The Industrial Revolution ended long ago in the United States but remnants of its impact are still palpable. Once temples of commerce, many cities bustled with sprawling factories, grand theaters, turn of the century office towers, majestic hotels, and regal apartment buildings woven together by pedestrian friendly street grids. Today, much of this ornately designed architecture is demolished or condemned. Over the years, speculative … [Read more...]
Wineries in Thailand? Yes! A Visit to Thailand’s Smallest Winery, Alcidini Winery
Compared to our time intensive work of visiting hundreds of wineries in the world famous Napa Valley, visiting wineries in Thailand is a fairly straight forward endeavor. We were told there are only 6 wineries in the entire country, 4 of which are in the vicinity of Khao Yai; without spending much time at all, we have already visited 50% of the countries wineries. Our latest winery visit was to Alcidini (the latin name for a local Kingfisher … [Read more...]
John Muir Slept Here
The best place to walk in the footsteps of John Muir is Yosemite National Park, where the famed naturalist and conservationist hiked and climbed granite domes, lovingly surveyed plants and animals, studied with rapt eyes “cloud mountains” in the sky, and developed his passion for wild spaces. Another place that evokes feelings for one of the visionary creators of our national park system is his old home in Martinez, California, about an hour … [Read more...]
Crashing and Burning at Randy’s Rock Rapid on the Wild Colorado
On a rafting trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, there are passages of high drama and excitement around every bend: House Rock Rapid, the Roaring Twenties, Little Colorado River, Crystal, Upset Rapid, Lava Falls. These are all very famous. Every guide on the river knows about them. Another rapid on the booming Colorado is not nearly as well known. You may float serenely past it without your guide even uttering a word about it, so … [Read more...]
Visiting Bagan, Myanmar
Bagan is the land of ancient temples - these stone spires dot the dusty landscape of what is called the Bagan Plains. We are visiting in the middle of winter, yet the temperatures are very warm during the day and pleasant at night; apparently rain has not fallen here for weeks. Coming from Inle Lake, some 6 hours away by bus we were startled by the dramatic difference in landscape. Inle Lake has plenty of water - in fact villages are built above … [Read more...]
The Things You Carry, the Things You Leave Behind
When I was 16, I hitchhiked with my older brother from Los Angeles to Vancouver. Being lean and hungry types, we knew we needed fortification for the long journey. So it made perfect sense that we’d load our backpacks—already substantial, with their sturdy wood and metal frames—with canned foods of every type. Chili, fruit cocktail, soup. That one of the laden backpacks now weighed about as much as a sports car wasn’t that daunting until a day or … [Read more...]
Giant Serpent and Scorpion Sculptures in Borrego Springs, CA
The Search is On The road trip from Palm Desert to Galleta Meadows is speckled with rolling hills, dramatic crevices, and a few ocotillos. We saw a couple four wheelers and an off road motocross trail, but the drive is rural, i.e. make sure to fill up on gas beforehand. This was my first trip into the desert and my interest was piqued -- I needed to see these massive desert sculptures for myself. We put 'Galleta Meadows' in the GPS and drove … [Read more...]
Air Italy’s New Nonstop Service between Los Angeles and Milan
(Los Angeles, CA) Air Italy has begun non stop service between Los Angeles (LAX) and Milan Malpensa (MXP) - Los Angeles is only the third North American destination city served nonstop by Air Italy (their first North American non stop flights were to New York JFK and Miami in 2016. And service begins to San Francisco on April 10, 2019. LAX is currently only one of 4 USA based airports to provide non stop service to Milan, … [Read more...]
Cycling Trails in the USA: Where to Go for Cycling?
Inspired by the Tour of France of 1978, some fella called Freddie Mercury used to chant on how much he wanted to ride his “bicycle, bicycle, bicycle”. The truth is you do not have to be an expert for riding a bicycle, to go from one place to another on two wheels, you do not have to be a scholar; everything is learned on the way. The route strengthens us as people and even sometimes shows us facets that we did not believe we had. In any case, … [Read more...]
10 Inspirational Travel Instagram Accounts Worth Following
This wonderful planet features a diversity of inspirational and beautiful places. Some travelers have been able to create careers out of exploring a range of often niche experiences or locations. For them, travel is a passion and certainly a huge part of their lifestyles. And in deciding which accounts to feature here, I started pondering - what would Ansel Adams or more recently, Galen Rowell think about the incredible amount of digital … [Read more...]
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