The Skinny - if you're just here for the highlights: Traveling in Indonesia is in all honesty pretty intimidating. It's amazing to me that this collection of roughly (yes roughly) 17,000 to 18,000 islands (the exact number can vary depending on the surveying method, with the official Indonesian government gazette recording exactly 17,024 named islands) is even considered one country to begin with. So figuring out where to visit, while seeking good but manageable surfing, mini

The Skinny - if you're just here for the highlights: We had toyed around with the idea of visiting the Philippines, Taiwan, or both after Bangkok and before heading to Indonesia. But a combination of factors including: some conversations with other travelers, it being the wrong time of year for surfing in both spots, and some back-to-back natural disaster episodes in the Philippines, we decided to head straight to Indonesia. And to be frank, we (myself especially) were gettin

The Skinny - if you're just here for the highlights: We nearly burnt a hole in our stomachs with Southern Thai food, survived Bangkok's wonderfully chaotic streets, got Sean custom suits, shopped far more than Sean would have preferred, watched Muay Thai, visited the Grand Palace, and developed a serious appreciation for Thai 7-Elevens. Bangkok was loud, hot, hectic, sophisticated, and a lot of fun. Scroll down for pictures. A Spicy Start By the time we landed in Bangkok and

The Skinny - if you're just here for the highlights: We skipped the overwater bungalows and spent the week on a tiny local island surfing an empty crystal-clear reef break, snorkeling with turtles, Eagle rays, and more tropical fish than I knew existed, and only getting minorly sunburnt. Scroll down for pictures. Landing on Maldives We had heard that with the war in Iran, as shitty as it is, tourism in the Maldives was down and accommodations were therefore more affordable t

The Skinny - if you're just here for the highlights: We took a complete gamble on a brand-new villa with zero reviews, ended up basically getting adopted by the owner, went on homemade safaris in search of wild elephants, ate some amazing seafood accompanied by the freshest ingredients imaginable, learned loads about tropical fruit, spices, and cinnamon trees, and got our surfing arms ready for the rest of the trip. Sri Lanka’s richness of natural beauty was a pleasant surpri

The Skinny - if you're just here for the highlights: We spent two days in chaos of Delhi where we had the Indian meal of our lives and took a side trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, which was thoroughly impressive. Then we voluntarily checked ourselves into what felt like an Indian prison for ten days of complete silence, 120° heat, and eleven hours of meditation a day. It turned out to be one of the most challenging and also fulfilling experiences of my life. Scroll down for

The Skinny - if you're just here for the highlights (this is a longer one): We spent 11 days trekking Nepal's Manaslu (the 8th tallest mountain in the world) Circuit, hiking about 96 miles and 29,000 vertical feet through remote Himalayan villages, monasteries, yak pastures, and some of the most spectacular mountain scenery either of us have ever seen. Along the way we survived questionable roads, endless tea house menus, culture shock, altitude, a truly astonishing amount of

The Skinny if you're just here for the highlights: With just a day and a half in Melbourne, crammed in rooftop views, street art, a full-day bike tour and in-depth behind-the-scenes tour of the Australian Open grounds, and of course, excellent food. Melbourne was lively, sport-obsessed, clean, and very livable. Then, before we knew it, we were on a plane to Nepal.

The Skinny if you're just here for the highlights: Tasmania for us was the land of strange little delights. We fell in love with the Museum of New and Old Art (MONA) which felt like a rich guy’s very well executed fever dream come to life, hiked dramatic sea cliffs at Cape Hauy, survived one intense bike rental orientation before biking all over wildlife-filled Maria Island, chased rainbows across the east coast, sampled a fresh smorgasbord of seafood in what may have been th

The Skinny if you're just here for the highlights: We wrapped up our New Zealand chapter with an eventful drive to Queenstown (including Sean’s first-ever speeding ticket), a detour through peak-foliage Arrowtown, one last lake-view hike, a floating sauna / cold plunge session that really raised the bar, and said goodbye to New Zealand over fish & chips and park swings. Then, before moving on to Australia, I found myself reflecting on why New Zealand felt so unusually… human.

The Skinny if you're just here for the highlights: We settled into Wanaka for our first multi-night stay in what felt like forever, hiked Roy’s Peak for crazy views as well as Nepal prep, and I got to horseback ride through perfect fall scenery in Cardrona. Then we continued to Te Anau, where we took a gamble on terrible weather with a late-day Milford Sound cruise. That gamble paid off spectacularly: tens of thousands of waterfalls, a storm that cleared at exactly the right

The Skinny if you're just here for the highlights: We ferried from the North Island to the South Island through absurdly beautiful fjords, watched Sean surf beneath snowcapped mountains in Kaikōura, ate some incredible seafood, and then continued south through Christchurch to Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park. What started as a “we’ll see how far we make it” hike to Mueller Hut turned into one of the coolest hikes of the trip so far: glaciers, glissading, alpine lakes, ridicu

The Skinny if you're just here for the highlights: After finally admitting defeat on the Tongariro Crossing thanks to weather and questionable forecast clarity, we pivoted south toward Wellington. Along the way we squeezed in a hike to an old viaduct in Ohakune, spent the night in New Zealand's lovely little artsy city, Whanganui, and broke up the drive to Wellington with beaches, cliffside hikes, suspension bridges, the 'staircase to heaven', and increasingly dramatic coasta

The Skinny if you're just here for the highlights: We drove from Rotorua to Taupō through volcanic landscapes, hiked Rainbow Mountain, soaked in a sulfuric hot spring waterfall creek, unexpectedly had a really lovely, memorable little detour thanks to our Airbnb hosts, Yvonne and Garry, who essentially adopted us for 48 hours. The Tongariro Crossing was repeatedly closed due to weather, so we spent a few days improvising: geothermal parks, waterfalls, hot springs, rainy hikes

The Skinny if you're just here for the highlights: We landed in Auckland to a double rainbow, grabbed a rental car, and spent a full day exploring the city: harbor walks, great food, and just enough energy to fight off jet lag. From there, we headed west to Piha and Karekare, where dramatic black sand beaches, massive waves, and waterfalls set the tone for the trip. We then made our way to Whangamatā for a couple nights-- morning swims, sunset views, and some more fantastic m

While I had originally hoped to have written a few skiing related posts before embarking on this adventure, Utah's winter of 2026 had other plans... with record breaking bad conditions, I am remised to say I didn't explore much of the Wasatch on skis over the last few months. With loads of gratitude for three (well mostly two) unforgettable winters at our cabin in Silver Fork, Sean and I packed up, said goodbye to Aspen Bend Ln, quit our jobs and prepared for our next chapter

The Skinny WNDR Alpine was a Utah-based ski company that set out to rethink ski construction at the material level, swapping petroleum-based components for algae-derived alternatives without sacrificing performance. Founded in 2019 by Matt Sterbenz and Charlie Dimmler, the brand quickly proved its concept with innovative skis like the Intention 110 and Vital 100, blending high performance with more sustainable inputs. They built a loyal community, pushed real material innovat