I had never been to Arizona — now the 35th state I have checked off my race to all 50 — so you can imagine my excitement as I first laid eyes on the sign that read: “The Grand Canyon State Welcomes You”. My main objective was to visit that gargantuan hole in the earth that has entranced visitors for centuries. So, after finally making a stop at the damn dam and a nearby overlook of Lake Mead, I instructed the Google Maps machine to take me to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
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 MoreHidden 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-forgotten locomotive engines, rusting away in the middle of nowhere.
Read MoreIf 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.
Read MoreDriver beware, you’re in for a scare… because the folks over at Kayak have put together a truly terrifying cross-country road trip stretching from New England to the West Coast. From haunted inns to creepy cemeteries, and old state hospitals to abandoned amusement parks, the 7,500-mile trip truly checks off every spooky box a Halloween-loving traveler could dream up.
Read More2020 has been one weird year. There we were at the start of a brand new decade on January 1st, looking ahead to a year in which practically every major holiday fell on a weekend, the economy was continuing the upward trend that started back at the beginning of Obama’s first term, and the puns concerning 20/20 vision hadn’t even gone stale yet.
Read MoreWhenever I pull up Google Maps and peer at the vastness that is Canada, I cannot help but wonder what in the world is up there. I mean, just think about it: Canada is the second-largest country in the world by land area (behind only Russia) but when it comes to population density, it ranks very near the bottom at 228th.
Read MoreAfter working overnight and getting a scant two hours of sleep or so, I piled into my little Chevy Cruze with my brother and my son and we took off from West Michigan. Our route saw us through rural parts of Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, as well as a KFC boasting a buffet, before we arrived in the Queen City, home of the Reds, the Bengals, and the Bearcats, not to mention the American Sign Museum and the Purple People Bridge.
Read MoreRenting a car when you travel is obviously the most convenient way of getting around. When traveling internationally, though, the process of renting a car can become a little trickier. One place where this is especially true is in Mexico. If you don’t know what you’re getting into south of the border when renting a car, you could find yourself behind bars after getting into a minor accident.
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