I was sitting outside on a warm August evening, taking in the magnificent sight of Idaho’s Snake River Canyon, when it occurred to me just how much there is to see in the world – and how lucky I am to experience even just a fraction of it.

I was in Idaho for a work trip and, after a quick Google search on things to do in the area, learned that dining at Elevation 486 was a tourist’s dream for seeing the Snake River Canyon that daredevil Evel Knievel had attempted to jump across in 1974. Up to that point, Twin Falls was just like any other quiet city I’d come across, with its strip malls and chain restaurants lining its major thoroughfares. I couldn’t believe that a canyon 50 miles long and 500 feet deep could be hidden in the same area.

Even as my navigation was less than a minute away from the restaurant, I could only see tall brown grasses all around me. I pulled into the parking lot of what looked to be a business area, stepped out of the car, and –

There it was, just beyond the walking trail alongside the office buildings: a wide expanse of browns, greens, and grays stretching out far beyond what my eyes could follow, with the gray-blue river snaking along the canyon floor.

No one had envied me when I had said I was going to Idaho for work. No one had ever told me “you have to visit Twin Falls!” And yet there I was, looking out at one of the most breathtakingly beautiful sights I’d seen that year, and all I could think was “how did I not know this existed?”

It’s hard to believe that, just three years before, I had only been to two other U.S. states besides California.

My visit to Idaho marked my 7th state in just that year alone.

Every place I’ve been to has a story behind it. Every place has its own treasures and surprises. I believe that if you have an open, curious mind, you’ll appreciate just about anywhere, and come away from travel feeling more connected to the world than before. That, to me, is the best part about traveling.

Traveling can also be scary, stressful, and disappointing. But I’ve yet to travel anywhere that didn’t teach me something new or valuable, or that I felt had absolutely no value in the journey.

Being able to travel is a privilege, even though I believe it should be a right. Everyone should be able to visit as much of the world as they’d like, enjoy different cuisines, see unbelievable natural wonders, and get to know the locals. Unfortunately, travel can be expensive, and even as I type this, prices are continuing to rise. It’s becoming even more of a luxury to simply live in one place, let alone venture out across the globe.

I am incredibly fortunate to be able to travel as often as I do. Much of the credit goes to my having a job that requires travel, which has afforded me brief but memorable visits to places I’d never expected to see. However, I know not everyone has this privilege, which is partly why I’ve started this blog.

My goal in starting this blog is threefold:

1. To maintain a digital diary of my travels for myself, my family, and friends to look back on,

2. To inspire a wider audience to travel, or to at least live vicariously through my journeys if traveling isn’t an option, and

3. To share lesser known perspectives and stories about places that we’ve been told a single story about, especially my own home: the San Francisco Bay Area.

Let’s go.