Category Food
Tokyo (Day 1) – Exploring Harajuku and Shibuya
We flew into Tokyo late last night. It was dark, but from the cab I saw forests of skyscrapers, spotless highways and chic business and shopping districts. It seemed sparkly and full of intelligent life, and I couldn’t wait to start exploring. Somewhat unusually, however, we didn’t have any concrete plans for our first day […]
Seoul (Day 1) – We basically just ate all day long
In my opinion, that there’s no better way to get to know a new city and a new culture than by spending a day eating your way through town. Palaces, temples and museums are wonderful — and don’t worry, we’ll get to those soon! — but for now, let’s see what people eat in Seoul. […]
Staving off jet lag on the first night in Seoul
As we emerged stiffly out of the plane in Seoul, we were welcomed by the tepid humidity I remembered so well from last year’s layovers on the way to and from Vietnam. I remain baffled why such a beautiful and otherwise fully modern airport would not have air conditioning! The building itself still was just […]
Don’t Rain on My Parade
Memorial Day weekend! The unofficial start to summer! Time for beach and sun and humidity! Oh wait. I live in Seattle now, where it’s in the low sixties and rainy. I’ve been warned/assured by exactly everyone I’ve met that summer starts on July 4. But still — summer or no summer, it’s a holiday weekend […]
Lunch at the Armory
I’ve been in Seattle for two whole weeks and I’ve done basically nothing other than work and unpack and join a Crossfit gym. So this afternoon, when the weather surprised everyone with warm sunny skies, I decided to go exploring. My apartment is only a couple of blocks from the Seattle Center, a 74-acre complex […]
Rapid City to Missoula
This third leg of the journey — from Rapid City, South Dakota, to Missoula, Montana — was the longest yet. That was largely my own fault. After a 16-hour slog the day before, the predicted 10-hour drive seemed like nothing. Hey, I thought, why not relax a bit and soak up some of the local […]
DC to Chicago
Day 1 of the westward migration was a success! I made it from DC to Chicago in approximately 11.5 hours, and I didn’t once end up in a ditch. I passed through six states, ate pancakes at IHOP and raw lamb at a Michelin-starred gastropub, listened to more Christian pop music than I even knew […]
Perfect weekend
There will be a special place in hell reserved for people who schedule moves away from DC during the springtime. [Er . . . hold on . . . I’m the one who scheduled this move. Let’s start again.] Whoever invented DC in the springtime deserves an award. Like, an Oscar for “best pairing of city and […]
Vanessa in DC
Vanessa flew in from Chicago last night and is staying with me for a weekend in DC. I think she had planned the trip in hopes of seeing the famous cherry blossoms but, alas, the weather has been cold enough that almost none of the trees are in bloom. At least the sun finally came […]
26 hours in El Paso
A few weeks ago my friend Amy told me that she and Kristin (our mutual friend who lives in El Paso, Texas) were planning a week-long backpacking trip to a place called Big Bend — a national park along the border in western Texas. They wanted to know if I was interested in joining them. […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 