Travel

Gouged into the walls of Hawaii’s Hamakua Coast is the Waipi’o Valley, a legendary gorge that has been the home to countless rulers of the island. Getting down to this sacred site is hard. Getting out is even harder. “Hey …

Scene on the Wailiku River near Hilo in 1947, one year after a tsunami devastated the town. (photo: Roger Coryell) Hilo Bay is calm in the evening. Even with the remnants of a tropical storm dumping buckets of rain on …

They hook you in with the music. There you are in the terminal, like you’ve been for a hundred flights before, and the ticket agent comes on the speaker to tell you that your flight with Hawaiian Airlines is now …

(photo: Bettmann/CORBIS) You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.  –Jack London He was a dropout, a hobo, an oyster poacher. He was an excellent sailor, a less excellent rancher, a deeply committed socialist, …

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 …

If I had a GPS, it would not be pleased. It would be screaming at me by now, attempting different languages to tell me that I was off the trail, on the wrong route, that I was, as my dad …

Entering the western states and crossing a classic overland route, I found a town resolutely committed to its past, and two men who exemplify the complexity of making a home in the American West. There is a scene in Robert …

The last time I took a road trip like this, my car tried to kill me. I was about 30 miles outside of New Orleans, still coming to terms with a decision that would change my life. With no job, …