We love off-season travel because of the reduced crowds and bargain accommodation rates. Last winter we drove from San Francisco to the town of Mendocino to attend its annual Crab, Wine & Beer Days – a fun family experience – especially if you savor the taste of freshly cooked Dungeness crab.

Getting to Mendocino

Starting at San…

New York City may not be the official capital of the United States, but it is certainly our cultural capital. From museums to live theater, galleries to concert halls, historical landmarks to innovative cuisine, New York has it all. Even New York's architecture – both historic and brand new (One World…

The thrill of seeing a wild animal in its natural habitat, even if only for a moment, is unparalleled. Some animals are very nice and often stick around for a while – like monkeys. Others are so fast – wild cats, for example – that many times you’re not sure if you saw it or not.



The …

After arriving at the superb Bethany Beach Ocean Suites by Marriott in Bethany Beach, DE (read about our excellent adventure here), the fam (two teen pups + my wife Sue) and I thought that it would be wise to dine in the hotel on our…

When we think of tourism security, we tend to think about either criminal acts that often plague the tourism industry such as: pick-pocketing, room invasions, or con artists, or about "traditional" acts of terrorism such as a bomb.  Rarely do we consider the hidden forms of terrorism that can have an impact on the tourism industry. These forms of terrorism…

We began this adventure by purchasing a Porsche Macan S and picking the car up at the Porsche factory in Zuffenhausen, Germany... this road trip is now “official”. This segment of the series is dedicated to our adventures while touring the Salzburg area.

Salzburg Arrival



The drive took about…

The city of Berkane is located in the Moulouya valley, at the foot of the Beni Hassan Mountains. Far removed from mass tourism, it is the center of the agricultural region of Trifa and is a dynamic zone which focuses on greenhouse cultivation. Its beaches, the longest…

With roots in Gaul (an ancient region of Western Europe encompassing northern Italy, France, Belgium, part of Germany, and southern Netherlands) more than 2,000 years ago, the Gaillac is one of civilization's oldest wine-growing regions. Vines imported by…

In various parts of the world — and nowhere more than in northern Europe — summertime’s fondly considered a bright and cheery idyll, tailor-made for vacations and good vibrations in general. It’d been a long time since I’d been to Scandinavia in summer, and on my recent visit to Finland, I had the pleasure of rediscovering why the warmest season in this part of the world is so…

Chances are you’ve heard of Hannibal, and maybe even that he and his Punic army tried to invade Italy by crossing the Alps with elephants. The city-state he fought for, Carthage, was classical Rome’s biggest rival in the Mediterranean, and one of the big kahunas of the entire ancient world. Even if you’re coming to Tunisia mainly for a…

There is a lot to see and do in Playa del Coco in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, besides hanging out on the beach of this beautiful horseshoe-shaped bay. “Coco Beach” is a fun Costa Rica beach vacation destination.



Called…

This month has not been easy for specialists in tourism security. We first witnessed the terrorist bombing of the Russian aircraft, causing not only death and destruction to innocent civilians but also a major blow to Egypt’s tourism industry. Then, on Friday the 13th, the first reports of the terrible attacks in Paris began to come through…

For a small state like Rhode Island, it’s hard to believe that when it comes to food, the Ocean State has distinct regional dishes that are like no other. So if you thought that the cuisine here is part of one big conglomeration lumped in with Boston and the rest of southern New England, you need to get…

Mike Nelson, the hero from the old Sea Hunt TV series (1958-61), starring Lloyd Bridges, has a restaurant fittingly named in his honor in Rancho Palos Verdes, just north of Los Angeles. In the show, Nelson was a former US Navy frogman called to assist with dangerous…

A town in Brazil's southern state of Santa Catarina, 130 kilometers from Florianópolis, Gravatal…

You didn't know that President Benjamin Harrison was from Indiana? That's okay; Indiana has sexier local heroes, celebrities whose very names make grown Hoosiers weep. Better yet, they feel compelled to honor their heroes in wondrously strange ways.…

When you think of travel to Bulgaria, what comes to mind first? For me, one of the cool things about visiting this fetching little Balkan country is its touches of exoticism, part of an ancient cultural heritage that stretches back to 5,000 BC, and of of the features which I find most noticeable is its Eastern Orthodox…