Celebrating my birthday with family in Michigan is made more memorable with a couple of chili dogs known as Coneys.

Exploring one of America's most historic places during its birthday allows for extended reflection and gratitude during a long weekend away.

Made famous by Thoreau, Walden Pond is a lovely place to wander...

Re-Post from August 2015 when I wrote this for One Big Table. 

Re-post from August 2015 when I wrote this for One Big Table.

Awash in buildings erected over ten centuries ago, kicking around cobblestone streets and sloshing around the snow of a mild, January winter; my father and I explore Germany with the same crinkled-eyes my grandfather left here with as a child. 

Other than a summer trip over a decade ago to the beaches of Washington via road trip, I had never stepped foot in Seattle. It was time to change that fact.

Seconds after stepping off the plane I was hit with the thick stench of Midwestern summer humidity. While Minneapolis wasn't my first choice for an August destination, I was on a work trip with my San Francisco team and our company headquarters were in Minnesota.