One of the major reasons I moved to California was the proximity to awe inspiring nature. I love Dallas, but it can’t compete. Whatever you might think of the Bay Area’s politics and Silicon Valley techlust, there’s no arguing with this area’s natural beauty. The last year or so has been calmer, quieter, and spent…
My Travels
The Wild Winds of Patagonia
This was the incredible view outside our window at Explora, the hotel we stayed at in Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia during our honeymoon. The wind in this part of the world is legendary and a topic of conversation daily, like the fog in San Francisco. One at least a couple of the…
Breakfast Included
There’s little better than waking up without an alarm clock on vacation and wandering down from your hotel room to breakfast, when breakfast is included and readily available. In my mind, a buffet is best. Not all breakfast buffets are inspired. Many are quite terrible, but when they’re good they’re really good. Their pace is leisurely, and…
Task Rabbit for Travel
Flying from San Francisco to New York City can be a beat down. So whenever I can, I do my best to stay for a weekend or to spend an extra day by adding another meeting. There’s never a shortage of things to do in NYC. However, on one rushed trip to the city, I had limited time between meetings near the end of the day to wander and appreciate being in NYC. I’d also promised to bring home a few delicious, big-as-your-face cookies from Levain Bakery on the Upper West Side, but getting there from my Midtown hotel would eat up every last bit of my free time, maybe more. Thankfully, I found any easy way to have both.
Surprised at Rothko Chapel in Houston
Mark Rothko is a favorite artist of mine. I love his large canvases covered in wide swaths of color and the way emotion washes over you in their presence. When I recently discovered that he had designed a chapel in Houston, I had every intention of visiting on my next trip, and that opportunity came much sooner than expected.
An Unexpectedly Busy Reality
It all started right after I got back from a trip to Houston. I found myself drastically overbooked for weeks to come and in the midst of one of the most exciting times in my personal life. As a result, I didn’t really want to be on the move, but the flights were booked, unavoidable work travel had arisen, and deposits were paid. Instead of resisting, I chose to dive in ride the waves, to give myself over to the busyness for a time.
A Taste of Cuba on My Layover in Miami
On the way back from a recent business trip, I connected through Miami International, a busy and chaotic airport, but one I loving associate with trips to both South Beach and South America. I knew I wouldn’t have enough time to leave the airport for mango juice and arroz con leche at nearby El Palacio de los…
My 10 Favorite Photos From Singapore
We started our trip to Asia in Singapore. The tiny city state often makes the list of great food cities, which I wholeheartedly support, but is usually seen more as layover stop than the destination. I’ve heard it described as sterile, full of modern skyscrapers, and at worst, boring. These critiques seem to come mostly from Singapore’s…
Mooncake Mania
Sweet, dense, and highly caloric, mooncakes have been compared to American fruit cake, and the Mid Autumn Festival to which they’re tied has been compared to Thanksgiving. It’s celebrated across much of Asia, a remnant of China’s sweeping historical influence throughout the region. Before this trip, I had heard of mooncakes and even tasted a few traditional flavors during my excursions in San Francisco’s Chinatown, but I had no idea the scale of the mooncake mania we would encounter in Singapore. In this post, you’ll learn a few of the unique flavor combinations on offer in Singapore, some of their (supposed) history, and how they’re made.
How to Make a Smooth Transition Home After Traveling
Two weeks seems like the perfect amount of time to unapologetically check out and forget life at home. Having paid any bills in advance, you can push off everything else until you get back. We did exactly that in Singapore and Thailand. We spent the bulk of our time in Thailand and that meant getting used to practically 100%…
