Bermuda, September 2019 GoPro Travel Video

Bermuda: The only island member of CARICOM—the official community of Caribbean nations—that doesn’t get hit by hurricanes. Or so I thought. That’s because Bermuda isn’t actually in the Caribbean; it’s way out in the middle of the Atlantic. And it’s fairly protected by coral reef. Yet no more than twenty minutes after landing did we find out a hurricane was on a collision course with Bermuda due for landfall in four days. Maybe it had something to do with us leaving MSP bound for the Bermuda Triangle on Friday the 13th. Fortunately, we only had a four day stay and thus managed to slip out just in time before 70 percent of the island lost power. In the meantime, we were able to fill our honeymoon part two with snorkeling, hiking, motor biking around the island, and ascending the famous Gibbs Hill Lighthouse. Though hurricane season may not be the best time to visit Bermuda, we found out that with a little luck, it can be done.

New Orleans/Gulf Coast, December 2018 GoPro Travel Video

I’ve always said, you don’t need more than 24 hours in New Orleans to know whether you’ll like it or not. The Gulf Coast cultural hub rose to notoriety as the home base of America’s first pirate Jean Lafitte of the 1700s, and the debauchery and bacchanal that accompanies piracy is in no short supply in NOLA. Aside from housing Lafitte’s blacksmith bar (touted as the oldest in the U.S.) the rest of Bourbon Street is like an 18th Century version of the Las Vegas strip. Our time in the Big Easy took us from catching beads on the French Quarter to riding the rails of the streetcar out to City Park and an Airbnb with heated pool in the Bywater neighborhood. We took a tour through the bayou encountering no alligators but did meet the Cajun Encounters swamp hog Oreo, baited with beef franks in an ethically questionable arrangement. After a couple days in NOLA, we rented a car and drove east, past Biloxi to Ocean Springs, Mississippi. I was pleasantly surprised to see a variety of ethnic restaurants, friendly people, and not a confederate flag in sight. My first and perhaps only experience with Mississippi gets two thumbs up thanks to Ocean Springs.

Portugal, June 2018 GoPro Travel Video

The oldest country in Europe, Portugal is a once-forgotten jewel now booming with traveler’s intrigue and the influx of people and capital it yields. From the majestic natural beauty of the Algarve coast to the medieval-turned-modern urban jungle of capitol Lisbon, Portugal offers plenty and lacks little for today’s backpackers, vacationers, and modern explorers. Our journey took us from the rickety railways of the famed 28 tram trolley and hillside Bica funicular to the Olive Oil countryside of Evora. In between, we strolled the cliffs and beaches of palm tree-dotted Lagos and Sagres, took a boat ride on the ferry in Tavira, and petted as many animals as possible. In Evora, we visited the Almendres Cromlech, a megalithic rock formation older than Stonehenge and built in 6000 BC. In Lagos, we visited the Castelo de Lagos, a medieval castle whose walls surround the entire main city. Our favorite spot of the entire trip, we were unexpectedly gifted an extra day in Lagos when we thought we had a hotel booked in Tavira that night but didn’t…a blessing in disguise that brought our sunniest, most relaxing day in Portugal.

Lisbon rooftops

LX Factory bookstore, Lisbon

Lisboa

Outside Evora in the countryside

Lagos

just west of Lagos

Lagos gelados

Evora Cromlech of the Almendres

New York City, May 2017 GoPro Travel Video

In the 1960’s, Donald Trump’s father (real estate developer, Fred Trump) tried to kill Coney Island as we know it. He held a press conference in which he threw a mock funeral for the amusement park in the hopes of having it demolished and rezoned for high-rise condos. Thankfully, he was a huge loser and failed bigly, and as you can see in this video, Coney Island is still very much an amusement mecca. From the historic Coney Island Cyclone featured prominently in the cult film The Warriors to the ramshackle Wonder Wheel, the vibrant park is storied but still very relevant. Other sights seen here include the Roosevelt Island tramway, Central Park, Times Square, Governor’s Island, the Financial District charging bull (and girl), Astoria, Queens, East Village and Joe Strummer mural, Freedom Tower, Oculus Train Station, Tom’s Restaurant (from Seinfeld), Brooklyn Bridge, and Staten Island Ferry.