What is Spring to you?

 by Diana McCollum

What is spring to you? 

Are you a Love is in the air believer, or do you start thinking about travel or are you looking forward to family time  or are you just done with winter and ready for spring and being outdoors?

Here are some pictures and quotes to usher in Spring season.

“A single rose can be my garden; a single friend, my world.” – Leo Buscaglia

“In springtime, love is carried on the breeze. Watch out for flying passion or kisses whizzing by your head.” – Emma Racine deFleur

Spring won’t let me stay in this house any longer! I must get out and breathe the air deeply again.

--Gustav Mahler

“You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.” — Pablo Neruda

“Spring is the time of year when it is summer in the sun and winter in the shade” – Charles Dickens

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”
― Gustave Flaubert

Hope you've enjoyed the pictures and quotes!

(Credits: roses and coffee-Antone Matyukha-Deposit Photos,

Woman Holding bouquet -Dmitry Poch-Deposit Photos,

Man sitting outsidel-ArutaImages-Deposit Photos, 

Father and daughter-EdzBarzhyvetsky,Deposit Photos

Senior couple with map-HalikRedke, Deposit Photos

Wedding couple-Edzbarzhyvetsky, Deposit Photos

Happy Easter-VadimVasenin-Deposit Photos)

New York Adventures in Travel...by Kristin Wallace

Since this month's theme is "adventures in travel", it seems the perfect time to talk about my trip to New York City in July. 

First, I attended the Romance Writers of America (RWA) national conference. I got to spend quality time with my closest writer friends, celebrated my birthday, learned tons of information, and celebrated the best in romance fiction. 

Then my parents flew up and we got to spend a few extra days in the city. We did the tourist thing on one of those big double-decker buses and saw more of the city than I have before. I marveled at the architecture. (The buildings are one of my favorite things about New York. We have NOTHING like them in Miami.) We toured The Met Museum where I went ga-ga over the room of Impressionist paintings by Monet and Rembrandt, most of which I’d only ever seen in books. Plus, a super cool exhibit celebrating the history of rock & roll, with guitars that were owned by some of the best rock musicians of all times like Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.

However, the highlight was a visit to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I’ve been to New York four times, but this was the first time I actually made it. We did a guided tour so we had someone explaining more of the history of both places for our small group. I’ve always been fascinated by the history of Ellis Island especially. This processing center welcomed 12 million immigrants from 1892 – 1954. Our guide told us that about 40% of Americans today had ancestors who came through Ellis Island. The photos below show Ellis Island as it was when the processing center was being used vs. today.

The bravery of those men and women can’t be understated. And once they got to the mainland, things certainly did not get any easier. On our tours, we saw neighborhoods where many of the families settled, the former tenement buildings that housed multiple families, sometimes in a single apartment. 

 

What an inspiring trip and a chance to check off two items on my bucket list. 

(I’m curious. Can any of you trace relatives through Ellis Island???)

Kristin Wallace is the USA Today Best Selling Author of inspirational and sweet contemporary romance filled with “Love, Laughter and a Leap of Faith”. Her latest book, SECOND CHANCE HERO, part of her Palm Cove Tales series, is available now. 

AMAZON  /  APPLE BOOKS  /  B&N   /   KOBO 

Adventures in Dutch Harbor/Unalaska, Alaska by Lynn Lovegreen

For this month's theme of Adventures in Travel, this is a reprise from a July 2016 blog post.

Stunning Dutch Harbor and Unalaska

You may recall I travelled to Dutch Harbor and Unalaska earlier this summer. (See my post on the ferry ride there at http://lynnlovegreen.com/traveling-on-the-tustumena/.) I had the opportunity to go to one of the most unusual places in Alaska.

It’s unusual for a couple reasons.
One: Unless you’re in the fishing industry or live in the Aleutian Islands, you have to go out of your way to get there. Many Alaskans have been to Juneau or Skagway or anywhere on the road system (Homer, Seward, Anchorage, Denali, Fairbanks) because it’s fairly easy to get there. But not to Dutch Harbor—you have to fly or take a four-day ferry to go to Dutch Harbor.


Dutch Harbor port from Ballyhoo

Two: Although most people just say “Dutch Harbor” there are two towns, Dutch Harbor and Unalaska, united by a bridge. Dutch Harbor is the industrial/fishing town, and Unalaska has a more residential, small town feel to it. Originally, Unalaska was the traditional Unangan (Aleut) village and Dutch Harbor was the port, then the military base in the 1930s and 40s—which brings me to why I was there.

Gun emplacement on Bunker Hill



Unalaska from Bunker Hill

I went to do research for my next book about World War II in Alaska. Dutch Harbor was bombed by the Japanese in 1942, and the U.S. Army and Navy had a strong presence there. You can still see bunkers and military buildings all over the area. Plus, the U. S. Government took the Aleuts off the islands and interned them in Southeast Alaska. Evidence of that sad period of our history is also in both towns.

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Aleut internment monument in Unalaska


While I was researching a negative period of our history, I was inspired by all the stories of courage, sacrifice, and generosity. Plus, it is beautiful, even stunning, country out there, and the people were very helpful. I’m glad I went.

Lynn Lovegreen has lived in Alaska for fifty years. After twenty years in the classroom, she retired to make more time for writing. She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and volunteering at her local library. Her young adult historical fiction is set in Alaska, a great place for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com. You can also find her on Facebook and Instagram.