I forced myself to sleep during the flight from Portland to Amsterdam despite it being the middle of the day, and when I deplaned into an early-morning sea of guttural Dutch voices, it felt surreal. I rubbed my eyes and…
When I fall in love with an idea, I commit to it in the most earnest, wide-eyed, teenager-doodling-hearts-in-her-diary sort of way. That is to say – I completely romanticize it until I develop a full-blown crush, and even then, I…
Before the advent of in-flight internet, I looked at plane travel as an unlikely oasis amidst a maelstrom of never-ending human interaction. Earplugs in, bitchface on, book open…paradise. I secretly relish those flights where the attendants solemnly announce, “Unfortunately, we’re…
![THE DESERT: A Love Story In Three Acts [ACT 2]](http://shawntesalabert.com/_/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Joshua-Tree-0213-arch-150x150.jpg)
ACT TWO The Mojave lit a fire; straight away, I knew I wanted to visit Joshua Tree National Park. I needed more of those freaky trees, more of that eerie quiet, more pastel twilight vistas. After spending most of the…
