The credit for my wanderlust goes to my parents, who were good enough to expose me early and often to exciting new places. Though I grew up in Maryland, just outside Washington, DC, travels with my family took me across the US, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia by the time I was 20. (Thanks, Mom and Dad!)

I spent four years in Baltimore, Maryland studying philosophy and trumpet at Johns Hopkins University and Peabody Conservatory. After graduating in May 2003, I moved to Chicago with my wonderful girlfriend, Melissa. I currently work in a fantastic travel bookstore there called Vagabond Books & Gear, where I am constantly hatching new far flung globe-trotting schemes.