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Alaska Photos USA

Photo Essay: Lobby Art of the Hilton Garden Inn, Anchorage

I’ve spent a lot of time in hotels. In fact, considering how much traveling I’ve done in the past 15 months, I’ve become a bit of a nitpicky guest. Few things standout. Outlet and TV placements become big deals. And lobbies are usually forgotten, sterile areas (which sometimes include parrots, but that’s another story). However, […]

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Blogging Photos

7 Epic Travel Experiences of 2012

1 year, 8 countries. 9 U.S. States, plus the District of Columbia. 31 flight segments. 2012 certainly has been the “Year of Travel” for me! I spent 165 days away from home in 2012, spending nearly 6 months on the road as I traversed over 40,000 miles (or 70,000 km)! Let’s take a look at […]

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NYC Photos Travel Stories USA Videos

Hurricane Sandy: Exploring the Darkness in Manhattan (VIDEO)

You know, when I moved to New York City five years ago, I never expected to encounter a hurricane. “Oh, that’s the stuff of the Gulf [of Mexico] Coast,” I thought, site of such horrific storms as Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans back in 2005. But if someone had told me that I’d be […]

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Iraq Middle East 2012 Photos

Inside Saddam Hussein’s House of Horrors

Have you ever heard of “Chemical Ali?” You know, Saddam Hussein’s cousin who was responsible for “Gassing the Kurds?” His biggest claim to fame happened on March 16, 1988 on an otherwise quiet day, at least as quiet as it gets in an active war zone! It was late in the Iran-Iraq War when Saddam […]

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Alaska Great Outdoors Photos USA

Biking Anchorage: The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail

My calves were screaming at me. It was mile 10 of my 22-mile roundtrip bike ride (35.4 km) and I was exhausted as I huffed and puffed my way through the last, all uphill mile. As I swerved around a tree that had fallen in the middle of the trail, I heard a rustling nearby. […]

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Photos

From Ancient Pompeii to Contemporary Bethlehem: The Global Graffiti Trail

A few months ago I published photos of the graffiti of protest on Bethlehem’s “Security Wall.” I was really moved by the power of this seemingly controversial art form. Building on that, Sophie of Heading There brings you this guest post of her view on graffiti and its importance throughout history as spotted in her […]

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Jordan Middle East 2011/12 Photos Travel Tips

Hiking Petra: How To Experience the Best of the “Rose-Red City”

What pops into your head when you hear the word Petra? The “Rose-Red City?” Perhaps a certain building that was featured in “Indiana Jones and the Lost Crusade?” That’s the Treasury (also called Al-Khazneh), a jaw dropping sight. You get the first glimpses as you emerge from the seemingly never-ending Siq, a sort of canyon […]

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Israel Middle East 2011/12 Palestinian Territory Photos Politics

Photo Essay: Graffiti on Bethlehem’s “Security Wall”

Bethlehem and Jerusalem are practically neighbors. The trip from Jerusalem’s Old City takes no more than 10-15 minutes. At least it would if you didn’t have to cross “The Wall…” Israel‘s 8-meter (26 foot) high “Security wall” separates Israeli-controlled Jerusalem from the fully Palestinian-controlled areas of the “West Bank” (or, as one Palestinian said to […]