By Lynn Strough
Welcome to this week’s chapter in the ongoing series by our world traveler, Lynn Strough. It’s time for more Croatia…
Renting a car in Croatia is one of the best ways to see the countryside and get around. The roads are good, and directions are easy to follow. My friend Beth and I drove from Plitvice Lakes National Park a couple of hours down to the small city of Zadar, which is near another national park called Krka (yes, that’s how it’s spelled, although it may seem to us English speakers to be missing a vowel or two).
Zadar is filled with beautiful churches and other old buildings, as well as some interesting Roman ruins. It’s lovely old town is a great place to wander around in, just meandering through the alleyways. It’s small enough where you can’t really get lost, and if you do, the sea is right there to reorient you.
There are two points of special interest overlooking the sea, both by the same artist, Nikola Basic. The sea organ is a sculptural musical instrument played by the tides (water pushes air out of tubes under long cement stairs) where you can sit and listen to what the sea has to say, while watching the sunset. Also created by Basic is Greeting to the Sun, a solar-powered interactive piece that you can walk (or dance!) on, made up of hundreds of solar panels that soak up the rays during the day, and put on a colorful moving light show at night.
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As far as accommodations go, you’ll find there are more “Apartmans” than hotels or B&B’s in Croatia. An apartman is usually a room in somebody’s home, or sometimes a whole apartment, and they are quite affordable. Both in a village near Plitvice and in Zadar, we were able to find two-bedroom apartments that could easily sleep four (or more if someone sleeps on the couch) for a total of around $55 per night. So if you’re traveling on a budget, Croatia is a very affordable place to visit. (I also think Apartman is secretly a new superhero waiting to be born — picture a guy with limbs that pull apart, similar to those toys with elastic strings.)
Not far away is the small town of Skradin, which is a gateway to Krka National Park. Skradin is worth an hour or two on its own, with charming narrow streets hugging the hillside, a church worth a look inside, and restaurants and shops that tumble down to the sea, where you can catch a boat up the river to Krka.
There is much debate about which national park is preferable, Plitvice or Krka, and I have an easy solution–go see both. They’re both stunningly beautiful, full of bright, blue-green waterfalls, but they’re also very different. For one thing, you can swim at Krka right near the falls, which is forbidden at Plitvice, although you aren’t allowed to jump from the bridge.
Zadar and Kryka are affordable and gorgeous. Consider a visit there. I think you’ll love what you’ll find.
About Lynn Strough
Lynn is a 50-something-year-old woman whose incarnations in this life have included graphic designer, children’s book author and illustrator, public speaker, teacher, fine art painter, wine educator in the Napa Valley, and world traveler. Through current circumstances, she has found herself single, without a job or a home, and poised for a great adventure.
“You could consider me homeless and unemployed, but I prefer nomad and self-employed, as I pack up my skills and head off with my small backpack and even smaller savings to circumnavigate the globe (or at least go until the money runs out). Get ready to tag along for the ride…starting now!”
All images copyright Lynn Strough and Travelynn Tales
Reprinted with permission
full of beautiful scenery, interesting history and kind people. It’s a great mix of old and new, including old peeling walls, beautiful churches and a bustling square.
Today the Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) announced the launch of Blue Star Museums, a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense and more than 2,000 museums across America to offer free admission to the nation’s active duty military personnel including National Guard and Reserve and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2016.
That’s the list! Modify to suit your needs. This is pretty much all I needed in the first six months. You can figure that whatever you need for a week should just about cover you for a year, with a few exceptions. I did end up buying a base layer in Australia, as I’d planned to hike in the glaciers in New Zealand and had already been caught in rain and hail hiking in summer in Tasmania. These I don’t need often, but when I do, I’m glad I have them, and have used them for pajamas in chilly places as well. I also bought a wool beanie cap, and have worn that to bed, and used it out on the fjords in New Zealand. I left the gloves in a hostel for someone else in the give-away bin. I might need some down the road, but something had to go as I couldn’t zip my bag.
I’ve used my hairdryer only twice, even though I have long hair now, but if I’d been traveling in cold weather places instead of mostly following summer, I might have used it more. I brought a mini hair straightener and only used it once, so that was a waste of space. On the road, you need very little makeup, jewelry, or fancy clothes, unless you’re doing a very different kind of traveling. Really, it’s a nice break to not worry all the time what your hair looks like.
What have I acquired? Very little. A pair of loose cotton “elephant” pants and a top in Thailand for my meditation retreat. Some clothes were loaned or given to me, and some clothes I gave away. I did buy a bikini in Australia—they have great bathing suits there. And women in their 80’s don’t hesitate to flaunt their stuff in two-piece bathing suits, so I got over my “I’m-too-old-for-a-bikini” mindset.
Also, remember when you pack your bag full and head off from a winter location, wearing your jeans and long-sleeved shirt and fleece jacket and hiking boots, and head to a summer place where the temperature is 99F, you aren’t going to want to keep wearing all of that heavy gear. So then where do you put it? In a kangaroo bag! And now you have three bags to tote around. Pack light, pack light, pack light. And bring twice as much money. That old adage, for better or worse, is true.
By: Katelyn Kohane
By: Tom Sibley
This is the seventh installment chronicling the adventures of Lynn Strough, a local artist and writer who’s been traveling the world since November 2014. Lynn’s travels have (so far) taken her to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, Slovenia, Croatia, Ireland, England, France, Italy… and I’m sure we’re forgetting a few destinations. To learn more about her journey, go 
I’d thankfully read about onsen etiquette on line, or I would’ve been clueless – first you put your kimono into a wicker basket, then you wrap your towel around your head, turban style, to keep it dry. You shower off with the outdoor nozzle while sitting naked for all to see (women anyway) on a small plastic stool, then you slip into the heavenly hot pool.
But there was a minor character, Elizabeth Black, who did have a story tell, one that Hart tells in the well-written prose of Redemption Road.
The cat’s out of the bag! 
Working first for the Space Institute Center at Florida Tech, and then for 16 years at the University of Central University in Orlando, Misconi has not only inspired students and the public with his instructional skills, but also contributed technical expertise to a number of high profile NASA space efforts, including SkyLab and the space shuttle programs. He has worked closely with notable space science personalities, including astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
Gion at night is a sight to behold. In Kyoto, you can also visit Nijo Castle and visit the Golden Pavillion, Kinkakuji.
French Milk
“The Fireman” by Joe Hill
“The North Water” by Ian McGuire
“Invisible Influence” by Jonah Berger
“When We Collided” by Emery Lord
By Lynn Strough
Food, of course, was extra, but you can have a nice meal for $3 to $4. If you really want to splurge and add an appetizer, wine, and dessert, you might spend up to $15 or so. Overall, it’s probably less than you’d be spending on food staying at home! It’s $20 to get into Angkor Wat for a day, one of your major expenses here, but totally worth it, and it helps fund the restoration of the site.
