The great cruise liner Queen Mary has faced many challenges since her keel was laid in 1930. Now she is part of a new effort to beat an unprecedented enemy as she helps the world get back to business. Here's a little more of her inspiring story.



The ship has been part of southern California's treasures since the city of…

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Are you missing the unbridled freedom of travel during these long days of lock downs? So are we. But of course for the common good we…

Absolutely! We have been cruising for decades in all manner of ships. One thing that has been consistently good throughout is the food. Yes, we have experienced an occasional disappointment along the way, but far too few to mention among the hundreds of wonderful meals we have enjoyed at sea.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so…

The scenic Litchfield Hills region, covering the corner of northwest Connecticut, is home to several historic inns and restaurants. One of the very best is the Hopkins Inn in the small, picture-postcard village of…

There’s a little village in the heart of the Pennsylvania Pocono Mountains that has seen more than its share of booms and busts during the course of its 200-year history. We recently visited the charming town for a second time. This time during its annual autumnal celebration.

 …

Who doesn't like a lighthouse? Artistic sentinels of the past and present that conjure up thoughts of tumultuous seas and shipwrecks along craggy coasts. For some, a lighthouse may bring visions of a peaceful life with the siren call of gulls and foghorns. Adventure to some, serenity to others. Who lived such a life and how did they live…

Over the last several months we have written about some wonderful places to stay along the scenic California coast (for example, here,…

Ephesus was a Greek city founded approximately 3,000 years ago in Asia Minor in what is now western Turkey, near a town called Selçuk. A visit here - often during a Mediterranean cruise port call at Kuşadasi - gives the imaginative global…

Hayfield Manor is an elegant boutique hotel near the city center of Cork. When you combine a spectacular attraction like Blarney Castle with an extraordinary hotel like Hayfield Manor, you have brewed up a "must do" itinerary while visiting the Emerald Isle.

"Leave the hectic pace of city life and enter the tranquil…

The latest subject in our series of articles about luxuriously uncommon coastal lodgings in northern California is unique in many respects. This coastal cattle ranch covers 2,000 remote acres chock-full of forests and plains. It’s the perfect location for a wedding, corporate gathering, or a romantic getaway.

The property stretches…

It was a rainy winter at our home on the Oregon coast, so we decided to hunt for some sun and sand on the west coast of Mexico. There’s a lot of ways to get to the famous Mexican Riviera. We decided on a Princess cruise, and we are so glad we did. Our cruise consisted of ten wonderful days of relaxation – first aboard the Grand…

Wherever you decide to stay, a drive along the northern California coast is visually breathtaking, and if you find a comfortable inn to lay your head, so much the better. The Benbow Historic Inn is just such a place. It is also as interesting an auberge as you will find anywhere along the great and scenic Redwood…

We recently took a Princess cruise to the Mexican Riviera on the Grand Princess. This was our third sailing on the Grand since she was commissioned in 1998. You might wonder, after 20 years of service and tens of thousands of passengers, how does Princess keep her looking fresh and appealing to prospective…

Lodging preferences are so personal. With the advent of the internet, travel magazine advertisements have given way to lodging websites and individual reviews on TripAdvisor and Yelp. Of course, lodging websites are no more objective than print ads – which leaves us to depend on personal reviews to help us decide on the best places to stay.…

At the turn of the 20th century, William Gillette was a renowned American actor and playwright. In 1914 he purchased a scenic 184-acre plot of land that overlooked the majestic Connecticut River in East Haddam, Connecticut.

On a ridge at the site, Gillette constructed a…

Ireland is referred to as the Emerald Isle because of its seemingly endless expanses of verdant trees, deep woods, and rolling green hills. About an hour and a half south of Dublin, County Wicklow in turn is called the…

Favoring all destinations that involve water, when visiting Quebec this summer we were drawn to Pointe-au-Pére - at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, 3½ hours north of Quebec City - with its  nautical attractions –  the Empress of Ireland Pavilion, Pointe-au-Pére Lighthouse, and the HMCS Onondaga, a Royal…

If you have never been in a submarine gliding silently and effortlessly along a coral wall teeming with marine life, you are in for a big treat. The US-Coast-Guard-approved Atlantis XI is a 65-foot long battery-powered submersible specially designed for underwater sightseeing adventures in tropical waters –– and where better than the Cayman…

Nowadays better known to many as the gateway to Aegean Sea resorts, Bodrum is also a fascinating ancient port city in southern Turkey, which we recently had the pleasure of touring. Its medieval castle and underwater museum are are just two of the many attractions we found to tell you about. But first, a captivating history.



In pre-Christian and…

There are certain jobs that some people dream about. One frequent fancy in a troubled world is being a lighthouse innkeeper, where one can enjoy the peace and serenity of the ocean and abundant sea life.



We wanted to see if the lifestyle of a lighthouse innkeeper might be in our future. We arranged for a visit to…