This place is awesome. That's really all. I get into details from my two trips to Rainier this summer. Everything from hiking, swimming holes, sledding in August, glaciers, lost Asian hikers, and why Mt Rainier is worth more than a "maybe we'll get to it if we have a free day in Seattle" destination.

So what was downtown Portland really like? We lived just a handful of blocks from the center of Portland protests, news coverage, and everything else all summer. Here's our story presented without bias or agenda. Enjoy!

So what was Portland actually like this summer? We lived about a 5 minute walk from ground zero of the Portland protests and stories all summer. This is our story...give her a listen if you want a boots on the ground report of living there with our 4 and 6 year old kids. 

*Note - got a little fired up and dropped an f-bomb or two while telling a story. Just in case the kids are in the car, there is your warning.

On the list of Arizona destinations, Tucson probably gets overlooked. I run through a short trip to Tucson and talk food, Saguaro National Park, Mount Lemmon, hiking, U of Arizona campus, seeing slices of meteorites, and the general feel and vibe of what I'd consider a sneaky good town. 

You can't have a travel podcast and not do a Paris episode. It took us around 60 episodes to get there, but we finally got it done. We talk to Brian and Courtney Marsh, who have been to Paris 6 times, which, oddly enough, includes a trip to get married there. We get into museums, culture, food, crowds, the lure of Paris, best places to get a drink, mistakes that American tourists make, why we think Parisians are welcoming and hospitable, the best cities to add on to a trip to Paris, how the French are better at living and pace of life than Americans, and a whole lot more from this iconic city that I believe lives up to the hype. Enjoy!

I spent a few days in Sedona in early February, so let's talk about it. I talk in circles and touch on outdoor activities, hikes, food, beer, old people, midwesterners, recreational drugs/dispensaries, vortexes, caves that make you more fertile, and why you'll either never want to leave or will get bored quickly. Enjoy!

We talk to Emily Thiagaraj - @travelingthiagaraj on instagram - about her goal to take her daughter to 100 countries before she turns 18, the 44 countries that Emily has visited, and why it is important to create a global perspective when raising kids.

At the 14:45 mark, we shift to Mexico City and why it is such a sneaky good destination. We get into details and recommendations of the incredible food scene, the best cup of coffee she's ever had, museums, the plethora of green spaces and parks that Mexico City has to offer, art, history, why you should never drive there, what makes it a destination that she and her family would consider moving to, chats with locals, pyramids, mountains, and a few other thoughts that may surprise you about the 2nd largest city in the Western Hemisphere (Sao Paulo is #1 in case you were wondering).

We talk to Andres Maclean (andresmaclean.com and @theboliviantraveler on instagram), who is a full time travel and adventure photographer that happens to call Bolivia home. We talk culture, destinations, how Bolivia looks like another planet, beautiful landscapes, people, music, food, and how to best plan an itinerary around flying into Bolivia's two largest cities, La Paz and Santa Cruz. Enjoy!

Links from this episode:

singani63.com

chufly.com

andresmaclean.com

We talk to Tina Albin, who moved from a town of 600 people in Minnesota to Zhuhai, China and has stayed for close to 8 years. In her time there, she has traveled to 17 provinces and several nearby countries. We get into adjusting to life with 1.4 billion new friends, culture, why most westerners forget and overlook all that China has to offer, the vast differences between different regions, the fact that China has over 100 cities with a population over 1M (the US has 14), mega cities, deserts, mountains, beauty, and why it's a place that you need to visit. Enjoy!

The year is over and we're gonna talk about it. We talk best food and drink, best days, best overall trip, best moments, disappointments, best experiences with our kids, the most beautiful things that we saw this year, and some other nonsensical things that we got into in 2019. I hope it's helpful and maybe gives you a few ideas to try. Enjoy!