Growing up, it was an annual tradition to head on over to Santa Catalina Island during the Summer months. There were times when we would go for over a week, and others when we would only spend a day on the island. Because of this, Catalina holds a special place in my heart.

Chicago is an interesting place. Nestled in the midwest, Chicago was once the “Second City” of the United States (now overtaken by Los Angeles), second only to New York in terms of population and culture. Heading into the 2010 baseball season, it was announced that the Angels would be playing the Chicago Cubs at historic Wrigley Field for the first time in franchise history.

As if spending two-and-a-half months in Europe wasn’t enough, my family decided, spur of the moment, to go to Hawai’i in the Summer of 2009. As a history person, I had long wanted to go to O’ahu to take in some of the historical sites dating back to the Hawaiian Kingdom.

England is, by far, the largest of the four countries in the United Kingdom and even over the course of two-and-a-half months, it was impossible to see everything. That said, while studying in Oxford, I was able to explore that city, and head into London with some regularity. One of the amazing things about Europe is that there is seemingly something historic around every corner and England is no exception to that fact.

After traveling to the other three countries in the United Kingdom, it only seemed natural that I somehow find my way to Wales before heading back home to California. Because I didn’t have all too much time, I just took the train to the Welsh capital in Cardiff to get a small taste of Wales and the city didn’t disappoint.

For our last group trip of the semester, we toured the southwest of England—the City of Bath and the historic Stonehenge site. Both places we visited are historic in the own right with Bath containing structures that date back to the Roman era and Stonehenge dating back some 4-5,000 years ago.

Of the four countries in the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland has had the most troubled past and uncertain future. After visiting Scotland, I decided to take a ferry from Stranraer to Belfast to see this fascinating place for myself. While in “Norniron,” I was able to go around Belfast and even take a tour up the coast of Antrim to the famous Giant’s Causeway.

During a Bank Holiday weekend, after hearing one of my classmates describe their trip to Scotland, I decided to head north to Edinburgh to explore the land north of Hadrian’s Wall. After being in England for two months at this point, being in Scotland was both familiar and different at the same time.