Chicago. The Windy City. One of my personal favorite cities in the country, if not the world. For a little over a year, my former life in the nonprofit world had me in Chicago for a week every month, and I never dreaded those trips. It is a beautiful city of largely wonderful people, and…
Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood… Make big plans; aim high in hope and work.Daniel Burnham Daniel Burnham was 26 years old when he moved to Chicago and joined the architecture firm Carter, Drake, and Wright. The year was 1872, and the city had been devastated by a terrible…
Editor’s note: I am so envious of Mandy and the incredible stately homes of the UK she gets to explore, like this one. For more of her adventures, click here to visit Mandy’s index page. This summer in the UK has been a very odd one weather-wise, so I had been hesitant to plan any…
Chicago is special. There’s no other way of putting it. A downtown kept beautiful with flowers and green spaces. Fountains. High-end shops filled with actually nice people. But the highlight of any Chicago trip is experiencing the uniqueness of the city’s skyline. Here, buildings are not just square towers, but rather individualized gems. Old buildings…
The exposed wood staircase grabs my attention and refuses to let it go. Beams at right angles, ends sticking out, and a banister that is made of a single piece of wood despite looking like it should be several - these are only a couple of the incredible features of a single part of the…
It is an enduring symbol of San Francisco and of California, one of the most recognizable icons in the world. The Golden Gate Bridge has captivated artists, writers; locals, and tourists for nearly a century; its orange spans have achieved an almost mythical status. And yet, for so many, experiencing the majesty of the Golden…
Editor’s note: North Macedonia is not a place that has ever been on my travel radar, but this amazing glimpse into the place by our writer Sam Spector makes me want to go. For more of Sam’s work, click here to visit his index. I love UNESCO World Heritage Sites. To date, there are 1,121…
Ice cold Moscow mule in my hand, the ascension of the final flight of steps to Carson Mansion’s iconic tower/sun room overlooking the city of Eureka, California seems much less daunting. From here, the city of about 25,000 spreads out along the blue water of Humboldt Bay. The waterfront, now a mix of restaurants, parks,…
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…
Bright blue skies, the way it seems only Arizona can do bright blue skies, greet me as I begin my walk, the kind of sky that makes you feel so small and insignificant, like standing next to the Pacific Ocean. White puffy clouds break up the blue here and there. Having dropped their rain a…