Iris Harmon

“Wonder is born out of mystery, and it is the root of mankind’s insatiable thirst to understand.” – Neil Armstrong.  Before the wondrous information technology era, people had no idea what the world out there looked like. It wasn’t as easy to travel to the walled cities in Spain or explore the beautiful Bali beaches…

If you have been reading my blog for a while now, you probably realize one thing: I’m a huge fan of a busy city break or a long weekend of pampering.  Yes, a bustling metropolis like Seattle or Las Vegas never fails to capture me. Once in a while, though, my body and mind crave…

 Americans always have a thing for the boundless road, which is hard-wired into our cultural DNA. During the Jazz Age, going on the Great American Road Trip was akin to a coming-of-age ceremony. Even today, the car is still a symbol of freedom, allowing us to break free from the small town and embark on…

It’s a tale as old as time: A kid who dreams big spends his entire childhood in a cookie-cutter suburb, waiting for his 18th birthday to arrive. Then, with a truckload of boxes and years’ worth of sheltered innocence, he makes his way to the Big City™ to take on new challenges, explore the world,…

An aerial shot of Lake Union. Then, we are taken below the decks of a tugboat to meet the married, middle-aged couple who owns it. In the next 90 minutes, they are going to engage in some slapstick bickering. That’s how Seattle was first brought to the big screen in the 1933 movie “Tugboat Annie”. …

You are sailing on a pond tinted crimson by the setting sun.  By the time the full moon rises,  you change to a tiny houseboat and hold a tea ceremony while admiring the moon mirrored in the water… The traditional Japanese Zen garden is highly renowned all over the world for its understated beauty. To…

Welcome, globetrotters, to Charles Town! Your wandering steps have brought you here, and an adventure is calling your name. Now that you have arrived, you can choose to stay in the comfort of your room and watch the world goes by… or you can go out and embrace this new region. Meet the locals. Wander…

One of my core memories is of a beach trip. I was about five years old, and the sun was setting over a cove on Point Loma Peninsula, San Diego.  I had spent the whole day catching fish in the rock pools and playing rounders with my cousins on the sugar-white sands. As the sky…

Where is Arnold, California? Located at the heart of Calaveras County, this quaint town can’t be compared to cities like San Diego in size. Nonetheless,  its picturesque surroundings have attracted visitors for decades. In fact, Arnold has much more to offer than just scenic views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Curious about what things to do…

Ah, the open road! For many adventurers, the ribbons of highways remind them of freedom, endless journeys, and exploration. Now, more than ever, people are embarking on road trips to escape daily life’s monotony, see more, experience more, and appreciate more of the world out there. What makes the idea of road trips so alluring…