Road Trip

A cross country odyssey with my old friend Dan Harris, taking in all that’s weird and wonderful about the American road.

When I came home, nothing went right. New Orleans does that to me. I’ve lived in cities that welcomed me with open arms after some time away. New Orleans is not one of those cities. We develop relationships with the …

Heading deep into the desert with a friend who has made a forgotten piece of the world into her new home. “It’s a drive,” Patricia told me, then held up the map. About an hour down the highway, we’d take …

The real shock was seeing Spring again. The last time we saw each other—the only time we saw each other—was nine years ago, in Spain. I was still married, still in my twenties. She was still a rumor until that …

My sister gave me a good primer on how she learned to live Los Angeles: “Just accept that you’re always going to be in traffic and that everybody’s a tool, and you’ll be fine.” It’s a bit harsh, but that’s …

Snaking over 650 miles down California’s coast, the Pacific Coast Highway is both an engineering marvel and one of the most spectacular drives in the country. It’s a bit easier to get there now, as long as you have the …

There comes a point on any trip when the arc away from home ends, and the arc of returning begins. This doesn’t necessarily have to be at the halfway point, either in time or distance. It’s more of a state …

My first view of the Pacific came after driving through fire. If you’ve been following the news, you know about the wildfires that are blanketing California in a thick haze of smoke. On Highway 299, for pretty much the entire …

Another series as part of this road trip will be American Highways, where I’ll examine some famous American roads, their history, and what it’s like to take them. Up first, U.S. 50. It starts with a Life Magazine article from …

Blame Charlie Papazian. Thirty years ago, even twenty years ago, it was damn near impossible to find American beer that wasn’t from one of the major manufacturers (Coors, Miller, Anheuser-Busch). But there was something new cooking under the surface. Jimmy …