Category: Travel
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How do you charge an electric vehicle and how much does it cost?
We recently rented a Tesla Model Y from Hertz and took it on a 900-mile round trip through the Adirondacks, Quebec, Vermont, and the Hudson Valley. This was a bit of a test-drive to see if an electric vehicle could put up with being driven on a road trip that we had planned without much…
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Haggis is not what you think
Haggis does not sound appealing. All I could recall before ordering it for the first time in Scotland was that it contained sheep’s lung and stomach. In truth, I had ordered it once on Burns Night in New York and was given what I assumed was the inoffensive American version. Now here we were in…
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Glasgow’s tiny subway
Since we’re in the middle of a work trip to the UK, I was reminded it’s a perfect time for a quick update with one of the little stories from our visit, and this one is truly little: Glasgow has a cute and diminutive subway. It had fifteen stations on a single loop line, like…
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The Villages, Florida: Disneyland for retirees
My parents bought a home for their retirement a few years ago in Central Florida in what used to be “cow country” and citrus groves, but is now a city called The Villages. It’s a senior living community where you must be over 55 years old to be a resident. It’s also one of the…
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Panam, Mexico’s most Mexican sneakers
When I first saw a pair of vintage-inspired Panam sneakers on my first trip to Mexico, I wanted a pair for myself. The only issue was I couldn’t find my size anywhere! While it’s very common for shoes in Mexico to not reach my size, it reinforced the shoe’s unattainability and local cache. So when…
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How to road trip to Canada since the lifting of Covid travel restrictions
Last month we returned from a nearly two week road trip to Canada as tourists. We entered on August 9, the first day Americans were allowed into Canada for tourism and without quarantine. Travelers from the rest of the world will be allowed in under the same conditions starting on September 9. This post will…
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Sleeper Train Bucket List: Empire Builder to Portland and Seattle
Marvel at the majesty of the northern United States as you travel over mountain passes, through alpine valleys and past 7,000-year-old glaciers. Glide by buttes and bluffs, along mountain streams and across the Mighty Mississippi. – Amtrak.com Amtrak’s Empire Builder traverses the US from Chicago to Seattle and Portlane, OR. One of its biggest draws…
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A philosophy for hiking lighter
Ultralight hiking is a mix of enlightenment and consumerism. It is semi-philosophical, encouraging hikers to “carry less and travel farther”. Less weight on your back means more miles and more comfort. Through the power of round numbers and online bickering, the limit for “ultralight” has been set arbitrarily at 15 lbs of gear, prior to…
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John Muir was right about Yosemite
Back in grad school, I was teaching assistant for a course called History of the American Environmental Movement. Each semester, I would grade perhaps 70 to 80 essays, including a section on John Muir, an advocate of preserving nature for nature’s sake, and Gifford Pinchot, who advocated responsible conservation of resources for human use. While…
Hops Trains and Backpacks 