All Things Wanderful

28/03/2024

Giant spiders be damned, I wanna go!

I don’t know about you, but it seems like my travel bucket list grows by the day. With more destinations than I could possibly count on that list already, I better live another hundred years if I plan to get to them all. A boatload of money sure wouldn’t hurt either — especially in terms of my...

23/12/2023

Damn fine coffee awaits!

Have you ever wanted to sit down at the Double R Diner with a damn fine cup of coffee? Or maybe take in the view of the gushing falls next to the Great Northern Hotel? Perhaps get a glimpse of Sheriff Truman’s retro Ford Bronco? While the titular town of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s mind-bending...

08/12/2023

Are you guys [giving travel tips]? I love [travel tips]!

Traveling with your family is an exhilarating adventure, but it’s crucial to uphold healthy habits throughout your journey. From staying adequately hydrated to selecting accommodations that encourage an active lifestyle, these key points form the foundation for a well-rounded and enjoyable family ...

16/10/2023

The killing of George Floyd changed the world. Now, the place where it happened stands as a call to action.

The events of May 25, 2020, when a former Minneapolis police officer put his knee on a man’s neck and kept it there until he could no longer breathe, and the summer that followed, when millions marched in the streets of cities not just across the United States but all around the globe — amid a w...

25/09/2023

Sounds like a great reason to take a hike.

Hidden in the 17.5 million acres of forest spread across the state of Maine are a number of abandoned sites. These include vacant paper mills, deserted homes, old forts, and underground bunkers. But one of the most interesting things you’ll find in the woods of northern Maine are a pair of long-fo...

14/09/2023

It's number two on the list, but definitely number one in our hearts..

Look, folks, here’s the deal: Lake Michigan doesn’t need your approval. It doesn’t need your accolades, or your superlatives, or your constant-but-warranted praise. It doesn’t need you to remind it that it is the greatest of all the Great Lakes, better than Lake Superior or Huron or Ontario....

25/07/2023

Route 66 still kicks!

24/07/2023

The Mother Road crisscrosses not only from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, and back again, but also across our hearts.

Immortalized by John Steinbeck’s 1939 book “The Grapes of Wrath”, as well as the 1946 song “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66”, the highway became one of the most recognized thoroughfares in North America, crisscrossing not just from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, and back again, but also...

27/06/2023

This… is ?

27/06/2023

You know you're dying to visit Bad Granny's Bazaar.

One of Oklahoma City’s unexpected gems is the Plaza District, a quaint little neighborhood just northwest of downtown filled to the brim with vintage shops, various boutiques, a handful of bars and restaurants, and a few other ditties worth checking out. It’s honestly a spot where you could easi...

22/06/2023

Cracking a beer or two while enjoying the beauty of nature is what it’s really all about.

Among the numerous outdoor activities you might partake in during a Michigan summer, one of the better options is getting out on the river in a kayak. Whether you’re looking to do a little fishing or simply float along at your leisure, it’s pretty difficult to beat a sunny day spent on the water...

06/06/2023

"You've just won an all-expenses-paid (by you) vacation to (insert surprise destination)!"

If you’re ready to get out there and travel again, why not spice things up on the first go-round? Unless you’ve been itching to visit someplace in particular, it could be the perfect time to surprise yourself with a mystery vacation. And the best part? You don’t have to do any of the planning.

30/05/2023

30/05/2023

You may never rent a car the "traditional" way again..

Turo, which I have long dubbed the “Airbnb of rental cars,” got started in 2011 and today has a presence in over 7,500 cities spread across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Similar to Airbnb, which they took some of their cues from, the site’s interface invites you to choose a location, dates, a...

23/05/2023

It's no secret why people flock to these somewhat far-flung shores in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Michigan, in 1966, became the first state in the nation to have one of its shorelines designated as a National Lakeshore, as declared by Congress. Extending 42 miles and covering more than 73,000 acres along Lake Superior's southern shore, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore contains 15 miles of color

21/05/2023

The Dixie Chicks got nothing on this one.

For once in my life, I looked around, surrounded by unfamiliar territory, and though I had the greatest urge to spout that age-old movie reference — “we’re not in Kansas anymore” — the fact of the matter was that, yes, we very much were in Kansas. I mean, in the very heart of America, in t...

18/05/2023

The latest additions (!): Arkansas, Kansas, & Iowa

One of my long-term travel goals is to visit all 50 of these here United States of America (51 if Puerto Rico and the U.S. government can get together and make it happen), and I've been making steady progress in the current decade, twice visiting six new states in one year (2011 and 2015).

14/05/2023

It’s not just a boulder… it’s a rock! 🥲

11/05/2023

Sh-sh-sherious business, folks 🎩

02/05/2023

Short trip to the big city? You've still got time to do all the things!

Here’s the thing about New York: there’s always a new adventure to be had. That is even the case when you only have roughly 36 hours to spend in America’s largest city, needing to cram a number of stops and activities into a short amount of time. But under those kinds of time constraints, what...

01/05/2023

Where the main cabin is also the cockpit!

Airplanes come in all shapes and sizes, but it’s not every day you find yourself aboard a nine-seater headed over one of the largest fresh water sources on the planet. That is, unless you decide to enlist the services of Cape Air, a smaller airline with routes in various parts of the U.S. and the ...

20/04/2023

Are you the "everything must be perfectly planned" traveler or the "this 9-hour flight will be the death of me" traveler?

As with almost everything in the history of ever, travel tips and tricks come in all shapes and sizes. Some bits of advice prove useful; others you might swat away like a mildly-pesky fly. Right here, right now, we’re trying to steer clear of the fly swatters and break down some of the best travel...

29/03/2023

The weather? Sunny and 77 degrees Fahrenheit, or thereabouts, nearly every single day. The Airbnb rental? Centrally located, within walking distance of just about anywhere you’d want to go. The possibilities to create core memories? Infinite.

Key West wasn’t necessarily high on my travel bucket list, but it was on there (as is just about every other destination on planet Earth). Regardless, I figured it was better to visit sooner rather than later; that is, before the Florida Keys succumb in their entirety to the catastrophic effects o...

25/02/2023

Inspiring for real, though..

Travelers and tour agents say solo trips are on the rise and are popular with educated travelers who want to see South Africa, Iceland and Paris.

23/02/2023

The Arctic island, renowned for its glaciers and fjords, is expanding airports and hotels to energize its economy, even as it tries to avoid the pitfalls of overtourism.

10/02/2023

Geographical fun facts you didn't know you needed!

Consider this your introduction to what may just be the most unique pair of islands in the entire world: the Diomedes. Found in the middle of the Bering Strait, which separates the easternmost portion of Russia from Alaska, this duo of rocky, mesa-like islands is unlike any other for two big reasons

18/01/2023

What better time to reshare this than on ?!

Michigan is full of majesty, mystery, and might, each of which comes in many forms. This three-part series highlights just some of what the Mitten State has to offer, county by county. Welcome to Part One, which covers the first 29 counties alphabetically, from Alcona to Gratiot.

02/01/2023

2022 was officially a record-breaker !

There are so many cliché ways that a year-in-review post like this could begin. But instead of saying “another year in the books” or “isn’t it funny how time flies” — or even “what do you know, here we are again” — let’s just steer clear of all that gobbledygook, am I right? Aft...