It wasn’t quite the crack of dawn, but Day 4 in Ireland certainly got off to an earlier start than any of its predecessors. Why, you ask? Well, because a mid-afternoon flight from Dublin to London was definitely going to sneak up on us faster than we would have liked — which meant we had but a few wee hours to see or do anything else in Galway before we had to hit the road, Jack, and not come back no more (no more, no more, no more…).
Read More“Is this Heaven?” No, and it isn’t Iowa either. It’s Washington, baby, and the view from up here is one of the most breathtaking ones you will find anywhere in North America. Where is “up here”, you ask? “Up here” would be the summit at Crystal Mountain Resort, where, after a brief ride on a gondola, you are afforded one of the most fantastic views of Mount Rainier that you may ever see.
Read MoreThe year 2023, with all of its ups and downs, peaks and valleys, and trials and tribulations, has come and gone — as has another 365 days here on All Things Wanderful. So now it’s time to take stock. What caught people’s attention? What fell flat on its face? Were you, the loyal readers of this increasingly-sporadic travel blog, entertained, or at least mildly amused? Did you find the content contained within this digital rambling wreck informational? Enlightening? Perhaps even erudite?
Read MoreHave 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 murder mystery series “Twin Peaks” may not exist in real life, a handful of landmarks and landscapes seen and used in the show are out there — and only a short drive from downtown Seattle.
Read MoreImmortalized 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 across our hearts (*cue studio audience: “aww!”). And though the highway no longer exists in a technical sense — it was officially removed from the U.S. Highway System in 1985 — stretches of what has become known as “Historic Route 66” in some states are still out there waiting for you.
Read MoreFor 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 that region known as the Great Plains, you have some idea of what you’ll come across, but reading about it or seeing a photo or video is truly not the same as being surrounded by rolling green hills as far as the eye can see.
Read MoreKey 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 of unchecked climate change and become the newest version of the Lost City of Atlantis.
Read MoreConsider 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.
Read MoreThere 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? After all, this is now the sixth year (!) I’m sitting down to write this annual postmortem, and it certainly doesn’t deserve to suffer an indignity like that.
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