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Category: All We Have To Decide…

Should You Drive The Piilani Highway aka The “Forbidden Road” After The Road To Hana?

Should You Drive The Piilani Highway aka The “Forbidden Road” After The Road To Hana?

This is Part 2 of a series on The Road to Hana and the “Forbidden Road” aka the Piilani Highway aka “the back road” to Haleakala. If you’d like to read about our experiences heading towards Hana, check out Part 1 by clicking here. The Piilani Highway has a legendarily bad reputation due to a sometimes literally lethal combination of really rough road patches, blind turns (some with cliff walls on one side and cliff drops into the Pacific ocean…

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A Lost Year

A Lost Year

Last year, at this time I was on my way home from a (last ever?) business trip in the far reaches of Virginia. Heading home after a day of meetings, I stopped at a local Target to pick up some Clorox wipes and Emergen-C. From there I headed to Shenandoah National Park to watch the sunset. I remember standing there, watching the sun go down by myself. As the sun sank behind the Blue Mountains, I had my own sinking…

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The Darkest Day Of The Year

The Darkest Day Of The Year

As happens every year, December 21st has the distinction of having the most hours of darkness out of any other calendar day. It is also the setting of one of my favorite poems – Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening, by Robert Frost. A lot of people find this time depressing, especially those that suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. And to be sure, there is a lot to feel depressed about right now, with a global pandemic that is…

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10 Years Gone… Two Months On The Open Road

10 Years Gone… Two Months On The Open Road

Ten years ago, on this day, I set out on my most epic adventure. Ever since I was in a child, I had dreamed of driving to California to see the country. This all started when I was about 10 years old and my cousin Chilik came to visit us from Israel. Him and his friend bought a used car for next to nothing and just took off for the west coast, returning a couple of months later. Growing up…

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Finding Adventure In The Everday: Pandemic Edition

Finding Adventure In The Everday: Pandemic Edition

But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. –Samwise Gamgee, The Two Towers (movie version) Well, the last few months have been… not very conducive to travel, especially not with a toddler. Like billions of people all over the world, 2020 is not going the way we’d planned. Originally we were going to take a big family…

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Is Grace Bay Beach In Turks Caicos The Best Beach In The World? A Review.

Is Grace Bay Beach In Turks Caicos The Best Beach In The World? A Review.

One of the reasons we decided to go to Turks and Caicos for our second overseas getaway since Jacob was born, was because of all the fanfare that Grace Bay Beach had earned the top spot on TripAdvisor’s “Best Beach In the World” for two years in a row (2017/2018) AND managed to make the top 5 in 2019 as well. That’s a pretty strong case for being the best beach in the world. So does it live up to…

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The Road Not Taken

The Road Not Taken

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…

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A New Adventure Begins

A New Adventure Begins

On January 10th of this year, Ariel and I went on a little sidequest to picturesque New Brunswick, New Jersey. We left as a traveling party of two (well three if you count Sammy), but our little fellowship gained a new member. Oddly enough, our four days in hospital had more in common with our past adventuring than you might think. Our preparations/packing meant we used a lot of the same items we take on our other trips. Backpacks, granola…

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Sidequest: Sagamore Hill and Teddy Roosevelt Museum

Sidequest: Sagamore Hill and Teddy Roosevelt Museum

It’s been a while now since we got back from our Alaskan adventure. Preparations for the baby (including some pretty hefty home renovations) have occupied most of my free time. This weekend however, Ariel and I found ourselves heading out for a wedding (congrats MarJar!) on Long Island. While Nassau County might not seem like a place to go in search of adventure, in these days of increased responsibility, you need to maximize the time you are given. So we…

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Reflecting On A Final (Solo) Ride

Reflecting On A Final (Solo) Ride

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…

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