Traveling the world for nearly six years, you're bound to have a few adventures (and MISadventures). In my signature dry and quippy voice, I share my opinions, suggestions, experiences, and advice on visiting some of the most famous—and not-so-famous—destinations in the world!

Yosemite National Park: The One with the Camera

I can already hear the derision: “Why would anybody in their right mind try to explore the country’s most iconic national park in just 2 days? It can’t be done!” Well, yes, that’s one way to look at it. Or, you can just do it... 

Panama Canal Part I: The One Where JP Disappears

The Panama Canal is one of the modern marvels whose name inspires ingenuity and persistence despite the fact that most people have never even seen it—like the Dalai Lama or Spiderman...  

New Orleans: The One with the Huckleberry Finn Fetish

One thing is for sure: if you go to New Orleans, you should fast for about a week beforehand. This may sound naive but I didn’t realize that New Orleans was all about the food!... 

Iceland: The One with All the Fire and Ice

Like a lot of other people, I made the mistake of assuming that Iceland looked pretty much like the North Pole, and that everyone who went there returned to their hotels frozen to the teeth with icicles hanging from their nose hairs. I was never so glad to be so wrong!...

Buenos Aires: The One with the Empty Restaurant

Ever since I saw the film Evita, I have been dying to go to Buenos Aires. There was dancing, there was history, and there was Antonio Banderas. That’s all I needed to know to pack my bags. But it wasn’t until I arrived that I found out that “Rio de la Plata” has more than just sensational Tango...

Venice Part I: The One with Doogie’s Palace

I have been fortunate enough to have visited Venice three times so far in my life. And frankly, even 300 would not be enough. To me, Venice is far and away the most beautiful city in the world (Venice, Italy, not Venice, California. BIG difference!)...

Bali: The One with the Pachyderm Painting

On my first visit to Bali, my first priority was to visit the elephant sanctuary. Where I come from, when someone talks about their pet, it’s usually their dog, their cat, or maybe even the occasional gerbil. But one thing they are not are 12,000 lb. behemoths...

JULIAN: The One with the Harry Potter Wand

One of the advantages of living in Southern California is having a wide variety of natural landscapes within a two-hour drive in any direction (except west—unless you’ve designed an underwater submersible, in which case, you should be hearing from the government any day now)... 

Big Bear: The One with All the Snow

How many places do you know of where you can surf and snow ski in the same day? In Southern California, that’s kind of our go-to bragging point. Because we sit in a basin between the ocean and the mountains, we are surrounded by the best of both worlds. So, if one were so inclined, you could...