Here you can browse through my blog posts prior to February 2022. Currently I'm sharing my travel experiences, candid opinions, and what's on my mind solely on my Facebook page. — Rick

Barnstorming My Way Through North Dakota and Michigan

Photo via the Forum News Service.

What am I doing toting my hemp bag through Fargo, North Dakota? Helping that state realize that our wrongheaded laws against marijuana are causing more harm to our society than the plant those laws were designed to protect us from.

 

rick steves holding a "yes on 3" pamphlet in front of a bronze statue that is of a newspaper boy who is hollering and holding a newspaper that has the word "TRUTH" written on it very largely

 

I spent last week in North Dakota and Michigan, barnstorming for campaigns to legalize marijuana — just as I did in 2012 in Washington State, in 2014 in Oregon, in 2016 in Massachusetts and Maine, and earlier this year in D.C., Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and Vermont. And just like usual, I was met with opposition by what I call the “PPP,” or “Pot Prohibition Profiteers”: corporations that make money when pot is kept illegal (pharmaceutical companies, big beer conglomerates, and so on). They help fund campaigns that have goofy names (“Healthy and Productive Michigan”) and share messages that confuse and deceive voters.

 

anti-rick steves michigan ad marijuana

 

Even the name “Healthy and Productive Michigan” is deceptive, as it implies that states that legalize are less healthy and less productive — which makes no sense, when you consider that Washington and Colorado have two of the hottest economies in the USA. The group also claimed, dishonestly, that I’m representing the “Big Marijuana” industry. That’s simply a lie. I’m traveling on my own dime and promoting civil liberties, the end of a failed prohibition, and a non-racist public safety approach to drug policy. (I am no friend of “Big Marijuana.”)

And if you’re not convinced by the eight states that are happy they legalized marijuana for human beings…you can always point to the dogs and cats that might get high eating their owners’ edibles as a justification for locking up poor people and people of color for nonviolent marijuana possession “crimes.”

 

ad that says "I care for animals. I will vote no on legalizing recreational marijuana" and a boy is holding a dog

 

Video: Road-Tripping Through the Upper Midwest to Help Legalize, Tax, and Regulate Recreational Marijuana

I just spent a week in Michigan and North Dakota, advocating for the end of the expensive, racist, and counter-productive prohibition on marijuana.

Back in 2012, we voted to legalize recreational marijuana in Washington State. I’m proud of that vote and what it has meant for social justice, civil liberties, and public safety. And so, every election cycle since then, I’ve gone on a barnstorming tour to help other states end our country’s prohibition on marijuana. In 2014, it was Oregon. In 2016, it was Massachusetts and Maine. This past spring, I traveled to D.C., Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and Vermont. And last week, I headed to the Upper Midwest.

I met a lot of good people in Michigan and North Dakota, and I worked very hard to share with them what we’ve learned in the six years since we legalized the adult recreational use of marijuana in Colorado and Washington State. In 2012, the governors of both of those states opposed the bills to legalize marijuana — but today, after six years of legal sales, both states are doing great, and those same governors (Hickenlooper and Inslee) support the laws. And that’s because we now have a track record. The numbers are in: When you legalize marijuana smartly, adult use stays roughly the same, teen use does not go up, DUIs do not go up, and crime does not go up. What does go up are civil liberties and tax revenue. In Washington State, we no longer arrest 10,000 pot smokers a year. And a billion dollars a year in illegal sales is now a billion dollars a year in legal sales — generating over $300 million a year for Washington State to use for education, health care, and drug treatment programs.  

My hope is that this November, the people of Michigan and North Dakota will see the sense in taking crime out of the equation and vote to end prohibition. It’s time to get smart on drug policy.

Keep on Travelin’: Celebrating Travel Joy with Tattoos

Last year in Milwaukee, I had an unforgettable experience. I had just given a talk to an energetic and positive crowd at the Pabst Theater, and I was enjoying a fun atmosphere of pandemonium in the lobby. It’s always a thrill to meet happy travelers — but this was a first: Three women greeted me with brand-new tattoos that shared the message to “Keep on Travelin’.”

 

rick steves selfie with three people who have "keep on travelin" tattooed on their arms

 

And recently I heard from another tattooed traveler. Annie, who owns the Little Annie Motel Tattoo Parlor in Los Angeles, just finished up a six-week trip to Europe — and she was celebrating her travel joy with a new tattoo, which she shared with me in this photo.

 

 

What about you? Have you ever gotten a tattoo on the road, or do you have any tattoos that celebrate your love of travel? Let me know in the comments here, on Facebook, or on Twitter.

 

Video: Travel Thrills on the Cutting Room Floor

When it comes to our TV show, I tend to overpack. I love each corner of Europe — but there are only 30 minutes, or 3,000 words, in each episode. Invariably our episodes come in at 32 minutes or so, and I need to make the hard cuts. While it’s painful to lose bits I really like, the tighter shows are better without them.

Many of you have been watching Rick Steves’ Europe for literally decades, and I thought, as we celebrate the arrival of our tenth season (12 all-new episodes debuting next month on public television throughout the USA), I’d share with you the kind of footage that ends up on our cutting room floor.

In this little clip, you’ll see what we cut from our upcoming Scottish Highlands episode:

  • The Inveraray Castle, which houses clan mementos that are precious to Campbells.
  • McCaig’s Tower, a silly “folly” in Oban. (Beautifully filmed mediocre sights in bad weather are the first to go.)
  • Me sharing a tip for road-trippers to get out of the car and take little hikes. (Fun asides are easy to cut when we’re running long because they don’t impact the structure of the script.)
  • The town of Fort William. (This was an entire module — like pulling a tooth, it only hurts once to lose it…but I hated to delete the great sound bite from our guide Colin, with his nice dig at English imperialism.)
  • Much of the Scottish Crannog Centre. (This was just too much information, so we used a much shorter version.)
  • A juvenile clip of me searching for the Loch Ness monster (which was not too juvenile to end up in our bloopers).

Thanks to all our travelers, whose viewership has kept us on the air for so long, and to public television, which continues to be a lonely bright spot in the broadcast media landscape of America. Stay tuned for lots of Rick Steves’ Europe this fall — including episodes on Portugal (Lisbon and the country’s heartland), the heart of England, Greek islands, Sicily (Best of Sicily and Sicilian Delights), Scotland (Glasgow, Highlands, and islands), cruising travel skills, and two special episodes on Europe’s greatest festivals. Check your local listings for air dates.

 

Celebrating a Gold for Iceland and a Silver for Festivals

We just received some great news: Our Iceland guidebook and European Festivals TV special have both been recognized by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation with Lowell Thomas awards. These awards are considered the most prestigious accolades in the field of travel journalism — and I couldn’t be prouder of the team of people who worked together on these two projects.

Our newest guidebook, Rick Steves Iceland, took the gold in the Guidebook category. Here’s what the judges said:

 

Iceland seems to fascinate almost every traveler alive, maybe because the name seems so forbidding, maybe because of the geographic remoteness. This guidebook explains the attractions of the big city, Reykjavik, with vigor. But the guide also leaves the city to help with explorations of hiking journeys, visits to volcanoes, glaciers, and thermal waters. The offshore islands receive attention, too. This book is thorough and well-organized.

 

You can pick up a copy of Rick Steves Iceland here — and Cameron Hewitt, who was instrumental in writing the book, shares some of Iceland’s top travel experiences here.

In the Video Travel Broadcast category, our one-hour public television special Rick Steves’ European Festivals nabbed the silver with this note from the judges:

 

This host takes what could be a stale topic — European festivals — and, through clever writing and charismatic performance, brings them to life. It’s fun and light-hearted and makes me want to go.

 

Celebrate! Our one-hour Festivals special is streaming here.