The rolling plains of Iowa are covered in cornfields, just like a scene out of Field of Dreams, broken up by the occasional silo or windmill. It is beautiful, if redundant after the first 30 or 40 miles. But it's not the reason I'm in Iowa. Welcome to Iowa! In Des Moines, I visit the…
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…
I only have two weeks left in my three month France adventure, and it's a sort of scary thought. This trip has been everything I could have asked for, and I will be returning home a different, more confident guy than I was when I left. I'll write more in detail over the next several…
Camp des Milles isn’t exactly the image one has in mind of southern France. A former tile factory just minutes from the center of Aix-en-Provence, the complex was requisitioned by the French government during World War Two, first to house those suspected of fascist sympathies and later, after the fall of France, as a depot…
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…
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…
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…
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…
This past weekend was the one year anniversary - blogiversary - of The Royal Tour, so I thought it would be appropriate to take a look back at this first year, what I've done, and where I am going. First, though, I want to sincerely thank you all for reading and supporting this endeavor. To…
There are places in the world I would expect that my Jewish identity would be at the forefront of my experience. In Israel, I feel a connection to the long history of my people, and pride in the country we have built today. In parts of Europe, I am able to explore where my family…