I gather around a group of strangers, or as I like to think, new friends. We make small talk as our guides are prepping us for our adventure, rafting the Tenorio river in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. After a quick course on paddling and what to do if you fall out of the raft, we are…
Tag: Travel
Smith Rock
Just outside of Bend, Oregon, is an unassuming rock formation called Smith Rock. The story surrounding the name of this place varies, from a Linn County lawman to a private soldier that died during a battle with the Northern Paiute Indians in 1863.It’s a warm summer’s day in June as I arrive. I check my…
The Walker Center
Imagine a box of crayola’s exploding in a visual orgasm before your eyes and you’ll begin to feel the artistic visions inside the Walker Center. I leave a beautiful summer’s day in downtown Minneapolis to get lost in the marvel and wonder of art inside this place. I find words can’t fully describe what happened…
Cholula
It’s Easter weekend and I’m boarding a bus out of Mexico City. Traffic is fairly light as we make our way out-of-town, as most people have headed back to the villages where they were born to celebrate the Christian holiday with family. As we make our way into the mountains I see snow at…
Volcano Mud Baths
Nothing can heal your body and mind quite like the natural earth. The rising steam from a volcano and the mud that churns from deep within the bowels of our planet are filled with mystical powers of herbal medicines. You only need to believe. I reach deep into the cold mud and slowly lather it…
Salvador Dali in Polanco
Late night college study sessions is where I first learned about Surrealism and Salvador Dali. My friend Natalie had some of his artwork hanging from her apartment walls, which is where I first laid eyes upon “The persistence of Memory”. “I don’t do drugs. I am drugs”. – S Dali I’d never seen anything like his…
Taking a canoe out on Lake Wilipyro
It’s a scene you don’t see in Arizona, thickets of forested woods with hidden lakes and cabins that have their own dirt paths that lead to fishing docks. But in the backcountry roads of Wisconsin, you’ll find this to be commonplace, yet each place is unique and serene all wrapped together with a perfect…
the sunsets of the Guanacaste province
After every adventure filled day in Costa Rica, I would look forward to chilling in the hammock on the deck of my little villa and watch the sunset over the Guanacaste Province. Tropical birds would gleefully sing in the ancient tree next to me. Howler monkeys would scream their haunting calls along the forest ceiling….
Palacio de Bellas Artes
A random conversation being had in Spanglish leads to me overhearing about a place called “Palacio de Bellas Artes“, located somewhere in the historic district of Mexico City. My only problem was that everywhere in this massive city (one of the ten largest cities in the entire world) seems to be a historic district….
The Boriquen room
The place you sleep can make or break your Holiday, which is why research is critical before you travel, especially when venturing to a new country. If you are going to the Guanacaste province region of Costa Rica, and you enjoy mountain solitude, a room that is more cabin than hotel, and a place…
Central Park Sunday
Sunday morning. Mother’s Day. I sit on a brick bridge watching ducks tread the waters of Central Park as a man gently plays a saxophone for change. The parks slowly fills with joggers and couples with the morning paper in hand, looking for a bench to sit and finish their coffee and read. I mention…
The sculpture gardens of Minneapolis
If you find yourself in the downtown area of Minneapolis with some free time to kill, might I suggest making your way to the Sculpture Gardens. You may just be pleasantly surprised with what you find, and the money that you’ll save (it’s free). Minneapolis has a bike rental system like most metropolis’s where you…