna Stay Alive, Wanna Make this Journey Last

I hadn’t seen a grin on Alex’s face in nearly five months. He was about to spend the afternoon with his new friend Carla. Eddie and Anna offered to take all three kids for the afternoon while David took us for Sunday ride in the country side.

Based on jumbled memories of Scotch ads and golf paintings, I’d pictured the Scottish countryside to be endless rolling hills of well manicured grass with…

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Where's Arthur When You Need Him?

Where’s Arthur When You Need Him?

After indulging in that fine ale and whiskey at the pub, I should have passed on the wine David was pouring, but he insisting it was the perfect complement for the haggis dish Sheila had prepared. I’d heard of this traditional Scottish food and appreciated that my current state would give me courage to try it. Sheila explained that we’d be eating sheep’s innards, oatmeal, and other stuff that had…

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