South Dakota to the West Coast, July 2020

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.

Canada, May 2019 GoPro Travel Video

I’ve known for a long time that if I ever had a bachelor party, it would be something different from the standard fare of bar hopping, gambling, or paying for vices. Following my engagement, I cast a wide net in my search for an appropriate destination and found reasonable fares going to Calgary on Memorial Day weekend. Calgary, I knew, was the closest metro to Banff National Park, Canada’s oldest and arguably most scenic preserved land. An enormous allotment comprising the Canadian Rockies and stretching westward to British Columbia and nearby Yoho National Park, my friends and I made the most of our three-day weekend sparing as few sights as possible. From the first chilly, snow-capped day in Banff, we knew we were in store for some incredible experiences. We took the Banff gondolas to the top of Sulfur Mountain (don’t worry, does not actually smell of sulfur) we enjoyed the geodesic dome warming house and then hiked further up to the observation point. The next day was roughly thirty degrees warmer, as we took off our shirts underneath the towering Wapta Falls. Hidden Ridge resorts provided a nice view of the mountains from the hot tubs, as well as a state-of-the-art infrared sauna. We hiked around Emerald Lake, Lake Louise, Banff, Yoho, Wapta Falls, and a couple cool stop-offs in addition. Most of us were hitting close to 20,000 steps a day with ease. For an unforgettable bachelor party, it’s hard to top Banff and the breathtaking views all around the area. O Canada is right.

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.

Lisbon rooftops

LX Factory bookstore, Lisbon

Lisboa

Outside Evora in the countryside

Lagos

just west of Lagos

Lagos gelados

Evora Cromlech of the Almendres

Chicago, July/August 2017 GoPro Travel Video

Growing up in the Midwest with the Windy City just a border state away, it was easy to forget that it’s kind of a big deal. We’re talkin’ third biggest city in the U.S. big. Two major league baseball teams big. One-time home of Obama, Kanye, and Oprah big. Though I’ve been a handful of times before, the occasion this summer was for a bachelor party and wedding two weeks apart. This meant two separate trips, and two separate opportunities to take in as much as I could. Some of the highlights included Cloud Gate, the official name for “The Bean” in Millennium Park, a downtown rooftop Jacuzzi, a boat cruise through the Chicago River, Oak Street Beach at Lake Michigan, the house from the TV show ‘Family Matters,’ and of course the wedding itself.