Maureen's Suitcase

Travel Stories

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My siblings and I have begun taking large group trips, ranging from 8-15 people. I often am asked how we avoid ending up in blows. Here is my advice.

How To: Survive a Family Trip

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Eclipse 2024: Send in the Clouds

Like a hostess surveying the wreckage of her living room after a wild party, I am still mentally processing my journey to see the 2024 total solar eclipse in Waco, Texas. It all started back in 2017, when my brother, husband and I traveled to see the eclipse in Jacksonhole, Wyoming. We agreed that it was a once-in-lifetime, extraordinary experience that could never be duplicated. Almost…

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Turtles Nesting in Costa Rica: A Grim Adventure

As vultures circled menacingly overhead, I viewed the half-chewed carcass of a large turtle rotting in the hot, Costa Rican sun. Our tour guide pointed to the eggs still visible in the gaping body cavity, and hypothesized that a shark had bitten into the turtle before it had a chance to nest. At that point, I realized that the day’s outing to see the Olive Ridley turtles had taken an unexpectedly…

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Surprise! Catching COVID Overseas

Surprise! Catching COVID Overseas

This is a story of traveling to Europe in May 2022. Two couples, two destinations, two very different outcomes. Who would triumph over COVID, and who would end up “journaling” while quarantined in a small hotel room?Europe was experiencing a large surge in COVID cases. At that time, the US still required a test to re-enter the country. The smart option was to cancel the trip. After carefully…

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That Time We Rented Out a Famous Hollywood Hotel

That Time We Rented Out a Famous Hollywood Hotel

The hotel, a grande dame of Hollywood glamour, beckoned to us from its perch near Sunset Boulevard. As our car pulled into the long driveway, the area was eerily deserted. The dozen or so attendants usually on guard to turn away undesirables were nowhere to be seen. The couches sat empty where celebrities routinely lounged while waiting for their cars. My husband and I looked at each other in…

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How To: Move to a New City for 90 Days

How To: Move to a New City for 90 Days

I wrote this post in pre-COVID 2019.  Ponder this advice while you daydream about escaping your house.  Despite any logistical hassles, doesn’t an extended adventure sound amazing right about now? Miami.  90 days.  Do you pack up and go?  This was the scenario facing me recently.  It is the stuff of television and movies.  As in, “Girl leaves home for an unexpected adventure and ends up finding…

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Awesomely Horrible Travel Moments

Awesomely Horrible Travel Moments

During this pandemic, there is much handwringing and whining about the inability to travel. Eventually, though, all this crying becomes boring, and I need to focus on other things. To cheer myself up recently, I made a list of my top, most awesomely horrible travel moments. Emergency Plane LandingMy plane had just taken off from Washington, DC. I am the scared, annoying person sitting next to…

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