That Time I Stood Up to a Homophobic, Transphobic Bully – Also, a Pastor

A storyteller I follow refers to his growth in the numerical unit of past iterations of himself. “That was eight Robs ago,” he’d say of himself, back when he used to believe one thing or behave a totally different way. I’ve started viewing my own growth in this vein, thinking about all the Toms that have existed in this singular Tom, particularly with regard to this active-passive dynamic. My passivity has run especially true in matters of relational conflict. Given the option to fight a conflict or flight a conflict (please excuse my incorrect usage of a noun as a verb in the name of symmetry), I will flight nine times out of ten. Ah, but then there’s always that one instance…

Everybody Needs an Uncle Pat

I became an uncle six years ago, and Uncle Pat has always been my template for uncling. Because everyone needs an Uncle Pat. Someone to remember them on their birthdays, buy them Slurpees, ask about their lives, and drive them around on special journeys. If my nieces or future nephews ever have anything positive to say about their Uncle Tom, it will be because Uncle Pat showed me how to uncle well.

The Joys and Challenges of Traveling Solo Across Alaska

Here’s a multi-faceted realization I’ve found in recent years: I absolutely love to travel solo — and most people absolutely do not. Traveling solo doesn’t daunt me; indeed, it ignites something primal and wondrous in me. Comparing myself to how most other people travel, though, is another mountain: Why are they not like me? Why am I not at all like them?

Alaska, At Last

Back in 2020, in that early sliver of what was sure to be a promising year, I started making preliminary plans to visit Alaska. Known widely as “The Last Frontier” and my own final frontier, too. I’d traveled to 49 states since touching down in Hawaii a couple years prior, and it was time, at last, to conquer them all. Well. We all know why that trip didn’t happen. And it’s been plaguing me ever since. Three and a half years of longing for Alaska. Until now. I refuse to long any longer.

What About Bob’s Son

I don’t know anybody in Ukraine myself. But I do know someone – a few someones – you can be praying for stateside. I’ve been reminded of Bob from my Running To adventure. Remember Bob? Sure you do. He’s the single dad from Maine, a university professor I found on Couchsurfing who asked if I was sure I’d had enough soup for dinner. Oh Bob. So folksy with that thick Maine accent. Bob never married but always wanted to be a dad. So, he adopted two sons: the older from Russia and the younger…from Ukraine.

5 Years With a Blue Ridge Home

Come whimsy or mayhem, for five years running the road keeps leading me back here to the Blue Ridge. However many nights I’ve actually slept in a bedroom here, it is indeed starting to feel something like home. I stared at the hills the other day and prayed, “God, please don’t let it ever grow old.”

You Need to LEAVE

The words “leave” and “stay” keep colliding with one another, over and over throughout my adulthood. I’m learning the equal and opposite power of each.

The STRUGGLING WELL Mug is Finally Here!

My TMZ store is now LIVE, and it only took me 9 years to launch! You can order my two books there, along with some stickers and the super exciting first edition STRUGGLING WELL coffee mug. I really appreciate the support through my autoimmune disease journey toward remission, and beyond!

I Have an Autoimmune Disease. How You Can Help.

After spending a week in the hospital last month, I got diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease: a form of vasculitis called granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), formerly Wegener’s disease. Now begins the long journey toward remission.

Debt-Free

Before I knew it, YOB was no longer a hobby. It could no longer be treated that way – that is, if I wanted it to grow further. And I did. I knew I could pay off my Juke and be debt-free if I simply kept working at the boarding school through 2017 and maybe a little into 2018. Paying off a 4-year loan in a little over a year was absolutely doable. But that inner beckoning grew louder and stronger.

Pen Strokes and Chisels to the Soul

I’ve grown more in the last two years than the previous ten. More than ever, I feel God’s hand guiding mine like pen strokes while chiseling my soul. A mystical also brutal process.

Death, Delight, and an Unexpected Return to Acadia National Park

My grandfather’s death a few weeks ago prompted a significant change to my #RunningOut road trip’s course. And so, I returned to Acadia National Park in Maine for a reunion with a pivotal white sand beach, remembering Ahh’s legacy of love while piecing together the puzzling pages of my next chapter.

Do Not Calm This Storm

Jesus won’t calm the storm with a single word. His way is a way of work. Of picking up crosses daily. Of lugging said crosses up mountains. Of taking the narrower way of all the broader ways available to my wanderlust.

City of Macaroons and Broken Dreams

I entered Charlotte with gargantuan hopes. Hopes that wherever I landed after #RunningTo would be the city I’d call home the rest of my life. A city of dreams fulfilled that simultaneously kept adding new ones. I stare at this Queen City skyline with kind of a hopeless sigh. I failed this place.

When Writing a Book Isn’t Worth It

I completed writing my second book in September — a mammoth project three years in the making. For weeks and months and, yes, years, I legitimately wondered if the thing would ever get finished. I faced a lot of demons during the writing of this book: Despair that my epic journey was over, a reality […]

I Need to Hear Again: or, Why I’m Quitting My Job and Hitting the Road

In third grade, my music teacher told us the story of Beethoven. I think it was Beethoven. I’m too lazy to google it now. When Beethoven first started losing his hearing, he inserted a metal tube into his ear to help him drown out the excess noise and focus his hearing. As his hearing worsened, […]

kill the twentysomething

My twenties are gone. Forever. I’ve often been accused of being too dramatic, both on this blog and in “real life.” I’m too emotional. Too heavy and melancholy and not enough amounts of light-hearted and sunny. So, in an effort to balance out my being, I’m going to reminisce on my greatest hits as a […]

Running To: The Book Trailer

For the better part of a year, I’ve been compiling video footage from a road trip that took me from California to the Carolinas and practically everywhere in between. I’ve been editing a hybrid retrospective / book trailer for days and weeks at a time, and I’ve also forgotten about it and left it to collect dust […]

The Best Worst Year in the Blue Ridge

I’m the kind of guy who compares anything to everything: my favorite TV show (Survivor) to my least favorite (The Bachelor), the best month (April) to the worst month (November), the greatest year of my life (2012) to the very worst (2006). I can’t help it. I compare. It’s what I do. It’s why I […]

Another disaster of a year begins . . .

I hate new years. I hate resolutions. I hate the assumption that just because the calendar changes from one month and one year to the next, the past is wiped clean and anything is possible — well, for about two and a half weeks. And then it’s back to tubs of ice cream and pornography. […]

I Watched Gilmore Girls and Now I’m Thinking Too Much

I watched the Gilmore Girls revival over the weekend. There. I said it. Laugh at me. Deride me. Label me with your sharpest effeminate nicknames. It’s not like I have masculine issues or anything. I grew up with a little sister who loved Gilmore Girls, and as such, I saw more than a few episodes. I was […]

Carlessness, Homelessness, and a Sea of Golden Butterflies

I sold my car last week. T’was already the second time I said goodbye to a vehicle this year; unlike the first, I couldn’t have been more thrilled to sign over this title. The reasons for selling were many — impatience, finances, the government — and, ultimately, I went with my gut. My gut said […]

Don’t Ruin the Future

Last weekend, I returned to one of those pivotal places of the past. The city: Gatlinburg, Tennessee. My last official #RunningTo stop before retreating to a cabin in the woods for 36 solitary hours to figure out whether I’d move to Milwaukee or Gettysburg or Charlotte to round out my 9 months on the road. […]

I’m Hitting the Road Again

When my roommate left for a trip a couple weeks ago, I determined I’d dive back into Couchsurfing again. I’d hosted 10-15 folks going back to my move to Asheville in February, but only one in the prior four months. I stopped hosting for various reasons. My roommate and I had lots of friends visit […]

Goodbye, Chunks of My Soul

Some friends recently visited me, and now I almost wish they hadn’t. Almost. It’s still a shiny, new thing for me to host people in my home and city. A couple folks visited me back when I lived in California, mostly my immediate family. But nothing compares to these last 8 months in Asheville. I’ve had […]

Four Seasons Later

I wore a sweater to work the other day. I climbed half-naked out of bed with a shiver and noted the morning temperature a brisk 49 degrees. So, I grabbed a light sweater from my closet — the first time I’ve worn one since March or April. Since I first moved to Asheville. Winter. Spring. Summer. […]

Unpacking My 3 Fictional Selves

Every now and then, Twitter messes me up — a 73-character lightning tweet of conviction or a common hashtag stirring genuine conversation. I’m a thinker, I live in my head, I get lost in my head, and if something sparks a thought, I’ll likely be embroiled in a mental forest fire by eventide. Twitter recently […]

Why I Share My Story

I launched my first podcast a few weeks ago. I’ve wanted to be an author since first grade show-and-tell, but I never dreamt of being a podcaster — if for no other reason than I hated my voice. Although I suppose not knowing what a “podcast” was until just three years ago is another significant factor. After discovering […]

The Hardest Video I’ve Ever Made

I don’t consider myself a videographer. I’m an artist first, a writer second, and somewhere within my inner swirl of creativity there’s room for music and painting and photography and even a little film. I have a YouTube channel, and I’ve shot/edited/published several videos over the years. Most of them are carefree and spontaneous and wandering-induced […]

When a Handshake Becomes a Hug

I’m approaching my one-month anniversary of moving to Asheville and manning my very own dwelling place, and I’m slowly figuring it all out, from living room arrangements to cooking my own meals. For the life of me, I can’t figure out how to hang things on walls without puncturing said walls, per my lease, but […]

I’ve Never Been More Hopeful and Terrified

Last week I “celebrated” the one-year anniversary of my cross-continental road trip’s conclusion. And by “celebrated,” I mean to say I cried multiple times by day’s end. No dramatic gasping wheezing weeping sessions, but I dabbed my eyes throughout the afternoon and evening as I looked back at some images from the road, including that final one of […]

Goodbye, Charlotte

On March 9, 2015, I concluded a 9-month road trip around the continent with a relocation from southern California to Charlotte, North Carolina. “Why Charlotte?” many people asked, including several Charlotte residents. “It wasn’t my favorite city,” I told plenty. If I wanted to start over in a “favorite city,” I’d be donning a year-round beanie in […]

One Year Later: I’ve Forgotten All About You

One year ago today, I watched the sun rise over the rim of the Grand Canyon. It was the start of a road trip without limits. I had no idea when or even where it would end. One year later, now settled in Charlotte for the last three months, I’m still thinking a lot about that road trip. […]

28.2 Road Trip Travel Tips

Over the course of my 282 days on the road, I built a list of 28.2 road trip travel tips. I gathered some of these valuable tips from other wanderers who’d trekked before me; many others, I learned as I went. I wanted to share my list with you for whenever the road beckons your name as it did mine. […]

My #RunningTo Road Trip Playlist

I spent 282 days on the road in a car without working speakers. Some might have called my predicament tragic. Many folks offered their disbelieving condolences over the course of 26,301 miles. But my speakerlessness had been nothing new. My Mitsy actually hasn’t had operable speakers since 2011. While initially tragic, my car’s thundering silence grew on me. […]

My 11 Most Memorable States & Provinces of #RunningTo

I saw 48 states and 6 Canadian provinces during my 282 days of #RunningTo. I could tell you at least one distinct moment from each state and province visited, though certain ones were more diverse and memorable than others. And so . . . I compiled this controversial list. To be clear, this top-11 list is not my “favorite” […]

WWBGD: What Would Bob Goff Do?

Bob Goff is one of my heroes. I first heard about Bob in a Donald Miller book, and then he wrote a book himself. After reading Love Does, I got the sense that Bob Goff does something epic and whimsical every single day. He rides an Indian elephant to work or makes a balloon elephant for a child […]

My 11 Favorite Instagram Images of #RunningTo

I saw some incredible things for 282 days on the road. Met some even more incredible people. Took countless pictures of all those things and people and priceless experiences. For this week’s #RunningTo memorial, I figured I would TRY compiling my 11 favorite Instagram images from my continental road trip. I literally looked at every single picture and […]

My 11 Favorite Coffee Shops in America

After spending 282 days on the road in 48 states, I encountered dozens of coffee shops. I hit plenty of Paneras and Starbuckses from coast to coast, but I visited many local coffee shops as well. The stereotypical writer in a coffee shop that I am, all this coffee shop hopping was actually one of my favorite facets […]

Nothing Lasts. That’s the Beauty.

Before I embarked on what would ultimately amass a 9-month quest across the continent, I invested in some business cards with a personal quote on the back. Those 22 words soon encompassed something so much more than a mere road trip: I tend to wander. It doesn’t make me lost; it just helps me find things I didn’t know I […]

#RunningTo Stats: By the Numbers

Last week my nine-month road trip finally crossed the finish line in Charlotte. It’s been an interesting week, to say the least — a unique week of an unsettling settling. I’m certain I’ll have more to blog about as this altogether new journey in the Queen City unfolds, but in the meantime I want to […]

Why I Moved to Charlotte and Why I’m Freaking Out

Last weekend, I concluded my nine-month road trip with one final adventure to the Smokies. It was a gorgeous time. It was a torturous time. It was a sleepy solitary much needed recharging time. That cabin in the Smokies was a distraction-free arena to determine my post-journey existence. After nine long months on the road, I’d narrowed down my next chapter to three cities. Three […]

#RunningTo Weeks 39-40 in Review: Watkinsville & Athens, GA

The final two weeks of my road trip took me home to my parents and a smattering of old friends in the Watkinsville/Athens, Georgia area. It was a fitting end for a nine-month journey that took me coast to coast. A chance to recharge and refuel and reunite with some of the dearest people in […]

My Road Trip Finally Ends This Weekend and I’m Terrified

Nine months. Nine months and a week, actually. 40 weeks: that will be the ultimate span of this #RunningTo road trip. Before I left southern California last May, I had no clue how long the road would wind. Your guess would have been as good as mine. Two months? Seven? Seventy times seven? The longer I […]

#RunningTo Week 38 in Review: Signal Mountain, TN & Stone Mountain, GA

It was a tale of two mountains in Week 38 of #RunningTo. First, Signal Mountain in Tennessee; then, Stone Mountain in Georgia. I blogged about the former adventure of a Valentine’s Day hike with my brother. I posted many pictures in that post, including the mile-long romantic/tragic trail of rock-graffiti. All in all a very lovely […]

I Don’t Entirely Know Who I Am Anymore

Last week was a great week. I reunited with my parents, brother, sister, and brother-to-be. Parties and meals and heart-to-heart conversations all affirming how blessed I am. On Valentine’s Day I spontaneously trekked to Signal Mountain in southern Tennessee with my brother and his roommate. The hilarity of three dudes doing dude-things in the mountains on a day devoted to romantic bliss […]

#RunningTo Week 37 in Review: Back to Alabama & Tennessee

I’M BACK. Back for another #RunningTo Week in Review, and back to some familiar paths once wandered. Last week, I conquered my quest for the Lower 48; this week, I decided to retrace some steps taken a few months ago. I surprised my sister at her engagement party in Alabama, and I finished recording my Struggle Central audiobook in […]

The First Time I Leapt for the Unknown

A friend recently told me my life is crazy. You know, this whole “driving around the continent and staying with strangers for nearly a year on end” deal. Ten years ago, he said he wouldn’t have believed I’d ever do something like this. I agreed with him; I wouldn’t have believed me either. I’ve taken a lot of […]

#RunningTo Week 36 in Review: Savannah, Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Brewton-Parker College

ONWARD. My road trip may be nearing the end, but I still found some places in the Southeast worth wandering. Week 36 rounded out my quest for the Contiguous 48. First up, Savannah. I can’t believe I’d never explored this city until now. The spooky/ethereal Spanish Moss trees make for some of the sweetest streets and city squares I’ve ever […]

#RunningTo VLOG: Hunting Island Lighthouse

I’M SORRY, GUYS. I haven’t posted nearly as many video blogs as I envisioned doing prior to #RunningTo. Lately I’ve been posting some 10-second video clips on Instagram, but it’s not the same as epic explorations sprinkled with word vomit. I promise this wandering vlog isn’t as gross as I just described it. It comes from DAY 243 […]

#RunningTo Week 35 in Review: Columbia, Charleston, Hunting Island

Hey there, my wanderers! It’s time for another installment of my photographic review from the wandering week that was. My week started in Columbia, by far one of my favorite stops of this whole trip for the people alone. I had a strong connection to this obscure city from a friend in California, and it was awesome to […]

#RunningTo Week 34 in Review: Charlotte, Greenville, Columbia

Sweet Carolina. From North to South, I can’t escape. And I’m loving it. Week 34 of #RunningTo took me from the Queen City of Charlotte to a couple cities in that other Carolina to the south. Charlotte gave me some great views and, shall we say, eclectic restaurants. Greenville provided quite the artsy park. And then there was Columbia, the […]

North Carolina Never Disappoints

North Carolina has always been good to me. Well, I mean, there was that whole Ridgecrest debacle — but that only lasted a couple weeks. The rest of that 2012 summer quite literally changed the rest of my life. Then there was another North Carolinian summer in 2007 — that time me and my siblings took our first […]

#RunningTo Week 33 in Review: Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Norfolk, North Carolina

Now that the holidays have come and gone, it’s time for me to reassume some familiar routines: namely, recapping the wandering week that was! Here’s what went down this past week — my 33rd on the road. I exchanged my family in eastern Pennsylvania for Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and it was gorgeous. The Chesapeake Bay has a thing […]

Don’t Ever Celebrate New Year’s in New York

I could’ve played it safe. Playing it safe is comfortable and easy and it’s what everyone else expects of you. Instead, I rang in the new year at Times Square. You might’ve heard. It was a semi-impromptu decision between me and a good friend. I’m glad I did it — glad we did it. I […]

#RunningTo Weeks 30-32 in Review: New York City & Langhorne, PA

Hello, my wanderers! And a very happy new year to you all. Wow, 2015. Can you believe it? The long foreseen year of perpetual hoverboard references is finally upon us. One of my friends said she loves odd-numbered years, and while I found her comment odd, I do think it’s gonna be an awesome year ahead. I […]

And This Christmas Tolls With Treacherous Hope

It hurts to hope. I suppose I have always known this, but it is a lesson more thoroughly learned after six long months on the road. A hardened realization that has hit me with the thrust of a 75 mile-per-hour collision. It hurts to hope for work in wintry seasons of joblessness. Hurts to hope in plates and people spread round an otherwise […]

#RunningTo Week 29 in Review: Cleveland & All Over Pennsylvania

It’s time for my last #RunningTo Week in Review of 2014! I’ll be settling into eastern Pennsylvania for a two-week holiday hiatus. Knowing my family, I’m sure there will be a motley of photographic moments to post in the new year to come. IN ANY CASE, this past week of #RunningTo took me from Cleveland to all over Pennsylvania. […]

#RunningTo Week 28 in Review: Pittsburgh, Berne, Detroit

Hello my wanderers! The journey continues . . . westward? I’m taking these couple weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas to work my way westward — though not that far west before returning east for Christmas. From Pittsburgh to Berne (Indiana, not Switzerland) to Detroit, it’s been a fun little loop seeing new cities and, more gratefully, meeting genuine people. Check out these […]

I’m Afraid to Stop Running

I recently launched my first Kickstarter. It’s geared toward funding the completion of my #RunningTo road trip and the book that will follow. I’m currently 44% funded, and I’m so grateful. We’ve come a long way, but there’s still 56% more to go in just 16 days. Everyone who gives (and already has given) will get something […]

#RunningTo Week 27 in Review: Baltimore & Washington DC

On the heels of Thanksgiving with my family in eastern Pennsylvania, I hit the road once more. I ventured southward into Maryland and the District of Columbia, and it was a nice dose of the charming and historical. Check out some of my favorite moments from the wandering week that was! I’m currently in the […]

#RunningTo Weeks 25 & 26 in Review: Niagara Falls, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Acadia National Park, Boston

So. I apologize. In racing across eastern Canada and New England to make it back to Eden in time for Thanksgiving, I missed blogging last week. THERE WAS NO TIME. To rectify the situation, I’ve combined this week’s usual “week in review” into a double-dose of weekly review goodness. It all started with my first […]

#RunningTo FAQ: Part 2

Five long months ago, I posted one of my favorite #RunningTo posts. It was a collection of frequently asked questions, and even though I thoroughly answered the seven most frequently asked of them all, everyone still asked them again anyway. WHATEVER. I don’t mind repeating myself. But after all these months and thousands of accumulated miles, some more […]

#RunningTo Week 24 in Review: Langhorne, PA (EDEN) & Rochester, NY

I’m currently in Canada where it’s cold and snowy and I have to catch up on a million things, including this photographic recap of the past week. Let’s get it going! I returned to Langhorne, Pennsylvania — Eden, as I like to call it. My cousin got married, and much fun and photographic opportunities were had by all. […]

Tipping Point

It’s November. My notoriously worst month. But I’ve already blogged enough about that. Once again, November presents another tipping point for my life. Not a “bad” one, not a “good” one, just a … a regular old tipping point. From January 1 to May 31, I was a resident of the state of California. I paid rent […]

#RunningTo Week 23 in Review: Kentucky, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Gettysburg, Amish Country

Week 23 of #RunningTo took me through some gorgeous country just west of the Appalachians. I reunited with a long lost friend in Kentucky, and I also got to meet a fellow blogger and friend for the very first time! From the Bluegrass State I ventured north and east to West Virginia’s capital city — the […]

Road to Ridgecrest

Before hitting the road, I knew I’d be adding some vibrant new colors to my traveling palette. The Grand Canyon. Mount Rushmore. Vancouver. Before hitting the road, I knew I’d also be reuniting with some old familiar colors. Sweet Seattle. Old Milwaukee. A Pennsylvanian Eden. Among all the colorful locales on my #RunningTo itinerary, however, there probably wasn’t one as […]

#RunningTo Week 22 in Review: Chattanooga & Camp Ridgecrest

Week 22 will forever stand as one of my trip’s more special weeks. I mean, each week of #RunningTo has been special in its own right. But when you combine reunions with siblings and a camp that changed your life, it’s hard to lump such a week with all the others. First, Chattanooga. I got to stay with my awesome brother, […]

#RunningTo Week 21 in Review: Birmingham, Huntsville, Franklin, Nashville

Hello friends! This week’s pictures are coming a little later than usual, but that’s only because I’ve been too busy seeing all kinds of awesome stuff on the road. And meeting awesome people, too. Some “normal” people…and some semi-famous folk, too. From the Alabaman cities of Birmingham and Huntsville to the Tennessean towns of Franklin and […]

Just Keep Walking Inland

I was never a big Jars of Clay fan; I’m a horrible Christian kid of the 90’s, I know. Give me Steven Curtis Chapman or give me death. Lately, though, Jars of Clay’s stuff has resonated. Especially their more recent creations meshed with my current season of life. Enter my latest struggles. Enter five months of this #RunningTo life on the […]

#RunningTo Week 20 in Review: Houston, New Orleans, Jackson

It’s hard to believe this edition of my #RunningTo Week in Review marks my 20th. Twenty weeks on the road, stretching from the Southwest to the Southeast. What a wild, crazy, long trip it’s been, and continues to be. This week featured a definitive shift from Midwest to South. I started in Houston and meandered eastward to New […]

#RunningTo VLOG: Chasing Trains in Texas

Hello my wanderers! It’s been a while since I last posted a nifty video blog. Perhaps I subconsciously declared it impossible to top my prairie dog-feeding escapades of South Dakota. But really. How do you top that? Nearly 50 days removed from my last vlog, I figured I’d do something a little different this time. It’s some sweet […]

#RunningTo Week 19 in Review: All Over Texas

Hello friends! This week of #RunningTo has been a distinct one, indeed. Lots of cowboy hats and flannel shirts and snakeskin boots. I’m in New York, naturally. JUST KIDDING. I’m in Texas. From Fort Worth to Waco to Houston, it’s been a YEEHAW time filled with longhorns, giant rocking chairs, and some pretty sweet reunions, too. Check out […]

When We Go to Uruguay

DAY 122: Couchsurfing is a beautiful thing. I’ve relied on the website for about a quarter of my #RunningTo stops across North America, and I’ve yet to have a negative or even remotely unpleasant experience. Most of my surfing stops have featured myself with a single host or married hosts or hosting roommates, but sometimes I’m not the […]

#RunningTo Week 18 in Review: St. Louis, Memphis, Little Rock, Oklahoma City

What a week! I’ve recently been zig-zagging down (and left and right) through the Midwest, and there’s been something exciting and picturesque at every turn. Last week’s photographic recap ended with St. Louis, and this week’s recap starts with my final days there. St. Louis is such a stellar city, and I’m glad a last-minute detour took […]

I Visited Westboro Baptist Church

DAY 114: For years they have intrigued me. I’ve watched their interviews and demonstrations on TV and YouTube. They travel the world, hailing from the innocuous center of Kansas and America. They call themselves Baptists — supposed believers of the same Jesus I follow. As I park my car in a Topekan residential area, I approach 12th Street with a distinct shudder. NO […]

#RunningTo Week 17 in Review: Omaha, Kansas City, St. Louis

Hello friends! I’ve been wandering around the Midwest the last couple weeks, and somehow I’ve escaped the endless corn fields and found a place with WiFi. Phew. While it can take a little longer to appreciate the beauty of Iowa’s open road compared to, say, rugged Utah’s, it’s all part of the lovely process. I’m still enjoying my […]

WHEATON

DAY 110: It was just another day. I woke up in Chicago and figured I’d take a slight detour en route to Iowa. It’s something I told myself I’d do before #RunningTo started: take the detours. Wander the winding ways around Points A to B. Don’t rush. Explore. And so I drove an hour west to Wheaton, […]

#RunningTo Week 16 in Review: Milwaukee, Chicago, Davenport

Oh man. The good times just keep rolling. From Minneapolis to Milwaukee to Chicago, I’m pretty sure it was the most epic 1-2-3 punch of this #RunningTo road trip. Three absolutely gorgeous Midwest cities in a row. I’m not sure what those cities are like during wintertime, but gosh this late summer looksie was phenomenal. […]

Why Am I Still Wandering?

When you wander the continent for three months, you start to wonder some things. Why is the sky blue? Why do we insist on block intersections when roundabouts are so much cooler and more efficient? What’s the deal with Scotland? Aren’t they already a country? Among myriad other questions, I’m pondering one in particular after […]

#RunningTo Week 15 in Review: Minneapolis, MN & Milwaukee, WI

HEY Y’ALL. I’m really excited, in case the CAPS startled you. Week 15 of my cross-continent road trip has been such a memorable one. I mean, all of them are quite memorable. But this one in particular stands out among the rest. Great cities, amazing people, and some spectacular photos. I can’t wait to share some of […]

MILWAUKEE, Take 3

Three years ago, I first ventured to this Midwestern city. Called it home for an entire summer as I learned what it meant to receive love in community while simultaneously ministering to one. Two years ago, I returned to this city with a gut lined with lonely dread only to rediscover the Paradise it once was. On […]

#RunningTo Week 14 in Review: Watertown, South Dakota

Sometimes I visit five or six cities in a single week. My eager, restless heart likes to keep moving and exploring on this trip. But other times, other weeks, I like to stay still. Week 14 of #RunningTo was one of those stationary weeks. I still had a blast. This week I trekked to the […]

I Might Have Joined a Cult for 24 Hours

[A]s we pushed off the dock and the other guys got into their boats and pressed off, we back-paddled into the dark of the inlet, waving at the Goffs as they waved back at us. And then to our amazement, we saw all of them, fully dressed with shoes and jackets, take three steps together […]

#RunningTo VLOG: Feeding Prairie Dogs in South Dakota

There are some moments that transcend all others in human history. Christ’s birth. The invention of the printing press. The American Revolution and the revelation that Hello Kitty isn’t a kitty. Or take this road trip, for instance. There was that initiating campout at the Grand Canyon. Waking up to a glowing Mount Rainier. And let us never […]

#RunningTo Week 13 in Review: Brandon & Winnipeg, Manitoba

Hello my wanderers! This past week was Lucky 13 as I returned to the Frozen Tundra, the Great White North. My first trek through Canada was nothing short of amazing, and the second was just as memorable. Check out my favorite moments from the wandering week that was, including stops in Brandon and Winnipeg. As you’ll […]

Basking in the Badlands for Billions of Years

The Lakota Indians called it mako sica. French trappers labeled the landscape les mauvaises terres à traverse. Deemed and doomed a literal “bad land,” this devastating terrain made farming and traversing — even existing — a difficult if not impossible feat. And so the Badlands were born; millenia later, the Badlands remain. Driving through the endless prairies of southwestern South Dakota, you wouldn’t see […]

10,000 Miles of #RunningTo

When I first set out across North America in June, I envisioned an ultimate journey of maybe 10,000 miles. A nice round number. And nice big number. I had no idea I’d be hitting that nice big number just north of North Dakota with an entire eastern seaboard still awaiting my arrival. Spectacular. Check out my grand […]

#RunningTo: Week 12 in Review: West Palm Beach, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, The Badlands

So, this last week of wandering was one of the most random and diverse yet. I flew to south Florida for my uncle’s wedding, then returned to my poor lonely car in Denver and resumed my road trip eastward. I saw Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse, the astounding Native American rock sculpture that’s been in progress since 1948 (and […]

On Weddings and Wanderings for 80 Days

I just returned from a week-long trek to south Florida. No, I didn’t drive there from Denver; I flew. Last week, #RunningTo morphed into #FlyingTo as I reunited with family for a wedding. This on the heels of my friend’s Denver wedding the weekend before. Two weddings in a seven-day stretch: one in the shadow of the […]

#RunningTo Week 11 in Review: Colorado Springs & Denver

Hello my wanderers! I’ve lost track of which time zone I’m in with all my gallivanting of late, but I’ll get to that in a moment. First, it’s time to recap the wandering week that was — Week 11 of #RunningTo, featuring stops in Colorado Springs and Denver. Colorado is such a gorgeous state. I mean, […]

#RunningTo VLOG: Crater Lake National Park

Hello my wanderers! It’s time for another video-blog — or “vlog,” as the hippity hoppity youth they call it. This one’s a quickie but (in my opinion) a goodie. It comes from my DAY 55 trek to Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon. I’m sure I must have “heard of” Crater Lake prior to this […]

My 5 Favorite Podcasts While #RunningTo

When you embark on a massive road trip like #RunningTo, you need a solid arsenal of listening material. Music can only take you so far. Sorry, One Direction; even you can only go so far. I’ve been devouring lots of podcasts on my long journey, both silly and serious ones alike. If you’re curious what I’m […]

#RunningTo Week 10 in Review: La Jolla, Phoenix

I’ve officially hit the double-digits! It’s the end of Week 10 of #RunningTo, and gosh it doesn’t get old. From the cliff-laden shores of La Jolla (just outside San Diego) to the desert mystique of Phoenix, Week 10 was just gorgeous. Check out some of my favorite moments from the wandering week that was! What’s […]

Fullerton to Fullerton: Back to the Beginning Again

#RunningTo DAY 65: It’s amazing how something that was once so commonplace, so routine, so otherwise ordinary can become quite the opposite. Tonight, I’m sitting at an old familiar window seat. Tonight, I’m writing at The Night Owl. After sixty-five long days and nights on the road, I’m temporarily returning to a familiar though quite opposite life. […]

#RunningTo Week 9 in Review: Return to California!

Last week’s #RunningTo Week in Review was an Oregonian Extravaganza. This week, it’s my long awaited return to the Sunshine State. Wait, is California the Sunshine State or is that Florida? If California isn’t officially the Sunshine State, it needs to be. I’m certainly not in the mild/cloudy Pacific Northwest anymore! I’ve already experienced multiple 100-degree days in this last week […]

#RunningTo VLOG: Mt. Rainier, WA

Hello all! I’m so excited for today’s #RunningTo vlog. It’s from my DAY 41 hike to Mount Rainier in Washington, and it features a lovable little guy I like to call WORMIE. Actually, I’m not exactly the one who came up with that stellar name. My good friend Jana McAdams did, and guess what? She […]

#RunningTo Week 8 in Review: OREGONIAN EXTRAVAGANZA!

It’s an OREGONIAN EXTRAVAGANZA this week! Week 8 of #RunningTo took me to all corners of the Beaver State, from Donald Miller infused Portland to capital city Salem to University of Oregon headquarters Eugene to One of the Best Small Towns in America Bend to the OH MY GOSH BREATHTAKING Crater Lake. Let’s just get right to […]

Seattle Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be

DAY 38: I’d just reentered America after two weeks in the Great White North. I cruised southward down the 5 with a sizzling anticipation unlike any other #RunningTo stop to this point. In many ways, my first month on the road had been leading up to this. The Space Needle emerged, Seattle’s distinct skyline unfurling like a blanket in […]