While George Lucas and J.J. Abrams would have you believe that “Stars Wars” takes place in a galaxy far, far away, the rest of us know that the movies were filmed, for the most part, in real locations all around the globe (and otherwise on green screens). From the Redwood forests of California to the arid deserts of Jordan, the creators of the film franchise have made use of many destinations to create the various planets and moons that fans have witnessed over the years.
Read MoreUnless you live near a major hub, such as those located in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, or another large urban area, trying to find flights that are cheap (and which don’t charge you for your first bag or saddle you with ridiculously long layovers) can be about as difficult as locating Waldo among a sea of pedestrians clad in red and white-striped clothing.
Read MoreCompanies aren’t legally required to offer their employees vacation time, but more than 90 percent of all full-time employees working in the private sector receive paid vacation. Why? Because even your stingy boss knows that a burnt-out employee is just about as useful as a poopy-flavored lollipop. It’s a universal truth: everybody needs a break now and then.
Read MoreYou may think you know the globe pretty well, but it’s highly likely there’s an island or two — maybe even 15 — that you managed to gloss over the last time you were checking out a world map. With 71 percent of the earth’s surface covered in water, who could blame you, though? There’s bound to be far-flung islands that are impossibly difficult to get to that you’ve never heard of — it’s just a fact.
Read MoreWhat’s the first thing you do when planning a road trip? Before picking out stops along the way, before deciding which places you’ll spend the night in, before figuring out how many miles you’ll travel and how many days and nights you’ll be away — before any of that — the very first thing you do is you give your road trip an epic name equivalent to the significance of the marvelous adventure you are about to embark upon.
Read MoreNew countries don’t necessarily crop up all the time, but, believe it or not, there have been 34 countries added to the map since 1990. A host of these, including the likes of Armenia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, became independent once more and were thus “new” again when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. Several other new countries came into being during the ‘90s as well, but there have only been five nations newly created in the 21st century.
Read MoreThe calendar has flipped to 2019, and only nine days into the new year the good folks over at The New York Times have gifted us with their annual list of 52 destinations that travelers the world over might like to consider hitting up over the next 12 months. With more than 15 locations across Europe, a dozen or so in North America, and a smattering of other choices from Asia, Africa, South America, Australia, and the Middle East, the “52 Places to Go in 2019” list contains options for just about everyone.
Read MoreI could not have imagined, even a week ago, that I would be sitting here, in a Starbucks across the street from Chicago Union Station, finishing up the final post of the year as I wait to board a train headed for St. Louis this evening. But that’s how life goes, things can change in an instant.
Read MoreThe thought of packing everything up, getting rid of the stuff you don’t need, and hitting the open road for a period of months or years is probably one that crosses many people’s minds from time to time — or at least those of us who have been bitten by that little bug called wanderlust, anyway. It’s a tantalizing thought: no house or rent payments, nothing keeping you anchored to one place or another, and the freedom to roam as you please.
Read More
