Dalmatian Insider

The Janet Champion Spin Clinic: In a Word, Energizing!

Up until this point, my figure skating blog posts have focused on the beginning of my skating journey, that is, when I began skating decades ago. After careful thought, I decided I would take a break from writing about the past and jump ahead to the present. Some memorable events and moments have occurred recentlyContinue reading “The Janet Champion Spin Clinic: In a Word, Energizing!”

Four Fabulously Unique and Unforgettable Beaches on the Island of Vis, Croatia

The beaches on the island of Vis are among the most beautiful and unique in the country of Croatia. The beaches are varied in terms of terrain and geographic features, so it is possible to have a variety of beach experiences on the island. The terrain ranges from sand, to pebbles of various sizes, toContinue reading “Four Fabulously Unique and Unforgettable Beaches on the Island of Vis, Croatia”

A Dream Takes Flight: Aspen Bound!

Soon graduation was upon me and I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree. Having decided that this new, post-graduation chapter of my life would be focused on formal training in figure skating, I commenced a search for a new figure skating coach. Once I found the right coach, I planned to pack up and moveContinue reading “A Dream Takes Flight: Aspen Bound!”

Croatia 2021: Island of Vis, Part One

Our first post-COVID international trip was to Croatia in July and August of 2021 to visit my husband Jaroslav’s family. We spent the first nine days in Jaroslav’s hometown of Makarska on the Dalmatian Coast visiting his sister Mariana and her family. The next six days were spent on the island of Vis where weContinue reading “Croatia 2021: Island of Vis, Part One”

A Dream Takes Off

After ten months of successful treatment for my illness, I was able to return to my university for my final semester of college. Ironically, even more exciting to me than being healthy enough to resume my life as a student was the fact that I was returning to school with a pair of figure skatesContinue reading “A Dream Takes Off”

A Dream Reawakens

Several years after the visit to the Broadmoor Skating Club,* I sat in a hospital as my parents filled out paperwork to admit me for inpatient treatment. I had just withdrawn from college to seek treatment for an illness. Life was no longer recognizable to me, devoid of all structure, definition, and predictability. A fewContinue reading “A Dream Reawakens”

A Dream Awakens (and then goes dormant)

It was the winter of 1984 and I was transfixed by the Sarajevo Olympics. The figure skating events enthralled me more than any of the others, in particular Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean’s ice dance performance to Maurice Ravel’s Bolero. I watched in awe as Torvill and Dean began their program in a kneeling positionContinue reading “A Dream Awakens (and then goes dormant)”

Croatia Summer 2021: Makarska

Our first post-COVID international trip was to Croatia in July and August of 2021 to visit my husband Jaroslav’s family. We spent the first nine days on the sunny and picturesque Dalmatian Coast in Jaroslav’s hometown of Makarska, visiting Jaroslav’s sister Mariana and her family and reconnecting with old friends. After Makarska we enjoyed someContinue reading “Croatia Summer 2021: Makarska”