Pentagon Memorial | Washington, D.C. If you’re searching for a quiet place in Washington, D.C. where the noise of the world falls away—and all that’s left is memory, silence, and sky—the Pentagon Memorial is one I’ll always recommend. I didn’t mean to stop here the day I visited.It was the weekend after a work conference … Read more
If you’ve ever set foot in a place that changes you—quietly, without ceremony—you know the feeling I had walking into Arlington National Cemetery for the first time in 2013. This wasn’t just another tourist stop near Washington, D.C. It was the kind of ground where history and memory breathe together. I’d come on a business … Read more
By Ki – Travel Made Personal Some travelers chase the big attractions — the ones with lines out the door and souvenirs in every gas station for fifty miles.But me? Give me the strange, the sacred, the tucked-away corners you won’t find on a billboards. Dusty and I call these hidden gems — places that … Read more
By Ki | Travel Made Personal – Alabama Road Trip #2 If you’re hunting for a hauntingly beautiful stop in Alabama, look no further than the J.D. Holman House on Broad Street in Ozark. With its sweeping porch and red-brick façade, this turn-of-the-century mansion doesn’t just catch the eye—it captures the imagination. It’s the kind … Read more
TMP Origins: Before the Dashcam, Episode 1 🏷️ Wandering Through the Glow of Marble and Memory In 2013, I flew to Washington, DC for a business conference.I didn’t know it at the time, but I was walking straight into the origin story of Travel Made Personal. By day, I sat in sessions and took notes … Read more
Alabama Road Trip #2 | Side Road Saturday We were headed to chase ghosts, if I remember right.A haunted house, a tip, a rumor. But then a brown sign blinked past our window: Claybank Log Church. Dusty and I locked eyes.The brakes answered before we did. There’s something magical about unplanned stops—the kind that don’t … Read more
There are places on a map—and then there are places on your soul. The Carillon and Bell Tower in Ozark, Alabama, may not draw highway billboards or souvenir shops. Still, for the folks in Dale County, it rings with something more profound: memory, service, and a stubborn pride that refuses to fade. Between Bells and … Read more
If you ever find yourself traveling through the Florida Panhandle, Florida Caverns State Park in Marianna is one of those stops that lingers long after the road trip ends. The first time Dusty and I visited, we weren’t really sure what to expect. Caves in Florida? It felt out of place. But after taking a … Read more
If your idea of a perfect detour involves skeletons in sunglasses, drive-thru art galleries, and sculptures that whisper “what even is this?”—you’re gonna want to make a stop in Seale, Alabama. Because tucked just off the rural backroads is a place that defies logic, expectations, and probably a few zoning laws. Welcome to the Museum … Read more
If you’ve ever wandered into a cemetery expecting silence and stone, you might be surprised by the sound of your own heartbeat quickening. That’s how it felt the first time I stepped up to Little Nadine’s Playhouse Mausoleum in Lanett, Alabama. It looks like something lifted straight out of a childhood storybook: a tiny brick … Read more