I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love driving trips! I especially love driving trips when they combine seeing close friends, eating amazing food, experiencing exciting culture, and basking in natural beauty. Tomorrow I head east for a week spent driving through Arizona and New Mexico. Here is my itinerary, and of…
Carefully manicured trees, intricate lattice work, fascinatingly shaped rocks reminiscent of mythical creatures, and the sound of a waterfall greet me at every turn in the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden in Vancouver's large and bustling Chinatown. Armed with a free cup of jasmine tea from a dispenser near the entrance, I slowly walk through the…
Downtown Vancouver is a truly beautiful place, built on a peninsula jutting between the natural harbor and Burrard Inlet, which leads to the calm waters of the Inner Passage, the channel separating mainland Canada from Vancouver Island. The tip of this peninsula is a 1000 acre green space: Stanley Park. So this begs the question,…
Ever since I was a teenager, I have struggled with depression. While my actual diagnosis is Bipolar II Disorder with severe anxiety, it largely manifests as depression. Sometimes it is just there in the background as a small voice in my head saying that things aren't ok; other times it is crippling, making small things…
My eyes closed in the sun Arms spread to the eager winds I float Though my feet remain firm to the ground. This is a flight of the soul A soaring of the spirit A journey of the mind And I am forever changed. Rocky crags rise above valleys that seem never to have felt…
Spokane is Washington's second largest city, and the only noticeable metropolitan area for hundreds of miles around. However, its location on the far eastern edge of the state makes it the ideal home base to explore not only Eastern Washington, but the Idaho Panhandle and Western Montana as well. Many people, though, make the mistake…
I have been fascinated with the idea of the World's Fair ever since my parents read a children's book to me long ago about the invention of the ice cream cone at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. This excitement only increased when I recently read Devil in the White City about the 1893 Chicago…
In 1914, Spokane, Washington was booming. The city was the jewel of the northwest, a center for timber and the rich mining of northern Idaho. A devastating fire a couple decades earlier, in 1889, had nearly destroyed the city, but in so doing, had opened the door for new entrepreneurs and businessmen to find themselves…
In 1974, a small city in eastern Washington, in the midst of an identity crisis, decided to do the unthinkable: become the smallest city ever to host a World's Fair. In so doing, the city forever changed itself. This is the story of that event, and of the incredible community that emerged from it. This…
At my house I keep two large laminated maps on the wall. One is a world map and the other is a United States map. On each, I put star stickers on places I have been. The stars are all blue, though since the star manufacturer changed, they are in two slightly different shades. Don't…