Entries by Julie Rubini

Moon River and Me…a Christmas Memory and Wish

The Jazz Corner in Hilton Head has served as a haven for jazz enthusiasts for nearly a quarter of a century. Brad and I were fortunate to take in Lavon Stevens on the piano and singer Louise Spencer this past week. Dinner was fantastic  and the crowd responsive as they played a variety of holiday […]

Family, Friends and Flames

One of the greatest benefits to this on-the-road experience is being able to spend time with family members and friends. Over the last couple of weeks we’ve visited with my mother-in-law, Lynn, daughter Kyle and her husband, Will, son, Ian, and friends Steve and Debbie Gibbs. I’ll get to the flames in a bit, but […]

OBXing

OBXing…verb  1) exploring the Outer Banks of North Carolina 2) noting all the vanity plates that start with OBX 3) checking another destination off the bucket list I’ve always wanted to visit the Outer Banks, with two experiences high on the list; visiting the site of the Wright Brothers historical flight, and seeing the Wild […]

Paddling

It has been said that a duck looks calm above the water, but is paddling like heck underwater to stay afloat. I’ve learned that this is simply not true. Ducks only paddle to change direction, or to move forward. Ducks have a gland at the base of their tails that secretes an oil that they […]

Brother, lost and found

The last time I saw my oldest brother Kevin was the morning after my daughter’s wedding, this past June. Brad and I hosted a brunch for family, and Kevin and his new wife, Bobbie were able to join us before they took off for their several-day drive back to their home in Lincoln, Nebraska. It […]

The Secret Case of the Nancy Drew Ghostwriter

I’m flying high over sharing the many secrets of Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson aka the original Carolyn Keene on Friday, July 15 at Main Library, Toledo Lucas County Public Library! My talk is all a part of a Nancy Drew celebration and unveiling of the Nancy Drew collection donated by Jennifer Fisher. The event is […]

Selma

By the time you read this, I’ll be back from round two of our adventures in our new-to-us motorhome. I’ve cranked out five blog posts in the course of a day, all the while wrapping up details for a presentation and making sure I have materials for a book festival at the end of the […]

Psych out

There isn’t anything much more intimidating than the prospect of playing golf with a sports psychologist. I know that the opposite should hold true, but not for me, at least at the very start. Brad and I had the opportunity to play with Jon Stabler, co-founder of Golf Psych in Boerne (that’s Bernie for those […]

This post is brought to you by the letter S

The Sonoran Desert. Saguaro. Shit. South Mountain. Sixteenth at Phoenix Open. Super Bowl. This post is brought to you by the letter S. Did you know that the Saguaro cactus is only native to the Sonoran Desert? As often as I’ve had the privilege to visit this area of the Southwest, I had no idea how […]