“I think I just saw a zebra!” said my 16-year-old son. To be clear, we were not on an African safari, nor at a zoo. In fact, we were traveling along California’s Highway 1. This is one of many funny and fond memories we have of one of our family’s all-time favorite spring break trips […]

Temperatures in Chicago and Minneapolis plunged to -27° F during the brutal Polar Vortex of 2019. Across the Midwest and East, schools closed, flights were grounded, and mail delivery was suspended. People were warned to stay indoors to avoid near-immediate frostbite. Stay indoors? Oh please, not that. Even for those of us lucky enough not […]

Yosemite National Park is one of America’s most beloved natural treasures. Magnificent sequoias stretch endlessly overhead, shadowed only by the park’s iconic granite monoliths, Half Dome and El Capitan. Yosemite is also one of the country’s most popular national parks, which means it’s no stranger to seasonal crowds — between 3.5 to 4 million travelers […]