Who doesn’t want to save money on their next vacation? Nobody. Here are nine easy ways. With the money you save, you can buy that extra cocktail at the bar, stay an extra night in the nicer hotel, or buy the souvenir sweatshirt you promised your friend you would buy. Continue reading
Maxichamp
57 posts
We at Crasstalk are a sophisticated and erudite bunch. We drink tea with our pinkies raised and say “Pardon me” after we pass gas.
Wherever we go, we always make sure to stop by the local museum. Whether it’s the Louvre in Paris or the SPAM Museum in Austin, Minnesota, we love them all. Continue reading
Whether or not you are a car nut, your first car meant a lot to you. Thinking back about it brings forth memories of cruising with your pals, that unfortunate fender bender, and your first run-in with the law.
My first car was an Isuzu Impulse. It was an Italian-designed Japanese hatchback. The cassette deck had a bitchin’ equalizer that lit up like a spaceship at night. Joe Isuzu went on TV and claimed that it was faster than a speeding bullet. I drove it during high school and as the Berlin Wall fell a half a world away, I cruised along the Pacific Coast Highway, listening to Jesus Jones. It had two bumper stickers– Public Enemy and Jerry Brown for President. Continue reading
With the Colombian peace deal still a dream, the penultimate leg of my Pan-American Highway trek will be in Alaska. In 2007, I traveled overland from Oakland, California through the Yukon to Fairbanks, Alaska, and then up the Dalton Highway to the Arctic Circle. Because I traveled in October, the van service would not go any further. Had I gone in the summertime, the van would have taken me another 300 miles to Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse, Alaska, where I could dip my toes in the Arctic Ocean with oil drilling platforms in the background. Continue reading
The 2008 to 2012 Tesla Roadster was one of the first “mainstream” electric cars sold. The car itself was based on a Toyota-powered Lotus Elise sports car. The cars were built by Lotus in Britain without the engine and transmission and then shipped to California, where they were mated with an electric motor, a control unit, and thousands of little batteries. They were not cheap, as they started at $109,000. And even with a gasoline engine, the tiny car was not practical.
These are my impressions of driving my friend’s 35,000-mile Tesla Roadster for a week: Continue reading
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, it broke apart into 15 separate countries. The five in Central Asia– Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan– are largely unknown to the outside world. Here are some fun facts to share with your friends at the next Sunday BBQ. Continue reading
Now that you know how to buy a new car, here are some tips on buying a used car. Continue reading
It is time to buy a new car. Here are some tips to keep in mind. Continue reading
The Darien Gap, a roadless swath of jungle, separates Panama from Colombia, North America from South America. Panama does not want the two countries and continents connected because of leftist rebels in Colombia, cocaine trafficking, human smuggling, and foot-and-mouth disease.
This month, I took a 2,500 kilometer bus trip from Guatemala to the Darien Gap. Yaviza, population 6,000, marks the southern terminus of the Pan-American Highway and the beginning of the Gap. No matter where you live in North America– Toronto, DC, Dallas, Atlanta, LA– if you kept driving south, you would end up in Yaviza. Continue reading
I have been on a quest to travel the length of North and South America by land. I just returned from my fifth trip– a bus ride from Guatemala City to Panama’s Darien Gap. For those of you counting at home, I am 88% done with my goal. Here are some highlights to give you a flavor of my experiences. I will be writing more posts on Crasstalk about my recent Central America trip.