Posts in Category: United States
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Smith Rock State Park – Beautiful in Autumn
A few years ago the state of Oregon came up with the brilliant idea of designating the 7 Wonders of Oregon in a marketing campaign that has paid off remarkably well. Herodotus came up with the first seven wonders list over 2,500 years ago and they’ve been a hit ever since. For the record, the 7 wonders […]
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Big Mountain Heli Tours of the Oregon Cascades
I’m on the second day of an SATW pre-tour of Central Oregon and about to experience the main reason I signed up for this particular tour – a helicopter ride over the Oregon Cascades with Big Mountain Heli Tours. We were originally scheduled to start the trip from the small airport near Sunriver Resort near […]
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Suttle Lodge – Unwind in Central Oregon
This is the first of what I hope to be many posts on the great state of Oregon where I came to attend my first Society of American Travel Writers now just (SATW) in Portland, Oregon. The SATW offers great pre and post conference tours and I have signed on for one that will take […]
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Legoland Florida – 10 Tips for a Great Visit
I have three grandsons, aged 10, 8 and 6. A few years ago I promised each that when they turned 10, I would take them to Florida with Alison and me and they could choose whatever adventure they liked and we would do it. This year, AJ turned 10 and his first choice was to […]
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Dry Tortugas National Park – You Must Go
I’ve been going to the Florida Keys for over forty years, but until today I never got to perhaps the most interesting spot in all of Florida, the Dry Tortugas. When tourists line up for a block to get their pictures taken at the Southernmost Point buoy in Key West, most of them don’t realize that […]
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Hemingway House – A Key West Gem
Ernest Hemingway was, without doubt, one of the greatest writers of the 20th century and I use the word writer, rather than novelist on purpose. He not only wrote compelling novels, but some of the best short stories ever written. Throw in works of non-fiction including the incomparable A Moveable Feast and some books of poetry […]
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Key West Cemetery – Out of the Ordinary
A visit to Key West Cemetery will dispense with the three reasons most people have in visiting a cemetery: They are going to a funeral. They are visiting someone who’s already there. They are the funeral. However, there are plenty more. Cemeteries can tell you as much or more about a place than any history […]
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Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, Florida
This is the next entry in my ongoing series on Florida State Parks or ‘The Real Florida’ as their motto states. The more of these parks I visit the more inclined I am to agree that the motto is dead on. A couple of examples in this series include Myakka River State Park and John […]
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Mound Key Archaeological State Park, Florida
This is another in my continuing series on Florida State Parks or to borrow their motto, The Real Florida, with which I have to agree. I’ve been coming to SW Florida for almost 40 years and have been fascinated with the history of the Calusa Indians, who once called this area their home for well […]