White Stallion Ranch: A True American West Experience
It ain’t dying I’m talking about, it’s living. I doubt it matters where you die, but it matters where you live. Robert Duvall as Gus McCrae, ‘Lonesome Dove’ It was living that I was after. A need to feel awake, energized…alive! So, I returned to Arizona. The pandemic has taken its toll on all of […]
Spring Looks Good in St. Petersburg, Florida
“This is the reason we live in Florida,” I exclaimed to my husband when we were recently stuck in a blizzard in New York City. “I’ll take heat over cold any day.” He rolled his eyes because as much as I love warm weather, I always said I didn’t want to live in Florida. When […]
The Rocky Mountaineer Train is Back on Track this April. Are You Onboard?
The American West is famous for its breathtaking beauty, with the red pinnacles of the Arches National Park rivaled only by the Rockies’ snow-capped peaks. But driving through these gorgeous gorges—often on narrow, winding roads edged on precipitous cliffs—is not for the faint of heart. Too often these scenic journeys devolve into stressful white-knuckle rides […]
Budding Vines Herald Spring Travel for California’s Central Coast Wineries
In wine speak, the cycle of life for the vine begins in the spring. The vineyard starts to come to life as bud break approaches after laying barren and dormant during the winter. It is a new beginning and a new vintage and signals a time when I am ready to explore what the vineyards […]
Zion’s Tiny Oasis
The global pandemic has left me altered. I once sped through excursions, booking trips within trips with an aim to tick as many items as possible off my bucket list. After two years marked by devastating personal losses, closures, and cancellations, I’m achingly aware of the fragility of life, and how salient time and shared […]
Acadia National Park: The Crown Jewel of Coastal Maine
The popovers at the Jordan Pond House in Maine’s Acadia National Park are famous. But until you try them, you might be skeptical of their reputation. After all, they’re popovers. How good could they be? It only took one bite of my Jordan Pond House popover to know that the glowing accolades were true. I […]
The Beautiful Cocora Valley of Colombia
Colombia’s endangered Quindío wax palms provide the backdrop for an enchanting visit to the real-life setting of Disney’s animated film Encanto. Let’s talk about Colombia’s Cocora Valley. The bona fide setting of Disney’s Encanto beguiles those who wander among its sky-high and century’s old palm trees, but it will take more than a miracle to […]
Costa Rican Coffee is Steeped in Tradition in the Central Highlands
Costa Rica is a Central American paradise, with lush rainforests, active volcanos, and incredible wildlife. But there is another reason to add Costa Rica to your travel bucket list: Coffee. Costa Rican beans are revered by coffee connoisseurs, baristas, and aficionados worldwide. History of Coffee in Costa Rica The coffee industry has played a vital […]
Pattaya: Affordable Thailand Rejuvenation Destination
The lockdowns had gotten to us. We needed a reset. Our bodies became weaker, due to enough lack of movement. But even more than that, we weren’t happy. We missed traveling the world. The thought of leaving New York City’s frigid wintertime temperatures to beautiful Thailand became possible again, due to loosening entry restrictions. We […]
Ode to a Tokyo Garden
Dream or reality? Is reality nothing but a dream? A pure product of our imagination? An illusion? The line between the two is often blurred. On the eastern edge of the Musashino plains, where much of western Tokyo lies, is the Sekiguchi Plateau, a scenic spot famous for its wild Camellias, since the fourteenth century. During the Edo period […]