Skip to content

Neil's Trips

  • Home
  • About
  • Meandering Musings
  • Trips
    • 2025 Trip to Bhutan
    • 2025 Trip to Dubai
    • 2025 Trip to the Netherlands and Denmark
    • 2024 Trip to Alabama
    • 2024 Trip to Costa Rica
    • 2024 Trip to Panama and Colombia
    • 2023 Martha?s Vineyard
    • 2023 Trip to Albania and Montenegro
    • 2023 Trip to Slovenia and Croatia
    • 2023 Trip to Paris
    • 2022 Trip to the American Midwest
    • 2022 Trip to New England USA
    • 2021 Trip to Iceland
    • 2021 Death Valley
    • 2019 Road Trip to Branson, MO and Oklahoma
    • 2019 St. Oswald?s Pilgrimage
    • 2019 Trip to Sicily
    • 2018 Trip to West Coast of Vancouver Island BC
    • 2017 Morocco
    • 2017 A Summer in the Desert
    • 2016 Trip to Italy
    • 2016 Trip to Cuba
    • 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage
    • 2014 Baja California Trip
  • Contact Us
  • Search

Meandering Musings

When Cinema Pushes the Heart: Why *La Grazia* Moved Me to Tears

November 17, 2025 Neil Peterson 3 Comments

  I recently had the privilege of seeing *La Grazia* at the Denver Film Festival, following its world premiere at…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Steroids, Gyms, and Why I’m Really There

November 15, 2025 Neil Peterson 4 Comments

I recently joined a 24-Hour Fitness gym. Not because I suddenly developed a passion for barbells or because I wake…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

McDonald’s Refused to Take My Order — Seriously.

November 2, 2025 Neil Peterson 5 Comments

Last weekend, I drove from San Francisco to Denver — 20+ hours if you go straight through without stopping. Somewhere…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

The Lost Art of the Handkerchief

October 24, 2025 Neil Peterson 7 Comments

A few days ago, something unexpected happened. I pulled my handkerchief out of my back pocket to blow my nose…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

My First Manicure (and Pedicure): A Shock to the System

October 21, 2025 Neil Peterson 4 Comments

The Setup There I was, sitting in a big, cushy chair at Nordstrom’s in downtown Seattle, my feet soaking in…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Simplify: A Mantra I Brought Home from Bhutan — But Don’t Yet Understand

October 18, 2025 Neil Peterson 3 Comments

When I left Bhutan, I brought home a simple mantra: Simplify my life. It sounded so right. So obvious. So…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Listening to Lech Wałęsa

September 9, 2025 Neil Peterson 2 Comments

A Moment to Remember Last night, I sat in an auditorium and listened to Lech Wałęsa, the former president of…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

The Day PB&J Changed My Life

September 8, 2025 Neil Peterson 7 Comments

For eighty years, I thought I had mastered the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was my old reliable. Crunchy…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Biking to Costco? Who Does That?

September 6, 2025 Neil Peterson 4 Comments

Some of the best stories in life happen when the ordinary gets turned upside down. A small twist in the…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Thirty Minutes? You’ve Got to Be Kidding

September 4, 2025 Neil Peterson 7 Comments

In May, I called to schedule my annual check-up with my primary care doctor. The first available appointment was in…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Bug Assault

August 18, 2025 Neil Peterson 3 Comments

There are two NBAs in America. One is the National Basketball Association. The other? The National Bug-A-Salt Association. I had…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Better Late, Still Beautiful

August 16, 2025 Neil Peterson 10 Comments

This week, I traveled with my two children, Guy and Kelsey, to Interlaken, New York—a tiny town of about 650…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Holy Cow, DQ – We Need to Talk

August 10, 2025 Neil Peterson 1 Comment

I have a confession: I love Dairy Queen. Not a casual, “Oh sure, they’re fine” kind of love. I mean…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Pickleball: From Backyard Game to National Obsession

August 5, 2025 Neil Peterson 4 Comments

  Coming up is National Pickleball Day—celebrated each year on August 8 to honor the founding of pickleball and the…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

When the Body Whispers… and Then Shouts

July 26, 2025 Neil Peterson 12 Comments

Three weekends ago, I found myself in a place I hadn’t expected to be—flat on my back in a hospital…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

The Jar, the Loft, and a Very Human Victory

July 25, 2025 Neil Peterson 6 Comments

This may be the strangest thing I’ve ever written about. And I’ve written over 500 blogs. But here goes. This…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Can We All Get Behind Belonging?

June 30, 2025 Neil Peterson 5 Comments

There’s a lot of noise these days around DEI — Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Laws are being passed. Programs are…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

A Reunion to Remember—And Reflect Upon

June 22, 2025 Neil Peterson 4 Comments

Just got back from my 60th college reunion. That sentence alone feels like a time capsule. Sixty years? Really? But…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

“Where Everybody Knows Your Name” — My Cheers Dilemma

June 15, 2025 Neil Peterson 2 Comments

Last week, George Wendt passed away. To most of us, he was simply Norm — the man with the best…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

A Night to Remember: “Good Night, and Good Luck” on Broadway

June 9, 2025 Neil Peterson 6 Comments

  Last Friday night—June 6, 2025—I had the privilege of seeing Good Night, and Good Luck on Broadway in New…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Pickleball and the Power of Fifteen

June 4, 2025 Neil Peterson 8 Comments

Every now and then, life tosses you a little gift wrapped in unexpected joy. That’s what happened to me today…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

One Surprising Way to Boost Your Health: Turn Up the Heat

May 29, 2025 Neil Peterson 3 Comments

Something I learned recently surprised me. And maybe it’ll surprise you, too. A few weeks ago, I attended a fascinating…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

We Owe Our Children Better: A Personal Call to Reduce America’s National Debt

May 26, 2025 Neil Peterson 3 Comments

Every child born in America today enters the world with a share of the national debt exceeding $100,000. That figure…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Art in the Open: A Day with Desert X

April 13, 2025 Neil Peterson 6 Comments

I’ve seen art in galleries. I’ve seen it in museums, in churches, on city streets. But today, I saw art…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Many, Many, Many: A 101-Degree Friday in the Desert

April 12, 2025 Neil Peterson 3 Comments

It was 4pm on a Friday. After a long week, the options stretched before me like a buffet of rest…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

$800,000 Worth of Beer at My Local Grocery Store

April 5, 2025 Neil Peterson 5 Comments

I went into my neighborhood Ralph’s yesterday to pick up a few basics—nothing major, just some odds and ends. But…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Down the Drain: A Sewer Story of Friendship, Infrastructure, and Sludge

March 29, 2025 Neil Peterson 13 Comments

The other day, I went down a storm drain. Literally. Eight feet down into a dark, wet, sludge-filled storm sewer.…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

My Life in Cotton: The Quilt of Me

March 23, 2025 Neil Peterson 8 Comments

I don’t wear t-shirts much anymore. At this stage of life, I lean toward button-downs and sweaters—clothes that feel more…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

The Legacy of Bank Vaults: When Security Was Measured in Steel

March 16, 2025 Neil Peterson 3 Comments

Stepping into a bank vault in Laurel, a small Mississippi town, I felt like I had entered a bygone era—one…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Donald Trump — the Neville Chamberlain of our Time

March 2, 2025 Neil Peterson 7 Comments

After painfully watching the disastrous Oval Office meeting two days ago which ended in the berating of President Zelensky of…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Rediscovering the Root Beer Float

February 22, 2025 Neil Peterson 3 Comments

The other day, I did something I hadn’t done in decades—I had a root beer float. One sip, and I…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Rubber Duckies

February 2, 2025 Neil Peterson 4 Comments

I am not sure why, but I am still in love with rubber duckies.  In fact, truth be known, I…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

The $2 Bill

January 27, 2025 Neil Peterson 3 Comments

I carry a $2 bill with me all the time.  Why, you may ask. The reason is that one of…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Why I’ll Always Be 42: A Celebration of a Special Number

January 21, 2025 Neil Peterson 4 Comments

When friends ask me how old I am, I always tell them, “42.” That might seem odd since I’m chronologically…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Life Lessons from Turtles: Embracing a Turtle Mindset

January 19, 2025 Neil Peterson 4 Comments

I am not sure that you are aware of the fact that I collect turtles.  In fact, I have a…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Why I Cry More at 80: A Deep Dive Into the Phenomenon

January 16, 2025 Neil Peterson 6 Comments

At the young age of 80, I’ve noticed a surprising shift: tears come more easily than they used to, as…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Tears, Truth, and Transformation—The Films That Moved Me

January 12, 2025 Neil Peterson 4 Comments

The magic of cinema lies in its ability to transport us to places we’ve never been, introduce us to lives…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Embarrassed

December 30, 2024 Neil Peterson 6 Comments

Yes, indeed. I was embarrassed yesterday. Let me set the scene for you. Last night, I was at a restaurant/bar…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Joy Does Not Keep Score

December 26, 2024 Neil Peterson 5 Comments

This past weekend, I went bowling with my daughter, son-in-law, and my two grandchildren, ages six and three. It was…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

What We Can Learn from History

December 23, 2024 Neil Peterson 1 Comment

At the recent International Churchill Society 2024 Conference held in London which I attended, what struck me most was what…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Winston Churchill’s Sesquicentennial

December 21, 2024 Neil Peterson 5 Comments

2024 marks Churchill’s sesquicentennial — the 150th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s birth on November 30, 1874.  It is a milestone…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

A Very Unusual Saturday

November 24, 2024 Neil Peterson 7 Comments

Yesterday – a Saturday — was a very unusual day for me in that I did not attack, address, work…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Charlie’s Catfish House

November 11, 2024 Neil Peterson 2 Comments

Every once in a while, you come across an eating establishment that you have to talk about.  That happened to…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

The Value of International Travel

November 9, 2024 Neil Peterson 5 Comments

One of the most profound benefits of international travel is a newfound perspective it provides on one’s own country. International…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Middle Names

October 13, 2024 Neil Peterson 3 Comments

The other day I met an individual who had no middle name. Wow, I said to myself, this is a…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

The Good Humor Man

September 22, 2024 Neil Peterson 4 Comments

Does anyone remember the Good Humor man?  I sure do. Growing up in the 1950s and 60s, the sound of…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Daisy, Daisy

September 21, 2024 Neil Peterson 2 Comments

The 1892 song Daisy Bell, has a verse in it that goes like this…            …

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Panhandler

September 20, 2024 Neil Peterson 7 Comments

Today I did something that I have never done before. I was driving my car – my 17-year-old Jeep Liberty…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Car Detailed

September 12, 2024 Neil Peterson 6 Comments

Today I got my car — a 2007 Jeep Liberty — detailed. Now, you may ask, why am I writing…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

How to Fix Obesity in the US

September 6, 2024 Neil Peterson 3 Comments

My last blog and podcast I talked about obesity in this country, and how significant the problem is.  It is…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: Meandering Musings

Posts navigation

← Older posts

Neil’s Trips

  • 2025 Trip to Dubai
  • 2025 Trip to Bhutan
  • 2025 Trip to the Netherlands and Denmark
  • 2024 Trip to Alabama
  • 2024 Trip to Costa Rica
  • 2024 Trip to Panama and Colombia
  • Meandering Musings
  • 2023 Martha's Vineyard
  • 2023 Trip to Albania and Montenegro
  • 2023 Trip to Slovenia and Croatia
  • 2023 Trip to Paris
  • 2022 Trip to the American Midwest
  • 2022 Trip to New England USA
  • 2021 Trip to Iceland
  • 2021 Death Valley
  • 2019 Road Trip to Branson, MO and Oklahoma
  • 2019 St. Oswald's Pilgrimage
  • 2019 Trip to Sicily
  • 2018 Trip to West Coast of Vancouver Island BC
  • 2017 Morocco
  • 2017 A Summer in the Desert
  • 2016 Trip to Cuba
  • 2016 Trip to Italy
  • 2015 El Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage
  • 2014 Baja California Trip
  • Uncategorized

Contact Us

  • Email
    neilpeterson1@gmail.com
  • Phone
    (206) 910-7515

Join Our Newsletter

Sign up to get Neil’s travel blogs in your inbox.
Copyright 2025 Neil Peterson. All rights reserved.