I spent an interesting and busy few days in Beijing. When I returned to work on Tuesday, my students asked me what I found most surprising about China and after considering their question for a moment, I came up with this list: Three Surprising Factoids about China: 1. There’s no Facebook or Twitter Maybe… Read More Bizarre Beijing: Three Surprising Things I Learned During My Weekend in China
About 120 miles Northwest of Las Vegas, along a piece of the Mojave desert outside of Rhyolite (a dusty turn-of-the-century ghost town) is an outdoor “open air” art museum. Though-the-middle-of-nowhere-Nevada may seem like an odd location for a sculpture exhibit, the strangest part is that all of the art is the work of a group… Read More Photograph Some Funky Belgian Desert Art at the Goldwell Open Air Museum
A couple of weekends ago, I went camping in Death Valley. While there, I roasted hot dogs and made s’mores over a camp fire, visited a castle, walked along a desert river and saw the famous “pup fish” (which were pretty underwhelming, by the way), made snow angels in a field of salt, climbed on… Read More 36 Hours in Death Valley: A Photologue
Ha. Gotch ya with that title, didn’t I? No, I’m not talking about THAT first time, I’m talking about the first time you traveled abroad! What was it like? Where’d you go? How long was the trip? How old were you? I recently got asked by the folks at Divine Caroline to write a… Read More When was your ‘First Time’?
I’m visiting my brother in Santa Cruz, California for the weekend and was reminded today about just how insane this town is. In the last 24 hours, I’ve seen: A dude walking a leashed cat A middle-aged man in a black top hat seated on the sidewalk with a sign that read “Storyteller: Chose your… Read More Weirded Out in Santa Cruz
Back in early 2010 when I was still living in California and one of my best friends from Japan was in town for the weekend, we visited the Tanner Residence (AKA the house from the sitcom “Full House“). Ready? Let’s sing along, shall we? “When you’re lost out there and your all alone A light is… Read More Want Something Unique to Do in San Francisco? Visit Full House
I just got back from Jamaica and was surprised to learn that, among other things, Jamaicans really DO say things like ‘Yeh, Mon’ and ‘No problem, Mon’ and they say them ALL THE TIME (it’s not just a stereotype). I got a huge kick out of it and thought the Jamaican accent sounded really pretty… Read More Funny Photos from Jamaica
On my way to Jamaica last week, I had an overnight layover in Miami. Not wanting to spend a lot of money on lodging, I booked a hostel near the airport. After getting off the bus and wandering around lost for an hour (in heels and in the heat), I arrived at the hostel hot… Read More Is there such thing as being TOO OLD for a “youth” hostel?
I found a ticket from Las Vegas to Phoenix, Arizona for just 26 dollars (round-trip!) and another plane ticket from Las Vegas to Bozeman (which I know sounds like the capital of a small eastern African country but it’s actually a city in Montana) for 80 dollars (round-trip). What I need from you, dear readers,… Read More Future Travel Plans: Montana or Arizona?
Introducing Molossia: A “Country” Located Inside Nevada Of the items not allowed into the Republic of Molossia (a mirco-nation in Nevada), for instance, are incandescent light bulbs, walruses and anything from Texas. Passports are required upon entry into Molossia and all visits must be pre-approved by the president, Keven Baugh. The country has a constitution,… Read More Imagine if You Could Start Your Own Country…What Would You Do?