After only two days of being stuck in the concrete jungle of Waikiki we needed a break. We were planning on hiking Diamond Head the next day and visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center the day after that. But on this day we really could not find anything that sounded exciting. Since we did not have a rental car our transportation was limited to walking, city buses, or taxis and that left out just driving aimlessly or checking out the surf on Oahu’s »

A few weeks before heading to Waikiki we watched an Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations which happened to be about Hawaii. While he was visiting Waikiki he stumbled across a little place called Puka Dog (pronounced poo-ka not puke-a) which serves Hawaiian style hot dogs. My daughter and I are huge fans of meat in tube form and I knew we had to try this place. Yes, our German blood is strong! Once at our hotel in Waikiki one of the first things I »

Chocolate cake. Those two words best describe Waikiki on the Hawaiian island of Oahu; good in small doses, but sickening if you get too much. After returning for a week, we overdosed! Three years ago we spent three nights in Waikiki before heading to the island of Kauai. We had expected to hate Waikiki, but ended up liking it a lot. Here is what I wrote about it: “While we were expecting our trip to Oahu to not be a good one, we were really »

As the 2011 Travel Photographer of the Year is announced, some tips to invigorate the way your document your trips Winter is always an interesting time of year for photographers specialising in international and travel-based work. Falling somewhere between art and journalism, travel photography is a genre of its own. What is more, with a wealth of portable HD and SD cameras available in both pocket sizes as well as full-size models from electrical »

Whoa, my wife wrote another blog post.  This is the manly disclaimer stating that I did not write this and find reading books “decadent” and “luxurious.” So check out some of her favorite books (and some of mine, too) – Jason I love reading books! A decadent, luxurious day for me is to curl up with a good book in bed and read all day. A good book can transport me to a different world, time, or place; it can make me laugh »

Oh, the places we will go In order to travel round the world it is usually necessary to have a plan; or at least a compass bearing in which way to circle the globe. I guess someone could, and probably has, aimlessly wandered from place to place and eventually made a loop. When we travel we are more of the point A to point B type of people with a noncommittal for points C and D. That is, we generally know where we are (most important!) and where we »

Five years ago we decided that we wanted to do something amazing; something that we would talk about for the rest of our lives. We decided that we would take a leave from our careers and the rat race of American life and take our daughter, who was only 2-years old at the time, on an adventure to see the world. Not a vacation, but two years of non-stop world travel. The type of trip that most people only read about and think, “Wow, I wish I could »

On our visit to Costa Rica a few months ago we were staying really close to the Nicaraguan border. Having grown up in the 1980′s it was hard to not have seen Nicaragua in the news. Nicaragua was like a scab to the Reagan administration and they could not stop picking at it. Before the CIA’s covert operations and Reagan’s embargo against the country, Nicaragua had more wealth than Costa Rica. But because of the United States, Nicaragua »

Ahh… the Nikon 50mm f/1.8D lens. An optical masterpiece that no Nikon DSLR owner should be without; especially since it is Nikon’s cheapest lens that is still manufactured today. Every online Nikon lens review loves this lens and can find no fault in it. Well, I found one. A big one! Big enough that it has ruined a few photos and I am considering selling this lens. When I was searching for the perfect travel camera I wanted pro DSLR quality and »

Yesterday I went out to our raised garden beds to pull out the dying remains of the plants that yielded this past summer’s vegetables. I noticed a green carrot top mixed in with the rotting browns and grays and went to pull it. What I pulled was simply amazing; especially since our garden is 100% organic. What I pulled was the biggest carrot I have ever seen. Sydney wanted to pose with the carrot, and then we decided to tease her bunny, PJ. »

My parents have always been adventurous.  They have generously shared their love of the outdoors with their children and grandchildren.  Growing up in Los Alamos, I got do many outdoor activities such as hiking, skiing, camping, and rafting.  Besides my parents love for the outdoors, it also helped that so many of these activities were close by.  Los Alamos is small community set up against the Jemez (pronounced Hey-mess) Mountains in Northern »

We have an addition to the family, and no, it’s not a sibling for Sydney. It’s a new blog! It seems like every traveler and traveling family have their own blogs now, but you rarely see any blog posts from that of the children being dragged around the world by their wander-crazed parents. All families interested in long term travel worry about their kids and have no idea of the impact of such an unconventional decision will have on them. Will »