The Amateur Traveler talks to Janice Waugh from Solo Traveler about solo travel as a woman, particularly solo international travel. Janice did not set out to be a solo traveler but after the death of her husband she gained her courage to travel again.

The Amateur Traveler talks to to Gary Arndt about the 4 micro-states in Europe: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino.  "They all have very unique histories and the one thing that they are all very small"

Hear about travel to Santa Fe, New Mexico as the Amateur Traveler talks to Billie Frank from SantaFeTravelers.com about her city, the second oldest in the United States and the oldest capital city in the U.S.

Hear about travel to Puerto Rico as the Amateur Traveler talks to Kaleb Garcia about his home country of Puerto Rico. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory in the Caribbean with its own culture, language (Spanish), history and food.

Hear about travel to the South Side of Chicago as the Amateur Traveler talks to Amy Bugbee, author of "Suffering and Celebration of Life in America", about her hometown, the South Side of Chicago. The South Side of Chicago is more than just the White Sox and the stock yards just as Chicago pizza is more than just deep dish.

Hear about travel to Victoria Falls as the Amateur Traveler talks to Nir Ben-Dov about his trip to this spectacular falls on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. This was Nir’s second trip and his wife’s first trip from their home in Israel to this famed set of falls in southern Africa.

Hear about travel to the island of Vieques off Puerto Rico as the Amateur Traveler talks to Ira Winston from Philadelphia about his recent trip there. Vieques is an island thais 8 miles off the coast of Puerto Rico.

Hear about travel to Arctic Manitoba as the Amateur Traveler talks to Marybeth Bond from GutsyTraveler.com about her recent trip to Churchill Manitoba to see polar bears.

Hear about travel to Mazatlan, Mexico as the Amateur Traveler talks again to Craig Zabransky about this Mexico seaport. Mazatlan is on the west coast of Mexico.

Hear about travel to South Africa on safari as the Amateur Traveler talks to Susan Portnoy from theinsatiabletraveler.com about her recent experience in the Timbavati Game Reserve. This is the 5th time that Susan has traveled to Africa on safari to "shoot" animals... as a photographer. 

Hear about travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the Amateur Traveler talks to Chris and Sasha Rosencranz about their recent trip to this African country. The DRC is located along the south bank of the Congo River. This large country used to be the Belgian Congo. Chris was previously on the Amateur Traveler talking about the Republic of the Congo as well.

Hear about travel to the state of Guanajuato Mexico (including San Miguel de Allende) as the Amateur Traveler talks to Tim Leffel of perceptivetravel.com about his adopted home.

Hear about cruising from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Valparaiso, Chile around Cape Horn in South America as the Amateur Traveler relates stories of a recent Holland America cruise on the Zaandam. 

Hear about travel to the Czech Republic as the Amateur Traveler talks to Anthony Hennen from anthonyhennen.com about his trip to the areas of the country outside of Prague.

Hear about travel to Munich Germany as the Amateur Traveler talks to Laurel Robbins of monkeysandmountains.com about her adopted city.

Hear about travel to Michigan's Upper Peninsula (the UP)  as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jennifer Schuitema from Grand Rapids Michigan about travel to the northern remote part of the Great Lake State.

Hear about travel to the Dominican Republic as the Amateur Traveler talks to guidebook author and travel writer Lebawit Lily Girma who is working on the Moon Guide to the Dominican Republic.

Hear about travel to the Westfjords of Iceland as the Amateur Traveler talks to Katie Hammel of Vaitor.com about her trip to this remote region of the island.

Hear about travel to Turks and Caicos as the Amateur Traveler talks to author Donna Seim about her favorite archipelago.

Hear about a Baltic Cruise on Viking Ocean as the Amateur Traveler talks to Mary Jo Manzanares from travelingwithmj.com about their recent Viking Homelands cruise on the Viking Sea.

Hear about travel to Richmond, Virginia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Becky Pekora from TheGirlAndGlobe.com about her adopted hometown.

Hear about travel to the countries of Kiribati, Tuvalu and Nauru in Micronesia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Stefan from Rapid Travel Chai about these small difficult to reach island nations. 

Hear about travel to Cape Town, South Africa as the Amateur Traveler talks to Annika Ziehen from Midnight Blue Elephant about her former hometown

Hear about travel to The Republic of Georgia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Samantha Guthrie about this ancient country in the corner of Europe.

Hear about travel to Baja Sur in Mexico as the Amateur Traveler talks to   author and travel writer Stuart Gustafson about his love affair with the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula. 

Hear about a road trip in Central Mexico as the Amateur Traveler talks to Amie from thetravelingtogetherjournal.com about a trip they took near Mexico City.

Hear about a western Mediterranean cruise to Spain, Gibraltar, France, Monaco and Italy on Holland America's Westerdam where I just attended a press trip.

Hear about travel to Southern New Brunswick as the Amateur Traveler talks to Kirsten Maxwell from kidsareatrip.com about her recent travel to the Province with her family.

Hear about travel to Mexico City as the Amateur Traveler talks to Patrick Muntzinger from GermanBackPacker.com about the city where he lived for 4 months last Spring on a semester abroad.

Hear about travel to Albuquerque as Chris Christensen, the Amateur Traveler himself, talks about his trip to Albuquerque during the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. 

Hear about travel to Chicago, Illinois as the Amateur Traveler talks to Francesca Mazurkiewicz about her hometown of Chicago.

Hear about travel to Merida and the Yucatan Peninsula as the Amateur Traveler talks to Tommo & Megsy from foodfuntravel.com about their recent homebase.

Hear about travel to Jamaica as the Amateur Traveler talks to Dave and Deb from theplanetD.com about their trips to the island.

Hear about travel to the Island of Sicily in Italy as the Amateur Traveler talks to Barbara Riedel from barbaralicious.com about the home of her mother's family and the "home of her heart".

In this special episode of Amateur Traveler, I get to introduce to you some of the wonderful people who joined me in Africa last May. We drove overland from Johannesburg, South Africa to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. 

Hear about travel to Virunga National Park as the Amateur Traveler talks to Niall from Ireland about his visit to this stunning national park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Hear about travel to Costa Rica as the Amateur Traveler talks to Costa Rica travel experts Sam and Yeison from mytanfeet.com about their beautiful country.

The water level is rising in Venice, while the buildings are sinking. An ambitious plan is underway to save the ancient city from an untimely demise.

A newly released Reuters/Ipsos poll evaluating President Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in a head-to-head matchup shows troubling news for Biden. According to the poll, a lead once enjoyed by Biden has completely “evaporated,” while Trump’s numbers continue to ascend. Reuters/Ipsos said that “Joe Biden’s advantage over President Donald Trump in…

The post Biden’s Lead in Poll Tumbles as Trump Gains Support for Pandemic Response appeared first on The Western Journal.

During times of panic and suffering, it is important to take a step back and remember that “God is always in control.” One NFL star known for proudly displaying his faith made that message quite clear during an episode of the Fox Nation show “Bible Study: Messages of Hope” which debuted this week. Demario Davis,…

The post ‘Man of God’ NFL Star Points Out Things To Be Grateful for During the Pandemic: ‘There’s So Much’ appeared first on The Western Journal.

Newly appointed White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany continues to impress in her new position working for the White House. Two days after absolutely leveling members of the White House media corps, the 32-year-old former Trump campaign spokeswoman made waves Friday by warning Americans that they, like former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, could also…

The post New White House Press Sec Issues Dire Warning to Americans About the FBI appeared first on The Western Journal.

A powerful player on Facebook’s new content oversight board infamously mocked Barron Trump during last year’s impeachment hearings, sowing doubt in the social media platform’s promises of unbiased moderation. The selection of Pamela Karlan, a professor at Stanford Law School, was announced Wednesday by Facebook, according to CNBC. Karlan will sit alongside 19 other experts…

The post Academic Who Infamously Mocked Barron Trump Gets Censorship Gig from Facebook appeared first on The Western Journal.

Little Richard, the self-proclaimed “architect of rock ‘n’ roll” whose piercing wail, pounding piano and towering pompadour irrevocably altered popular music while introducing black R&B to white America, died Saturday. He was 87. Pastor Bill Minson, a close friend of Little Richard’s, told The Associated Press that Little Richard died Saturday morning. His son, Danny…

The post Little Richard, Flamboyant Rock ‘N’ Roll Pioneer, Dead at 87 appeared first on The Western Journal.

Between having had more than enough of the not-so-great indoors and realizing that the grocery store might not always have meat, Americans are increasingly looking to feed themselves by hunting. “People are thinking about where they get their food and how they get their food,” Land Tawney, president of the advocacy group Backcountry Hunters and…

The post Facing Concerns of Meat Shortages, More Americans Turn to Hunting appeared first on The Western Journal.

It’s not good for people to be alone. Quarantining has been difficult for many people who have gotten used to socializing daily, and because of that, some have found ways to follow the rules but feel a little less isolated. Some neighborhoods have decided to be social while maintaining the suggested distance apart, whether that’s…

The post ‘The Voice’ Contestant Alexa Cappelli Treats Neighbors to Weekly Performance in Her Cul-de-Sac appeared first on The Western Journal.

Eleven members of the Secret Service have tested positive for COVID-19, according a new report. Yahoo News reported Friday it has seen Department of Homeland Security documents which show that 11 individuals currently have the virus and that 23 members of the Secret Service have recovered from the disease. Another 60 employees of the agency…

The post Report: Secret Service Discovers Nearly a Dozen Coronavirus Cases in Its Own Ranks appeared first on The Western Journal.

Sen. Ted Cruz was apparently about to get into mullet territory. He hadn’t had a haircut in three months. Things were looking grim for the Texas senator. Thankfully, Shelley Luther is able to do something about that. Luther is both famous and free after a viral clip of her standing up to a judge who…

The post Ted Cruz Stops by Shelly Luther’s Salon for a Trim, ‘True Authenticity’ Leaves Her Sobbing appeared first on The Western Journal.

Last week an email hit my inbox with a simple and powerful sentiment. “I miss your writing,” it said. The person who sent it was a longtime reader of this site. I miss writing too. But there’s a reason I’ve been quiet here and on other platforms – I wrote a very short post about … Continue reading "Why Politics, Why Now?"

Something’s been bugging me about Tik Tok. I’ve almost downloaded it about a dozen times over the past few months. But I always stop short. I don’t have a ton of time (here’s why) so forgive me as I resort to some short form tricks here. To wit: China employs a breathtaking model of state-driven … Continue reading "Tik Tok, Tick Tock…Boom."

This past year, I predicted the fall of both Zuck and Trump, not to mention the triumph of cannabis and rationale markets. But in 2019, the sociopaths won – bigly. Damn, was I wrong. One year ago this week, I sat down to write my annual list of ten or so predictions for the coming … Continue reading "Predictions Review: Trump, Zuck Crush My Optimism In 2019"