All in Summer Travels

2021 Summer Travel: Summiting Denali

Sam Sidiqi writes about the joy of summiting Denali this summer, the highest mountain in North America at 20,310 feet. It has been an unlikely journey for a kid who was born in Afghanistan and grew up in Swarthmore. The climb taught him some good lessons and it helps support the development of the country where he was born. Free to read and share

Completing the Circle with Team USA

It’s interesting how things can come full circle. My goal as a skater was to earn a place on Team USA, whose members travel internationally. I achieved that back in 2001, and my partner and I were assigned competitions in Japan and the Czech Republic. Then, right before we were to leave to compete, the tragedy of 9/11 occurred, and the U.S. skating federation felt it was safer to keep the younger athletes home for that year. And one of the greatest rewards yet came a couple months ago, when I was selected to be a PT for the very first Junior Grand Prix skating event, to be held on our home turf in the iconic Olympic Village of Lake Placid, N.Y. I was thrilled to once again be named as a member of Team USA!

Swarthmorean Summer Travel Series
By Emma Phibbs, PT, DPT

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The Hunt for a Vacation Home

Swarthmorean Summer Travel Series
By Linton Stables

The idea of a second home — at the shore, on a lake, or in the mountains — has a certain appeal. But my husband Greg Brown and I have studiously avoided purchasing such a place, thinking that once we do, we’ll be stuck going to that same place over and over again instead of travelling. However, that doesn’t keep us from checking out the real estate in fun places we visit! This summer we made a car trip to western North Carolina where we did look at some homes, in case we ever change our minds.

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The Roadshow Rolls through Winterthur

Swarthmorean Summer Travel Series

“No photos,” said the signs posted everywhere at the Antiques Roadshow. As an avid photographer, I felt as if I had just sat down for a long-anticipated feast only to be told that eating was forbidden. But the atmosphere was so festive that I could almost forget my deprivation on this beautiful June day.

Though the lines were long, even at our 7:30 a.m. entrance time, the mood was very jolly. We were all lottery winners, my husband and I and about 3,000 others using our free tickets to join in this very long day. Everyone was happy to be at the Roadshow, even the harried, unpaid appraisers, many familiar to us from our years of viewing PBS’s most-watched ongoing TV series.

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Seeking Great Cheese, and How it’s Made

SWARTHMOREAN SUMMER TRAVEL SERIES

On Memorial Day, my good friend Alex Schaff and I set out from Swarthmore for the enchanting hills and meadows of New England, with the goal of visiting and talking with dairy farmers and cheesemakers. Alex, who suggested the trip, is a prospective veterinarian and a master’s student of dairy science at Colorado State University; I work as a cheesemonger at DiBruno’s in Philadelphia. So one could say the idea didn’t just come out of the blue!

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