The Girl in the Red Rubber Boots

Category: Travel

  • Blogmas 2019 Day 4: Take a Sad Song and Make it Better (repost)

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    Four years ago today, Ben and I went to Thailand to visit our sister Amy for Christmas. What happened next was one of the most dramatic Christmastime experiences of my life. Today, I decided to revisit that memory by reposting my blog post about the experience. … I knew that I’d figure things out eventually…

  • Alaska, Part 3: The Way it Invaded our Souls

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    I heard a rumor that one of the Kuhns babies looked at his mother, wide-eyed, and whispered, “are there dragons in Alaska?” That may be the best description of how Alaska made me feel. Like there could be dragons here. After Elaine’s wedding, I was so tired that I sat in the red chair and didn’t move. For three…

  • Alaska Part 2: The Wedding

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    Elaine and Brandon’s wedding was to take place in a pavilion on top of a hill. But the reception was to be held in the somewhat-boring-looking church sanctuary, so we made it beautiful using all things twinkly (candles, string lights, twinkle lights, etc). Most of the transforming was done on Thursday (you can read about…

  • Alaska! Part 1

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    My first introduction to Alaska came 45 minutes before my flight was supposed to land, when I finished my movie and lifted the window shade. As I peeked out upon the Alaskan landscape, still brightly lit at 9 pm, my jaw hit the floor. Look. I thought Oregon had “real” mountains, and I’d snicker at…

  • Endings and Beginnings

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    Well, there you have it. My year-long adventure is over, and I am back in Oregon. I anticipated having a few weeks to relax, get some writing done, and enjoy the Oregon summer before harvest starts. But life just bellows full steam ahead, doesn’t it? So many friends to catch up with. So many events…

  • Driving from Kansas to Oregon to Surprise my Family

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    I hatched a wild plan to drive to Oregon with my brother Ben, hide in the cupboard while my family was at church, and surprise them all. Would I succeed? Watch to find out! So yes, this means that just like that, my year of travel is over! Hopefully in the next few blog posts…

  • Notes on Kansas

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    It was 1:30 am, and I was eating donuts and pretending I was still a teenager. It was a funny little donut shop. With its outdated wallpaper, random mugs hanging on the wall, and old paneling, it reminded me of somebody’s basement, mostly finished back in the ’70s, and then forgotten. Apparently the place doesn’t…

  • Why Do So Many People Hate Lancaster? My Top Three Ideas

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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      I’ve been in Pennsylvania for a long time now. There was that month-and-a-half in Myerstown, a week in Philadelphia, a month in Lancaster City, and now another week in Philadelphia. This Friday I’ll bip back to Lancaster for the weekend before driving to Kansas. … There’s a large difference, I’ve noticed, between being in…

  • Lancaster Pennsylvania

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    For the month of April I am in Lancaster Pennsylvania, in a little house behind a hot dog factory. Sometimes I get a good whiff of hot dogs as I walk up the street on a warm day, or when I open the bathroom window to get some air circulation while I shower. The windows…

  • Adventures in Philadelphia

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    Rosalyn is an old friend from SMBI days. We got along swimmingly 9 1/2 years ago, but 9 1/2 years is a long time, and we hadn’t really kept up. But when she heard about my travels she invited me to come stay with her in Philadelphia. I decided to visit her for a week.…