Ask 10 different people and you will probably get 10 different answers as to what states of America can be considered part of the American Midwest. As a lifelong East Coaster, I considered Ohio the gateway to the Midwest and with a not so eloquent segue, where my most recent trip occurred.
San Francisco is a city known for its food and history. But how does a responsible traveler balance leisure with compassion when faced with the reality of homelessness?
When I picture my childhood, I picture the outdoors. Playing outside, catching toads, building dams in streams, skittering rocks across frozen ponds. My mother's answer to boredom was "go play outside," and even if I had to be reluctantly pushed, I inevitably found myself lost in imagination, a world unfolding amongst the trees of my backyard.