Adventuress Travel Magazine Blog

Sep 21, Legal Tender --True Tales of a Brothel Madam

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 04:57:55 GMT

In Legal Tender, Harper relates her experiences as a former brothel madam and puts a human face on the women who sell sexual services and the men who buy them.

Sep 1, Bon Voyage From Our Garage

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:15:55 GMT

What are you thinking? exclaimed comedian Sandy Hackett when my husband, comedian/entertainment manager Cork Proctor, told him wed joined the Peace Corps.

Sep 1, 700 Days in Suriname, a Peace Corps Diary

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:07:02 GMT

Follow a "senior" Peace Corps volunteer as she journals and paints her way through two years in Suriname, South America

Aug 26, Suriname Peace Corps Journal coming soon

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 05:16:23 GMT

At the end of this month it will be exactly ten years since I (at 50+, there I just gave away my age!) departed to serve in the Peace Corps in Suriname, South America. The entire experience was just too adventuress not to journal, and for the next two years I filled 3 spiral notebooks with hand-printed (!) entries on all my activities, joys and frustrations living in a developing country (I'm told it's politically-incorrect now to refer to them as "third-world" countries). To celebrate the occasion, I've decided to post my journal here at Adventuress Travel, on a regular basis as I experienced it. Now you can join the Peace Corps vicariously. Look for my first post on August 31st.

Aug 18, Dancing in My Nightgown

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:12:14 GMT

After 49 years of marriage, Betty Auchard shares her journey of widowhood with poignancy and humor.

Aug 16, Hard Amazon Rain is officially an e-book!

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 04:43:11 GMT

Yes, finally, after cover changes and catching last minute edits (when did I fall in love so much with contractions? They just didn't work everywhere) Hard Amazon Rain is officially available for download as an e-book: http://tinyurl.com/mcjdvs This is an eco-romance I began writing ten years ago when I was still in the Peace Corps in South America, living on the northeast corner of the Amazon basin. Id met an interesting woman in the upper Amazon in Peru and a fascinating man in Suriname and thought, what if these two characters got together? I loved doing the research for the book, and during the writing, re-writing and editing I never got tired of it. I hope readers enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'd like to be able to offer it to you here at Adventuress Travel Magazine, but I haven't figured out how to do that yet, so check it out at Gibson Girl Publishing http://tinyurl.com/mcjdvs

Aug 2, Robert Mondavi cant fly

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 04:39:55 GMT

At the U.S. Post Office, LIFE LESSON #57,539: I approach the window with my two small boxes packed with things Ive decided to pass off to friends in other states. My boxes are well-taped and properly addressed. The Asian woman behind the counter squints at them and says, No wine. What wine? I have no idea what shes talking about. Box of wine, she says, pointing to the printed side of one of my boxes, Robert Mondavi Vineyard. Theres no wine inside. Just gifts. You can tell from the weight its not bottles of wine. Can not accept, she insists, says, wine. The box in question indeed originally packaged bottles of Robert Mondavi wine. But now the box is old, has been taped and retaped, marked and remarked, and is clearly (to me, anyway) not a new box of wine. Still, she will not accept it with the winery printing. Must cover up. She rummages in a drawer and produces a marker, shows me how to black out the Mondavi logo, lettering, and even the name, California. When the marker dries up, she says I must go across the street to the grocery store and buy some paper to cover the sides of the box. I pay for the acceptable box and agree to come back later with my wine box properly disguised. Perhaps sensing my frustration, she pulls some 2x3 blank white labels out of her drawer and says, I cover with labels. Now my box looks likes it has square chicken pox. But it WILL fly. She explains that this is not a U.S. Postal rule. Its the airlines. The airline companies dont allow alcohol to be shipped. I thank her for her patience and help. I exit the post office thankful that even though there were doubtful moments, I did manage to mail two packages in one trip.

Jul 19, Foods around the world

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 05:14:02 GMT

Because one of my favorite things to do is eat, Ive decided to add recipes to Adventuress Travel Magazine. These wont be basic Lutheran casserole recipes (my heritage) but rather interesting, unusual, and tasty things Ive picked up in my travels around the world. Check back on the Eat the World pages for new recipes soon to be posted. If you have a recipe you'd like to share, e-mail it to adventuresstravel@gmail.com

Jul 7, The three stages of pleasure

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:19:38 GMT

Joyce, who just returned from a trip to the northern European CapitalsLondon, Copenhagen, Stockholm, among othersshared her photos with me over lunch. This week I also spent time reviewing a box of old travel photos from the sixties and seventies. Thinking about travel photos led me to the conclusion that there are Three Stages of Pleasure. Stage One is the pleasure of planning the trip. Tour or solo? How will you get there? How long will you be there? What will you do there? What will you wear? Ah, the pleasure of anticipation! Stage Two is the pleasure of being there, doing the activity. Enjoying being right here, right now. Ah, the pleasure of the doing! Stage Three is the pleasure of remembering the moments you anticipated in advance. Looking at the photos, sharing them with friends, talking about what you did, who you met, what you ate, what you saw, etc. Ah, the pleasure of reminiscing! The Three Stages of Pleasure can apply to lots of other things besides travel, such as weddings, first dates, going on a picnic, seeing your favorite musician in concert or seeing your first child off to college. What stage of pleasure are you in just now?

Jun 22, Hard Amazon Rain

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:19:50 GMT

Hard Amazon Rain is an eco-adventure romance that Ive been working on for umpteen years. Gibson Girl Publishing has just accepted it to be published as an e-book. It will debut August 1, and youll be able to buy it here. I loved researching and writing the story of Dianti, whos determined to build a library for impoverished Amerindians on the upper Amazon and Christian, an eco-activist who fervently believes that Amerindians should be left alone to exist in the rainforest as they have for hundreds of years. Despite their differences, they must band together against ruthless gold miners who will destroy entire villages to rape the rainforest. The idea for this story came to me after a trip to Perus Amazon in 1999. I developed it while I was in the Peace Corps living in an Amerindian village on the northeast corner of the Amazon basin. I fell totally in love with the humid, drippy, mysterious rainforest and all the flora and fauna that live there. I saw first-hand the struggle that Amerindians face to save their culture in a modern world. So Im excited to be able to finally share Hard Amazon Rain with readers.