Chino Hills, California is best known as a wealthy enclave in southern California’s Inland Empire, east of Los Angeles. And for Lavar Ball, outspoken father of Lonzo, LiAngelo and Lamelo, NBA brothers. It isn’t exactly the kind of place one expects to find a stunningly beautiful Hindu temple. And yet, that is exactly where just…
It is one of the most iconic photos on Instagram, seeming to come right out of a Windows background. Horseshoe Bend, where the mighty Colorado River makes a perfect U-turn, is a bucket list destination for so many people, myself included. But it is just one part of a much larger system, defined by the…
I hope you are all enjoying my stories from Northern Arizona. While those will continue for the next few weeks - I love when a trip gives me so many things to write - it is time for my next trip. I have spent a TON of time in Northern California, but relatively little along…
Since the start of the pandemic, Antelope Canyon, considered by many to be the most beautiful slot canyon in the world, has been closed. The canyon lies on Navajo lands just outside Page, at the northern tip of Arizona, and - like all Navajo lands - has been closed to the public for health and…
Editor’s note: like Sam, I also have the goal to visit most, if not all, countries of the world, but especially all the countries of Europe. San Marino is one I’m missing, and will make sure to hit the next time I’m in Italy. For more of Sam’s adventures, click here to visit his index…
From up here, this could easily be Napa. It could easily be Italy, or France. The sentiment is echoed by the other twelve people sharing a hot air balloon basket with me as we float lazily on the early morning breeze. Vineyards, orchards, and elegant chateaux beneath us, blue skies above broken up by the…
Well, quarantine seems officially over. I’m vaccinated, as is A, and we have even left the state on a small trip! However, just because we can travel for real doesn’t mean travel themed date nights aren’t still fun. So we are going to keep doing them, albeit less frequently and with a bit less urgency.…
After months of asking me to go, I finally relented. My aunt and I were both vaccinated, so the trip from Los Angeles to Paso Robles - about three and a half hours’ drive - and the overnight there seemed less of a health concern. I wasn’t excited, but hey, it was only a single…
Images of the American west and its complex history seem to focus on ideas of lawlessness, of wildness, and of conflict. In popular culture, we picture the gun fight at the OK Corral, miners fighting each other for claims to get rich quick, taverns and brothels being the closest things to “civilization” within a hundred…
Editor’s note: for most of us in the West, we think of Jerusalem as the center of world religion, home to some of the holiest sites in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. But for those of eastern faiths, this seems the place to go! Thank you, Sam, for your story and the journey into a place…