San Diego is a lovely city. In mid-winter around Christmas time I took off from freezing cold Illinois to warm up down in southern United States. I’ve been wanting to visit San Diego for long, having heard wonderful things about

Visions of Guadalajara : Mexico
During one of the cold storms of Illinois I felt like I had no choice but to run away and warm up during the weekend. The visit to Mexico City left a lasting impression on me and so I was

Lincoln Home National Historic Site : Springfield Illinois
Illinois, unfortunately, is not a major tourist destination with the obvious exception of the city of Chicago. It’s rather flat and cold, and its history isn’t as exciting as other states in the US. But, Illinois is especially proud of

Musical Instruments Museum : Phoenix Arizona
Every big city has an arts museum, most have a natural history museum, and a regional history museum, and when you roam around the world for a few years it’s hard to really be excited about these any more. There’s

Visions of Los Angeles : California
A conference at Long Beach provided the much needed escape from the mid-western ice cold winter, and a chance to revisit the wonderful city of Los Angeles. Some people dislike L.A. for all sorts of reasons, but I’m sure that

UCLA campus : Los Angeles – California
During my last visit to the Los Angeles area to attend a conference in Long Beach, I made a short visit to the University of California Los Angeles campus to get a feel of what a warm sunny ivy league

Illinois Old State Capitol : Springfield
To get away from my middle of nowhere Champaign over in the often (somewhat justly) overlooked mid-west, I made my way over to the Illinois capital city of Springfield, marketed as the ‘city of Lincoln’ and the capital city of

Alcatraz Prison Tour : San Francisco
San Francisco is a gorgeous city and there’s a lot to see and do, but of all the tourist attractions in the area I’d say the visit to the Alcatraz Prison was the most memorable. Not only is there a

Lucha libre Mexican Wrestling night : Arena Coliseo, Mexico City
This was, by far, the strangest cultural experience I’ve had while visiting Mexico City. I knew nothing about this Lucha Libre and had no idea what to expect, but the hour or so at the Arena Coliseo with masked chubby

Cosanti Foundation Artist Colony : Paradise Valley Arizona
Visiting Phoenix Arizona around Christmas time there options were rather limited. While driving around Scottsdale to see the small old town I looked up nearby attractions and the Cosanti Foundation Artist Colony came up and so I decided to stop