One of the top ten most beautiful lakes in the WORLD—Lake Atitlan or Lago de Atitlan as its officially called was the highpoint of our Guatemalan trip itinerary. After a week of brisk, mountain weather in the highlands (highest peaks of Central America), it was decadently pleasurable to bask in the sunshine and water of Lake Atitlan! A sun-dappled hotel courtyard dripping with bougainvillea was our home base as we strolled down a gravel road to the shore. Paragliders, a few boats and several taverns and vendors nearby, we absorbed the STUNNING beauty of this magical lake, known for its sacred and pristine waters.

Few boats are allowed on this lake and I can see why. The most royal blue skies with cotton ball clouds draped this landscape among the volcanoes and mist. We shot across the lake in a speedboat for a thirty minute ride to the other side…a village called San Juan. The port of San Juan was everything you’d hope it to be. The vendors from the village women cooperatives were calm and peaceful. The hillside was dotted with artisans and weavers, coffee farms and cafes, markets and medicinal herb gardeners.

In San Juan, we looked at art, textiles, markets and more. The vibe was calm; not touristy or chaotic. Relaxing at a coffee house was a respite from the sightseeing and a perfect location to tour a coffee farm in the back. Inside the chic coffeehouse, we enjoyed artisan coffee drinks. Much to my surprise, our guides took us out to what felt like Lucy in The Chronicles of Narnia moment of passing through…not a wardrobe but instead, a “portal” into a coffee farm! Behind the chic coffeehouse were robust coffee bean trees with volcanoes in the distance. Stunning and magical!…with an informative tour of the coffee making process and the machinery involved!

San Juan had murals expressing their culture on the walls of the quiet hillsides. Medicinal herb gardens and textiles boutiques had a panache to them here in San Juan. There was not the aggressiveness of the markets in other cities. Watching paragliders and enjoying a Corona beer from a tavern patio was a perfect way to relax on the day of arrival.I went back out at sunrise the next morning to capture some photos. A pack of wild dogs charged out of nowhere and started running towards me, barking. Panicked, I picked up a rock in case I needed to throw it and ran back toward the hotel. Then, I remembered they were after a female dog in heat the day before. They found her. I was off the hook. Scary. The things we go through for photos.

Beautiful Lake Atitlan. There is only calm there (except for dogs in heat). Find it, harness it, appreciate it, bask in it. It’s unlikely you’ll visit the other nine most beautiful lakes. The magic of this Mayan one was not lost on me.

©Gina Michalopulos Kingsley

photos by GIna

“Pack and travel simply,” the trip brochures hinted. These words intrigued me to embrace a rustic, casual voluntourism trip in Central America. There are many buzzwords in travel–glamping, world schooling, agritourismo and voluntourism. I have done them all now as I just completed my first voluntourism trip. What is voluntourism? Volunteering + tourism= voluntourism. From the time I was in college, I have been fascinated with the Peace Corps. I was curious about it but on another path of marriage and career at the time. Decades later, as an almost empty nester and  travel writer, I discovered a travel program, Discover Corps, which was founded by a Peace Corps volunteer. The sustainable travel principles program was the “voluntourism” themed trip that I was craving.

After decades of traveling as a family, it was now a time in my life when I could travel with girlfriends and experience voluntourism. Not a mission trip but a volunteer trip. Moms are permanent volunteers on a mission, anyway, whether it’s being a homeroom mom, a Scout mom, a team mom, church volunteer, school fundraiser mom, etc. But when first world moms go on a voluntourism trip in a third world country, it’s different. The maternal instinct bonds you to children all over the world and their needs become significant to you. Their needs challenge you to think about how you can help. They are not someone else’s children…..they are all our children.

Guatemala attracts travelers who like adventure, Spanish language schools and service projects. I was drawn to traveling there for the color, landscape and this voluntourism opportunity. The bonus was that there was no time change from Oklahoma, no change in electrical outlets and no visas required. Central America is not that far of a flight from my hometown and yet it was beautifully exotic.

My travel buddies and dear friends seized the adventure and signed up right away. This made it all the better! How surprised I was to discover that my friend has always been fascinated by the Peace Corp, too, 30 years prior when we were both college girls.  Here we were embarking on our 50th year on Earth and trying something new. All  the ladies attending the trip were people who love to help in their communities. Their ideas and vigor were contagious.

Half of our trip itinerary took place in the city (Quetzaltenango, “Xela”) of the school where we worked on our service project. In rustic lodging, (“Girl Scout style”) bunk beds and shared bathrooms, we left the jewelry and nice clothing back home and embraced a casual life for a week. Stripped of the usual facade and amenities, you discover the fundamental side of yourself and how that feels. Our “careers and personas” were not important in this context—our capabilities and spirits were. Flat shoes, a camera and a volunteer heart were the only tools required for our efforts. Skechers shoes can be quite liberating.

The school had two service project needs—paint a mural on the playground wall or create an inside “mural” bulletin board display where the teacher could change out the instructional pages. The teacher’s preferred need seemed to be the classroom display and we were happy to provide that. No laminators, no fancy materials and no classroom budget…we had to create the display from a bucket of supplies and contact paper as a substitute for a laminator. Our workspace was the principal’s tiny office at a tiny table. Our bathroom break required a key to unlock the stall and a roll of toilet paper to take with us. No toilet seats either.

As we worked, affectionate schoolchildren came up to us, threw their arms around our necks, and watched us work for a few minutes. The reciprocated curiosity was very bonding. I used Spanish I hadn’t used since college and was pleasantly surprised to hear myself retrieve words and phrases I didn’t realize I still knew! The children were so joyful; so happy with so little. Each student smiled and hung on every word of their teacher. They appeared to truly want to please their teachers. They sang songs for us, engaged with us, posed for pictures. It was startling to me to observe that not one child seemed moody or serious. There was pure joy at every desk. The playground was a cement courtyard, sunny and colorful, with multiplication tables painted on the steps. Children hanging and climbing on basketball goal posts never seemed in danger. It was like a scene from pre-video games days when children thrived outside.

During the week, we went to the educational supply store to get more materials for our display. We were also moved into a larger classroom workspace. We found our flow with our respective tasks of assembling the project. Cutting, glue- gunning, drawing, sorting, etc. teamwork between the women used to business, psychometry, nursing, dentistry and volunteer world work. I, being the only former teacher in the group, mustered up some old drawing skills I still had within me and was summoned to draw the animated figures. I was mostly interested in photojournalizing our journey so it touched me when my friend looked over my shoulder as I was drawing and appreciated my rudimentary art skills. Giggling at her comment, I sketched out the animal characters and enjoyed watching and feeling our assembly line productivity. Concentrating to delve back into “teacher art” after all these decades, my other friend noticed how quiet we all were as we worked in concert. It was true—concentration required stillness which is not my usual modus operandi. I was also using the stillness to process what was going on around me…the country music playing on my friend’s phone as she worked, our tour guide printing off worksheets from the computer, my friend carefully peeling the contact paper and the other friend smoothing it with a ruler. Nothing was planned out or rehearsed—it was just an organic experience of mothers helping.

At night, after excursions and dinner, we gathered in the “den” of our lodge over wine or Guatemalan rum. Sometimes, we checked emails and social media. The few times I did this, the updates seemed trivial compared to what we were experiencing this week. It was refreshing to “unplug” and focus on other matters going on in the world. The lack of amenities and less restful sleep was eye-opening, too, because it did confirm to me that there’s no place like home. So, two good things happen when you travel—you appreciate global awareness but you also appreciate the comforts of home.During the service project schooldays, we toured the school and observed a classroom without electricity. The students studied by the daylight through the windows. We saw a classroom without a door. Students cleaned and mopped after recess. They brushed their teeth in a communal, outdoor sink. Bags of bread rolls were their snack. They went to school half a day and the upper grades used the school in the afternoon. We saw an area where a second floor is needed and awaiting construction. This intrigued us and my friend instantly started thinking of a solution and a group of volunteers she could assemble to return to Quetzaltenango to complete it. I was most impressed by the valores (values) plastered all over the playground: cooperacion, amor, solidaridad…. Simple but paramount.

On our final day, we presented the project to the teachers. They invited us to join everyone outside on the playground where they set up a row of chairs for us. A presenter on microphone publicly thanked us and presented us with thank you gifts and certificates. “We do not deserve this,” I heard my friend remark. Then, the music started and darling children dressed in Guatemalan costumes, marched out from opposite sides of the courtyard and promenaded and serenaded us in an appreciation performance. The boys swung their straw hats in the air and the girls fanned out their skirts. We posed for pictures together and there were more hugs to go around. I’ll always remember the sunny day, the joyfulness, the music and the affection of that day. I’ll always remember the valores. The amor.

This introduction into voluntourism was an easy first step that I highly recommend. It was something we could accomplish in the time given and it provided an opportunity for us to experience satisfying and intense tourism within the week’s itinerary. Being reintroduced into rustic lodging (similar to youth camps I’ve been to) was an adjustment but part of the adventure. Some travelers can handle sleeping bags or airbeds at Project Mexico, some do far more rugged trips, mission trips, and others do “glamping”. In a variety of volunteer and mission trips, this style suited me for now.This voluntourism trip came at a meaningful time for me–Great Lent. Lent is the season of prayer, alms-giving and fasting for many of us. Volunteering is meaningful and appropriate alms-giving and doing it internationally really connects us to mankind; sisters and brothers on Earth. Not first world or third world needs and issues….but just, the world.

© Gina Michalopulos Kingsley

photos by Gina

If you love vintage shopping, you already know that it’s like any other hobby….you put the time into keeping up with it regularly, seasonally, etc. Items move in and out of vintage shops and find the souls they belong to so I seek out the energy from these shops, both locally and out of town. Kansas City’s various districts are treasure troves of vintage delights. Because of the history and evolution of this fine city, historic items are in abundance there. Colorful, whimsical and displayed beautifully, I am always impressed by the variety. Sometimes, just the displays enthrall me. I might be out window shopping or just taking photos for inspiration. 

Talking to vintage dealers is informative because you will absorb their passion and enthusiasm for this hobby. Collections are often displayed in groupings of particular eras. The latter is both visually stunning and also educational as it gives you a sense of the artistry of those eras.The time capsule quality of vintage and antique stores reveal so much historic info. Body types were different through the ages. In early decades of the 1900’s, waists were much tinier.

Factoids about “vintage” and “retro”:

The word “vintage” comes from the French word vendage which was derived from the vintage of grapes, meaning the season in which they were picked. We refer to wines as having a certain vintage. When we speak of vintage, we are addressing the age of an item. It does not refer to a certain style of clothing but, rather, the age of it.

The word “retro“, however, connotes the style of clothing items and such. They don’t refer to a particular era but, rather, the style in which they are designed. For example, “80’s parties” we hold now are retro and celebrating retro styles. “Retro” is short for retrospective and the Latin word, “retrospectus.” Sometimes, the word “repro” is used which comes from “reproduction” or “reproductive”, meaning that a copy was made of an older item of clothing. For example, when there’s a resurgence in historical music genres, it revives an interest in vintage clothes so repros are made with new materials in a nod to the past….. fashion nostalgia,  you might say.

“Antique” is a term not used often in regards to clothing but technically, if something is antique, it’s from before the 1920’s. “Vintage” is anything 1920′-80’s. Something from the 80-90’s is “retro”.

photos by GIna Kingsley

Ask anyone what their favorite road trips have been and they’ll almost always be able to instantly recall experiences that are permeated by memories–both good and challenging! The open road has been the backdrop for many family memories of togetherness and bonding. It’s  where many family dynamics have been negotiated and hilarious mishaps have occurred.

How times have changed, too, for the typical family road trip now that technology has introduced so many devices we can either take along or insert into our cars; auxiliary cords, dvd players, etc…..Road trips are such welcome modes of transportation now that air travel has become more complicated, less glamorous and inconvenient considering many airlines don’t even feed you anymore!

Here is a list of recommended road trips from various friends (and their quotes):

1. Flagstaff, Arizona
2. Sedona, Arizona
3. Santa Fe, New Mexico
4. Lake Powell, Arizona
5. Telluride, Colorado
6. Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, “it’s a super crazy cool museum”
7. “Mt Rushmore is another one. We drove East to West on I90. There is a lot of dead air but a ton of stopping places you must see. The Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota as well as the….”
8. “Badlands which look like you are in the moon, & Wall Drug where you can see the old west come alive.”
9. “One of my favorites is the Porcupine Mountains in Michigan. God’s thumbprint on Earth.”
10. ” We love to do Amtrak from OKC to Ft Worth. It is a weekend adventure, not expensive, I only allow backpacks, you can bring your own food on board. The history there is amazing” and….
11. “You can extend your trip all the way to San Antonio which is a blast! But much longer journey.”
12. “Minnesota for Mall of America….the entire state is gorgeous.”
13. “I also love, love, love Savannah, GA. You can literally hear Rhett Butler say “Frankly my dear…”
14. “Route 66!!! It was a great trip!!! Stop at all the fun places and just play!!!”
15. Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD”
16. Bob Feller Museum in Van Meter, IA
17. Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH
18. Wall Drug in Wall, SD
19. Niagra Falls
20. Plymouth Rock
21. USS Constitution
22. Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
23. Grand Canyon
24. Four Corners
25. Mesa Verde
26. Asheville, NC

My personal, recent favorite road trips have been to Nashville and Memphis and always St. Louis, Arkansas and best of all, Kansas City. Chicago was congested; Austin, too…..but still enjoyable. Colorado is always worth it. Santa Fe and Taos have also been repeated road trips. I like the landscapes and don’t feel it’s as congested as some cities within Texas. Urban destinations and metropolises are our preferred vibe but I do enjoy letting my mind wander among the country scenery and rural landscapes.I like the Life 360 app on my phone so that my sons  can track us if they need to. It’s also helpful if you lose your cell phone because the other members on Life 360 can track it to see where it is.  (see link below) Roadtrips are a good opportunity for the passengers in the car to watch DVDs or download movies to their laptops. There are limitless ways to enjoy road trips!

photos by Gina Kingsley

Losing a phone when you’re out of town…and what to do about it.

Planning a trip to Nashville was half the fun! I sent off for a tourism booklet/visitors guide of Nashville Music City and read it  weeks before I was ready to narrow down my itinerary. There is so much to choose from while planning a trip to Nashville and we were also going to include a stop in Memphis to see Graceland and the historic Peabody hotel.

Here was the method to my madness. We are not huge country music fans. In fact, we are not really country music fans at all but I love the show Nashville and we are all big Johnny Cash fans. I knew I wanted to see the Bluebird Cafe, featured on the TV show Nashville, and I have always been interested in the Grand Ole Opry for its historic significance, obviously. My then 20 year old son is a musician for fun, so I wanted to take him down Music Row and to see a live performance. My husband was mainly interested in the barbecue since Nashville is barbecue country. The distance to Nashville and Memphis make it a somewhat convenient car trip to fit in while two our sons were off at a weeklong summer camp.

Here’s how I narrowed it down. Looking at lodging, I knew we’d want to stay in the famous Gulch district. There’s not a lot of availability there during June so my next option was to check out AirBnB which is becoming a popular alternative to hotels. Air BnBs are so convenient. Throw in an Uber to everywhere and you’re truly on vacay. I found a writer’s bungalow which I thought was appropriate since I planned to write about our trip  while we were there!

A home or apartment also gives us more space and bedrooms rather than three adults all being in one hotel room. I love the idea of having a refrigerator to bring delicious leftovers back to in our bungalow! The pictures of rocking chairs on the front porch sealed the deal! Authentic Nashville living! I told my son to bring his guitar and ukulele so he could entertain us on the porch while we sat in rocking chairs. With this location, we could Uber to the Gulch district four miles away. The Nashville trolleys and tour buses would also be a convenient way to cover a lot of ground and hop off and on at various landmarks. The tour guides on board are an added perk!

Next, I started to narrow down the excursions we’d see. I wanted to leave plenty of time to just experience the city and meander through Music Row and Gulch district. Admission to the Johnny Cash museum seemed easy so I printed off that information. I reserved tickets online for Grand Ole Opry and chose a night based on the performers. I recognized Charlie Daniel’s Band and thought that was perfect since my husband and I were familiar with this band and their megahit during our teen years–“The Devil Went Down to Georgia“. I also knew my son is a big fan of their musicianship. Perfect!

Other highlights would be to check out Bluebird Cafe and, of course, dine in the authentic Nashville pubs. Of course, we planned to visit the Parthenon which is a replica of the real Parthenon in our ancestral homeland of Greece. Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage was a half-day experience and a recommended spot for historians. It will give you a taste of that era in history as people are in period dress and you get to tour his plantation estate and museum. Hattie B’s Hot Chicken is a legendary restaurant that people line up for around 10:30 a.m. for lunch….authentic and spicy!

After Nashville, we planned to go to Memphis which is three hours away. I reserved tickets online to Graceland–Elvis’s mansion and grounds. There are simple tours and deluxe tours showing more of his collections and memorabilia. I knew we’d stop by the Peabody Hotel to watch the famous ducks inside. We made reservations at the Residence Inn Hotel downtown which is moderately priced but planned to have coffee and dessert at the Peabody Hotel to include this historic site on our itinerary.

The drive from Tulsa to Nashville is approximately 9 hours and 3 hours from Nashville to Memphis. Memphis back home to Tulsa would take 5 hours and I planned accordingly to arrive in time to pick up our other sons  at the airport who were arriving from their summer camp trip. A six day trip by car like this was a good way to see a region of Americana that has always interested me. The Loretta Lynn Museum was located between Nashville and Memphis and well worth it!

Although there are great websites for trip planning, I recommend a good old fashioned tourism booklet for easy reference in my purse. This seems more durable and transportable than a file folder of printed off website pages. Highlighted info in the booklet along with my pre-printed museum, show tickets and lodging info made us good to go! Beale Street and the Cooper Young district are must-sees in Memphis. Memphis, Graceland, Beale Street and Cooper Young  are all  covered on this blog (search it in the search bar). So, there you are–3-4 days in Nashville and 1-2 in Memphis is a do-able road trip time frame to see two fabulous Tennessee cities. Fun for all ages!

photos by Gina Kingsley

I recently learned that my cousin created a family tree. He shared it with me as part of a conversation we had regarding our church’s upcoming 100 year anniversary and the various archives related to that. Even if my own family hadn’t been included on this family tree, I still would’ve been fascinated with his project because of what he’s learned in the process and the diligent and meaningful skills it involved. My  cousin and I share so much in common…..a love for all things organizational, family history and a passion for spreadsheets, archives and even a ledger that has spanned the generations. Not only did we have a childhood, pretend detective agency together but our famous ledger tradition got passed down to the next generation when our kids took it over to continue the legacy.

I asked Dean to describe the family tree process to me because I know it will be inspirational to others who are contemplating how to start a family tree. People probably attempt this project in various methods and I knew Dean’s would not only be methodical but also meaningful and personal. What a significant and sentimental project to pass down to one’s progeny.

What inspired you to do the family tree?

I didn’t want to lose some of the knowledge of the elderly family members who helped me complete it. I wanted to be able to show my kids where they were from and how far back they could go.

What was the hardest thing about completing this project?

It was getting information beyond just my grandparents and having to reach out to my cousin in Greece, Angeliki, who had to get with her mom to fill in some more of the blanks. Between her side of the family and mine (my dad has already passed away), I needed to consult others with some of the knowledge.

Did you conduct this over Face Time or a phone call?

I emailed her part of the family tree which wasn’t completed to ask her if she could just answer some of the questions and fill in some of the blanks.

What a fun cousin project!—two first cousins doing that; how awesome! What’s hard about Greek family records is that there aren’t any before the year, what approximately?

Mine went back to the year 1865. Maria Hlepos was born in 1865. (mine and Dean’s common great grandmother) On the other side, I don’t know because they didn’t really keep their dates.

They didn’t really keep records that far back, correct?  Maria Hlepos is mine and your common great -grandmother and she lived to be 102. And all of her four children lived past the age of 83-96. This was the grandmother that your mom and my mom met for the first time when they sailed to Greece in 1950.

…And my mom met my dad there in the 1950’s on another trip.

What did you learn about yourself doing this project?

I wanted to see if anyone was from any other islands (other than Imvros) but we couldn’t go back further from 1860’s. Researching the family tree, I found stories about my grandfathers on both sides and how they were both U.S. citizens. One of them even went back to Greece to live.

Was your paternal grandfather a mechanic like your dad?

No, he worked as a Merchant Marine on ships. Once he got to America, he was in NYC dredging the harbor at one point and in Pennsylvania in the steel mills.

Do you know why he returned to Greece?

It has something to do with family life. His wife didn’t come over so he left his family back in Greece and then decided he wanted to go back home. This is similar to my great grandfather Niko Hlepos who came to work on the railroads in American in 1904. He returned to Greece in 1906, put his suit away and put back on his vrakes (pantaloons of their folk dress) and supposedly never wore a suit again.

So, your other grandfather, Jim Kademis, was also a citizen? From what I understand, he and my papou (grandfather) became restaurateurs because they didn’t want to be shoemakers in Paris like the other two brothers. 

Yes, and my yiayia, (grandmother) lived with her brothers in Paris for awhile when times were dangerous  for women from Imvros (her village taken over by the Turkish occupation). She was eighteen years old at the time. She married my grandfather and lived in St. Louis, then Bristow, Oklahoma and eventually Tulsa.

You already have natural organizational skills which helped you do this but was this template provided for you on the internet?

I started writing things down on a spreadsheet but this template was made using  AutoCad, a computer program for engineering projects. I was doing this experiment to get acquainted with how the program works.

This is very inspirational. For someone who doesn’t know how to get started, what is your advice?

My advice would be to find your oldest living relative and start writing in a spiral notebook. You’ll come back to those notes and it helps you to know how to branch out. They’ll give you someone else’s name, etc. and it grows from there.

Are you going to frame this family tree and display it ?

Well, it’s a living document…it’s evergreen so, no. For example, my cousin Nicki’s son is a baby so we just added him; so it’s something that will keep growing. My other cousin just got married so we added his spouse. I’m keeping up with who’s getting married to whom…..I update this once a year if there’s any changes and I give a copy to my mom. (He’s even included his dogs’ names on the family tree!)

She must have been so impressed and sentimental!

I’ve given her a copy of a book (binder) I’ve written on our family which is  like a resume with clippings and highlights.

Oh! I hope one of my sons does that for me! Do you have a favorite quote about family?

You can change your friends like you change your clothes but your family is like your blood…..so you don’t ever change that.

photos by Gina Kingsley