Well, here it is: the Books Bourbon & Bacon Store. So now you can dress yourself as I dress myself most days: like a website.

Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting a global pandemic to shut down the world right before I was to set off on my Trek Dirty to Me project and my years-long planned 2,200 mile trek of the Appalachian Trail. But it did, and I could not have been luckier. What a ride these last three months have been!

It is no secret that I love to cook, eat and talk about food. So why have I decided to drink the majority of my meals for six months while I’m hiking the Appalachian Trail?

An accident on a Bird scooter led me to the complete loss of my sense of smell. It’s apparently not terribly uncommon, but in my case, where my hobbies include hitting up as many places during Happy Hour so I can get their signature whatever for $1 off and falling for any great cocktail menu, it has been devastating.

Olive oil and wine are the ancient equivalent of petrol and narcotics. There is a lot of money in them. There always has been.

What is ‘Trek Dirty to Me?’ It’s a project that I have been wanting to do for over a decade. In short, it is the complete thru-hiking of the Triple Crown of American hikes - the three major American Scenic Trails: The Appalachian Trail (AT), the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and the Continental Divide Trail (CDT).

AJ Feeney-Ruiz is a recovering politician and an international adventurer. After managing a particularly grueling campaign in 2014, he realized 20 years was enough to give to politics, and moved to China to study Shaolin Kung Fu in the mountains of the Henan province and meditate for six months.