This is always one of my favorite posts to write each year. As the year comes to a close, it is a great excuse to think back on all of the amazing places I went, all of the incredible experiences I had, and reflect before moving ahead with the following year. In 2019, I became…
Let's face it, the world is a complicated place and, despite our purest of intentions, sometimes as travelers we can be drawn into complex local political debates. Other times, we (meaning I, since I like writing about such things) seem to search them out. But how can political activism impact us as visitors, both from…
The first half of 2019 has just flown by! I can't believe June is basically over, summer is here, and so many trips have come and gone. (Fortunately there are still a ton coming up to keep me excited.) So let's take a brief look at what has happened so far on The Royal Tour…
It's mid-December, so while there are still a couple weeks remaining in the year, my travels have come to an end and it's time for a brief look back. I will be leaving town again on New Year's Eve (more on that in the next week or so), but I will count that in 2019.…
This article was supposed to be posted later this month. However, the recent events in Pittsburgh have caused me to move up the timeline. Dillsboro, Indiana is a small town of about 1200 residents roughly an hour outside of Cincinnati. It is rural, conservative, and largely the stereotypical mid-American small town. It is not exactly…
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…
I had always subscribed to the theory that solo travel was not going to be fun, and more importantly, it would be scary. Heading to a new country where I didn't know anyone or speak the language, and not having a companion to lean on, was a situation I avoided. However, last fall I took…
A couple of weeks ago, I had a fascinating conversation with my best friend Ari. We talked about the emergence of Hulu TV as a possible industry-shifting change for cable companies, and the need of other companies to shift their business strategies or possibly risk going out of business. We discussed this new competition as…
As the twenty-first century moves forward, cities have - more than ever - become the centers of society. In 2014, the United Nations found that, for the first time in human history, more people lived in cities than not. In the United States, it is even more stark: cities are home to more than 65%…
While in the San Francisco Bay Area a couple of weeks ago, I was graciously offered a press pass to the Travel and Adventure Show being held there. I figured: hey, I love travel (duh!) and it would be great to see what current trends are. So I hopped on board. Here is what I…