This is 40: Location #2! Far out trip to a swinging hotel in the burbs. It was completely groovy. Full of hip cats and not a square in sight. Listening to jams full of the Fab Four and libations were free flowing. Dig it. Details and links: We celebrated the 60’s with https://www.twahotel.com/ We stayed in a Deluxe King with a historic TWA view. Which was perfect for our one night. We got there about 4pm from the city - which was right on time to check in! First things first

We spent 7 days on St. George Island in the panhandle of Florida. Snuck up near Apalachicola. We stayed in a beautiful rental that Kassie's amazing parents rented for a full month. We timed our visit perfectly to be able to see Kassie's Brother and Sister-in-Law, friends of Kassie's parents, and Rick's parents. We worked during the week days - but were able to enjoy the sunrise each morning and more! We explored the St,. George state park, ate too much food, drank (not enough

The air was frigid as I woke up at 7am. Camping in the cold desert but with a hot shower, is highly recommended. A jump over to the dining tent for a quick cup of coffee and we walked around the group who had an earlier appointment with their camel and walked out of the camp. My bare feet sinking into the cold sand as we clumsily climbed to the top of a small dune. Sinking into the sand to watch the sun rise and change the sky from orange to blue. Back down into the camp with

We drove through the sleepy streets of Fes early in the morning. The sun still hidden behind the buildings and turning the few clouds a dusty pink against the pale blue sky. People waiting for the commuter bus in the new part of the city. A mix of bare heads and head coverings looking left to right. The new city filled with buildings just as modern as any you’d see in any other city. Which isn’t surprising. What’s surprising is how well the whole city blends life between anci

We woke up a little late after sleeping like the dead in our beautiful windowless riad room. A wonderful shower and a big breakfast before heading down to meet Sallam and Hassan for our tour of Fes, the oldest big city in the world. It was founded around 789CE by Idriss the first (on the east bank of the river) and around 809CE by Idriss the second (on the West Bank) We jumped in the van to head to the New Medina, Fes el-Jdid, which was built in the 14th century. The air was

Woken from a deep sleep by competing calls to prayer coming from the mosques around us. 6am wake up call. We uncharacteristically stayed in bed another hour and a half though. So comfy and so tired. The roosters crowed and the dogs howled. And finally we got up for a shower and to pack our small bags back up. We found our way through the winding stairwells to the courtyard and restaurant for a breakfast of bread and pastries and more. If you are gluten free - this is not the

After a flight delay, missed connection, nose bleed on board, tarmac sitting, rebooking - we made it to the AirFrance lounge in Paris 4 hours and one block of cheese later… We made it on a connecting flight to Casablanca! Our driver/guide, Sallam (not to be confused with Salam (hello in Arabic… one of the four Arabic words I know)) was waiting for us at the airport to drive us 5 hours to Chefchaouen. We drove through towns  and watched cattle who were better at direction than

Welcome! We are Rick & Kassie Runyan. Hailing from NYC (for the last 7 years) and we LOVE travel. We try to take multiple trips per year...

in a family with a history I was born to the mom that shed her family's past and fought for a better life. I'm the lucky one. ​ in a small house in a small town I was raised without need and with a love from a father who sacrificed so we could have extra. I'm the lucky one. ​ with a varied history over my years and a troubled past full of troubled people making troubling decisions and fearful nights but here I am now as I look around. I'm the lucky one. ​ with a body that doe

I sat on a wooden bench that someone had attempted to create for lounging comfortably. At least for ten minutes at a time. Stuffed in between two of the wood pieces next to me was a cigarette butt. I looked a little closer and shook my head. No. There wasn’t enough left to get anything good out of it, so I left it stranded; a reminder of the smoker who sat here before me. I looked up at the green leaves that sprawled over my head hiding the bench from the hot sunlight that wa

March 26th - This is 2020 part two - will be available at Amazon, B&N, local bookstores and more!!! Until then - we still have the pre-order going. Now available to find in more places than just on my website. The links will continue to be updated as it's available in more and more places. Find the links here: https://www.kassiejrunyan.com/this-is-2020-part-two

So excited to announce that This is 2020 part two is available for PRE-ORDER! On top of that - as a Thank You and to celebrate the Global Poetry Month - I am providing a discount on all books and cards in my shop for the full month of APRIL as well as larger discounts for ordering more than one book! Shop today at: https://www.kassiejrunyan.com/shop Find more information about my current poetry collections here: https://www.kassiejrunyan.com/books And see what people said a

Eyes were shut to the world, but I was awake. Trying to delay the start of the day. I heard a slight scratch and opened my eyes to see Dog sitting by the door scratching the wood frame and watching me expectantly. “Yeah yeah, I’m awake Dog”. I pushed down on the footrest of the faded recliner with my legs; pushing the orange blanket off to the side to fall in a messy pile on the floor. I stood and grabbed a shirt that had been tossed carelessly over the back of the recliner a

I opened my eyes to see the tall grass swaying above me; the orange sky above it. How many times have I been here now? I was so exhausted that I didn’t jump to my feet to try to desperately to make it to the town I could never reach. Instead I continued to lay there gazing at the sky and allowing myself to enjoy the lack of physical pain in my prematurely aging body. This dream allowed all of the body aches of the previous weeks to drift away. Or was it months? This time was

HER NAME She haunts me. Daily. When I wake up, she hides under the bed for only a moment. Teasing that she went away. I blink and she’s back tapping on my shoulder with her manicured nail, painted in blood red and sharpened to a tip. Interrupting my thoughts; my hopes; reminding me that she Is always there. Waiting. Stalking. I plan a future but she frays the corners of my mind, teasing me about flights and storms and the dangers of them all. She reminds me of the future that

A groan fell out of my mouth as I thudded to a seating position on the hot gravel and waited hopefully for a wind to cool the sweat that ran down the side of my face and into the rough hair that grew around my chin. No wind came. I sighed audibly to no one and watched the trucks speeding past my resting spot. I could almost see the thoughts behind the wondering eyes of the drivers as they thought, who is this idiot sitting on the side of the road . I tugged at the sleeve of m

There was nothing but a hollow feeling as I walked down the clean paved road and away from the home of the man who died. If I was waiting for an immediate change or shift in myself, some kind of revelation, that would turn my feet and send me running back towards the empty house behind me, none would come. I was still a shell. An empty host who was still waiting to feel something remotely human. My body slowed and I stopped moving; standing in the middle of the empty road. An

I died today. I found myself slowly falling back to the earth, feeling weightless as I floated down and down, stopping with a light thud

Sneak peak from "This is 2020: a poetry collection" - available for sale on KassieJRuyan.com, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble: Check it out HERE $1 from each purchase goes to "Color of Change" $1 from each purchase goes to "Coalition for The Homeless" I wrote this poem - in the summer of 2020 when again we see this cycle continuing. We have been here before. We have had the same arguments over and over and over with the same side of people that are convinced that racism is no l

Dots In The Land where people used to stand now dots in the land one for each soul moved on perhaps to a great beyond voices silenced for good life ending before it should now dots in the land as we reach out our hand trying to hold on to the breath that left you with your death never to come again it’s over before it began they said it wasn’t their fault as they killed you without an assault refusing to give a shit or even to really admit that they were a hypocrite or quite