As I write this in Tel Aviv, Israel we are actually wrapping up a pretty epic adventure. We’ve been here for just under two weeks with Jacob – his first transatlantic trip (although not his first overseas trip!) – and our first major trip since our Alaska babymoon. It had been my intention to blog regularly during our time here, but unfortunately we ran into a few roadblocks. Traveling with a baby is always complicated, and often there are unforeseen…
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear, Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves…
Hi, I’m Jacob. I’m four months and 10 days old. Back in February of 2017 my dad started this blog about adventure travel because *he knew I was only about 11 months away from being born. Now I’m almost four and a half months and figured it was time for my own first adventure. So I managed to convince my parents to let me into their little travel party and take me with them to Jamaica. I was a pretty…
One of the highlights of our trip to Middle Earth (I mean New Zealand) was definitely our tour of Hobbiton. If you’re reading this, then it’s pretty likely that you already know that when Peter Jackson rebuilt the the Shire for The Hobbit films, it was done in a way that was intended to be permanent. If you are a fan of the Lord of the Rings – even if you only read the books – this is really a…
As the days go down in the West, behind the hills and into shadow, I’m going to be reflecting (i.e. catching up) on some of Ariel and mine favorite travel memories from our adventures. I figured I’d start with what is probably our favorite hike together of all time, finding the filming location for Edoras from the Two Towers. Right off the bat, know that you do NOT need to be a Lord of the Rings nerd to appreciate this…
Well, this is almost it. We are now at our final stop before making the long journey home to New Jersey. Looking back on this trip, the definite highlights were Denali and the humpback whale watching trip in Icy Strait Point. But the last few days have had their moments. First we stopped in Ketchikan, Alaska which is apparently the salmon capital of the world. It was pretty clear why this is – every year thousands (or maybe tens of…
As I sit here on night seven of my Alaska adventure with Ariel, my thoughts turn to last week’s solo adventure and really the last 12 years of solo travel. This little getaway had a lot in common with my past solo trips: Waking up not knowing where I’d sleep every night. Major last-minute diversions from the itinerary. Staying at the cheapest, crappiest place I could rest my head. Eating most meals in the car or motel rooms. Dicey moment…
So we’ve been in Alaska for a few days now and it is really something. Like it’s huge state, but it’s also just a HUGE state. “Everything’s bigger in Texas” except when compared to Alaska. EVERYTHING is massive here. The mountains. The glaciers. The distances. The temperature differences. It is really incredible. And it is just an incredible contrast from where I was last week in Iowa and Minnesota, with their gentle rolling hills and Mid-western charm. That is not…
Keeping with the Paul Bunyan theme of the last post, the morning of Day 3 started with a trip to his….grave? I don’t know. This was pretty amusing considering there’s about a 99.9999999% chance this guy never existed. But it was somehow a little moving. Paul Bunyan is awesome. Is this really where he’s buried? No. It isn’t. But still. Anyway. So I finally made it to the northernmost point of the contiguous United States – Northwest Angle, Minnesota. This…
As I sit here at the Delta Lounge in Atlanta (which is AWESOME by the way), it dawns on me that it’s been four months almost to the day since we returned from our epic New Zealand/Middle Earth adventure. While our trip was only two weeks long, being away from home and seeing new things (not to mention the intense breaks from reality that were our travel days there and back again), where every day’s goal was to simply live…