Author: dadcation

Zion National Park

I have a National Parks bucket list, and hiking The Narrows and Angels Landing at Zion National Park have been near the top of said list for at least as long as there’s been an Instagram. We concluded our tour of the Utah National Parks with visiting my most anticipated […]

Teaching Kids Empathy

I was supposed to make a video for a brand a few months ago that instructed children how to be more empathetic. The client rejected it for “copyright infringement” and an “inappropriate reference to my giving a golden shower 35 years ago or so.” And so, I’ll just post it […]

Bryce Canyon National Park during Covid-19

I’ve had some amazing experiences at the 33 U.S. National Parks I’ve visited: rock climbing in Yosemite, biking through snow above the Grand Canyon, paddling under snakes at Congaree, hearing a ceremonial flute serenade at Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde. At Bryce Canyon, however, I had 2 experiences that rival […]

Camping near Atlanta

When you can’t fly across an ocean, you seek recreation in more pedestrian pursuits, so this Spring and Summer, we’ve gone camping more than we did in the prior 10 years combined. A friend from undergrad named Charles invited my family to join his at Stone Mountain’s campgrounds, so we […]

Memorial Day at St. Pete’s Beach

Unlike every other family I know, we don’t really take “beach vacations.” Before our Little Raccoon Key weekend, we hadn’t taken a non-work-conference beach trip since we met family in Cape Cod in July 2011. Since we’ve had 27 Delta flights cancelled for The Sickness, however, short trips to the […]

my last week as an Airman

I submitted my application to retire from the Air Force Reserves on January 12, during my training weekend at Dobbins Air Reserve Base. I knew that on May 13, I’d meet my 4-year commitment to pass on my post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to the children, and that on May 16, […]

Climbing Yosemite (with kids)!

After we returned from our trip to the northern California national parks last summer, we spoke with a representative from the National Parks channel on Roku about creating a short film from our footage while hiking and climbing at Yosemite. Now that we’ve been back for a bit (10 months), […]