Cigars, Surrealism, and Socializing in Tampa Bay

After a glorious stretch of camping at the beach in two places along Florida’s Panhandle, it was time for us to start heading down the peninsula to the Tampa Bay area. Unlike the Panhandle, which was mostly new to us, Tampa Bay is familiar. My aunts, uncles, and cousins have lived in the area for … Read more

Surprised and Delighted by Point Reyes National Seashore

I realized during this stay that while we are usually awed by the sights we’ve seen on the road, we are seldom surprised. We were thrilled, but not particularly surprised, to see bison in the Black Hills and huge trees in the redwoods. Point Reyes National Seashore, on the other hand, really surprised us. We selected … Read more

The Columbia River Gorge: It’s Gorge-ous!

We emerged unsettled but unscathed from our visit to the remote areas of Eastern Oregon, and after crossing the Cascades we discovered a wonderland of green. After months of seeing dry, sagebrush-filled landscapes, the leafy moisture of the Columbia River Gorge is almost hard to fathom. I’ve definitely been unreasonably excited to see moss on … Read more