It seems that the most fearful people in our country are those who don't travel and are metaphorically barricaded in America. If we all stayed home and built more walls and fewer bridges between us and the rest of the world, eventually we would have something to actually be fearful of.

If you can get conservatives to sit down for 20 minutes and listen to you on drug policy reform you might have a good chance to - if not convert them - at least respect your opinion.

There's a huge difference between the more progressive and more regressive parts of America. That's just the way it is.

Self-consciousness kills communication.

I've traveled all over the country. Look at the East Coast. They just can't hardly believe how far along we are and in their world it feels like they're still behind. They're on the dark side of the moon.

As a traveler, I've often found that the more a culture differs from my own, the more I am struck by its essential humanity.

I have a New Year's tradition. I lay all my travel dreams on the table, sort them out, prioritize, and begin the process of turning those dreams into reality.