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  • Who is the Travel Oracle?
    • Contact us!
    • The places we’ve been
    • The Oracle Recommends…
    • Our City Guides
    • Travel Booking Services
  • Our World Famous Kidney Donor Athlete
    • Running Stories
  • Subscribe
  • The Golden Pelican Awards of Excellence
  • Newsletter
The Oracle Recommends...
The Oracle Recommends...
Running the World
Running the World
Feeling Spooky
Feeling Spooky
  • The NYC Marathon Medal in the center of the Vessel. The Vessel is concentric rings with squared edges made of copper with rings of glass between

    The NYC Marathon – More than a Walk in the Park

    Our third day in NYC, we were finally doing the thing for which we travelled!. Nope, it wasn’t Hamilton on Broadway (though that WAS really fun.) It was the NYC Marathon – which is far more than a walk in the Park! Join us for a fun day in the boroughs with the 2022 NYC Race Report. This is the race where you take a ferry, to take a bus, to run 26.2 miles! The Wakeup Wake up time on race day was 5 am. I actually slept pretty well the night before. Even though we were out late the night before to see Hamilton, I still managed 6 hours…

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    The entrance to the Central Park Zoo

    A Last Minute Stroll at the Zoo

    December 21, 2023
    Statue of the headless horseman chasing Ichabod Crane

    It’s October, Try Not to Lose Your Head

    October 5, 2023

    New York 2022 – Day 3 (The tour of Sleepy Hallow)

    May 7, 2022
  • Image of a hand holding a play bill that reads "Hamilton". Behind is the stage.

    The Saturday Tour of the Revolution

    Have you ever started out a day with a loose plan and ended up with something far cooler, far more “thematic” than you ever would have thought? That’s the story of our second day in NYC. It ended up being The Saturday Tour of the Revolution! We started the day at Hamilton’s grave and ended up watching his show on Broadway. Oh and we sort of hit a hidden restaurant right smack in the middle of it all and visited a fake grave. The Morning Stroll at Trinity Church After a quick breakfast at George’s, we made our way over to Trinity Church. Although it is the place the Nick…

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    Travel themed birthday cake, where the main part looks like a globe. There is a suite case next to it and a candle showing the number 3 on top

    We’re Three Today!

    June 5, 2025
    Picture of actor Nicholas Cage, holding a goblet of red wine. He's wearing all back clothing, red sun glasses and red beads.

    Visiting the Voodoo Queen and Nick Cage in the Big Easy

    August 3, 2023
    Man holding a plate of beignets, covered in powdered sugar

    The Top Things Not to Miss in the Big Easy

    August 25, 2023
  • Screen showing a map of Pennsylvania and New York with the flight path highlighted in blue. In the middle is a circle.

    Our Unexpected Trip to Harrisburg

    When it comes to traveling, the best advice we’ve received is probably to be flexible and expect the unexpected. That certainly came into play on our journey to the NYC Marathon this past weekend. Let us tell you how it all started with our unexpected trip to Harrisburg. A Solid Start We like to fly early to minimize delays. So we were up at 3:30 am and out the door to the airport by 4:15. Even though we were able to pack in carryon bags we checked them. That way we didn’t have to lug them around the airport or worry about fighting for overhead bin space on the plane.…

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    Statue of the headless horseman chasing Ichabod Crane

    It’s October, Try Not to Lose Your Head

    October 5, 2023
    Image of Little Island park. Looks like white wine glasses emerging from the river with trees on top of it

    A Rare November Day in NYC

    December 8, 2022
    A row of trees covered in yellow lights, behind a hot air balloon, that is lined in white lights

    What Would You Do with Just One Day in NYC?

    December 14, 2023
  • Statue of a horse and a jockey in front of Churchill Downs

    The Very Best of Derby City

    Sometimes the gods just smile on you. That’s how we feel about the opportunities we’ve had this year to visit the biggest, small town in the USA – Louisville. We’ve been there twice so far to help out a friend with pet and house sitting. (You should know, they have THE CUTEST animals – so be sure to check out our Adventures in Pet Sitting post to see their furry faces.) Maybe you’re thinking about heading down to Louisville for the Marathon this November or maybe you’d like to don a fancy hat and watch the races. Whatever the reason, we have some great recommendations for the Very Best of…

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    Statue of Paul Revere riding a horse with the old North Church in the back ground. There are a line of trees on either side between the two

    How to Spend THE Perfect Day in Boston

    April 2, 2026
    Neon sign that reads "Don't Grow Up It's a Trap"

    The Best of 2022

    January 5, 2023
    Image of a woman with her arms held up under the chrome statue known as the Bean

    The Best of the Windy City

    August 24, 2023
  • Adventure at the Famous Eloise Asylum

    One lonely, boring evening about 20 years ago, I convinced a friend to go on a ghost hunt. I had never done a ghost hunt before, mind you, but I had a solid plan. Step 1: Go somewhere people claim is haunted. Step 2: Look around. On our way back home from William Ganong Cemetery, the most haunted cemetery in Michigan, I got a little lost. I was heading back toward the freeway when I came across a complex of buildings surrounding a tall, brick smoke stack. My Spidey senses made me turn into the driveway for my first Adventure at the Famous Eloise Asylum. The History Below is a…

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    Yellow two story building with a balconly

    Chasing Ghosts (among other things) in the Big Easy

    July 27, 2023
    Stone tomb of the Couch family in Lincoln Park, Chicago

    Some Dark History Built Over an Old Cemetery

    October 16, 2025
    Woman standing in front of a statue of a witch. Behind her is a sign that reads “Salem Witch Village”

    Witch Way to the Brewery?

    October 10, 2024
  • Adventure to the Most Haunted Cemetery in Michigan

    If you’re anything like me, you go on “kicks” from time to time. Maybe it’s making your own pizza dough or teaching yourself to play the piano. In my case, it was collecting and reading every book about haunted places in Michigan. Some of it was “meh”, like ANOTHER story about a haunted lighthouse. Some of it was FRIGHTENING, like account of the little girl who liked to watch television. (Also known as “Ah HELL NAH!” Some little ghost girl in my living room with my family??? We’re moving!!) And some of the stories made we want to go and see for myself. Join me for an adventure to the…

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    Yellow two story building with a balconly

    Chasing Ghosts (among other things) in the Big Easy

    July 27, 2023
    Statue of the headless horseman chasing Ichabod Crane

    It’s October, Try Not to Lose Your Head

    October 5, 2023
    Black and white image of the Victorian era gate at Cave Hill Cemetery

    The Colonel and The Greatest

    October 19, 2023
  • The Mystery of The Winchester Mystery House

    Don’t you just LOVE a good mystery? If you’re anything like me, mysteries and unusual things are especially memorable. For instance, when someone says “Hey we’re going to X”, my brain digs up an extremely fringe fact about that place. Key West? Ernest Hemmingway had a house there. Rome? I read about this thing called the Alchemist’s Gate. Prague? I think there is a church made of bones near there. And San Jose? Well, that’s where the Winchester House is. Since it’s purported to be extremely haunted, I naturally remembered it! Doors that don’t open. Stairs that lead to nowhere. Sound fun? Join us as we unpack the mystery of…

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    Yellow two story building with a balconly

    Chasing Ghosts (among other things) in the Big Easy

    July 27, 2023
    Statue of the headless horseman chasing Ichabod Crane

    It’s October, Try Not to Lose Your Head

    October 5, 2023
    Woman in a dress, touching the image of Edgar Allan Poe on his tombstone in the Westminster Burial Ground

    In the Footsteps of E. A. Poe

    October 3, 2024
  • All Aboard for the Cascade Express Marathon

    Before we start off, please be sure to check out Part One of the Cascade Express Marathon. You’ll hear how the training went and the obstacles I had to overcome to get to the start line. For those who already in the know, buckle in! All aboard the Cascade Express Marathon Part Two: The Rest of the Story. The Wee Hours Being up at 2 am for a race that doesn’t start until 8 am is not the ideal start to the day. On the upside, it did give me a few hours to contemplate the task ahead. I spent some time reviewing the last eight weeks of training. It…

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    Woman with wind-blown hair and a man in a ball cap standing on a pier over the ocean.

    Beachy Vibes and Fast Race Times in Jacksonville

    February 16, 2023

    The Road to the Tokyo Marathon

    March 7, 2023
    Man running in a road race. Lifting his arms in victory

    The London Marathon – The Last of the World Majors

    June 29, 2023
  • Cascade Express Marathon Part Two: The Rest of the Story

    Cascade Express Marathon Part One: The Build Up

    Let me start by saying, Covid sucks. I know you already knew that but I especially feel that down deep. In 2021, we got both vaccine shots and a booster. Mask were worn. Distance was kept. We coated ourselves in hand sanitizer and STILL we managed to get sick. Although the illness itself wasn’t that bad for me, I realized something was really wrong as I tried to qualifying for the 2023 Boston Marathon. Let me share what I learned from the build up to the Cascade Express Marathon – Part 1. Running Sucked From January thru May I did nothing but slow miles. None of these runs were easy…

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    Medal from the Berlin Marathon in front of the Brandenburg Gate

    Surprising Things We Learned about Berlin

    September 7, 2023
    Waterfall in Snoqualmie Washington featured behind the Tunnel Light 2025 Marathon Medal

    Tunnel Light Race Recap

    September 18, 2025

    How to Celebrate and Still Prep for a Marathon

    April 4, 2022
  • Image of a man and woman wearing masks and holding up tickets

    What Life Was Like The First Weekend NYC Reopened

    The spring of 2021, you remember it, don’t you? The weather was warming. The flowers were blooming and we all came out of our lockdown caves, and squinted at the sun. We walked onto shaky ground, hoping upon hope, that maybe life would somehow get back to “normal”. That June, we had a little help rediscovering one of our favorite places on the planet from an unlikely source. This is the story of how Jimmy Fallon helped us experience what life was like the first weekend NYC reopened. The Jimmy Fallon Connection Stephen enters a lottery every year for tickets to Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show. While getting…

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    A row of trees covered in yellow lights, behind a hot air balloon, that is lined in white lights

    What Would You Do with Just One Day in NYC?

    December 14, 2023

    New York 2022 – Day 4 (The Intrepid and the hike)

    May 6, 2022
    Statue of the headless horseman chasing Ichabod Crane

    It’s October, Try Not to Lose Your Head

    October 5, 2023
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