'Tis a great land in which we live, is it not? What better way to celebrate the Nation's birth by venturing to its heartland; the fascinating state of Arkansas. Land of mosquitoes, rice fields, paper mills, a president, Wal-Mart and many, many, many Sonic Drive-Thru, Arkansas is a state that I only ever visit while venturing to the other side of the Mississippi River to shop at the West Memphis Wal-Mart Lee, a good friend from work, who was born and bred in the town of Pine Bluff, suggested the Tour D'Arkansas last weekend and lacking any other plans for the [View Full Entry]

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It's been just about three months since my trip with Dad to Arizona and I'm surprised it's taken me so long to come up with a blog about this incredible adventure into the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Planned in conjunction with cousin Katie Graham's wedding in Flagstaff Dad coordinated a back-country trail hike and camping excursion into the heart of one of the Nation and the world's most spectacular natural wonders. Our hike was no casually sloping donkey trail with hoards of Asian tourists and Wal-Mart Americans whizzing by on their Rascal Scooters....this was the real deal. Several miles aw [View Full Entry]

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It's been just over four months since my arrival in Memphis (the city I used to refer to as "The Land of Pork and Poverty") and much to my surprise life here in the capital of the 'Mid-South' region has grown on me. Perhaps its the amazing group of friends from work, the low cost of living, the Southern Charm, non-existent traffic, the chance to live in-town (as opposed to exile in suburban Virginia) and the feel of a small town community in the midst of two million citizens. I'd hoped to gather pictures from a greater variety of Memphis' many [View Full Entry]

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Several months have passed since my last international trip...so many in fact that the Department of Homeland Security was concerned that something had happened to me as I'd not popped on on their list of entries in the past few months. Not wanting to worry the Gov't I jumped over to Amsterdam for the weekend on Northwest's only direct long-haul international flight out of Memphis. Biz class both ways, super cush. Jetted off with Tim, who works in accounting and allowed me to indoctrinate him into the world of weekend trips to the other side of the planet. Buses leave directly [View Full Entry]

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The first entry in my "Lighting Trip" series...more to come. The format will typically be brief, just like the trip itself which likely won't span more than 48 hours on the ground in a given destination. Rio Lightning: 10 hour flight courtesy of United Airlines direct from Dulles. The flight leaves late on Friday and doesn't return until Sunday late night...allowing 36 hours on the ground. Copacabana and Ipanema are THE places to see and be seen in the city, the beaches and people are strikingly beautiful and welcoming. Best local drink, caipirinhas. (crushed lime slices, sugar a [View Full Entry]

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It's moving time. After one year, one week and one day working for Coglan Air in Manassas, VA I have been transferred to Pinnacle, the parent company, headquartered in Memphis, TN. A quick search of the driving route from DC to Memphis turned up an obvious rest stop in East Tennessee's wonderland known as Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. Sensing the perfect opportunity for a road trip of epic proportions I phoned up Miss Kari Sheanshang and flew her up to DC to make the drive down to Memphis with me. You might think "wow, that's quite a friend" to drive 14+ hours in [View Full Entry]

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At nearly a mile above sea level, the Cameron Highlands provides an escape from the intense tropical humidity found everywhere else in Southeast Asia. Discovered in the mid-1800s by a British surveyor, the Highlands is prized for cool, rainy climate that was long ago recognized as the perfect place for growing tea, cabbage, vegetables, flowers and yes....berries, strawberries to be more specific. Long a favorite desitnation for backpackers, the Cameron Highlands also serves as Malaysia's answer to Gatlinburg, TN. Condominiums designed to look like Tudor-style country homes fill the hillsid [View Full Entry]

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With a month to kill before work on the Vineyard begins I decided to head out to Thailand where passing the time would be less expensive than in the States. Seventeen hours after leaving JFK I touched down in Bangkok and I stayed for two nights as I made plans to head to the southern islands. I should consider myself lucky that Thailand, out of all the southeast Asian nations, has the best system of roads yet with all the development it still took eighteen hours to get south. My destination, Ko Pha Ngan, is part of backpacker legend. It's [View Full Entry]

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Founded in the mid-1700s, before the American Colonies decided to get restless, Penang was one of the first outposts of British Imperialism in the Far East. Even before the arrival of the English, Portuguese and Chinese traders already docked in Malaysia's many ports and their influences on the Malay Peninsula ranged from the introduction of Christianity (Portugal) to the creation of a Malay-Chinese hybrid culture. The arrival of the British, and their Indian employees, added even more pieces to this incredible multiethnic puzzle. After the withdrawal of the British in WWII (the Japanese i [View Full Entry]

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Sarah and touched down in Quito, the bustling, yet manageable colonial capital of Ecuador. After a few drinks our traveling partners and guides for the week Laura, one of Sarah’s friends from school, and German (pronounced Her-man), Laura’s Ecuadorian lover, met up with us in the capital. The next morning we set off for a quick exploration of the temperate highlands city. Laura has been in Ecuador for the past eight months working on a variety of project and has now just begun a project in the north working with a local community to establish more definitive titles to land [View Full Entry]

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