Crushing over almost 270 feet to the ground below, Snoqualmie Falls, just east of Seattle, has become a draw for locals – and visitors from around the world. Next to the towering Mount Rainier (about 70 miles directly south), Snoqualmie Falls often tops the list of most popular natural sites in the state.

Connection with place, with landscape, with well-loved and familiar things often comes with connection with each other. That's an idea we've explored from several perspectives in this series. In shifting times, physical place, whether you are present geographically or you are visiting through imagination or through memory, can offer a sense of comfort, of connection, of hope.

Our Celebrity cruise ship docked in Puerto Costa Maya for the day. Unlike many cruise ship passengers who simply headed to the beach for a few hours of leisure or browsed through the local shops, we arranged for a small group half-day tour using the Shore Excursions Group website. 

September 21 is the International Day of Peace. Peace Day was established by the United Nations in 1981, to encourage the world to work together toward the goal of worldwide peace. Everyone can celebrate peace.

Another school year has begun, and children, teachers, and families across the US are dealing with locker combinations, teacher meetings, books, backpacks, and the back to school jitters. 

While most of the time we look at the hard cold facts of the back to school journey, how often do we stop and look at the bigger picture, the deeper picture, or the other parts of the educational curriculum that are often left out of the official syllabus? 

“Everyone can tell you an apple experience,” says Sarah Brown, a touch of nostalgia in her voice. “For me, it was Yellow Transparent. Growing up we had a Yellow Transparent apple tree and I would just sit and eat and eat. Every few hours my mom would come by and say, ‘You’re going to get a tummy ache.

Light to dark and back again, times and news and stories shift. Music for Shifting Times is what we decided to call this series about music. It proved more prescient than we could have known back when we began.

What lights the path, where and how to draw strength when darkness closes in and challenges rise is one of the ideas that is a constant in what I share with you.

A two-night stay at the Belmond Hotel Monasterio in Cusco, in the aftermath of our journey to Machu Picchu, offered an exceptional opportunity to absorb the region’s history. Developers in the 1960s transformed this former 16th-century Spanish seminary, built on top of a grand Inca palace, into a hotel. In 1999, the Orient-Express Hotels (today the Belmond Hotel brand) started restoring the colonial Renaissance architecture. 

One look at the extraordinary photos from our featured photographer, Aaron Cooper, and you'll do as I did: fall into his landscapes, a bit like Alice. He perfectly captures the essence of place and spirit. 

Portage, Michigan. Boat Dock ©ACD&M 2019

Restaurant Weeks, a chance to dine on chef-prepared cuisine at dozens of San Antonio area restaurants, kicks off Aug. 10th and runs through Aug. 24. The biannual salute to the Alamo city’s best culinary talent is the brainchild of Culinaria.

Photo: Kirsten Kaiser, adapted by snsvs