Having recently married, (an unlikely side effect of Obamacare) I seem to find my brain stuck in amorous overdrive - the unlikely beneficiary being my husband, with an impromptu trip for two to the Magic Kingdom. It’s true that many react incredulously to the idea of adults wanting to frolic in a place so firmly aimed at the juvenile but, as a child from Southern California, I have always loved Disneyland and my affection hasn’t waned one bit. … [Read more...]
A Week at the Beach on Isla Mujeres
Can we all just agree that Cancun isn’t really all that great? After all, it’s a man-made vacation destination bogged down by mammoth, cheap all-inclusive resorts with lots of drunk tourists. Having said that, the weather there is great, the beaches are stunning and it’s super easy to get to. With a little extra planning and venturing beyond the main Hotel Zone, a perfect week at the beach in Mexico is absolutely possible! It’s not far by … [Read more...]
Bluffworks New Generation of Pants
Bluffworks founder Stefan Loble recently reached out to me indicating he had released the next generation of the Bluffworks pants. Leaving soon after the pants arrived on an International trip lasting several months - involving a number of climatic zones and rigors of both adventure travel and urban travel - this time on the road served as the perfect testing ground for these new pants. New improvements include: - newly-designed slash … [Read more...]
Can food broker peace? Mamnoon Restaurant, Seattle
Celebrating Syria: “We couldn’t go back, so we started mamnoon instead.” -Richard Bangs “For us, there is only the trying. The rest is not our business.” -T.S. Elliot There are so many delicious facets to this story. I first met Wassef Haroun in Zambia, at the Kafue River Camp, owned by a mutual friend who had invited us for a week-long private safari. Towards the end of the week Wassef excused himself from the Rhodesian teak table … [Read more...]
Cock-a-Doodle-Don’t, Cockfighting in the Philippines
John M. Edwards attends a horrific “cockfight” on Bantayan Island in the Philippines, only to end up wondering what exactly were the ingredients in the national dish of adobo. . . . The roosters swaggered around like Mick and Keith, with dangerously sharp spurs attached to their legs. While the apocalyptic poultry sussed each other out with malice, the excitement began to build. My two new Norwegian backpacker friends snapped photos with … [Read more...]
River Gods: Confessions of a Grand Canyon Guide
It all began, for me, at a meeting of the Canoe Cruisers Association, the Washington, D.C. chapter. In the midst of the button-down capital there is an underground of cutoffs and t-shirts that each weekend assembles by the banks of some Shenandoah or Appalachia river to rake the whitewater with paddles. A recent high school graduate searching for life’s passion, I joined up at the urging of my old Scout leader, and was immediately hooked. My … [Read more...]
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Imagine writing a book when your body is entirely paralyzed except for your left eye lid - the other eye being stitched shut. Author Bauby wrote this entire book by blinking - using a special alphabet that was devised for him - he chose each letter, one at a time slowly forming words, then sentences. Rendered almost entirely rigid by a stroke at age 43 in 1995, he left a world of fashion (he was editor of the French Elle) and entered a … [Read more...]
Lourdes on 25 Prayers a Day
The Lowdown on Tacky Souvenirs and Christian Kitsch - Hautes-Pyrenees France I think it was Goethe who said that the imagination was man’s “deadliest enemy,” but how could that be so when all of us have dreamed up so many fabulous places to visit, celebrity people to admire, and unique pleasures to seek out. Even so, nightmares notwithstanding, we are all vaguely astonished when legend becomes reality and we actually arrive in a place we … [Read more...]
New in Sebastopol: The Barlow
Disclosure: I was invited out for an evening visit to The Barlow in Sebastopol. All opinions are my own. For those new to Sonoma County (Northern California, USA), one area that you may want to pay a visit to is none other than The Barlow in Sebastopol. The Barlow, opened in November of 2013, is a place that focuses on Local Food, Art, and Wine. The West Side of Sonoma County has amazing local producers, artisans, and small … [Read more...]
Full Moon Party on Ko Samet, Thailand
John M. Edwards survives a psychedelic breakdown--and hubris--on a backpacker’s hub off the coast of Thailand. . . . In Thailand, it is not necessary to have an actual full moon shining down on you in order to throw together a “Full Moon Party”—just loads and loads of magic mushrooms. The decidedly pagan, almost “Glastonberry,” Halloweeny atmosphere of the event, featuring a wild bunch of fragrant hippies—proud of their piercings, … [Read more...]
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