Because Morocco is so incredibly close to places like Gibraltar and Tarifa, I decided to take a day trip across the Strait of Gibraltar to the Moroccan City of Tangier. As a whole, Morocco is an interesting place being that, while it was never formally colonized like, say the British Raj in India, parts of the country did come under the influence of the Spanish and French.

After leaving Gibraltar, I drove through the southern parts of the Andalucía autonomous region in Spain toward the City of Tarifa—the southernmost point on the European mainland. It was from there, that I would take a ferry to Tangier, Morocco so I could experience both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar.

Gibraltar is an interesting place. It is undoubtably British but many people speak Spanish, they drive on the right, and it isn’t constantly raining! The territory was captured by the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1704 and ceded by Spain to the UK in 1713, but the fact that Gibraltar is still held by the British to this day is a great point of contention between the two, otherwise, allies.

Once again, in 2017, I went on a trip to Europe in which London served as the jumping off point to the continent. While I only had limited time in London, I was able to see a show, walk around the city, and just enjoy London before heading to Gibraltar.

In 2016, I decided to continue my annual trip to go watch Cal (likely) lose to a school in the Pacific Northwest. Initially, we had planned on going to Oregon State, but due to a conflict with the Rams, we decided to make the trek out to Washington State.

Growing up, I would go to Santa Catalina Island with regularity—it was essentially an annual tradition. As time has gone by, however, I have not been able to go to the island as often as I once did. That said, whenever I have the opportunity, I will make my way over to the island to get away from the craziness that is Southern California.

During this trip, I visited two places that are ancient beyond words. The second stop on my Eastern Mediterranean tour was the Greek capital city: Athens. Unfortunately, because my flight was extremely delayed from Tel Aviv to Athens, I was only able to spend two days in Athens, but I did my best to see and do as much as I could in this historic city.

Israel is one of the most historic places on Earth with evidence of human habitation going back thousands of years. It is a place in which two major world religions developed and that a third regards as holy. It is also one of the most contested regions in the world with two groups claiming nominal sovereignty over the entirety of the area and numerous wars fought over it.