“I found her” my travel partner exclaimed. We were wandering through a Liverpool cemetery looking for one of the most recognized names in music; a person whom Paul McCartney had claimed he’d made up, but happened to share the same name as the woman on a gravestone at the very church where John and Paul had met: Eleanor Rigby. Eleanor Rigby’s Name Can be...
THE LONG ROAD TO HANA “Make sure you do the Road to Hana”! someone told me for the 11th time. Like the others before, their eyes briefly glazed over as if they were talking about El Dorado, the lost city of gold. What was so magical about this road that sounded like Bing Crosby/ Bob Hope movie? I Googled it. Most reviewers seemed to love the twisty road...
When I first heard of Chimp Haven, I was more than surprised. This chimpanzee sanctuary is the largest in the world and is located in Louisiana, a state known for very strict wild animal laws. I love primates. My travels have taken me to Madagascar to see lemurs in the wild, Malaysia to visit orangutans, and I even have tracked silver backed gorillas in The Congo...
THE SHOCKING TRUE STORY When I first met Rudy I thought he might be missing an eye. I was at a pirate party for a mutual friend and as we were talking I noticed his pirate eye patch didn’t really look like a costume eye patch at all. Rather, the leather looked like it might be grafted into his skin. The more I looked at it, the more I wondered whether he was wearing...
I just got custody of my old travel photos: ten years of traveling through the 80’s and 90’s preserved in a trunk full of dusty binders bequeathed to me by my ex. A step above scrapbooking, photo albums were the reigning method for preserving memories for nearly a century. Then came digital photos. Then came better digital photos. One hour photo shops closed their...
You can’t go wrong with a vacation in Costa Rica. It’s only a few hours from the US, has a stable economy and its reputation is squeaky clean. It hasn’t been involved in any recent wars, terrorism isn’t an issue and most people speak at least a little English. I got invited to stay at the new Planet Hollywood Resort this week, and my visit was...
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I love visiting countries off the tourist grid and I’m sitting in one now. Chances are you’ve never heard of Comoros islands unless you’re a marine biologist or a fan of random islands that start with the letter “C”. The Comoros islands’ biggest claim to fame is that the country is situated in the last remaining part of the globe that has coelacanths deep...
The cool seawater lapped against the jet black boulders like liquid turquoise. It was hard to believe I was in Mauritius, a remote independent island east of Madagascar. It’s been a favorite of Europeans and South Africans for decades, but not a lot of Americans make the 20 hour flight. As soon as you see the blue water and white sand, it all suddenly feels...
I can’t get enough of London. Not just any day, but one of those miraculous sunny rarities that happen between the normal rainy ones. London is a fantastic stopover. If you’re going to Europe, Africa or Asia from the US with British Airways there’s a good chance you’ll be landing in London first. With a little planning you can turn that stop into a mini-cation. I’ve...
