Browsed by
Category: Amazing Landscapes

Out And About In Aruba: California Lighthouse, Bushiribana Gold Mill, Casibari And Ayo Rocks, and Arikok National Park

Out And About In Aruba: California Lighthouse, Bushiribana Gold Mill, Casibari And Ayo Rocks, and Arikok National Park

Comments 0 Comment

After a really rough start to our trip, I was finally able to get myself close enough to normal to start exploring the island with Ariel and the kids. Amazingly, despite blowing the first 4.5 days of a 7 day trip, we managed to reach basically every corner of the country. Which really isn’t saying a whole lot as the entire island is only 69 square miles. For reference, Middlesex county in New Jersey (where we live) is over 300…

Read More Read More

A Final Note On Iceland: Europe With A Wild And Fantastical Twist

A Final Note On Iceland: Europe With A Wild And Fantastical Twist

Comments 0 Comment

Something I was not expecting about visiting Iceland was just how European it would be. This might seem obvious, since it’s similar culturally to Norway, Sweden and the rest of the Nordic countries. But I’ve never actually been to any of those places, even though I’ve been to much of Europe. And Iceland is… you know… an island… kind of in the middle of nowhere, with wide stretches that are nearly uninhabited and extremely wild. Not the typical European experience!…

Read More Read More

A father and son at Haleakala
Haleakala National Park In Maui With A 4 Year Old: A Review

Haleakala National Park In Maui With A 4 Year Old: A Review

Comments 1 comment

One of the things I was most looking forward to during our Hawaii trip was taking a drive up to the top of Haleakala National Park. I was excited to visit one of the most remote national parks in the entire system, and the pictures I had seen made it look like a far easier version of our somewhat ill-fated attempt to “simply walk into Mordor” aka the Tongariro Alpine crossing. The Red Crater really does look a lot like…

Read More Read More

Great Smoky Mountain National Park
There… And Back Again: Eastbound And Down

There… And Back Again: Eastbound And Down

Comments 1 comment

After a short break from my epic solo road trip to fulfill a prior commitment in Washington, DC for a few days, I traded in my suits, conference centers, and luxury of sleeping in the same bed for three nights in a row, for t-shirts, dusty cargo shorts, and living out of a car for a month. It was definitely a strange experience to be heading (by train) to the Baltimore-Washington International Airport, just a few hours from home, knowing…

Read More Read More

Colorado Basin
There… And Back Again: Wagons West

There… And Back Again: Wagons West

Comments 2 comments

When deciding to drive cross country, you’re going to want to pick out a few must-see locations on your journey and try to find interesting ways to get there. For me, I actually pieced together a few different routes using a terrific resource called RoadTrip USA. They have a list of many different routes you can take across the USA – primarily following old two-lane highways that predate the interstate system created in the 1950’s. I recommend this whenever possible,…

Read More Read More

I-70 as it cuts through the San Rafael Swell in Utah
10 Years Gone… Two Months On The Open Road

10 Years Gone… Two Months On The Open Road

Comments 5 comments

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…

Read More Read More

Granville Public Market
A Bear In Ketichikan, The Inside Passage And Vancouver

A Bear In Ketichikan, The Inside Passage And Vancouver

Comments 1 comment

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…

Read More Read More

Denali National Park And The Aurora FREAKING Borealis!

Denali National Park And The Aurora FREAKING Borealis!

Comments 4 comments

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…

Read More Read More

A Final Note On Iowa, Minnesota And The Northernmost Point In The Continental United States

A Final Note On Iowa, Minnesota And The Northernmost Point In The Continental United States

Comments 3 comments

As I write this on the plane ride home and my last solo trip is already starting to feel like a distant memory. I’m so excited to be reunited with my travel mate (and life mate!) but before I turn my thoughts to our upcoming trip to Alaska, I wanted to post some reflections on what I just experienced. First a bit about the two last states I crossed off my list within the contiguous USA. Iowa and Minnesota certainly…

Read More Read More