Greetings from General Montgomery! ON a vacation island retreat, a young John M. Edwards rollies with a real live Rastafarian - and lives to regret it. “BOY! BOY!” I looked over at the sculpted resort hedge, shivering in the breeze like a wet Chia Pet and illuminated by a Tikki torch, and stepped uncertainly off the porch. I felt like a young adult waking up from a Frank W. Dixon Hardy Boys mystery. “Boy! Boy! Come here!” I walked … [Read more...]
Just woke up in “prison” in Helsinki
"Am I there yet? Am I there yet?" This question rattled around several times in my jet lag induced brain for a few moments before one eye fluttered open. In the foggy haze of nonstop travel for the past few days I looked around. I was in a small room. I noticed the window. It was high up the wall, not in a normal spot for a window. I glanced at the blinking red light. It was 4am. But there was plenty of outside light in the room. There was … [Read more...]
Go Hike to Nowhere
The hike to the Bridge to Nowhere is one of the more popular hikes in southern California. That’s for a good reason. This is a don’t miss hike if you live close to or in Base Camp L.A. The bridge was constructed in 1936 as part of a road project intended to connect the San Gabriel Valley to Wrightwood. The road was washed out in a 1938 storm, as parts of the trail often are, and the project was terminated leaving a bridge in the middle … [Read more...]
Vulgar Wheat: A Trace of Thrace Bugaria
John M. Edwards chows down on subpar "Vulgarian" grub and survives a dangerous dispute over a restaurant bill in the Balkans. Oh well, there is always the region's lip-smacking yogurt. . . . Bulgaria has by far the best yogurt in the world, partly because they invented it. They also are (supposedly) responsible for the regional cuisine shared by many of its neighbors: Bulgar wheat, stuffed grape leaves, baklava, kebabs, goat cheese, and … [Read more...]
Catalina Express is your Ticket to Summer in Paradise
Events, Festivals, Free Concerts, Exhibits and Picnics on the Beach Beckon Travelers Near and Far Craving an Island Experience LONG BEACH, Calif. (June 12, 2014) – Catalina Island, increasingly popping up on lists of “best” little known islands to visit, including Sunset Magazine, USA Today, Jaunted.com and CBS Early Show, will not disappoint new and returning visitors this summer. Now through December 31, 2014, Catalina Express gives … [Read more...]
Astana: Whipping up a storm
This is the story of how Stalin lost his nose and why the face of former British prime minister Tony Blair pops up in the strangest places in a former Soviet republic. But first I want to tell you about Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan. And later I’ll tell you about kyz kuu, a kind of lovers’ kissing game they play on the steppe of central Asia. Kazakhstan, independent since 1991, and squeezed between those other ‘stans’ (homelands) … [Read more...]
The Kamping Fuhrer
Inside an Impressionist painting, in the French south, on the campground, inside the trailer, we were all talking and drinking up a storm like total strangers who’ve never met before. The bearded Brit nervously cleared his throat, extended his glass, and made polite overtures to my uncorked bottle of wretched red "vin de table." The mysterious Aragorn-like Englander looked like he hadn’t had a drink in an eon and that each sentence was framed … [Read more...]
Sheiks on the Plane, International Airspace
John M. Edwards flies into the wild blue yonder from London Heathrow to New York JFK, wedged in between two suspicious-looking suspected terrorists supposedly from the United Arab Emirates. . “Goddammit, there are snakes on the plane!” I couldn’t help but laugh at the drunken comment attributed to Samuel Jackson several aisles behind, followed by the lame “Don’t call me Shirley” from Airplane. While my two outlandishly dressed seatmates … [Read more...]
Bucket Shop Blues
Daring to save deflationary dollars during a worldwide recession, John M. Edwards tries a risky “bucket shop” for cheapo airfare to Amsterdam, ending up on a white-knuckles chariot charter flight from hell. . . . For the umpteenth time I must reiterate: It is now high time to cash in and use up all those Frequent Flyer Miles. But with a worldwide economic disaster grounding us with nightmare worries about the future and egregious … [Read more...]
Puerto Rico: The Real Fountain of Youth?
When Christopher Columbus made landfall in Puerto Rico during his second trans-Atlantic voyage, in 1493, a young Spanish nobleman, Ponce de León, some scholars believe, was on board. Rumors of hefty quantities of gold brought Ponce de Leon back, in 1508, where he found an islet with an excellent harbor he named Puerto Rico, or Rich Port. This would become the name of the island, while the town was renamed San Juan. He didn’t find gold, but was … [Read more...]
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