Two children are born on the same day, and live two hundred feet from each other. They speak the same language, and are maybe even related going back a few generations. And yet, these two children will have completely different lives. One will have opportunities the other cannot even dream of. And this is all…
Driving Interstate 10 between Los Angeles and Phoenix is boring, to say the least. I joke that all I have to do is point the car east and put it in cruise control, then fall asleep in the back seat. While that’s both an obvious joke (please don’t do such a thing) and not quite…
Editor’s note: after a brief absence (law school is apparently time consuming), our resident national parks expert Christian is back with his take on Cabrillo National Monument. For my own take, click here. If you love national parks, make sure to visit Christian’s index page. Cabrillo National Monument is named after Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo -…
There is an exhilaration that comes from doing something child-like. That feeling dominates my morning as I slide down sand dunes on a sled that reminds me of a trash can top. Lean forward to start the momentum downward, then lean backward to stay on. Fail, and fall off into the soft sand, spinning onto…
Editor’s note: I have been to Moab once, to spend a single day in each of the two local national parks. Sam, however, has spent more time, and has some wonderful recommendations for the area that make sense given his status as a Utah resident. For more of Sam’s amazing writing, click here. I am…
The mountains tower over the Chihuahuan Desert of west Texas, silent sentinels that seem incredibly out of place here in what is largely flat and arid land. The desert extends for hundreds of miles, the remnants of what was once a shallow sea that covered this portion of the continent, with the stunning Guadalupe Mountains…
“Call me as soon as you’re back across the border,” said my mother. “Text me every hour,” said my girlfriend. “Just don’t go to Juarez. It’s not safe,” said pretty much everyone I told of my plan to cross the border from El Paso for a day. However, despite all the trepidation from both my…
It’s a pretty day in Thousand Oaks, California, just outside Los Angeles, and the campus of Cal Lutheran University is open and welcoming. Set against the nearby mountains, it’s a lovely oasis in the heart of suburbia, full of green spaces, blooming flowers, and meandering pathways. But I’m not here to see the university. I…
Growing up in California, I learned all about missions. Well, I learned a watered-down story of them, one of Spanish friars civilizing and colonizing the area, bringing farming techniques to the natives. It was, and in fact still is, part of the fourth grade curriculum, complete with visiting a local mission and - in my…
Editor’s note: it gives me great pleasure to introduce you all to Reina Abreyava, our newest writer here at The Royal Tour. I’ve known Reina for more than a decade now. She is smart, kind, driven, and downright wonderful. She is also, as you’ll come to find out, one heck of a writer, with her…