Blog

A Travel Guide: Those that know me, know I love James Bond and I've taken several trips to see filming locations. From Casino Royale in Karlovy Vary, Czechia and Prague to the casino in Monte Carlo from Goldeneye and Never...
A Road Trip Planner How does one describe the Isle of Skye in a word? Diverse? Scenic? Mountainous? Incredible? Panoramic? A single adjectives just can't carry the day when there are picture postcard opportunities around every corner. When...
A Travel Guide: Eilean Donan Castle (pronounced EE-Lean-DEW-Nun from the best I could gather), like Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, is one of the most photographed castles in the world. Being well-placed at the confluence of Loch Duich, Loch...
A Travel Guide: From it's strategic position on the west bank of Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle's ruins steep in Scottish history and remain a sensory feast for today's visitors, who flock to this ruin at a rate only surpassed by Edinburgh and...
A Travel Guide: One of the coolest castle locations you'll ever find, Dunnottar Castle sits on a headland jetting out into the North Sea, perched high on a hill and surrounded by rocky shores and beachfront. Amazingly, it wasn't a castle I had on...
A Mountains to the Sea Travel Guide: Prepare for a beautiful and diverse drive. Driving through the northeast corner of Cairngorms National Park is spectacular - filled with mountains, hillsides, terrain changes, sheep, a ski resort, and a handful...
Here Are 10 Places History Buffs Should Explore in The Palmetto State As a Revolutionary War buff, I couldn't live in a better state. You may not realize it, but almost the entire second half of the American Revolution was fought in rural parts of...
A Travel Guide: Planning to head to Dufftown, Keith, or Aberlour to enjoy the best of the region known as Speyside? Thinking of heading to the Glenfiddich or Balvenie Distilleries? Then it's worth walking a few extra steps from the Glenfiddich...
A Travel Guide: A lovely short drive over from Stirling and Stirling Castle will net you a wonderful castle experience. Castle Campbell is a lesser known landmark but it is a castle well worth visiting.  My original intent was to spend the...
My Introductory Video Note, it is a bit windy, but this is my introductory video to the tour. Filmed in Campbeltown, the home of Springbank, Glengyle, and Glen Scotia Distilleries. This content is not intended for minors. By continuing to...
Spending an Afternoon at the Gateway to the Highlands About an hour north of Edinburgh and Glasgow, on your way to the Highlands, is the historic town of Stirling. I knew very little about this city, other than it was the site of Stirling Bridge...
A Travel Guide: High up on Stirling Sill stands a 600 year old fortress that is a birthplace of kings and a symbol of Scottish (and sometimes English) power.  Called the silver brooch that holds the Highlands to the Lowlands, Stirling and...
Welcome to Doune Castle, the first castle on my 2019 Scotland Castles and Drams (Scotch Whisky) Tour. After a day tooling around Glasgow, I was excited to head north and dive deep into castle hunting. And Doune was one at the top...
Forget Old Reputations, This Is a Great City To Explore When I started planning my trip to Scotland, I had second thoughts about flying into Glasgow. To me, it struck me as less tourist friendly and more of a tough industrial city. It also had a...
Surprise, Surprise! Who knew? Minneapolis is a great town to explore. In 2011, during a Midwest baseball tour I did my absolute best to avoid seeing Minneapolis while going to a Minnesota Twins baseball game. Actually, it wasn't that I didn't...
Where Were You? I was just about to board an airplane for my first trip to Europe in 20+ years when I heard the news. A musical icon had passed away and a personal favorite of mine. It was April 21, 2016, the day Prince Rogers Nelson passed...
It took years for me to finally cross the border into North Dakota and apparently I'm not alone. The Fargo-Moorhead Visitor's Center has developed a club comprised of people who have seen the entire United States and left North Dakota as the last...
My Own Very Personal Challenge What makes you tick as a traveler? For some it is pushing themselves to get beyond the comforts of their own homes. For others it is a mission to discover this wonderful planet we live on. Whatever your reason, a...
A Travel Guide: Explore the site of the Republic of Ireland's first National Park. No, it's not Killarney, but instead Muckross House and Abbey. The estate and abbey comprising over 11,000 square acres, was donated by the Bourne and Vincent...
Featuring Killarney, Kerry Cliffs, and Miles of Beautiful Scenery If you haven't driven Ireland before, then when planning your first trip you should seriously consider The Ring of Kerry. This 179-km circular journey goes well beyond what I could...