Santa Catalina Island is located between 19 and 22 miles from the mainland. Catalina provides the calm, quiet and the rural contrast to the urban 24/7 hum of the city of Los Angeles. The Ying and Yang of urban versus rural environments, if you will. Catalina is world’s away yet still within the confines of Los Angeles County. Getting Here Catalina Express has transported millions of people between the mainland and Avalon or Two Harbors in … [Read more...]
Without An Address, You Can’t Go Home
When I lived in Las Vegas, my title at United Parcel Service was "Bad Address Clerk." Because Vegas is a town of drifters, grifters and shifters of identity, packages would continually go astray, paralleled by the wanderings of their addressees, who in a month's time in Vegas might have changed their residence—and their jobs, spouses and perhaps even their sex—two or three times. And then disappeared. So my shelves were filled with boxes large … [Read more...]
Virginia is for Foodies
Even if you arrive in Virginia knowing not a soul, don’t be surprised if you leave feeling as if you’ve broken bread and shared drink with good folk who are now friends. That’s the way Virginia strikes me. I come here to eat, drink and contemplate its natural beauty, but am most deeply affected by its people. It’s a truly welcoming place, even to a Northern stranger like me. I recently road- tripped my way through the Commonwealth in search … [Read more...]
Get around New York – by bicycle!
It’s taken a long time, but New York has launched its public bike hire scheme. Similar to those in London, Paris and approximately 500 other cities worldwide, Citi Bike is a new network of bicycles you can hire, ride and drop off at your convenience. As can be expected in a transport network already saturated with traffic, New York’s answer to Boris Bikes are by no means perfect. Cycling in a heavily congested city is always going to be a … [Read more...]
Branson is family-friendly destination
Branson is family-friendly destination Shows and scenic trails entertain visitors Photos above: Legends entertainers and the Ladies Room at the Tabuchi Theatre Musical entertainment reigns supreme in Branson. This family-friendly city has more than 100 shows, some in theaters with as many as 2,000 seats and the theme that runs throughout is one of patriotism, family values and religion. Veterans are acknowledged and asked to stand at … [Read more...]
Exploring Bermuda, an Introduction to the Island
Getting Here There are nonstop flights to Hamilton from a number of cities along the east coast of the USA as well as London Gatwick. It is surprisingly a short flight from many major metropolitan areas including New York (under 2.5 hours) and Toronto (about 3 hours). Many airlines service the island with nonstop flights including Air Canada, American, British Airways, Delta, Jet Blue, United, US Airways and Westjet among others. Bermuda … [Read more...]
Pie-eyed for Pizza: A Love Story
“I could eat pizza seven days a week.” The sentence grabbed me, but I couldn’t decide whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. It was on a site where few sentences grabbed me: Match.com. I jumped to two possible conclusions: a) NBlikesbikes is really boring, or b) NBlikesbikes is really quirky. I have a soft spot for the quirky, and while I was mentally kneading a) vs. b), NBlikesbikes e-mailed me. After a few messages, he asked me … [Read more...]
Seeing the World with New Eyes
The blast from the whistle of the locomotive quickened my pulse. “Make way...Make way!.. I’m coming through,” it seemed to say. A huge plume of black smoke rose from the stack as the train made its rock-a-billy way along the mountain ledge. I leaned out of the open-air Gondola car to get a better view of the Animus River churning through boulders as big as boxcars. It is one of the few rivers in America that flows unrestricted by dams from … [Read more...]
Down The Colorado River, Through The Grandest Of Canyons
Hiking out of the Grand Canyon — 8 miles, 5,000 feet — felt like re-emerging from a quiet haven inside the earth to stand again atop the soil of civilization. Back up here it's a hot and crowded mess. Everything feels excessive. Everyone seems oblivious. The chaos is distinct after having been so deeply peaceful and disconnected. It feels like I’ve been gone for months, yet it's only been seven days. We saw so much in those 90 miles rafting … [Read more...]
The Caves of Chattanooga
When I tell Lilia that we are going to view bats, she is scared at first. She knows bats only from horror movies and vampire stories in her favorite manga. All the same, she is willing to go. My concerns, as usual, are about accessibility. My daughter is deaf and uses a wheelchair. We are in the United States on our first mother-daughter trip. My husband and son are back home in Japan, busy with work, and summer school, and baseball practice. … [Read more...]
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