There’s something about a milestone birthday that makes you want to go all out. When my best friend turned 30, we rented a lake house, set off fireworks from the dock, and stayed up until sunrise arguing about whether hot dogs qualify as sandwiches. America’s 250th birthday? That’s a whole different level of celebration — … Read more
I showed up at Acadia National Park on a foggy June morning with a coffee-stained map and zero expectations. Three hours later, I was standing on a granite outcrop above Sand Beach, watching the fog burn off to reveal one of the most absurdly beautiful coastlines I’ve ever seen — and I’ve driven most of … Read more
There’s a moment driving across the Mackinac Bridge when Lake Michigan and Lake Huron stretch out beneath you in every direction and you realize you’re about to enter somewhere that doesn’t feel quite like the rest of America. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula — locals just call it “the UP” — is that rare place where the … Read more
I still remember exactly where I was in the summer of 1994 — sitting cross-legged on my grandmother’s living room floor, watching Brazil lift the World Cup trophy at the Rose Bowl on a fuzzy tube television. I was eight years old, and something about that tournament lit a fire in me that never went … Read more
I’ve spent the last three summers chasing sunscreen-stained horizons along the Gulf of Mexico, and I’m going to let you in on something the resort brochures won’t tell you: the best beach towns on this coast aren’t the ones with the high-rise condos and swim-up bars. They’re the ones where the shrimp boats still come … Read more
There’s something about standing at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Adams Street in downtown Chicago, staring at that green “Begin Route 66” sign, that makes your chest tighten a little. I’ve driven a lot of highways in my life — coast to coast, border to border — but this one hits different. This year, … Read more
I’ve been to Chicago more times than I can count, and every single visit teaches me something new about this city. But nothing has me more excited than what’s happening right now. On June 19, 2026 — Juneteenth — the Obama Presidential Center officially opens its doors to the public in Hyde Park, and it’s … Read more
Every summer, millions of Americans flock to the same stretch of coastline. Myrtle Beach. Ocean City. Virginia Beach. The Outer Banks bottleneck. I’ve done them all, and I’ll be honest — there’s a reason they’re popular. But there’s also a point where popularity becomes its own punishment, where you spend more time looking for parking … Read more
There’s a window every year — usually sometime in mid-to-late May — when the mountains wake up. Snow that’s been accumulating since November starts melting in earnest, and every creek, stream, and drainage swells into something thunderous. If you’ve ever stood at the base of a waterfall during peak spring runoff, you know the feeling: … Read more
I showed up at Glacier National Park on a Tuesday in late June expecting the kind of elbow-to-elbow madness I’d experienced at Yellowstone the summer before. What I found instead was a place so vast, so absurdly layered with mountain ranges and glacial valleys, that the crowds thinned out the moment I stepped past the … Read more