After just a week on the road together, my friend and I found that we were living for the next set of trees, the next perfect spot to string the hammock. It may seem like …
May 14, 2011
North America
Camel Lake, Apalachicola National Forest, Florida
The Grand Canyon: Phantom Ranch
The hardest part about visiting Phantom Ranch isn’t getting there, but getting back. There are no welcome signs, no strategically placed words of encouragement. In fact, just the opposite. The one and only sign we …
May 14, 2011
Padres Island National Seashore, Texas
The flag was at half-mast the Sunday morning last April when we pulled into Padres Island Visitors Center to purchase our backcountry camping permit to the largest undeveloped barrier island in the world. The National …
From Sea to Shining Sea: Charlottesville to San Diego
Is there a more fitting origin for a cross-American journey than the birthplace of explorer Meriwether Lewis and former home of Thomas Jefferson? Nestled amidst the Blue Ridge Mountains, Charlottesville, Virginia, soon became only a …
May 8, 2011
I live in Tijuana, Smugglersville
I was hobbling back from the store with a liter of milk, when I saw three young men sitting on the steps in front of a house in my Tijuana neighborhood. My friend Trini’s son …
May 4, 2011
Sailing Newport to Ensenada
Every thirty seconds, a twenty-second countdown excites the crew, patiently waiting for our class’s race to start. We hear on the radio, “10-9-8…” At 1, “Time!” We synchronize our watches and the race has started. …
April 30, 2011
Oak Alley Plantation, Louisiana
The thing about bayous is that they are humid, wet places. Very wet places. The trees that grow there know it. The things that live there know it. I knew it, too. Know it still. …
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
This year is an especially good time to visit Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the home of the National Civil War Museum, with interactive exhibits that let you intensely and personally experience the 150th anniversary of the war. …
April 29, 2011
Spring Break in New Orleans
I’m not a student anymore, but I still like to take a break in the spring to travel. My favorite place in the world to take a spring break trip is New Orleans. Who needs …
April 28, 2011
Spring in Napa
Visiting Napa Valley in the spring brings some unexpected surprises. The off-season in Napa means fewer cars on the road, giving you more time to enjoy the scenery and the tasting rooms — crowd-free. Wine …
April 24, 2011
Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina
Originally set on 125,000 (now a mere 8,000) acres in the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia, Biltmore Estate was built by George Vanderbilt along the French Broad River in North Carolina. With its original …
April 24, 2011
Smithfield, Virginia
Paula Deen has shined a spotlight on Smithfield, the tiny Southern river town off the Chesapeake Bay. Yes, this is a real place — like the head of their visitors' bureau says, “It’s not like …
Montana to Tecate: Adventures by Motorcycle
This story is dedicated to the memory of K.P. Ward, who died unexpectedly and tragically on December 22, 2010. Finally, here it is: the start of my summer vacation of 1987, and I just finished …
April 12, 2011
Avocados in Kona, Hawaii
An avocado festival – in Hawaii? Yes, and I just had to give it a try. While waiting for my plane to land on the Big Island, I’d almost finished reading the airline magazine when …
March 26, 2011
San Diego Classifieds
On March 7, 2011, San Diego’s Alice Echo-News Journal ran 248 classified ads. Two ads ran under the “Agriculture” subheading, one of which offered “85 good young crossbred cows. . .10 Brangus cows. . .[and] …
March 16, 2011