A shirtless hippie with long, flowing hair and an orange tan gives me a wink as he floats by on his bicycle. After a few minutes, a large man carrying a CD player and headphones …
August 3, 2014
Travel Stories
Venice has grit
The Maasai: East Africa's ambassadors
There are some images so iconic, they're forever associated with a particular place. Certainly among the foremost would be the Maasai and East Africa. More than any other tribal culture, the Maasai embody both the …
Lake George, NY: Upstate tranquility
I opened my eyes and peeled my head from the pillow, waking to a lush wilderness of massive maples and juniper pines. “The city” was a mere 220 miles away, but the silence and serenity …
Diving at Big Corn Island, Nicaragua
A vertical sign written out in white seashells stated we had reached the dive shop destination. It was with some reluctance that I shuffled up to the two-story weatherbeaten building. My last resort dive had …
July 25, 2014
Laguna Beach: summer means art fests
If you want to add some art to your summer, consider heading up to Laguna Beach. A July visit here brought me within walking distance of three major art festivals: the Sawdust Festival, Festival of …
July 21, 2014
Why Ukraine: nighttime Kiev and protests
June 6, 2014 - Ok, so my first 12 hours here in Kiev were, umm... interesting. I remember looking up at a sign in the airport reading “Red Zone” and thinking it was a USSR …
July 15, 2014
Modern times in one of the world's hot spots: Israel
I was in Israel when three teenagers in yeshiva – Jewish seminary – had just been kidnapped. As I left the country, they were discovered to have been killed, which touched off a firestorm between …
July 12, 2014
Cole Valley, San Francisco
Several months ago Kay and I enjoyed several days in Haight-Ashbury – prior to my fortuitous discovery of nearby Cole Valley. We had been kicking back at the no-frills, creaky Red Victorian Hotel on bustling …
July 8, 2014
Sabah: a Malaysian Eden
In Tuaran, hidden amidst the nature reserve, half an hour north of Sabah’s capital, Kota Kinabalu, there's a little slice of paradise. “Be careful!” warned the Kadazan gardener, gripping a long wooden stick, his outstretched …
Campeche: not Cancún
For those seeking an off-the-beaten-path alternative to Cancún and Mérida, Campeche is a captivating, underrated baroque colonial town on the west coast of the Yucatan peninsula. Capital of the state with the same name, it's …
July 2, 2014
Fredericksburg, VA: America's most historic city
The Interstate 95 (aka I-95) is the main highway on the East Coast, running parallel to the Atlantic Ocean seaboard on a north-south trajectory and serving as the principal artery for cities from Florida to …
June 28, 2014