"Small Riot" in Damascus

One of the biggest differences in culture between the western world and the middle east is the way men communicate with each other. In the west when two men are having a conversation they generally keep their voices down and maintain a very steady demeanor. However, in the middle east even a simple conversation between two adult men can sound like a huge argument. They tend to talk really loud, really fast and get very animated. By the time we made it to Damascus,Syria Lindsay and I had grown quite accustom to this, however, one day while exploring the "souqs"(markets) we had quite the surprise. We saw two men outside of a little shop yelling at each other. We brushed this off as being the norm and were shocked when all of the sudden one of the men slapped the other. We of course could not take our eyes off the scene unfolding in front of us and kept watching from a distance. Eventually the man that was slapped stormed off and we thought the whole ordeal was over...we were wrong. Withing a matter of minutes the scene turned to compete chaos. All of the sudden there was a large crowd of men running towards us and another group of men behind us yelling and calling them on. The scene came to a climax when one man took off his belt and began swinging it over his head like Indiana Jones (honestly). Lindsay went in to "stare" mode and just stood there in shock staring at the complete riot unfolding in front of us. I on the other hand had a moment of instincts and just grabbed Lindsay's hand and started running the opposite direction. The last situation I wanted to be in was to be an American stuck in a Middle Eastern riot. We eventually got our way out of the chaos and within a few minutes the fighting had stopped and people were beginning to get back to normal. We spent the rest of the evening almost laughing at what we had just been a part off...it was an experience we will never forget.

The first picture below is of Lindsay in the market before the craziness started :)

Charleston, South Carolina

In October of 2008 Lindsay and I took a trip down to Florida to visit her brother. We had a couple of days to explore and decided to take a quick road trip up to Charleston, South Carolina. I have wanted to visit this city ever since taking an "American Architecture" class in college. Charleston is a true American colonial city with a great "southern charm." We arrived in the late afternoon and spent the entire evening exploring the cobblestone streets, southern mansions and beautiful gardens. The grand and pure white St. Michael's church was amazing and the beautiful old southern mansions along Murray Blvd were unbelievable. Almost all of the buildings and houses in Charleston are painted in bright colors and have been completely restored. The look and feel of this city is truly unique among any other city we have been to in the United States. Although its a small city, and one that is easily overlooked, it should not be missed!

Casablanca, Morocco.

Casablanca is a city I have always wanted to visit and I am not sure why. The modern Moroccan capital is a long ways from the romantic Oceanside city we all imagine from the old Hollywood movie. These days the city is filled with crime, religious tensions, extreme wealth & poverty, etc. However, if you look close enough you can still find the charm of this historic city. Lindsay and I arrived in Casablanca around 1:00 am on a flight from Cairo, Egypt. After taking a very expensive taxi ride into the city (can't bargain much at 1:00 am) we checked into our hotel and crashed. The next morning we had about 4-5 hours to experience the city before we caught the afternoon train to Marrakesh. We walked around and explored on our own and eventually picked up a cab to take us back to the Hotel. We ended up really loving our Cab Driver and asked if we could hire him for a quick "whirlwind tour" of his city. What followed was a fun morning of great sights, great conversation and just plain fun. The first place he took us was the old historic fort that used to protect the city. Up next was the beautiful and GIGANTIC Hassan II Mosque that sits right on the edge of the sea. We then "cruised" the upscale beaches, neighborhoods and districts. We finished off the morning at a beach that had a small island just off the coast full of dense, white buildings. It turns out this tiny island is a village full of very poor inhabitants that simply swim, float or walk (during low tide) to shore if they need too. We ended up really enjoying Casablanca and only wished we had more time to experience more of this fascinating city.

"Old Jaffa"

The modern city of Tel Aviv Israel feels like a Mediterranean "beach town." Beautiful golden beaches, skyscraper hotels and clubs galore. Placed right in the middle of this new urban metropolis is an ancient port city called Jaffa (Joppa in the Bible). Lindsay and I discovered this charming little enclave during an evening stroll along Tel Aviv's main beach. In the late afternoon we started walking south towards a small, tight group of buildings on the south end of the beach. As we made are way south the glass skyscrapers were gone and the old streets, buildings and churches of little "Jaffa" began to appear. We arrived around sunset and immediately feel in love with this charming ancient port city. The buildings are all golden brown with small windows and doors painted bright blue. The beautiful main square has a large old Church, a nice park and a number of alleyways that branch off in different directions. The streets are made of stone, large palm trees sway in the breeze and little cafes and shops are on every corner...it is truly a beautiful little town. Lindsay and I enjoyed the rest of our evening sitting in the main square watching the sun go down over "Old Jaffa."

Samoeng Loop:

One of the quintessential experiences when backpacking around Thailand is to rent a scooter. In the beautiful mountain town of Chang Mae Lindsay and I decided to have this experience. I had read in numerous blogs about this incredibly beautiful mountain road called the "Samoeng Loop." I had visions of cruising along this mountain highway watching the little farms, beautiful streams and majestic mountains pass us by. This is exactly how it was, however, we first had to conquer a few hurtles:

1. They drive on the left in Thailand (the owner of the shop kept saying "always on the left").
2. Traffic is incredible chaotic.
3. I have the worse luck in the world with Motorcycles.

We found a cute little rental place right in the center of the city, I handed them my passport and 10 minutes later we were cruising along on a little red scooter. Although I had read a lot about this loop I was not entirely sure how to get there, all I was going off of was the memorized "google earth" images in my head. On one of the busiest roads in Chang Mae I was not paying attention and all of the sudden I felt Lindsay squirm; when I looked up we were headed right for the back of the car in front of us...we literally skidded to a stop inches from the car! Anyway, after a lot of turns and dead ends we finally found our way to the Samoeng Loop. It ended up being everything we had imagined and more. We took our time stopping at the occasional waterfall and valley view. The hills were dotted with little huts and farms and the green forest surrounding the road was spectacular. We will simply never forget it!

Road Trippin to San Francisco:

A couple of years ago it was labor day and Lindsay and I were anxious to go somewhere. My sister Allison also had the travel bug as her husband was out of town and she had time to hang out. Thanks to Hotwire.com we found an incredible deal on a downtown hotel and at the last minute decided to take off and head on a road trip to San Francisco. We spent the first evening in a shady Reno motel but by the next morning we were crossing the Bay Bridge into one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Once in San Francisco we hit all the major sites: Fisherman's Wharf, China Town, Golden Gate Bridge, etc. We also spent an afternoon hanging out around the hippy district of "Haight & Ashbury." In the 60's my father Ken was a missionary in this area and we went and found his old flat on Carl Street. We also spent some time checking out the Marina District and the Ebarcedero as we have had both a brother and sister live there. At nights we hung out in North Beach and Coit Tower and by day we cruised all the major shopping districts like Union Square, Market Street, etc. We ate at good restaurants, enjoyed the architecture and just all around had a fantastic weekend in the "city by the bay." If you live in Utah then a weekend adventure to San Francisco is an unbeatable roadtrip!

Speed Boat Around Thai Islands:

During our 2006 backpacking trip to Thailand Lindsay and I spent about a week down around the beautiful coastal town of Krabi. This part of the Thai coast is absolutely gorgeous with sandy beaches, blue water and huge rock cliffs that shoot straight up out of the water. After a few days of just hanging out we got "anxious" to see more of the islands around this beautiful country. We decided to pay $60 to take a speed boat tour around the islands. Considering we were on a backpackers budget this was quite the splurge. When we first got on the boat and met the other passengers (mostly Chinese tourist) and the Captain (a Thai version of Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Carribean) we were quite skeptical. However, this boat trip turned out to be an incredible experience! We stopped by the Phi Phi Islands, when to Maya Bay beach (were the movie "The Beach" was filmed) and snorkeled around a reef that was in the middle of the ocean! This last experience was exceptionally memorable; the boat was in the middle of the ocean and then all of the sudden it just stopped. It looked like we were just sitting on top of hundreds off feet of water but when the captain told us to put on the snorkel mask and jump in we were shocked to see that we were actually on top of an AMAZINGLY colorful coral reef. We were also blown away by the color of the sand and water around these islands. The ocean has a turquoise color and the beaches are pure white. This speed boat tour ended up being a great way to see a lot of the coast without having a lot of time; we will never forget it!

Sunset Beach:

In March 2007 we went with Lindsay's mom Pat to Hawaii. Thanks to my sister and her husband we had a beautiful house to stay at and we just couldn't resist taking this short trip to the beautiful islands. Every time we go to Hawaii we try and take off to the North Shore to play and hang out and this trip was no exception. The first full day we were there we took a drive along the "Kam" highway and arrived at the north shore right before sunset. We decided to chill at "sunset beach" to witness what it was famous for...the sunset. We just hung out, played in the water, watched the surfers and witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. When it got really spectacular we busted out the camera to take as many pictures as we could. It doesn't get much better then hanging out with family (Pat, Lindsay, Allison and Marriott) on Sunset beach on the North Shore of Oahu!

Fireflies in North Carolina:

In the summer of 2007 Lindsay and I took a trip back to Charlotte, North Carolina which is my old "mission field." After a few days taking in that cosmopolitan city we headed north to the small town of Thomasville which is were I started my mission. It was a beautiful southern summer evening and we were just driving along some of the cute country roads around Thomasville. We eventually stopped at a field and noticed that there were a lot of fireflies. The scene was beautiful: sunset, green hills and fireflies everywhere...it was just how I remembered it. We spent a good hour just catching fireflies, frogs and enjoying the beautiful "south."

Sunrise over Saudi Arabia.

There is a very unique part of the world were the countries of Egypt, Israel and Jordan come together and border the Red Sea. On this narrow strip of land each country has developed their own little “beach town” such as Aquaba in Jordan, Eilat in Israel and Taba in Egypt. After traveling for 2 straight weeks in the Middle East Lindsay and I decided to “splurge” on a hotel close to the beach in Eilat. This hotel would be comparable to something like a Hampton-Inn by western standards but compared to the small hotels/hostels we had been staying at it might as well have been the Ritz. Upon arrival we learned that for some reason we were being bumped up to a top-floor room overlooking the ocean. When we got to the room we were amazed by the view. We could see the Red Sea right in front of us and the desert mountains of Saudi Arabia in the distance. We only had one night in the hotel as we had to wake up early the next morning to catch a small flight to Tel Aviv, thus, we set our alarms for early in the morning and went to bed. The next morning we awoke to one of the most beautiful sunrises we had ever seen. The early morning sun cast shades of purple, blue and red on the normally brown desert landscape. The sea was calm and the countries of Jordan and Saudi Arabia sat still in the distance. We took a few moments to enjoy watching the world wake up and felt lucky to have witnessed the desert “come alive” with color. It was a sunrise that we will never forget.

"The Decapolis"

Lindsay and I are very big fans of modern architecture and design...especially with hotels. This translates into us always trying to find unique hotels to “splurge on” every once in awhile. (We learned this art from my older sister Allison who is the design “pro”) The most modern and unique hotel we have ever stayed at was “The Decapolis” in Panama City, Panama. Surprisingly enough this hotel was owned by Radisson but it was nothing like the other hotels of that brand that we had seen before. It was located right in downtown Panama City and was a 20+ story tower made of steel, cement and glass. The lobby was an atrium that went up 10 floors and had stairs made of steel/wood with lights running along the bottom. The pool was on the 5th floor deck and the bottom was made of glass so that in the restaurant below you could see the people swimming above you (a little creepy but really unique). When we checked-in we were given a room on one of the highest floors and when we opened the door we were blown away. The room had a platform bed, floor to ceiling windows and modern décor all throughout. It looked out over the skyline of downtown, The Pacific Ocean and old historic Panama City. The only thing we thought was weird was the wall size nude photos of the local Indian populations (tasteful but really weird). This hotel should have cost lots of money but since we were in Central America it was quite affordable. If you want to go modern, go Decapolis!