Small Country, Big Heart
Being Armenian and having been to Armenia, it’s one of the most richly cultured countries in the world. There are so many places and things to see in the tiny country. First place I would take...
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Small Town, Big Heart
Matthews, a humble town just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, is often overlooked as the perfect tourist getaway, where people of all ages enjoy a lifestyle of leisure and a unique quality of life....
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McHenry, Illinois: A Small Town With A Big Heart
When one thinks of northern Illinois they think of Chicago but, it is the suburbs of the Windy City that gave Chicago its’ reputation. Nestled midway between Chicago and Milwaukee,...
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Diversity in Duke City
Albuquerque is all about diversity. And history. Historic Route 66
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Historic Countryside Town in NJ You Don’t Want to Miss!
Set deep in southern New Jersey is a quaint, quiet town named Mullica Hill. It’s location is a mere half-hour from big cities such as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Newark, Delaware and only an hour...
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“Pickup” a Good Time in Guitartown
I’m not sure if you’ve ever traveled to Wisconsin, but chances are, aside from Madison and Milwaukee, you think of rolling countryside, farms and the occasional sports championship....
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Discovering My Past
I am a 3rd generation American, and it wasn’t until I went to Procida, an island off the coast of Naples, Italy, that I truly gained pride for my Italian heritage. I had never...
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Barrio Logan: An Undiscovered Gem
Barrio Logan is just south of the main hub of downtown San Diego. Barrio Logan is a highly diversified community, with a large population of Mexican and other Hispanic residents. The Hispanic name of...
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Diverse Hand Shakes in Dearborn
“Aslam wa alykom!”, I never thought a simple hello can be soothing. That is when I knew this place I can call home. Dearborn...
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Defining Deland
I call Deland, Florida my home; my community; my final destination. Deland is a small, friendly town of about 20,000 people and is located just thirty minutes from the famous Daytona Beach. It is...
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Intelligent Travel: The Best this World has to Offer
I have been to many of the famous cities of the world and have been privileged enough to see the great beauty the earth has to offer. As a traveler who is consistently watching her budget and who...
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Alexander(ia) the Great
To all my travel aficionados: Today is not another account of my exotic excursions. Today’s blog entry is about my own backyard. This story begins with a visit from an...
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The Underrated Cities of Upstate New York
Upstate New York is...
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A Great State
There are many things about Des Moines, Iowa that would tempt even the most jaded to visit. We have an art museum that houses renowned works of art, restaurants for every taste palate imaginable...
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Holland: “Tulip City”, MI
I love living in Holland. No, not in the Netherlands - though it might as well be! It's a relatively large town on Lake Michigan, nicknamed "Tulip City" for the hundreds of thousands...
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Wilmington: The Town of Corn
In the mist of Ohio’s soybean and corn fields lies a little town know as Wilmington. This little town of Wilmington is a part of Clinton County....
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El Salvador
The beautiful country of El Salvador sneaks up on you: in lefty lounge bars in San Salvador, at sobering museums and war memorials, and along lush cloud-forest trails; it's a place of remarkable...
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My Small Town City
The city of La Verne is a nice, clean, quiet town located in the San Gabriel Valley foothills in the Los Angeles County of California. Founded in 1887...
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Alton: A Small Town with a Big History
Alton: A Little Town with a Big History Eric Deck Alton, a town just north from the city life of St. Louis, resides peacefully by the Mississippi River. Most people are oblivious...
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Nogales is the Place to Go
I live in a town, where everybody knows everybody and you can walk probably everywhere, you know, if you had the energy. Santa Cruz County, also known as Nogales, AZ, is an urban place...
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Hampton Roads: Where History and Beauty Unite.
In 1607, the British colonists founded the first successful American colony of Jamestown, in Virginia. Today, Jamestown is located near where I call home, Hampton Roads, Virginia. Hampton Road's...
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My Family is the Mob and the Amish Shop at WalMart
That is the voice of my mother waking me at 2:30 in the morning to go to the airport. I am strangely wide awake after only 4 hours of sleep and before I am even fully dressed, Grandma is at the front...
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Israel through the Eyes of Jesse
A pilgrimage is when an individual travels to a place that has major religious significance to that person. In the Jewish religion, a pilgrim goes to Israel. A pilgrim...
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March Of The Living
We visited Auschwitz, and saw rooms filled with shoes taken from the prisoners. I saw pictures of babies who were tortured and glass exhibits filled with human hair. We visited Treblinka, a camp completely...
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Trip to Roaring Gujarat
In the summer of 2011, my parents, my sister and I took a trip to India to visit our family. It took about 16 hours of flying time to reach Mumbai, where we waited overnight for the morning...
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Big Things Come in Small Packages: The Island of Barbados
My trip to Barbados in the summer of 2011 was without a doubt, one of the best trips I have ever experienced in my life. Barbados, the birth country of super-star Rihanna, the well-known cricketer...
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The Will Of The Weeds
The air in Guilin is scorching hot, and temperatures have climbed to over a hundred degrees. Although we’ve escaped from the city to the countryside, we can’t escape the heat. Even the...
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Return to Roots
Every summer I get the chance to travel to a new exotic place in the world. All these trips are exciting and memorable, but none of these trips compare to when I go back to my native country,...
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Hemkunt Sahib: An Adventure
Hemkunt Sahib is a Sikh temple in the Himalayas, surrounded by seven snowy mountain peaks. This is said to be the place where the tenth Sikh “guru”, Gobind Singh Ji found God. Many people...
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A Journey Through Golden Fabric
It took 32 hours and three different flights to get to Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Being born into the United States Military, travelling long distances was no new experience for me. Except this time it...
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10,000 Miles Worth of Memories
Traveling about 10,000 miles away seems like a crazy trip to make, especially landing on one of the world’s most populated nation: China. Coming from the airport...
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I Love This City: 6 Weeks in Chengdu
Melodious voices rise, mixing and dispersing above the steamy pavement of a corner-side pavilion, attracting curious passersby. Actually, the staring eyes are more likely drawn by the fact that these...
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Wondering at the World at a Wonder of the World: My trip to the Taj Mahal
I swat a few flies away from my face as I plaster on a confident smile and proudly pose in front of the Taj Mahal in the blistering heat. The Taj is undeniably beautiful. Neither photographs...
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The Glass Bottles
“An di! An di! (Eat more!)” My aunt weaves through the small kitchen carrying bowls of hu tieu: vercimilli noodles in a warm, savory broth. It is raucous and rowdy...
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The Best of Times and the Worst of Times
Last summer, my grandparents took my two siblings, my older cousin and I on to Europe, starting with the quintessential visit to London, and ending with a week-long tour of Ireland. My grandparents...
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Summer days in my Second Home
The sun danced in the sky, on this warm summer day in Bavaria, Germany. After days of rain, the spirit of delight hung in the air, as young and old greeted the clear blue sky. This summer, was spent...
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Fulfilling Dreams in Ireland
As a competitive Irish Dancer for 9 years, I had always dreamed of taking a trip to tour the country of Ireland. I felt that it would help me understand where the roots of my dancing came from, as...
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We are home
“We are home” my mom said as the plane landed in the Port Harcourt Local Airport in Nigeria. My mom brought my younger sister and me to Nigeria to live. I was not sure...
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The Colors of Joy
Everything’s brown. That was the first thought which entered my mind when I stepped off the train and looked at my Indian hometown Malda. I had been excited for my cousin’s wedding...
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Same World, Different Eyes
It had been approximately 7 years since the last time I'd been there. I'd been just seven years old and it had been about mid-July, right before or after my birthday. Now it was October....
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Family Roots in Missouri
An obscure sky hung clouds in the distance out the windshield of our car…a good Midwestern thunderstorm. The lightning flickered and rain came in a downpour like the dumping of old feed buckets....
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A mother’s wish
“ Hazme un favor y vaya al Alto de Tabor.” I foolishly accepted the task before even knowing what I was getting into. However, it was my mother’s wish, and whatever...
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Vacation of Security
Ten hours, four sets of security, three new stamps in my passport, two take-offs, two movies, and two landings, the bi-annual family vacation to Lyd had begun. For most people the most eye opening...
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Tossing Colors: India on Holiday
I stepped out of our hotel, the pristine, perfectly air-conditioned Taj Bengal, to the sticky humidity. Already, my hair puffed up around my face. In front of the sleek glass doors, the weather was...
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What Remains the Same
Dusty street carts bustled along the sidewalk, passing various clothing and grocery vendors who lined the streets with umbrellas and blankets covered with fruits, vegetables and trinkets. Lao...
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Finding Shangri-La
We were just a few tourists heading into the heart of Xianggelila in China, hoping to catch a glimpse of mao niu, or hairy cow (yak). The many rice paddies and crumbling stone...
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My Grandparents’ Soil Where My Heart Finds a Place
Having emigrated as a tiny baby from the small country of Belarus whose inhabitant amount hardly exceeds nine million, I was...
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A Croatian Relaxation
My trip started off as any normal, long-distance trip starts. I hopped on a plane and hoped that I would find enough entertainment to last the flight, so books are a must on those eight...
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