travel
-
On Veterans Day, we decided to check out Washington Park’s Oregon Vietnam Veterans Living Memorial. Located between the Zoo and the Arboretum Visitor’s Center, we’ve passed it many times but, until yesterday, never took the time to stop. Erected in the Hoyt Arboretum section of the park, in 1987, the Memorial covers 8 acres designed Read more
-
A story was recently passed on to me, by a friend with Holland America Lines, about a 106-year-old woman on a 28-day cruise to Alaska and Hawaii. That fact, by itself, is just amazing, but her story is even more incredible. Alice Darrow, a Navy nurse, met her husband, Dean, at Mare Island Navy Hospital in California. Dean was injured Read more
-
Driving a Mini in Portland is great in the city but not the best vehicle for exploring when winter arrives. Harsh winds and snow, in the higher elevations, keep us from exploring the many mountain opportunities within a short drive. So, before summer is officially over, we decided to take a field trip to the Read more
-
We love the weirdness of Portland, but the weather is crazy weird. Summers are dry and sunny, and temps are usually in the low 80’s with really low humidity. Step into the shade and it feels like a 10 degree drop. But, every once in awhile we get a “heat dome” that drives the temps Read more
-
After a recent conference in Manchester, NH, Charlie and I explored Rhode Island, staying in Providence. You can read a more wordy version in TravelPulse – this is more of a pictorial. We were hosted by the Omni Providence Hotel, a gorgeous and convenient place to stay within walking distance of everything the city has Read more
-
During a recent National Society of Newspaper Columnists conference, I got to meet a lovely couple, ages 90 and 91, with a lovely story. Read more here… More to come on the historical town of Manchester, NH…and Rhode Island…and Boston! Read more
-
A couple of weeks ago, Charlie and I were in New York City checking out some alternative lodging options in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Here’s a link to my TravelPulse blog post…enjoy and hoping the holidays are a happy time for all! Read more
-
Hard to believe it’s been a year since we closed on the mountain house in North Carolina. Here’s a link to some reflections and advice if you’re considering a vacation home… Read more
-
A break in the daily cruise travelogue to praise our fellow writers and photojournalists. Check it out on hypeorlando…8 Global Journalists who take you to foreign lands without leaving home. Read more
-
Taking a break from cruise blogging to write about early Christmas shopping on hypeorlando and a post about the upcoming Fall Farm and Artisans’ Tour in conjunction with local B&Bs on TravelPulse (just click on the links). We’ve been busy, up here in NC, exploring Asheville and the surrounding mountain towns. The temps still remain Read more
-
Flying a float plane over the ice fields of Juneau Read more
-
An incredible opportunity opened up for Charlie and I to join a press group, cruising Alaska’s waterways with Holland America Lines on the ms Nieuw Amsterdam. The offer was last minute, as in 2 ½ weeks, but the calendar was clear and, luckily, we brought our passports to NC, so we were in. The key Read more
-
3 Reasons to visit Asheville this summer Read more
-
It’s been a little over a month since arriving at the mountain house for the summer. One thing we’ve learned is, next year, we’ll head up this way later in the spring/summer. Although it has been fun seeing the wildflowers of spring, the temps are chilly…just this morning we woke up to low 30’s, brrrr. Read more
-
Gotta blow my own horn here, so to speak, with the news that TravelPulse.com has published one of my blog posts and I am in contract with them to write further content. Most will be based in Orlando but I’ll be writing about Asheville this summer, also. First post is about the rise of the Read more
-
So the deal wasn’t done and the papers weren’t signed, lucky for us we had an honest inspector who immediately saw structural issues and did not continue the process. Inspections are pricey in the mountains and he saved us quite a few bucks by not going any further. He said a structural engineer needed to Read more
-
On our second house-hunting trip to North Carolina, we chose to stay at a bed and breakfast within the Wolf Laurel community. Our research found several houses in the area and we figured what better way to get a feel for the neighborhood than to spend a few nights in it. Good choice on many Read more
-
Recently I was invited to a blogger event at the Tijuana Flats on East Colonial, in Orlando. These events are one of the many perks of writing a blog, especially with hypeorlando (the Orlando Sentinel blog platform). We get to taste-test new menu items and get an insider view of house local restaurants operate. I’m Read more
-
Check out my hypeorlando blog post, Forever Young but Growing Old, about Home Exchanges gone wrong…and they all could have been avoided! Read more
-
The next leg of our journey put us on the Amtrak Adirondack to Penn Station in Manhattan. What was touted as a 10 hour trip, turned into 12. Check out my blog post on hypeorlando for more details… Read more
-
Day 3 – Halifax Cruising into Nova Scotia, on Holland America‘s Maasdam, we had no clue as to the history of the place. So we chose that rainy Day 2 to spend some time in the Explorations Café Library learning about our destination. A big piece of Halifax’s history lies in a horrific event in Read more
-
Recently the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York City celebrated its first anniversary. On a recent trip to Manhattan we made sure to reserve a day to visit the 911 Museum. It is a pilgrimage that feels like one’s civic duty. We need to be reminded of the pain that was felt that awful Read more
-
My first New Year’s resolution is to stop neglecting this blog! Coming soon…Big Sur, San Francisco and Christmastime in NYC Meanwhile, I’m redirecting you to hypeorlando and my tribute to Dr. Taylor and his wife, Jane, who both passed away earlier this month…Quack, Quack and Cheerio! Read more
-
Follow my blog with Bloglovin Finally, getting to Chapter 2 of our summer trip out West…we left Washington DC before dawn, heading to Portland, Oregon, to meet up with an old grammar and high school classmate, Bob Burgan. Bob and Mary extended an invitation to stay with them a couple of nights at their beach Read more
-
Last month’s trip was full of “holy shit!” moments. From beginning to end, the two weeks was chock full of eye-opening events and scenery. Our first leg took us to the 38th Annual National Society of Newspaper Columnists Conference in Washington, DC. It was my fifth year of attending and I wasn’t disappointed. Arriving a Read more
-
There’s a new blog community in town called hypeorlando – a product of the Orlando Sentinel – and my blog Forever Young but Growing Old is included. This is an exciting opportunity to expand into other areas and reach more people with my musings…hope that’s a good thing. Hypeorlando is loaded with talented bloggers covering Read more
-
Having grown up in Orlando before the city was just a glimmer in the eye of Walt Disney, my parents would take family and friends visiting from the North to Lake Eola, in the heart of downtown. The lake’s green-domed fountain was a favorite of visitors and locals alike. A nighttime drive-by provided a colorful Read more
-
After seven years of “sort of” retiring to New Smyrna Beach, we have decided it is time to rejoin the living and move back to O-town. Not that beachside living is the place people go to die…it’s just that making a vacation town your full time residence is a bit isolating in terms of diversity. Read more
-
Living in Central Florida all our lives, we are very familiar with the St. Augustine School Field Trip. As a student, myself, I was bussed to the oldest city in the U.S. as part of my eighth grade trip, circa 1962, to see the Cross and Sword, which later was designated as the official Florida Read more
-
On our way today to the St. Francis Inn, an historic bed and breakfast in St. Augustine. We’re looking forward to three days of fun, food, history, food, ghost tales, and more food! Previous trips to this old city were with children or grandchildren in tow but this time we are on our own and Read more
-
BedandBreakfast.com recently named the Black Dolphin Inn, New Smyrna Beach, FL, among their 2013 Top Ten Beach B&B’s. Sharing the list are Inns throughout the United States, Canada, France and Mexico…quite a big deal for our little seaside town. Having just opened in February of 2013, this award arrives on the heels of The Guardian’s Read more
-
Detroit, Macon, Hartford, Bloomington, Indiana…do these cities come to mind when planning a summer vacation? Probably not on your bucket list, nor were they on mine. However, my eyes were opened to the wonders of these towns while attending annual conferences of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists (NSNC), a gathering of gifted and enthusiastic Read more
-
Oh, wow, so psyched to be have an article on the AAA TravelViews blog. They have me listed as a “Contributor”. It’s a cool travel blog and I’m so stoked to be part of it!! Read more
-
Travel bloggers might take for granted their home base and not think to write about the place in which they are most familiar. It occurred to me this morning, while walking the beach, that writing about European travels is exciting but I would be remiss to ignore the jewel that is New Smyrna Beach, my Read more
-
The next leg of our Canadian journey would take us to Toronto via bus and train. The transportation center was just a half mile walk from the Niagara Falls Doubletree, which we gingerly took through snow which had accumulated that morning. The cost of our two-hour trip was only eight dollars and change as we Read more
-
Every time we head north on a winter holiday and tell people we are from Florida, they look at us and ask “Why?!?” Finally, we are asking ourselves the same question after a week spent in Niagara Falls and Toronto, Ontario, in sub-freezing temperatures. The sights were worth the trip but we have sworn off Read more
-
As long as Charlie doesn’t catch the God-awful stomach virus I had this week, we’ll be heading up to Niagara Falls and Toronto on Monday. Let’s hope that sleeping in another bedroom did the trick and the bug didn’t find its way into his tummy. For the first time ever we are flying out of Read more
-
Over the weekend we celebrated our eight year old grandson’s birthday with a road trip to Nickelodeon Resorts & Suites. The Friday afternoon traffic through Orlando on I-4 reminded us why we choose not to go out that way unless we really have to. Bumper to bumper for no apparent reason, it always amazes me Read more
-
Just got back from a long Holiday trip and already ready for a short getaway. Methinks we got bit by the travel bug and we’ve turned into junket junkies. Gma and Gpa duties will suspend during the second week of March, for Spring break, and we were thinking of a restful, warm cruise but just Read more
-
Traveling as a “Boomer” Today’s New York Times piece, In Travel, We’re All Boomers Now, we see yet another take on Baby Boomers…I’m getting a bit bored with the term, which groups those of us born between the years 1946 and 1964. A lot of us from that generation do not want to age (self included) Read more
-
One of the many perks of home exchange is the aspect of living like a native in a foreign country. In most cases, the neighbors are as interested in us as we are in them. In Vermont we were looked at as those crazy people who left a Florida winter for two months in the Read more
-
Our last week in Switzerland and still so much to see. Last week we checked out Montreux and the Chateau Chillon. Very interesting stories surrounding these castles/forts…and dating back to the times of Game of Thrones. Difficult to imagine living in these freezing, stone fortresses. They must have had fires burning all over the structure, Read more
Forever Young but Growing Old in Portland 