Tag: United States

  • MORE Top Five Tips for Visiting San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2018

    MORE Top Five Tips for Visiting San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2018

    A lot of people in the continental U.S. seem to know someone who’s also worked, visited or lived on Puerto Rico. Even though it’s over 1,000 miles from the Floridian tip, the island can still feel close to us. So consider taking a trip there in 2018 and learning more about what makes Puerto Rico la…

  • Top Five Tips for Visiting San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2018

    Top Five Tips for Visiting San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2018

    Maybe you found a flight deal to SJU, or you already had plans to visit before the hurricane. Maybe you want to help the economy recover after Hurricanes Irma and Maria wrecked the island in September 2017. Or maybe you want to visit the Caribbean from the U.S. without a passport. Whatever the reason, there’s…

  • Green Sounds in Post-Hurricane Puerto Rico

    Green Sounds in Post-Hurricane Puerto Rico

    Brown sounds are the happenings of a hurricane — sandy waves and sewage gush in the streets and rush down the mountains. Mud slabs and unforgiving boulders create a sound vacuum through humble hillside dwellings. Across this land covered in color and surrounded by turquoise Caribbean water, these sounds of dirt and destruction still echoed…

  • How the 2018 U.S. Government Shutdown Will Affect Travel

    How the 2018 U.S. Government Shutdown Will Affect Travel

    They agreed to disagree… and for now, that means that the United States government is effectively shutdown until our legislature can agree about how to appropriate money. With more than 800,000 government employees furloughed, which operations will cease or slow? What does this government shutdown mean for travelers, foreign and domestic?  Here are some ways…

  • Where to Donate to Puerto Rico’s Hurricane Recovery

    Where to Donate to Puerto Rico’s Hurricane Recovery

    First of all, thank you to everyone who’s reached out to me during this journey in Puerto Rico. I’m nearly done with my assignment, and every day has had its share of challenges and accomplishments. Anything I face pales in comparison with these survivors of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, many of whom have been without…

  • What to Do on Lake Erie: Peace & Conservation at Put-In-Bay, Ohio

    What to Do on Lake Erie: Peace & Conservation at Put-In-Bay, Ohio

    Road-tripping on I-90 along Lake Erie between Chicago, Illinois and Buffalo, New York, there’s a place that is both peaceful and playful. It’s educational and entertaining. It’s vintage yet vivacious. It’s South Bass Island, home to Put-In-Bay township, Ohio. Whether a stop on a cross-country road trip or a destination of its own, it’s a…

  • Celebrating the Things That Didn’t Happen (Or Why I’d Rather Be in Pittsburgh Than Barcelona)

    Celebrating the Things That Didn’t Happen (Or Why I’d Rather Be in Pittsburgh Than Barcelona)

    I was supposed to get married yesterday. Well, a decade ago yesterday, 07-07-07. But we didn’t go through with it, and I have no doubt that was the right choice because we were not the right choice. So, instead of celebrating my tenth wedding anniversary, I spent the day honoring The Things That Didn’t Happen.…

  • Drive Across California for a Tree, Plus Twenty-Nine

    Drive Across California for a Tree, Plus Twenty-Nine

    Looking at the map, it’s easy to see that there are many natural spaces close to San Diego like Anza-Borrego or Torrey Pines State Parks. But since it was National Parks Week, I chose Joshua Tree National Park (JOTR) for my Spring in SoCal Roadtrip, a three and a half hour drive from where I was in…

  • So Put Me on a Highway, and Show Me a Sign

    So Put Me on a Highway, and Show Me a Sign

    I’d heard a little bit of The Eagles’ music when I was growing up, but I didn’t really start listening to them until I was in my 20’s. When I heard today that Glenn Frey, the legendary band’s co-founder, passed away, I was rightfully dismayed. Then I pulled up his song-writing credits and realized how…

  • Nous Devons Vivre: Life Happens When You’re in Airplane Mode

    Nous Devons Vivre: Life Happens When You’re in Airplane Mode

    I snapped this sunset photo (below) upon arrival yesterday in Dallas from Denver before I turned off Airplane Mode, having no idea what transpired in Paris as I was in the air.  I was struck by how big the sun looked and encouraged for the lighthearted rendezvous of a weekend I have planned with an old…

  • Airport Bars, Hotel Bars and Raising the Bar

    Airport Bars, Hotel Bars and Raising the Bar

    Airport and hotel bars were once my favorite places. I adored the atmosphere of travel and travelers, the quelling of anxiety, the ease of conversation and the typically-fleeting but memorable connections. Oh, and I also just adored drinking, plentifully. So it’s fitting that I had my final martini – and one of my most life-changing…

  • Scenic Routes and Second Chances

    Scenic Routes and Second Chances

    I’ve learned a thing or two about the quintessential travel experience known as The Road Trip. In 2014-2015, I road tripped in 25 U.S. states! Before that, I’d really only taken one as an adult solo and one as an adult paired. One of the best parts of road tripping is stopping for scenic overlooks…

  • Road Trip: Devil’s Tower & the Dakotas

    Road Trip: Devil’s Tower & the Dakotas

    I lived in the great state of Wyoming for nearly a decade, and it bothered me that I had not yet made the time to visit Devil’s Tower National Monument. My “50 by 40 Goal” is to visit all 50 states by the time I’m 40, and looking at my atlas, I realized that a…

  • Colorado’s Cool Sahara, the San Luis Valley

    Colorado’s Cool Sahara, the San Luis Valley

    Although many people associate Colorado with swishing down snow-capped summits, there is a lot more to the landscape than mountains. The state also has fertile farms, rolling ranchland the tallest sand dunes in North America. The San Luis Valley (SLV) is a great roadtrip just a few hours south of Denver or north from Albuquerque. This surreal place…