Category: Destinations

Return to Kauai: A Salve for the Soul

I didn’t expect to feel a lump in my throat, but as the plane touches down along the lush green fields of Kauai, I feel a rush of emotion. Like so many, I’ve missed the ability to travel. Mostly, though, I missed some of my favorite places—and Kauai is one of them. Granted, things are…


Exploring Ancient Wonders: The Pyramids and the Nile

Headed west, we cross the broad expanse of the Nile, so storied in our collective knowledge and memory, from carrying the baby Moses in a basket to running red in the biblical plagues. But today, nothing feels so ancient, the surface below buzzing with small boats, busy with the flow and urgency of day-to-day life….


Hmong New Year in Luang Prabang: Finding a Wife, and Other Pursuits

The taxi driver is apologetic. “Sir, this is as close I can get,” he tells me, as I climb out more than a mile from my destination. And then, moving in the same direction as everyone else, I join the pilgrimage. The crowd thickens as I get closer. Some travel on foot, others buzz past…


Food and Wine, Not Sun and Sand, in Puerto Vallarta

Mexico’s Puerto Vallarta is admittedly not known for wine. After all, Jalisco, the state surrounding the resort destination first popularized by Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and other Hollywood stars back in the day, is the home of tequila in the same way that champagne only comes from France’s Champagne region. Then there is the lack…


Heavenly Lake Tahoe Is Pure Heaven for Families

Our family recently had the pleasure of enjoying a late-winter wonderland at Heavenly Ski Resort, and it was undoubtedly one of the most picturesque places I have ever seen. Situated in South Lake Tahoe, it is the largest resort in the region and offers an absolutely phenomenal playground for family-friendly skiing and snowboarding. This magnetic…


Mother Nature’s Hidden Gems

Sure, it’s great to ooh and aah at the grandeur of the Grand Canyon, be overwhelmed by the blistered desert floor and extinct volcanic craters in Death Valley, and hear the thunderous roar of Niagara Falls. But Mother Nature also has created countless other treasures throughout the country that while less well-known are no less…


Aquarium Encounters Offers Play With Sea Creatures

Decked out in snorkel equipment and wetsuit—getting into and out of which was admittedly the most challenging aspect of the whole experience–I entered the 200,000-gallon coral reef tank. It was filled with large and small residents—more than 50 species of fish, sharks, and eels—into whose life I was about to intrude at the Aquarium Encounters…


Find More Than Lodging in Some Unusual Hotels

Tom and Betty Taylor settle down to spend the night in a Pullman train car. They snuggle between crisp sheets covering a comfortable bed. When they awaken the next morning and peer out the window, the scene that greets them is exactly what they saw before turning off the light. The train car in which…


A Drive Through the Fresno County Blossom Trail

FRESNO, Calif.—The Fresno County Blossom Trail is home to acres of fruit tree blossoms. It attracts around 30,000 visitors over a three-week period. People can go on a self-guided tour drive around the 60-plus-mile loop to view a variety of blooming trees, free of charge. Plum, apple, citrus, and almond trees have white flowers, while…


Fine Wine Is the Pride of Texas

“I love tannat! I’ve never tasted wine from this grape before,” I excitedly commented to Jennifer McInnis, general manager at Bending Branch Winery in historic Comfort, Texas. But I wasn’t at the bar with a tasting flight before me. I was at home and taking part in a Zoom webinar about off-the-radar winemaking in the…