Countries – nation states recognised by the UN. Culture and people groups lay on a spectrum that changes gradually across geographies, borders just don’t do people justice. When I was a kid I’d tag along on family trips to sunny resorts and theme parks, but as I grew older I Read more
Lancaster was the state capitol for a short while from 1799 to 1812 after Philadelphia and preceding Harrisburg today. Included in William Penn’s original land grant in 1681, it is one of the oldest inland cities in America incorporated in 1742. It was also the U.S. capital for one day Read more
Jersey City lives in the shadow of New York City, but it does have some important sights often attributed to New York. I’ve been to the area four times in six months so I know some of the best spots to see the Big Apple’s skyline—Exchange Place is always a Read more
I blasted Take Me Home Country Roads as I drove through the capital of West Virginia. It’s true, the houses are made of old rusty sheets of metal, the roads are overgrown with weeds and people paste the confederate battle flag on every flat surface they can find. Mountain mamas Read more
Only a half-hour south of Charlotte in North Carolina, Fort Mill was the last place the Confederacy had its last cabinet meeting in 1865. The town has a Confederate Park at one end of he historic area established in 1891 to remember those who died in the Civil War. The Read more
The largest city in North Carolina was named after King George III’s wife, giving it the name Queen City, but the state capital is two hours away in Raleigh. It’s most well-known for being the home of NASCAR and the Charlotte Speedway. But the true reason why Charlotte is so Read more
I was excited to visit the International Civil Rights Museum, but it’s a waste of time if you ask me. The whole thing takes two hours and most of it is a guided tour or video of a guided tour, the contents of which you could watch at home on Read more
The famous TV show The Andy Griffith Show was shot here. It had been ten years since I first watched the show and had wanted to visit. It’s a shame that Main Street is flanked by tourist traps and souvenir stores. I would’ve paid money to see a recreated street Read more
The first time I heard the name Raleigh I was watching the Andy Griffith Show and thought it was spelt “Rawley.” Google promptly asked if I meant to search for “Raleigh” instead. I didn’t give visiting the state capital of North Carolina a shot until I saw it on a map and Read more
The first time I visited San Francisco was through GTA San Andreas on my computer screen. I parachuted off the top of the Transamerica Pyramid countless times after evading the police. The first evening I got into town by Uber I saw homeless people on every single street corner. Even Read more
I had thought about staying in Oakland instead of San Francisco to save a bit of money. Then I did the math and found out that paying an extra $10 a day on BART trains and spending an extra half hour each way commuting wasn’t worth the savings. It has Read more