The Riverboat Discovery tour in Fairbanks was the perfect “first” excursion to do in Alaska. It gives you a taste of everything Alaskan and leaves you wanting more. In just four hours, you’ve seen a bush plane take off and land, learned the difference between caribou and reindeer and witnessed an endearing display of Alaskan-style […]

Arriving in Fairbanks, Alaska, was one of the strangest arrivals I’ve ever experienced. There was nothing wrong with the landing – it was a smooth (if cramped) flight on Frontier from Denver. But when I arrived at 9:37pm on time to the minute (OK, that was also a little strange), it was just so incredibly […]

(photos by Pete and Libby) In mid-May, Pete and Libby took a trip to the Basque region. First, they explored San Sebastian, Spain, which you can read all about here. Then they set out for Biarritz, France, which they liked even better. Here they explain what makes Biarritz, a chic resort town on the southern […]

When I made Switzerland a stop in my post-college backpacking spree 10 years ago, I was immediately impressed by how clean, beautiful and orderly it is. I went to Leysin, Interlaken and Lucerne. I didn't make it to Zurich, which is apparently so lovely that on Sunday a circus elephant escaped just to take a […]

(photos by Pete and Libby) There's Spanish culture, there's French culture, and then there's Basque culture. Pete and Libby (whom you may remember from their photos of the Winter Olympics and Lindsey Vonn) decided to explore the Basque region in early May. They flew into Toulouse, France, and then drove to San Sebastian, Spain, where […]

I took that photo of the beach at Siesta Key, FL, on Monday, May 31st. As you can see,the water is still clean, clear and gorgeous. (For the record, those are people's heads you see in the water — not tar balls or oil balls.) In fact, I wish I was still there right now… […]

I planned my trip to Sarasota, FL, several weeks before the BP oil spill in the Gulf on Mexico. Every time I'd been to Sarasota, it was too cold to enjoy the beach but I figured that it should finally be warm enough on Memorial Day Weekend. Well, now I wasn't worried about the weather […]

(photo of Bay Head by Lakewentworth/flickr) Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, so I wanted to tell you about one of my favorite summer spots: Bay Head, NJ. This quaint Jersey Shore town, which bills itself as "a country village by the sea," is nothing like Seaside Heights, home to MTV's Jersey Shore. […]

(Sunset over Hill Country, photo courtesy of San Antonio CVB) It's one week after my first contest, and I'm already onto my second! This time I'm offering an even bigger prize: two nights at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa and passes for four to The Institute of Texan Cultures, Ripley's Believe It […]

Happy Cinco de Mayo! In honor of Cinco de Mayo, which commemorates the Mexican victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla, I'm going to celebrate with chips, guacamole and a margarita. But I'm also going to daydream about the top five places I most want to visit in Mexico.