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Rene with the ghost hearst tour

A Night on a Hearse Ghost Tour in Savannah

A hearse ghost tour could only be pulled off in one city in America, maybe the world, Savannah. No place else has the hutzpah or the ghosts. I was sitting on my balcony on Oglethorpe Square at dusk, watching the tourists stroll by with ice cream cones in hand from Leopold’s Ice Cream around the corner. The scent of jasmine wafted on the summer breeze as the sky began darkening to a deep blue. I admired the drape of moss...

Charleston house with double staircase and clairvoyee

8 Reasons Charleston’s Architecture is unique

Charleston’s architecture is what makes the city the most charming of southern belles. It’s beloved for horse-drawn carriages, light-colored antebellum houses and more history than any book you read in high school. Charleston, South Carolina is a romantic little city along low country waterways is known for its rich cuisine, maritime story, and as the holy city for its 400 church spires. These things are anchored by architecture preserved and immaculately restored over hundreds of years. No place else can...

Rene Cizio standing on a white sand dune

5 Reasons White Sands National Park is Worth Visiting

There aren’t very many people at White Sands National Park. I don’t know how many national parks you can say that about anymore. On the days I was there, weekday and weekend, I was mostly morbidly alone. The sand is lovely, but who wants to go to a beach without water? And hiking in the sand, I can now tell you from experience, is precisely as difficult as you might expect it to be. But this place isn’t about the...

Wormsloe live oak allee

6 Reasons it’s Worth it to Visit Wormsloe Historic Site in Savannah

It’s worth it to visit the Wormsloe Historic Site for a day trip from Savannah if you like beauty, walking, and history. The site boasts one of the best Live Oak allées in the region and the ruins of the oldest standing structure in Savannah. If that’s not enough to entice you, there are also seven miles of trails to walk, hike, bike or meander. Also known as Wormsloe Plantation, it’s a state historic site about 15 minutes outside of...

Death Valley

One Day and Night Alone in Death Valley

On my way to Death Valley were palm trees and Joshua Trees. After that, there was nothing except desert sage covered in dust, making everything a monotone beige. Then there wasn’t even that. One can’t help but think of the famous Christian biblical passage when driving into Death Valley, “…into the valley of the shadow of death….” Or is that just me? My drive into Death Valley National Park was about five hours long through the Mohave Desert, so the...

Steinbeck house exterior

What You’ll See in Steinbeck’s Salinas Valley

I read “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck in middle school, and the story of Lenny and George never left me. I wondered a lot about Steinbeck’s Salinas Valley. Later, I read the “Grapes of Wrath,” “East of Eden,” and others. Because of these books, I felt I knew the place, though I’d never been there. That was about to change. As a nomad, I’d traveled throughout the United States for some time when I took the Pacific Coast...

Hoh Rainforest Trees

How the Hoh Rainforest is an Olympic Peninsula Dream

The Pacific Northwest is wet, so it shouldn’t have surprised me that it contains the Hoh Rainforest, but it’s just not something I expected in the USA. The Hoh Rain Forest is one of four rain forests on the Olympic Peninsula. But it is the only World Heritage Site and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. It’s also one of the most incredible places you can visit in the Pacific Northwest – a place where there are many unique places. I drove there...

Forks, Washington

A Twilight Fan Visits Forks, Washington

I’m a total book nerd and “Twilight” fan, so when I was traveling within a few hours drive of Forks, Washington, I made a detour to visit. I love going to places my favorite authors have lived or written about and this was a spot I’d been thinking of since I first read Twilight many, many years ago. When I first read Twilight in 2007, I knew nothing about Washington, but by the end of the series, I was eager...

Seattle, Washington Skyline

Seattle Whale Watching Around San Juan Islands

Outside the boat window on my Seattle whale watching trip, dolphin after dolphin jumped from the water. Their smooth grey backs arched and lept as they raced the boats around them. I was as delighted as a child, and this was just the beginning. The San Juan Clipper Whale Watching tour Early in the morning, I headed toward Seattle from my Airbnb in Gig Harbor and arrived at Pier 69. There I caught the boat out to the San Juan...