Portland’s 4T Trail
Taking advantage of a beautiful May morning to explore Portland by Trail, Tram, Trolley & Train via the 4T Trail.
Mirror Lake & Trillium Lake: Hike Report
Our Mirror Lake & Trillium Lake Hike report — a worthwhile alternative to Columbia River Gorge hiking at the foot of Oregon’s majestic Mt. Hood.
Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden
Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden in Southeast Portland is a local secret that is worth the time and effort to visit. Here’s our detailed trip report.
The Grotto
View of downtown Portland from Mt. Tabor. Lori’s parents came up to Portland a few weeks back in mid-April to hang out and check on the status of the belly […]
Bend: River Walk & High Desert Museum
In addition to visiting Smith Rock State Park in Terrebonne (near Redmond), we also made a few trips into Bend. We walked about three miles of Bend’s one-of-a-kind Deschutes River Walk […]
Smith Rock State Park
We took a last-minute weekend trip to Central Oregon to take advantage of the abundant sunshine and warmer temps forecast there […]
Hiking Tom McCall Point & Rowena Plateau
Rowena Plateau and Tom McCall Point hike offers Gorge-ous views year-round an hour’s drive from Portland. Our trail report.
Hiking Coyote Wall and the Labyrinth
We took a drive out east to tackle Coyote Wall and the Labyrinth. Just an hour outside of Portland, the landscape changes dramatically, offering countless […]
Portland’s Lan Su Chinese Garden: Guide for Visiting
Lan Su Chinese Garden is a peaceful and evocative oasis in the bustling heart of downtown Portland. Here’s what to expect plus helpful tips for visiting.
Welcoming the Monkey at LanSu
Happy Year of the Monkey! This month marks one year in Portland for us, and our second Chinese New Years celebration at Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland […]
San Diego: Pacific Beach, La Jolla, Point Loma
The last day of our California Coast Babymoon road trip began in San Diego and ended 200 miles and 4,000 feet in elevation on the summit of the notorious Grapevine, covering 95% of the mileage after sunset. It would have been a […]
San Diego: Mission Beach, Old Town, Coronado
Ah. San Diego. Good to be back. It’s been about 12 years since my last visit and to my eyes the city has changed very little — which is a very good thing. Why mess with perfection, right? Of course […]
Mission San Juan Capistrano
Mission San Juan Capistrano was founded twice, about a year apart from one another. Yet, it was a significant year that saw a collection of 13 British colonies form an independent federation […]
Santa Monica to San Diego
After a fun and relaxing overnight visit with family in Santa Monica, we continued on to our most southern destination of the trip — San Diego.
Santa Barbara: Heart of the California Riviera
Santa Barbara to Santa Monica, the heart of what many call America’s Riviera coast. And it’s not difficult to see why.
Evocative Mission La Purisima
La Purisima Mission is quite possibly the most evocative Spanish mission in California, and one of our favorite stops on our California road trip so far.
California Coast: Pismo to Lompoc
Following a relaxing evening strolling around Pismo Beach and listening to the waves crashing outside our room, we awoke to a brilliant sunrise and a very lazy beach town […]
California Coast: Lompoc to Santa Barbara
It was a short drive from Mission La Purisima in Lompoc to Santa Barbara, but we still managed to get in about an hour before sunset. After leaving La Purisima, we headed into Lompoc and […]
California Coast: San Simeon to Pismo Beach
By the time the Hearst Castle shuttle got back to the Visitor’s Center parking lot, it was a little after 3pm. Wanting to catch the sunset at Pismo Beach, our … Read more
California Coast: Big Sur to San Simeon
We left Pacific Grove on a Sunday morning, got onto CA-1 south and settled in for the long and winding road down the coast to Pismo Beach. Only about 120 miles distance as the crow flies, in reality, this is an […]
Mission Carmel
A visit to Central Coast California’s charming Carmel-by-the-Sea and historic Mission Carmel.
Monterey Bay
First stop on our California Babymoon Road Trip: Monterey. Well, actually a quick fuel stop in Marina, just in time to miss the sunset. The car made it 490 miles on a single tank of gas before the gas light went on. While […]
California Coast Road Trip
Planning a California Coast road trip? Here’s our 10-day itinerary and 2,200-mile trip report for planning your own road trip adventure!
Limbo
You may have already figured out that we didn’t end up going to Nepal. We’ve been living in a quirky, vintage former hotel built in 1910 in exotic-in-its-own-way Portland, Oregon […]
The ‘We’ Becomes Three!
That’s right! In June, we’re welcoming ‘Baby B.,’ and AwayGoWe becomes Three! Judging by all of the smiley baby holiday photo cards devouring our fridge, I guess it was only a matter of time.
Interrorem Cabin (Pt.2)
Continuing on our weekend in historic Interrorem Cabin in the Olympic National Forest, we mount an expedition in the nearby wilderness and visit nearby Hood Canal.
Interrorem Cabin (Pt.1)
We took a drive up to Washington’s Olympic Peninsula to spend the weekend in the woods in a rustic cabin with TERROR in the middle name.
Hiking Beacon Rock
Beacon Rock is an 848-foot volcanic plug that you can hike to the top of with relative ease, thanks to a series of 51 switchbacks, handrails and bridges originally constructed by Henry […]
Columbia River Gorge
After five days of taking in the stark and majestic beauty of eastern Oregon, it was time to head back to Portland. Instead of beelining it to I-84, which would have gotten us […]
Mt. Howard and the Wallowa Tramway
Riding the Wallowa Lake Tramway, a quick and easy ride to the top of Eastern Oregon’s majestic Wallowas.
Wallowa Lake & Oregon’s Alps
We reached the farthest point of our 1,200-mile road trip through Eastern Oregon on Sunday afternoon. Wallowa Lake State Park is located in the far northeastern reaches […]
Eastern Oregon
The next morning, after a full day of exploring the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, including the awe-inspiring Painted Hills, we broke camp, packed up the car, and headed deeper into Eastern Oregon […]
Painted Hills
The Painted Hills of Eastern Oregon. Lori and I have been wanting to visit these stunning freaks of nature for a while, but given their fairly remote location […]
John Day Fossil Beds
We took an extended Memorial Day weekend to explore the lesser-known, but equally amazing eastern portion of our home state of Oregon […]
Cape Kiwanda & Pacific City
We’re not sure how this little slice of SoCal on the Oregon Coast eluded for over 30 years.
LL Stub Stewart Cabin Camping Trip Report
A weekend in a rustic cabin at Oregon’s LL Stub Stewart State Park with family.
End Of The Road
Wrapping up 105 days and 6,000 miles of overland shoestring travel from Cape Town, South Africa to Kampala, Uganda, with numerous side trips in between.
Close Encounters with Hippos on Lake Naivasha
Continuing where we left off on our budget self-guided bicycle safari in Hells Gate National Park — descending into the Depths of Hell (of course).
Hell’s Gate National Park
Braving a do-it-yourself bicycle safari through Hells Gate National Park, one of Kenya’s most spectacular and endangered places.
Camp Carnelleys on Lake Naivasha
A serendipitous encounter in Nairobi and many more fun encounters with exotic birds, wily monkeys and hungry, hungry hippos on the shores of Lake Naivasha!
Usambara Mountains
The people and scenic beauty of the Usambara Mountains in Northern Tanzania — a preview of our 4-day, 40+ mile trek through this unique and remote corner of the world.
Dar es Salaam to Lushoto
Fresh off a fantastic two weeks on Zanzibar, we spend a couple of days in Tanzania’s largest city, with our sites set on what’s next.
Jambiani Beach: 10 Days in Paradise on Zanzibar
Exploring the idyllic Zanzibari fishing village of Jambiani, where time seemingly stands still…for now. And easily one of our favorite beach stays ever!
Zanzibar’s Stone Town (Pt.3)
Zanzibar, by night, by day and everything in between — featuring sundowners, flash floods and Zanzibari Pizza!
Zanzibar’s Stone Town (Pt.2)
Exploring the twisting, turning alleyways and coral-stone palaces of Zanzibar’s ancient and storied Stone Town.
Zanzibar’s Stone Town (Pt.1)
Exploring the picture-postcard waterfront of Zanzibar’s ancient and storied Mji Mkongwe (a.k.a. Stone Town).
Arrival in Zanzibar
After four long weeks in Mozambique we arrived in Zanzibar, and the difference was startling — the food, the friendliness, and the value for the money were incomparable.
Mozambique Budget & Travel Report
Mozambique can be an expensive travel destination. Here is our own Mozambique budget and expenses over 30 days, including food & lodging.