Sometimes the best hikes aren’t the most challenging; they are the ones that suck you into your surroundings where you don’t speak for hours because you’re consumed by the beauty around you.  Yosemite National Park is filled with these hikes. I’ve hiked in the Appalachian Mountains, Rockies, and even the Alps, but Yosemite still, Read More

“But it’s going to be so much fun. You have to go!” “Sure—why not?” Those three simple words over a casual meal were so easy to say, until I realized that meant hours of training in the cold winter months to prepare for the big race. Sure, I had run a few half marathons, Read More

“Pirates, parades and piratechnics” land on the shores of Tampa every winter and have been doing so for more than a century! It’s called Gasparilla. Ever heard of it? I sure hadn’t, but natives describe it as an adult mardis gras with beads, parties and costumes, so of course I had to check it, Read More