Billy, BBQ, and Beer in Asheville, NC

OK, gentle readers, I know you all get a little anxious when Podunk goes on location, and in some cases, for damned good reason. Sometimes shit goes wrong in my travels. This time, when I made arrangements last September to visit Asheville, North Carolina in February, the area was unexpectedly struck by Hurricane Helene moments […]
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Podunk Travels to Oaxaca, Mexico

I can’t stop thinking about Oaxaca, the city in Mexico we visited in November. Oaxaca — pronounced like wa-hock-a if you are a gringo — is the name of the city and the state, so you can see its versatility right off the bat. And Chef and I had somehow coerced Her Royal Highness and […]
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Cold Muthas Renaissance

My last confession was nearly a year ago. Good thing you gentle readers don’t have to pay for this subscription. Fortunately for all of us, I am now more interested in procrastinating Christmas cards than in procrastinating this blog so I’m back in action. To ease myself back in, I’m re-visiting the topic of my […]
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A Study in Compassion

Since my face off with breast cancer in 2018-19, I have dabbled in the world of clinical trials, Guinea pigging myself in the name of medical research. Participating as a subject doesn’t always go as planned, like when I thought I could go pro providing “stool samples” for a study on how gut health influences […]
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Podunk on Location: Australia, Part 4

Alright, alright, Gentle Readers, I get it! I left you hanging in Australia, and considering our string of misadventures (Argentina, Frank Church Wilderness, and even others I didn’t tell you about), I gave you good reason to think we never left Oz. Calm Your Farm, we landed safely back in Podunk. But not until we […]
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Podunk on Location: Australia, Part 3

The soothing balm for my pedestrian and passenger stress in Australia turned out to be a stay in Hunter Valley wine country. We based out of Pokolbin which was less of a town and more of a zip code nestled among vineyards, olive groves, and cellar doors. In Australia, you typically don’t visit a winery […]
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Podunk on Location: Australia, Part 2

Growing up in Podunk, the yellow school bus was our only public transportation. So when I travel to places that have options like light rail, I’m reminded of my first trip to Disneyland in the 70s and the magic of the PeopleMover taking me to TomorrowLand. Australia’s public transportation system is extensive, convenient and highly […]
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Podunk on Location: Australia, Part 1

Leaving Podunk is never easy. I’m not being sentimental, it’s just quite literally not easy to leave Podunk. God forbid you want to fly somewhere. This endeavor requires a double major in trigonometry and macroeconomics. There are approximately six airports nowhere close to us, all with varying obstacles between us and them. Allow me to […]
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Her Royal Highness Cameo Blogs for Podunk

Editor’s note: Gentle Podunk readers have for all intents and purposes watched Her Royal Highness and Odd Number grow up. I know you’ll join me in my motherly awe and adoration when you read HRH’s tale of running the mighty Alsek River in Alaska. First Times: Life Lessons From the Upper Alsek As I checked […]
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Meet the Cyborgs

I spent the last week of September with my parents — the Notorious Babs and Big L — in Sun Valley. These avid world travelers nabbed a condo for a week in one of our family’s special places and I shimmied over the Trail Creek Road, a unique portal that connects Central Idaho with shi-shi-la-la […]
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