The 13 Best Things to Do in Gig Harbor for a Weekend Trip
Summer has the Pacific Northwest in its grip: warm breezes and outrageously blue skies replace the morose grey and heavy raindrops that fall from the leaves throughout the rest of the year. It’s time to GET OUTSIDE, and every Seattleite knows it...
How to Make the Most of One Day in Ketchikan, Alaska’s “First City”
Alaska's First City. Salmon Capital of the World. Rain Capital of Alaska. Ketchikan has many names – and all are true in their own way. (Ketchikan was not the first city in Alaska by date, but instead, the first city that prospectors reached when heading to the Klondike gold fields.) As you might guess from the variety of monikers the city has earned, Ketchikan is a special place even by Alaska standards...
The 8 Best Things to Do in Bar Harbor: Gateway to Acadia
As is so often the case, I arrive at night. Coming down the hill into Bar Harbor, her lights cast a soft orange glow. The wind is gusting over Frenchman Bay and the water I know is just out of sight is disproportionately quiet despite its size. This is Bar Harbor, Maine, and I'm here for a few days to see what it's all about and discover things to do in Bar Harbor...
The 9 Best Things to Do in Wrangell (According to an Alaskan!)
Alaska is full of surprises... Talk about the understatement of the year, right?! As you've probably discovered while trying to plan your Alaska trip, there is no shortage of things to do, places to visit, and wonders to behold in The Last Frontier. Just wait until you get there, and your jaw drops at a view of towering fjords with glaciers nestled between them or you're made breathless by Denali on a clear day...
The 17 Best Kenai Fjords National Park Cruises from Seward (2022)
The sky is clear and the sun creates a million sparkles of light on the face of the ocean. A humpback whale erupts from the shallow waves in a full breach. A glacier cracks loudly making the phrase "white thunder" make sense as a giant piece of ice falls into the water. An otter rides the wake of our boat, holding onto a rock it will use to crack open the clamshell in its other paw for lunch. These are some of the quintessential experiences you can have on a Kenai Fjords National Park cruise...
Where to Eat in Sitka: A Local’s Guide to 10 Great Restaurants
As you plan your trip to Alaska, you’ve likely covered almost all the bases by this point: your hotels are set, travel between towns is arranged, and tours are booked. All that’s left is to figure out what I consider to be one of the most important parts of travel: where to eat! If your Alaska travel plans will take you to Sitka, first of all: excellent choice...
Seward’s Best Day Cruise: Major Marine Tours Review (2022)
Most people want to go to Alaska to take a cruise: they board a ship in Seattle or Vancouver, spend seven days wending their way north, and enjoy a few excursions along the way. Upon pulling into port in Alaska, usually in Seward or Whittier, they're then eager to explore Alaska by land: they see the sights in Anchorage, maybe explore the outdoors a bit (maybe by hiking), and try to catch a glimpse of Denali. Most visitors don't necessarily think to hop back on a boat and explore the waterways looking for wildlife; they skip the chance to explore these two northern ports entirely...
Where to Stay in Vegas: 7 Amazing Hotels for Every Budget & Style
Las Vegas – despite its reputation and the general crowd it draws – has become one of my favorite destinations to visit. It's not that I love the excess or indulgences; in fact, I mostly find those mystifying or funny. What I love most about Las Vegas is that you can, as Kurt Cobain says, "come as you are"...
11 Adventurous Outdoor Day Trips from Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Sin City, the Entertainment/Gambling/Marriage/Neon Capital of the World. Whatever name you call it by, there's nowhere on earth quite like it – though it imitates a lot of places around the world. Over the years, I've become quite fond of Las Vegas, since my first trip in 2019. While I was never called to the bachelorette parties, clubs and techno music, live performances or celebrity restaurants, I have, through the course of return trips since, discovered many parts of Vegas that I love...