• No Strangers on a Train

    No Strangers on a Train April 13, 2009 • Athens, Georgia

    We mythologize trains because they harken back to an age of community travel, a real, tangible community of travelers, not just backpackers, but people from all walks of life, people traveling near and far together in a shared space that isn't locked down like an airplane and isn't isolated like a car; it's a shared travel experience and there are precious few of those left in our world. Read it »

  • Leonardo Da Vinci and the Codex on Bunnies

    Leonardo Da Vinci and the Codex on Bunnies December 9, 2008 • Birmingham, Alabama

    A few pages from Leonardo Da Vinci's notebooks make a rare trip outside Italy, to Birmingham, AL, of all places. But the Birmingham Museum of Art is home to far more alarming works of art, works which depict the eventual, inevitable, bunny takeover, after which all the elements of our reality will be replaced by bunnies. Seriously. You heard it here first. Read it »

  • Elkmont and the Great Smoky Mountains

    Elkmont and the Great Smoky Mountains October 31, 2008 • Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee

    Pigeon Forge is Myrtle Beach in the mountains. Redneck weddings cascade straight out of the chapel and into the mini golf reception area. Pigeon Forge is everything that's wrong with America. But we aren't here for Pigeon Forge, it just happens to have a free condo we're staying in. We're here for the mountains. Smoky Mountain National Park is just a few miles up the road. Read it »

  • Rope Swings and River Floats

    Rope Swings and River Floats July 27, 2008 • Mountain Cabin, Georgia

    Two weekends ago we went up to the mountains, just outside of Dahlonega GA, and floated the Chestatee River using inner tubes, various pool toys and one super-cool inflatable seahorse. Unfortunately, proving one of my travel mottos -- you can never go back -- a return trip proved disastrous. Read it »