Tianmen Mountain is the Gateway to Heaven or Portal to Heaven. There are 99 turns and 999 steps that lead to the Portal.
Category: Family
Year in Review 2018 – Joel Oleson Adventure Traveler Fun Photos
At the beginning of 2018, I started working at Blizzard Entertainment and visited a couple of offices in Europe as well and now two of my oldest sons started college. Great accomplishments for which I’m very pleased. As a result of supporting 2 in college, I’ve had to get good at cashing in airline miles. …
Top 10 Activities in San Diego California
I recently moved to Oceanside California, a suburb of San Diego, and this holiday season we had an opportunity to look at San Diego like tourists. Southern California is a tourists paradise. In Orange County you have Disneyland and Knottsberry farm. Go to the coast and you have world famous beaches Newport and Long beach. …
10 Tips for a Successful Road Trip
My 15 soon to be 16 year old son recently got his drivers permit. Now that he’s behind the wheel, there’s a lot of interest on his part to get behind the wheel. Here are a few tips to planning a road trip: 1. Getting from Point A to Point B: GPS Device, Maps, Smart…
Traveling Ireland’s Ancient and Natural Wonders
Ireland has been inhabited for thousands and thousands of years. For Eons and Ages, Ireland has constantly been inhabited and has a rich culture of folklore, myths, and a myriad of megalithic structures scattered across the country marking structures from these older ages. Early man left evidence from the mesolithic, neolithic, stone, bronze, and iron…
Meet the Fijian Hindustanis – The Other Side of Fiji
Fiji is a multi racial and multi ethnic place. In my previous post on Fiji I wrote about the native Fijians and my experience connecting with the locals. The majority of Fijians are native Melanesians. 43% of the population are Indo-Fijians or Hindustanis. Indian indentured laborers were initially brought to Fiji, Indo-Fijian. In the late…
Fiji – An Experiment in “No Reservations” Cultural Island Travel
I bought a cheap flight from New Zealand on my way back to the U.S. On a discount Jet Star flight, I was in Fiji for a couple of days for less than a difference of somewhere between $100-200 USD. It was great. I loved Fiji. The people were amazing! The adventures I had…
Panama Island Escape: Bocas Del Torro and Urraca – Adventures in Paradise
Before when I thought of Panama, all I could think of was the Panama canal. Now I think of Islands. There are so many little islands off the coast of Panama. The only way to get around the islands is with boats. The boats are like busses taking you from place to place. The first…
South Africa’s Kruger Wild Animal Park: Wild and Wonderful
I’ve visited South Africa on three different occasions and found it incredible each time. I would go at the drop of a hat. I still need to take my family with me, and yes if you were wondering. I would do that. Something that holds a lot of people back is they are sincerely worried…
Help Stop Brain Cancer
Wanted to share my brother in law Robert’s new blog: Stop Brain Cancer. Robert is more than a brother. We’be shared a lot of great times togethe including traveling in Washington DC and New York City. As well I attribute my new appreciation for cuisine in Southern California to Robert. He introduced me to Chicken…






