Exploring: Seattle and the Olympic Loop
This travel journal entry details a visit to Seattle and a road trip to Washington state's west coast.
top of page
- Apr 18, 2021
- 9 min
Hunting Ghosts, Pt. 2
If you came here by way of the “Hunting Ghosts, Pt. 1” entry, you should have a rough idea of how we survived that experience and, maybe not so surprisingly, arrived at a sequel. Just like before, one day, I received a call from an unfamiliar number (remember when we used to answer those?), and it was a hiring manager. “We’re doing another live show on Halloween, in Delaware this time,” the voice at the other end of the line said. “I’ll do it,” I said. “Do you need extra help
- Apr 10, 2021
- 4 min
Fear at the Peace Wall in Belfast
This post details my own experience of division at the Peace Wall in Belfast and a brief explainer of Ireland and Northern Ireland disputes.
- Mar 3, 2021
- 10 min
Hunting Ghosts, Pt. 1
A couple weeks ago, I was going through some paperwork and rediscovered a journal from a part of my past that continues to follow me around. People have brought it up at weddings, birthday parties, even a funeral… More than once, someone has walked up, joined the conversation, and a few minutes later, turned my way and asked “So you worked with the Ghost Hunters, huh?” I did, having spent Halloween night three years in a row working on investigations that were broadcast live,
- Nov 25, 2020
- 12 min
Exploring: Yosemite National Park, California
This travel journal details a visit to Yosemite National Park, located in California, and a stay in the nearby town of Mariposa.
- Aug 10, 2020
- 14 min
Exploring: Belize and a Guatemala Day Trip
This post details a trip to Belize (San Ignacio, San Pedro, ATM Cave), as well as a day trip to the Mayan ruins of Tikal in Guatemala.
- Jul 14, 2020
- 10 min
Exploring: Four Nights in Paris
“He who contemplates the depths of Paris is seized with vertigo. Nothing is more fantastic. Nothing is more tragic.” -Victor Hugo Stepping off the train from London, my first impression of Paris is that it’s hot… and humid. The air is like an ocean, and we swim through the moisture to our hotel down the road. It takes a half hour, and not figuring out some sort of transportation may have been a mistake. Along the way, we pass through clouds of cigarette smoke, and I think b
- Jul 5, 2020
- 9 min
Exploring: Three Days in London
This travel journal details three days spent exploring London.
- Jun 25, 2020
- 5 min
Getting Back to Hollywood Isn’t So Easy
The time has come to leave Italy. Thick, dark clouds are rolling into Venice as we take off, and that’s not a place I want to be when it rains. It’s been raining in London, where we will change planes, then the journey will continue on to home, Los Angeles. There is sometimes something mystical about aviation, about the change in perspective these giant, heavy “sardine cans” give you as they push their way through the skies. The window seat is always my preferred choice, and
- Jun 17, 2020
- 7 min
Exploring: Getting Lost (Literally) in Venice, Italy
This travel journal details both the fascination and confusion brought on by one of the world's great cities: Venice, Italy.
- Jun 7, 2020
- 7 min
Exploring: Florence, Italy
“The Creator made Italy from designs by Michael Angelo!”
-Mark Twain, “The Innocents Abroad”* In lieu of a “Welcome” sign, your arrival in Florence is marked by an increase in the amount of graffiti on walls running alongside the train tracks. At home in Los Angeles, dedicated crews remove such tagging in a perpetual game of Whack-a-Mole. Here, though, no one seems to mind, and you have to wonder if the oldest layers of paint date b
- May 31, 2020
- 4 min
Exploring: San Gimignano and Tuscan Wine Tasting
We start the day in Siena with a continental breakfast – the standard, uninspired fare of hardboiled eggs, cold cuts, cheese, bread. Evermore important, though, we get the party started by pounding some machine-made espresso, then we head outside. The van pulls up right on schedule, and we are the second couple in. We stop at two more hotels up the road, then begin the 45 minute trek along winding roads of Tuscany. Eventually, the medieval towers of San Gimignano start to pee
- May 25, 2020
- 5 min
Exploring: Intro to Tuscany / Destination Siena
“Tuscany looks like what all of Italy should look like.”
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (attributed) We stare out the train window as the green, rolling hills glide by, somewhere between Rome and our next destination north, the Tuscan city of Siena. Along the way, we occasionally spot old, crumbling castles perched atop hills in the distance, slowly being claimed by nature. Small villages hug mountain ridges, leaving me to wonder how they en
- May 17, 2020
- 6 min
Exploring: Pompeii and Naples, Italy
This post details a day trip to Naples and Pompeii from Rome, during our summer excursion through Italy.
- May 8, 2020
- 4 min
Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day
The big news today is that it’s been 75 years since Nazi Germany formally accepted surrender against the Allied Forces, marking the end of World War II in Europe. During vacation in 2017, we were exposed to ghosts of the past while visiting Hungary, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and Poland. I will dive into our overall experiences in those countries at a later time. For now, I want to commemorate the anniversary by sharing some of what we saw and learned during our travel
- May 3, 2020
- 5 min
Exploring: Travel Blog Intro / Rome, Italy
This post details the Rome portion of our summer travels through Italy.
- Jan 6, 2013
- 5 min
Ringing in the New Year in San Francisco (updated 2022)
Table of Contents:
Napa
Winchester Mystery House
San Francisco
Saving Money Safety Tips INTRO: Hopefully you rang in the new year in whatever way you wanted to ring it in. As for me, I traveled, again. It’s somewhat of a common theme, in between those new years eve nights where I literally do nothing aside from having a beer and/or glass of champagne while watching TV. On the more exciting occasions, I’ve celebrated NYE in Times Square, Washington DC, Cincinnati, and now San
- Nov 13, 2012
- 4 min
Ghost Hunting in Delaware (Before the Memories Fade)
Over the years, my line of work has kept me from enjoying many holidays in the same way so many others do. I’ve missed several New Years celebrations, 4th of July, part of a couple Thanksgivings, and a few Halloweens… and there’s also Labor Day and Memorial Day. Being pulled away for work is sometimes a real bummer, and other times it has been for really incredible opportunities. One of those that fall into the “worth it” category is the work I did on one of the more popular
- Sep 10, 2012
- 3 min
Mastering the Joy of Flight
There is something mystical about aviation. I love the window seat and find myself staring at the landscape miles below on every trip. There is so much beauty to take in, and sometimes it’s just as awe-inspiring as being grounded but randomly spotting an old World War II-era bomber slowly making its way across the sky. The last big trip allowed me to experience the sight of so, so much – things like the Olympic stadium and Big Ben clock tower in London, colorful French farms,
- Jul 31, 2012
- 2 min
The Strangest Coincidence of My Life
Working on Ghost Hunters has left a sort of lasting legacy on my life. I am far, far away from that work now, but there are frequent reminders of all that time spent on the road in those cold, dark places. Now working on a scripted show, I watched an actor walk in for a script/table read last week… it was Steve Valentine, who just so happened to host the Ghost Hunters Halloween live show in Delaware in 2008. Imagine that! The last time I saw him was nearly 3,000 miles away, o
bottom of page