Author Archives: JMP traveler

What the F-Stop!

What is this f-stop that camera nerds talk about, and why does it come up when explaining why my phone camera isn’t as good as their costly camera? Focal-STOP AKA f-stop is the “aperture” opening of a camera lens, allowing light to come in. Clear as mud, right? For years people told me the F-stop or Aperture (whyContinue reading “What the F-Stop!”

Random Thoughts: Practical Parental Advice

Let’s be honest most Parental Advice is philosophical in nature: If people don’t like the real you, then they are a fool; well, I’m not “insert name” parents, and everyone’s favorite you will understand when you are older. So below is usable, practical knowledge for everyday life from Parents. Always go (bathroom) before you leave.Continue reading “Random Thoughts: Practical Parental Advice”

Travel Story: I was Home Alone on a Mountain!

It’s not as bad as it sounds. Picture it Machu Picchu just 30 feet shy of 8,000 feet or 2,430M, and intact and Inca Citadel. So perfect the design its stone buildings need no mortar and had built-in plumbing. I was sitting under a shade-giving umbrella in the cafe near the entrance, which is whereContinue reading “Travel Story: I was Home Alone on a Mountain!”

Memorial Day

This gravesite is one out of nine thousand three hundred and eighty-five in the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, one of the resting places for American Troops that died in Europe during WWII. It’s a sobering number. Instead of mourning their death, lets us rejoice that they lived. “It is foolish and wrong to mournContinue reading “Memorial Day”

Travel Tips: What to Pack Edition!

Make a list of everything you want to pack and when you pack the item in your bag, cross it off the list. Keeps you from repacking if you want to double-check. Pack twice the amount of medication you will need for your trip, if you are going for one week then take enough forContinue reading “Travel Tips: What to Pack Edition!”

You travel a lot where should I go on my vacation or holiday?

I’ve been to many places, so I do get asked this question; I usually reply with a few more questions to help them narrow it down. I now pass the checklist to you all, hold for applause, and as the Rock said in Moana, You’re Welcome. Question 1: How much time do you have? IContinue reading “You travel a lot where should I go on my vacation or holiday?”

How do you solve a problem like dull overcast?

You are on vacation, and you want some fabulous photos of your trip (to make everyone at work jealous….oh, and precious family memories), but the sky is a dull, dreary, weary, overcast meh. It’s not a moody mystical fog or darkly lit storm clouds. It’s just blah. You can’t come back to this same placeContinue reading “How do you solve a problem like dull overcast?”