Trip Itinerary: Kentucky

It’s about time for my annual (or semi-annual depending on the year) trip to visit my father. Ever since he moved to the Cincinnati area, I’ve tried to make seeing him into a writing trip, whether only doing things in the greater Cincy area, or more recently, making it into a road trip. This year,…

A Seafood Lover’s Guide to Eating in Alaska

Editor’s note: This guide from guest writer Mike Still couldn’t come at a better time for me, as I’m getting ready to return to Alaska for the first time since 2005. I’ve taken notes, and I’m sure you will, too! For more of Mike’s writing, click here to visit his index page here at The…

Trip Itinerary: BC/Alaska

When I was younger, I went on a lot of cruises. I mean, A LOT of cruises. (Here’s my take on cruises.) At this point in my life, and at this point in my travels, I’d be less likely to take one based on a number of factors. But there are a couple of large…

Yosemite: Why We Keep Going Back

Editor’s note: I first visited Yosemite as a child, and have been back close to a dozen times, including three since starting The Royal Tour. It is a place unlike anywhere I’ve ever visited, a place of dreams. (Also a place of crowds, but such is the trade off.) Here, Jackie adds her own experiences…

A Long Weekend in Little Rock

Editor’s note: in the earliest days of The Royal Tour, I went to Arkansas to see Hot Springs National Park. I spent a single night in Little Rock, saw Central High School, wrote nothing about it, and moved on. I am so glad that writer Sam Spector spent a weekend there now to right this…

Mozarkite and Lake of the Ozarks

Editor’s note: I’ve never seen an episode of Ozark, but I’m still always game for a beautiful lake and some cool caves. Our resident rock hound. Morgan, offers even more in this awesome glimpse at a place most of us have heard of, but few have visited. For more of Morgan’s writing, click here to…

LA’s Original Farmers Market

There is a nostalgia here. Like other iconic places in my hometown of Los Angeles, the Original Farmers Market has a strong association with my childhood, of being something special to be done with family or friends. I remember visiting every year or two, and being treated to something new: a smell, a taste, a…

Union Terminal and the Cincinnati History Museum

In the 1930s, the great age of American railways was coming to an end, as with the end of World War Two, automobile dominance would become ascendant, never to look back. While most major American cities already had their monumental rail stations constructed by this point, a couple stragglers made it in under the wire,…

Louisville and the Short Presidency of Zachary Taylor

A couple years back, I wrote a story about William Henry Harrison, the shortest serving president in US history. I visited his mausoleum and a monument to the man outside of Cincinnati, and had a grand time learning and writing about this basically forgotten president outside of trivia contests. (Read the story here.) And then,…