As I mentioned in a prior blog – several years ago, my mom and I started to take yearly trips to Arizona – visiting spas, hiking and checking out different...

You’d never know by my accent (or lack thereof?) but I was born in Atlanta.  Surrounded by a shockingly large number of “Peachtree”-named streets (party fact:  there are approx. 71 variations), and...

A very long time ago I traveled with my father to Portugal.  We spent most of our time in Lisbon (Lisboa), but my dad had arranged for us to spend Christmas...

My brother came back to town a couple weeks ago – so taken by our amazing scenery – or maybe because his sister is super fun to hang out with...

I continue to love all the nature and beauty that Arizona offers.  But there are other views to behold outside the 48th state admitted to the Union (yes, I snuck in a...

Before ever visiting Arizona (many years ago), I associated it with mountains, cacti, heat and cute little geckos.  Since moving here, I’ve gotten to experience those nature-focused aspects (so…much…heat…) and more.   From...

My brother (Craig) came to visit recently.   His inaugural trip to the Southwest was in April, helping me settle in to my place and welcoming Sunny to his new...

Nine days ago, Mother Nature finally realized Phoenicians were weary of triple-digit temperatures and has since provided phenomenal conditions.  The type of weather where a sidewalk-egg experiment won’t fry at 1...

My first blog post mentioned that my mom and I used to take annual vacations to Arizona.  But since my move to the Grand Canyon State, it felt like we should...

My last road trip was way back in early August.  Since that time, there’s only been one day of reprieve below the scorching-hot temps (caused by a crazy dust storm –...

In July, Phoenix won the ‘award’ for the hottest month ever recorded in a U.S. city.  With temps still hitting triple digits when the calendar switched to August, it felt ripe...

Several years ago (back in the mid-1600’s) a first-time law went into effect in Britain requiring roads’ name signs to be posted.  Before that law (and way before Google maps), commoners...

About three weeks ago, I detailed my excursion using United Airline’s Polaris product.  I’ve typically found that non-U.S. based airlines provide a more elevated offering across their seat classes than their...

In case you’re keeping score, you can add 2 more cantons to your Jill’s-Swiss-geography bingo card, 3 if you count my 2006 visit to St. Moritz (canton of Grisons) and...

Back in the winter of 2006, I went to Switzerland and signed up for my very first and (so far) only ski lesson (I was doing well until looking down...

I’m a loyalty program loyalist.  It might be genetic as my dad was quite the partaker of frequent flyer reward plans from their inception.  He likely signed me up to accrue airline...

As a young child, a few rabbits lived nearby.  My parents weren’t fond of the nibble marks on our strawberry plants but I disregarded their dismay at the ruined fruit because...

Two weeks after my last drive up north and the open road was calling.  My alarm was set for some time within the 5 a.m. hour which seemed reasonable the night...

A few weeks ago, I told you about the relatively new Jeep tradition of placing a rubber duck on a fellow Jeeper’s vehicle.  In case you missed that story, you can...

Sunny was itching to go faster than the local streets legally allow, I was itching to explore my new state…road trip!  We headed north to visit a few new-to-me spots.  ...

Before I get too far along with blog posts, you should become acquainted with the charming character who’s already made an appearance on my site.  When landing on the Contact or...

I’ve always liked hiking.  Fact:  It’s hard to hike in Chicago.  Sure, there’s extremely tall buildings – Hancock, Sears (I’m sticking with that name) and Aon to name a few, plus it’s one...

I have a rubber duck collection.  It started several years ago when I stayed at a Hilton in Switzerland.  Lounging in the bathroom was a little yellow duck with a stamp reading...

I recently moved to Arizona.  Not even a month ago.  I’d called Chicago “home” after graduate school and there I stayed.  Beautiful city, delicious food, easy public transportation, a vast number of options...