World Dracula Day – New Dracula book trailer
Happy World Dracula Day (May 26th) to those who celebrate! On this most solemn of occasions, isn’t it time you learned the horrifying, true history of Vlad “The Impaler” Dracula, who somehow managed to be a psychopath and a national hero? (Hint: The answer is “yes.”) Buy or gift Backpacking…
Coin Hunt World – Legit? Fun? My impressions after two weeks of playing
I’m naturally a suspicious person. I like my paranoia like I like my jalapenos: Just enough to burn a little. So, when a buddy told me about something called “Coin Hunt World”, all my scam alarms rang. Free cryptocurrency to play the equivalent of Pokemon Go? There’s no way that’s…
Blogger writes clickbait response to clickbait and you won’t believe what happens next
Debateably famous travel blogger Leif Pettersen, best known for his tireless perseverance in the face of having no idea what’s he’s doing, banged out a scathing response to clickbait that he clicked on and immediately regretted earlier this week. Pettersen seems to have taken issue with the body of the…
Adventures in press trips: Best press trip ever in Colorado
After the tale of the fun, but sadly un-pitchable group press trip around Baden-Württemberg, Germany, I thought I’d follow it up with one of the best press trips of my entire life: a solo road trip stopping at some of the best places to visit in Colorado, with a focus…
A serious SEO overview, seriously
So you read my guide on how to set up a travel blog, did all that work exactly as I described it, and now you would like people who are not your mom or significant other to read it? In that case, you’ll need a serious SEO overview and you’ve…
Will travel be normal in 2022?
We’re taking a(nother) break from our regularly scheduled goofballery this week to answer the pressing question: “Will travel return to normal in 2022?” Regular readers of this blog will know that I don’t write consumer travel content very often. It’s just not my thing. What’s my thing? Thank you for…
Adventures in press trips: German RV travel and wine tasting combo
Sixteen ill-equipped travel journalists drive nine, massive campervans in a convoy of RV travel around southern Germany. Travel journalists are frequently called upon to partake in new and strange activities while on press trips – and sometimes, when temporary insanity strikes, while on vacation. In more than a decade of…
All you need to know about “Defund the police” Minneapolis amendment
That’s right, we’re going off-topic again, but this time it’s for a very important reason. We’re only weeks away from the November 2021 election and the Minneapolis ballot has a crucial charter amendment question about establishing a Department of Public Safety, or as it’s more popularly known, “defund the police.”…
How did Dracula die? – From my book Backpacking with Dracula
It’s almost Halloween and you know what that means; a new round of manufactured urban legends to distract and scare simpleminded people into ignoring that their Republican elected officials probably wouldn’t stop to pee on them if they were on fire. But! It also means a reliable uptick in interest…
My appearance on the Rick Steves radio show (Halloween encore)
Though it feels like a lifetime ago, it’s been five years since I recorded this interview with Rick Steves, talking about Vlad “The Impaler” Dracula. It was one of the maybe three or five instances in my whole life where I benefited from exquisite timing. Steves had recently returned from…
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