Snowed In, Snowed Out

The cheerful lass at the front desk had the Washington State Department of Transportation website open in front of her. “You might want to reconsider your drive,” she said. “The interstate is closed in a bunch of places, abandoned cars, accidents, it’s a mess.” The tall guy standing on the stairs agreed. “I was upstairs …


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Falling Up

The globe at my best pal’s place is mounted to have the north pole up top and the south at the bottom. You can flip it the other way round, but it doesn’t sit like that on its own. North, for some reason, is up, it’s up on the 1950’s map I have hanging in …


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Traveler’s Gift Guide

Trekpod Go! Pro : It’s a walking stick! It’s a tripod! It’s both! And yes, those magnet mounts really are strong enough to hold your DSLR with the telephoto. No, really, I tried it with my Nikon and the 28-300 lens I use for traveling. Great for the outdoorsy photographer in your midst. Tom Bihn …


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I’m Going to Antarctica

I wasn’t really supposed to talk about it, but I wasn’t successful shutting up.  I asked a lot of people about things like seasickness and the best boots for warm feet. I called my friend Sarah who worked at Palmer Station  — I think her exact words were “OH MY GOD, THAT’S AWESOME!”  I met …


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The Passport School

I get to do a lot of amazing things as an independent blogger. Just two weeks I ago I attended a beautiful event at the Four Seasons in Santa Barbara. I had fancy cocktails and stayed in a room where the posted rack rate was, oh, it’s too embarrassing to say. I enjoy the things …


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Little Brothers of the Road

I was driving a pale blue Citroen 2CV that belonged to a friend who would not mind at all that I’d scraped up a fender after trying to back out of cornfield. The car got stuck and I had to go to a nearby cafe where, in very bad Spanish, I  asked two ruddy faced …


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