The largest city in Southern Oregon, Medford is best known as a rest stop for weary drivers between California and Portland or Seattle. Located directly on Interstate 5, which runs from Mexico to Canada, it is a convenient place to stop for the night, and indeed, that is what most people think of when thinking…
There is something relaxing for me about being in the mountains. Sitting on the balcony of my room at Callahan's Mountain Lodge, just off Interstate 5 in the Siskiyou Mountains at the base of Mt. Ashland, I stare at the forested peaks around me. These mountains were those I had always driven past, admired through…
It pains me to write these words, but silence is even less an option. I am ashamed to be American. Today I should be writing a piece for Travel Medford about my experience in Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. But here I am, sitting at my desk, and I can't do it. Too much else needs to…
Opening night of Love's Labours Lost is packed. It's a chilly night here at the Allen Elizabethan Theatre - the first of its kind - here in Ashland, Oregon, but I am wearing a thick jacket. Other spectators are wrapped in blankets; the theatre is, after all, outside. A trumpet sounds and a figure appears…
Two plastic chairs hastily set up in a food storage room behind the storefront of a family farm. It doesn't seem like the place where, suddenly, inspiration will strike. And yet, it did. As a traveler, I have learned that these unexpected epiphanies are to be cherished. "Nowadays, people are so focused on the consumer…
We had so much in common. We shared a love of exploring the world, of connecting with people, of tasting great food. We shared a desire to remind everyone that people are just people, no matter where they came from or looked like. And we shared a struggle with mental illness, with the voice in…
In today's day and age, it seems everything is polarizing. Calls for boycotts of companies, people, movies, and even countries are prevalent. For those of us with strong political and ideological feelings, it can be a difficult set of circumstances to navigate. Can one eat at Chick Fil A, shop at Wal-Mart, see a Mel…
As a traveler, I've been lucky to see a lot of incredible things. And yet, there are still sights that amaze me to the point that I will struggle for words to explain them, something that can be a big problem as a writer. I have been to Sequoia National Park, and its neighboring Kings…
The air here is dry, and the wind that has whipped constantly since my arrival blows sand and dust into my face and eyes, making it seem even dryer. I shield my eyes from the sun and sand, and look out across the valley in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Eastern California,…
When most people think of Malaysia, they think of Kuala Lumpur, its vibrant modern capital. But drive a couple hours south (or, as in my case, a couple hours north from Singapore), and you'll find yourself in the city of Melaka (sometimes spelled Malacca), home to some of the richest history in the region. Kuala…