Since my time in San Francisco was quickly coming to a close, my friends and I tried to squeeze in as much as we could on our very last two days in the city. I was excited to check out some new eateries, but also bummed that it was almost time to say goodbye to…
I didn't know I had family in the Bay Area until I attended a family reunion on the Big Island of Hawaii in July. There, I met my dad's cousin Sharyn and her husband Tim, who live in Roseville, about 100 miles northeast of San Francisco. I got in touch with them a few weeks…
One thing I really appreciated about San Francisco was how easy it was to get around the city without a car. With the city's efficient bus system and the help of Google Maps, my friends and I felt pretty comfortable navigating the city on our own. But not having a car also led to some…
I'll never forget when my college friend Nate announced that his roommate let him borrow his car for a weekend and could take it wherever he pleased, so he asked me if I was interested in tagging along for a road trip down to San Francisco from Seattle. I couldn't pass this up since I…
On the surface, a two-week study abroad trip to China might sound like a normal vacation tour. I mean, two weeks isn't very long and our itinerary had most of the attributes of a standard tour package: We had two professors who served as tour guides, our whole schedule was essentially planned out and we…
If you were to ask me -- say, three years ago -- where China stood on my list of places to visit in my lifetime, it wouldn't have been anywhere near the top. I have to be honest -- I had dreams of riding a gondola in Venice, riding a mule in Greece or even…
Out of State • Out of Mind 