12 Good Books: a Personal Reading Challenge for 2026
January 7, 2026
the latest
HI, I’M TERRA.
I’m a lifelong storyteller, nearing the final chapter of a 20+ year full-time career in the Army National Guard. These days, I’m building something new — one board, bolt and backroad at a time — slowly transforming a Ford Transit into a home.
This site is where I share that journey. You’ll find van build progress, road trip tales, quiet moments in wild places, and thoughts from the in-between.
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Currently: Fairy Tales & Rage
In a knife fight against Cinderella, I would win. Ditto for Sleeping Beauty and all those other fairy tale bitches. I’m meaner than all of them put together, to be sure. Plus, they’ve pissed me off. I’m 33 and alone and maybe they’re partly to blame. See, it’s impossible to be
August 17, 2017
Teddy Roosevelt’s Birthplace, a National Historic Site
Our 26th president, one Theodore Roosevelt, was a legit badass. He was just 42 when he took office, following the assassination of President McKinley, which makes him the youngest president we’ve ever had. After his death, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions as commander of the
August 9, 2017
Poking anemones at Cabrillo National Monument
I always google the National Park units I visit before I actually visit them. I don’t need a ton of information, usually, just some basic history and a rough idea of what it is that makes the park special. When I did this for Cabrillo National Monument, in San Diego, the
July 31, 2017
Road Trip Pit Stops: Chattanooga National Military Park
When you’re on a multi-day drive in a big stupid truck hauling home some furniture that belonged to your dead grandmother, it’s best to include some adventures along the way. In fact, it’s probably mandatory. I’d never done the drive from Texas to Virginia, although it’s one my grandmother managed
July 19, 2017
A Handful of Hours in Verona, City of Love
Few things make me feel more legit as a world wanderer than showing up in a new city and taking public transit. Buses or metros or ferries or what the shit else, when I travel to new cities or countries, I want in on the public modes of transportation. And
July 12, 2017
Befriending Seals in La Jolla
I know some people are from places where seals just hang out—but I’m not one of them. I’m an East Coast kid, born and raised in Virginia. So when I met the seals of La Jolla—seals everywhere—I kind of lost my mind.
June 28, 2017