Lisa Karpinski

adventurer / aesthete / nature lover / writer

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Panama City March 2023

March 25, 2023by Lisa Karpinski Leave a comment

Trip blog Central America March 14/15. I helped a Canadian women get an onward ticket so that she could fly to Costa Rica. Her name was Heidi. In Houston on […]

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Mexico and Central America, Roadtrip blog

My friend Chris

February 7, 2023by Lisa Karpinski 4 Comments

I arrived back home Sept 19 to a whirlwind of activity: trying to find a new housemate by October 1, unpacking, cleaning, major yard work, seeing some old friends, and […]

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Inner Reflections, Musings

The Enchanted Caravan

February 6, 2023by Lisa Karpinski Leave a comment

The first Friday in January for many years, I attended Nancy Mellon’s storytelling weekend at the Peck’s.  This particular January, she had asked us to write a fairy tale showing […]

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Other Writing

My letter on behalf of Ushguli, Georgia

February 3, 2023by Lisa Karpinski 1 Comment

March 17 2016 To whom it may concern: I am writing concerning the Chazhashi village within the Ushguli community, referenced by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/709.   […]

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Other Writing

My Inner Winter

January 8, 2023by Lisa Karpinski 1 Comment

Last night I was lulled to sleep by the rain. I usually can’t sleep without earplugs. Hearing rain rather than traffic reawakened my childhood desire to live closer to nature. […]

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Inner Reflections, Musings

Winter Solstice

January 8, 2023by Lisa Karpinski 1 Comment

I have news for you: the stag bellsWinter snows,wind high and cold,the sun low, short its courseThe sea running highDeep red the bracken, its shape is lostThe wild goose has […]

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Other Writing

Francis Flowers & Herbs Farm

December 31, 2022by Lisa Karpinski 1 Comment

I have held off writing until I finished my summer European travel log, but am no closer to starting that. So I will instead tell you about Mark, who together […]

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About the World, Musings

Back to Hungary, then on to Slovenia

May 16, 2022by Lisa Karpinski 1 Comment

June 18, 2018. I awoke in the outskirts of Amstetten, Austria, within a stone’s throw of a sign indicating that this was a biologically sensitive area. On my way to […]

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Europe, Roadtrip blog

Austria – Summer 2018

May 15, 2022by Lisa Karpinski 5 Comments

June 12. I slept in as late as I could. Repacking the tiny Citroen took two hours. It’s amazing how much longer it takes when you have a small space. […]

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Europe, Roadtrip blog

Budapest and Bratislava – Summer 2018

May 13, 2022by Lisa Karpinski Leave a comment

June 4. I arrived in Budapest the day of my dental appointment with Dr. Windisch, an implant specialist whom I’d found several years earlier when I was in Greece and […]

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Europe, Roadtrip blog

Six Days in Oahu

April 27, 2022by Lisa Karpinski Leave a comment

Thursday May 13, 2021 – I’d been jonesing to be anywhere but home for over a year. COVID had been particularly hard on me, as I am migratory. I had […]

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North America, Roadtrip blog

My Misadventures

April 12, 2022by Lisa Karpinski 4 Comments

I’d been dreading my dental visit to Loveland, Colorado for weeks. Not the dental part, but getting there and back. Being a penny pincher, I planned to drive, but after […]

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North America, Roadtrip blog

Reflecting on the Civil Rights Struggle

January 19, 2022by Lisa Karpinski 8 Comments

I haven’t written a proper piece for years. I told myself I had to finish my travel blog from the summer of 2018 when, in the beginning of my travels, […]

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Musings

Portugal – Summer 2018

April 15, 2021by Lisa Karpinski Leave a comment

May 25. Having driven across the Minho River to Valença, I headed back to Tui, a charming village with narrow cobbled streets only a stone’s throw away across the river. […]

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Europe, Roadtrip blog

Basque Country to Galicia- Summer 2018

April 5, 2021by Lisa Karpinski 2 Comments

May 18. I woke in the chill sea air of Donostia-San Sebastián (hereafter referred to as San Sebastián), took a photo and broke camp in case I’d be found out. […]

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Europe, Roadtrip blog

Pyrenees – Summer 2018

April 5, 2021by Lisa Karpinski 1 Comment

May 14. Woke on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees in Bielsa after a cold night. I had stayed in a nice place and took my first shower in two […]

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Europe, Roadtrip blog

Haute-Garonne, France – Summer 2018

April 2, 2021by Lisa Karpinski 2 Comments

May 3 – It was a crazy day. I was behind in packing, even though I’d started weeks before, and was glad Shawn was giving me a ride. He helped […]

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Europe, Roadtrip blog

Choice of Charities

August 7, 2020by Lisa Karpinski 1 Comment

The following is a list of charities to whom I hope to contribute at some point: No More DeathsHaiti Action CommitteeKPFANever Ending FoodAristide foundation for democracyHaiti Emergency Relief FundZavala’s Political […]

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Other Writing

Baby Egret

July 22, 2020by Lisa Karpinski 4 Comments

So sad. I rode my bike to Shorebird Way for the second time, this time in hopes of seeing baby egrets and herons fledge. What I got was probably what […]

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About the World, Musings

Goodbye, McBlack

May 21, 2020by Lisa Karpinski 2 Comments

I bought my 2008 Mazda 3 new. It was special. My first new car. Its name suggested itself when I went to the dealer to buy Mica Black touch up […]

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Inner Reflections, Musings

Baby rat

May 21, 2020by Lisa Karpinski 4 Comments

Full of self recrimination and guilt, I look at your tiny carcass, moved by your small soft ears, paws fragile and clasped as if in prayer, soft gray fur. I […]

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Inner Reflections, Musings

Losing Gina

May 4, 2018by Lisa Karpinski 6 Comments

In 1993, I made the acquaintance of a vivacious, bubbly young woman barely 20 years old.  Gina had already lived several lives.  She had been forced to give up her […]

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Inner Reflections, Musings

Lost and Found on Deception Creek

March 21, 2018by Lisa Karpinski 1 Comment

I met George Gooding in 1997 just after starting my new career on the Inside Mac team at Apple.  It was a big stretch for me.  I’d never worked on […]

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Inner Reflections, Musings

The Sawyer

March 3, 2018by Lisa Karpinski Leave a comment

Walking down Pacific Ave in Santa Cruz last Friday, I was lucky enough to stumble someone playing musical saw in front of a bronze sculpture of Tom Jefferson Scribner. During the […]

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About the World, Musings

Ereshkigal

March 2, 2018by Lisa Karpinski 4 Comments

Some weeks ago I confided in my acupuncturist about the deep grief and loneliness I’d been trying not to feel of late.   My usual pattern is to stay so […]

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Inner Reflections, Musings

La Vie Boheme

January 29, 2018by Lisa Karpinski 2 Comments

Last night I had the opportunity to see the 20th anniversary of the Broadway musical RENT.  Tears ran down my cheeks as I watched the character Angel die of AIDS. […]

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Musings

Writing a Book

January 22, 2018by Lisa Karpinski 1 Comment

I wrote my last post to explain why I haven’t been writing of late.  I had hoped upon coming back to the states to begin the arduous project of turning […]

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Inner Reflections, Musings, Other Writing

Insult to Injury

January 22, 2018by Lisa Karpinski 1 Comment

When I arrived back from Europe on October 24, I was exhausted and sleep-deprived.  But I’m pretty compulsive about cleaning when I first get back from a long trip, and […]

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Inner Reflections, Musings

Conflicted

January 21, 2018by Lisa Karpinski 4 Comments

I was asked recently at a grief counseling session whether my missing people who have died might be tied to other events in my life.  Thinking aloud, I mused that […]

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Inner Reflections, Musings

Back to France

November 9, 2017by Lisa Karpinski Leave a comment

October 14. I took advantage of being in my friends’ warm cozy apartment in Munich.  I slept in, had a nice chat with Jennifer, and headed to Schloss Nymphenburg and the […]

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Europe, Roadtrip blog

Austria

November 4, 2017by Lisa Karpinski Leave a comment

October 10. I awoke at Marek and Zuzana’s flat in Bratislava, feeling grateful for having a place to stay.  I took the chance to thank Zuzana for letting me stay […]

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Europe, Roadtrip blog

Southwest Romania and Hungary

October 27, 2017by Lisa Karpinski Leave a comment

October 6. I awoke in the strange partly built suburb of Szeged, trying to be as quiet as possible.  I didn’t want to wake someone’s dog or the ire of […]

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Europe, Roadtrip blog

Spending Time in Zebegeny

October 25, 2017by Lisa Karpinski Leave a comment

October 3. I didn’t want to leave but had another dental appointment in Budapest the next day, so around 10:30am I bid Paul and Stasia farewell and headed to Babiogorski […]

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Europe, Roadtrip blog

Visiting Relatives in Wadowice

October 25, 2017by Lisa Karpinski Leave a comment

Sept 28 – I awoke and went to the Kismaros library to use the internet. I’d planned on driving to Poland but wanted to work on my blog for a […]

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Europe, Roadtrip blog

From Brussels to Budapest

October 25, 2017by Lisa Karpinski Leave a comment

Sept 25 – I awoke and headed to Brussels, parking near the central park aptly titled Parc de Brussels. After a brief stroll through the greenery, I headed past the […]

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Europe, Roadtrip blog

Amsterdam, then on to southern Netherlands

October 23, 2017by Lisa Karpinski Leave a comment

September 19.  After Harlingen, I headed to Amsterdam.  It was dark, and I was shocked at the sheer number of people on the streets.  On bikes, on foot, on skateboards.  […]

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Europe, Roadtrip blog

Friesland

October 23, 2017by Lisa Karpinski Leave a comment

September 18.  I decided to finish the editing of Roel’s presentation of his months-long pilgrimage from Eibergen to Santiago de Compostella before heading north.  I bid my friends goodbye around […]

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Europe, Roadtrip blog

Eastern Holland

October 23, 2017by Lisa Karpinski Leave a comment

September 14. I woke in my comfy attic room complete with skylight and basked in the rain hitting the windows. Today was errand day. Coosje needed to pick up her […]

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Roadtrip blog

The Middle Rhine Valley, UNESCO World Heritage Site

October 9, 2017by Lisa Karpinski Leave a comment

Sept 10.  I was awoken by the sound of cyclists.  Apparently the forest where I’d camped was on the main cycle path up the mountain leaving the Rhine.  I drove […]

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Europe, Roadtrip blog

Heidelberg

October 7, 2017by Lisa Karpinski Leave a comment

Sept 7 – I was still in a rush to get to Eibergen, Netherlands, and wanted to see Strassbourg, the section of the Rhine north of Bingen, Bonn, Cologne, and […]

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Europe, Roadtrip blog

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Lisa Karpinski

Lisa Karpinski

Lisa Karpinski

I love to explore: society, the natural world, art, history, language, music, culture, science, and politics, among others. I come from a long line of explorers. I have worn many hats in my work life from environmental consultant to technical writer to hazardous waste management analyst and more recently doing API documentation for several large computer firms. I am currently taking advantage of the time afforded me by health challenges to enjoy one of my earliest loves: world travel.

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