The land of dreams and romance, of fabulous wealth and fabulous poverty, of splendor and rags, of palaces and hovels, of famine and pestilence, of genii and giants and Aladdin lamps, of tigers and elephants, the cobra and the jungle, the country of hundred nations and a hundred tongues... ~~~ Mark Twain Pink, the navy blue of India, is everywhere in Varanasi, Copyright Stephen Bassman When I was a twenty-two, I was both naive and … [Read more...]
Lonely Planet Maui
Lonely Planet Maui by Lonely Planet There is a reason why Lonely Planet is the industry leader in guide books. This full color guide on Maui, also includes Moloka'i & Lana'i, is very well laid out and is chock full of recommended itineraries, surf spots, hiking, nightlife, flora, fauna and much much more. Color coded chapters make browsing this book a breeze. Another highlight is their spotlighted interviews with locals under "island voices" … [Read more...]
Prowling the Sproul State Forest in Pennsylvania
"There's a view there, but I'm not too sure how good it will be." View? I was all about the view. That was the reward for a difficult hike. That was the explanation I gave to my mother who could not understand "why anyone would want to walk up a mountain" - how else would I get to see wonderful vistas? How else could I stand in awe at my own puniness in the face of nature's grandness? And this hike had promised three vistas, at least one of them … [Read more...]
Select Highlights of South East Europe
These are some of the highlights of visiting select locations in Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro and Serbia. This trip was totally unscripted and unplanned. All we had were our plane tickets to Europe. We used public transportation to get around - buses, trains, city trams and metros where available. Note that while distances on the map don't look that far from each other especially along the Dalmatian Coast, the roads are narrow, windy and very … [Read more...]
Wadi Mujib, Jordan – August 2011
Wadi Mujib, Jordan is located in a steep canyon that contains a very "wet and wild" river hiking experience. This wadi or canyon is in the lowest reserve on the planet as its water empties into the Dead Sea (almost 400 meters below sea level). A hike up the canyon is not for the faint of heart, rather it is an adrenaline producing experience. Sign the waiver at the main entrance, pay the admission fee and collect a life jacket. The entire hike is … [Read more...]
St. John
You think hockey, you think cold. You think St. John in the Caribbean, you think hot. When you combine the two, what do you get? If you're very lucky, a Boston Bruins Stanley Cup championship. That improbable confluence happened for me when I was staying at Kismet on St. John, a gorgeous, five-bedroom villa of Moroccan design high atop Maria's Bluff, between Cruz Bay and Chocolate Hole. I'm a hockey nut in general, and about my Boston … [Read more...]
The Artist and the Tinker
Some couples are as different as night and day. That's the way it was with my husband Bill and myself. There were a legion of differences, but probably the biggest was that I considered myself the artist and the only one of us that had any truly creative spirit. I would consider the things I did as a crafting of ideas with the fine and incisive beam of a laser mind and would think of Bill (who had worked as a general contractor in the … [Read more...]
Vanuatu: One of the World’s Remaining Paradises
When you think of a romantic island vacation, what do you imagine? Basking away peaceful days in the sun, just you and your special someone? Stealing away to hidden beaches where you frolic in the waves like children, uninterrupted by human life? Sipping a drink in your beach chair with a view over your feet that could easily be the setting for a Corona commercial? Picturesque, pristine, and private- this is the dream setting for couples … [Read more...]
Suds and Solace
"The future is an opaque mirror. Anyone who tries to look into it sees nothing but the dim outlines of an old and worried face." --Jim Bishop The morning of September 11, 2001, as a Peace Corps trainer I'd scarcely opened an HIV/AIDS seminar in a shabby hotel two hours north of Port-au-Prince, when the Haiti health program manager pulled me aside. "The World Trade Center and the Pentagon have been attacked by planes," she whispered. "It's … [Read more...]
Casino Du Lac-Leamy: Offers ‘Lady Luck’ and Other Pleasures
Quebec Outaouais Casino du Lac Leamy We were excited as we walked in a glass walkway between the Hilton Hotel and the Casino Lac-Leamy located in the same complex in the city of Gatineau, across the river from Ottawa, Canada's Capital. This evening we were going to dine in the Casino's gourmet restaurant - one of the best dining places in the Ottawa Region - the only CAA/AAA Five Diamond ranked in the area. "Move quickly!" One of my … [Read more...]
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