Aug 29, 2011

Sit too close to the front and you’ll get soaked. On Saturdays an old steam engine tugs 2 open-air cars lined with wooden bench seats through the piney woods. Each time the engineer blows the whistle, a cloud of steam belches from the smokestack. It cools down, sprinkling the passengers riding behind. The train is just one of the many attractions at Agrirama,

Jul 9, 2011

The two-year old in a pink mud-splashed coat cannot resist the puddles, and for a moment I am distracted by her antics and turn my camera to capture her fun.  Her mother seems not to notice, she is more focused on the field of tulips that have drawn thousands of visitors to this farm in the Skagit Valley of Washington.  Chartered buses and vehicles choke the

Mar 2, 2011

Traverse City! Where, you say? Well, you’re probably saying “where,” but there is one thing I can tell you for sure, once you have visited Traverse City you won’t forget exactly where it is in Northern Michigan. In fact, it’s a jewel of a secret destination. After all, there are some amazing spas, lots of wines (think Madonna’s father’s winery)

Jan 29, 2011

The Savory Spoon in Ellison Bay in Wisconsin’s scenic Door County offers a variety of excellent cooking experiences.  The cooking school is located in an historic building that was a school in the late 1800s. The classes continue, but now they are cooking classes. Michael and Janice Thomas purchased and restored the building to keep its historic integrity

Jan 9, 2011

After almost two hours of breathtaking views of the New Mexican plains and eastern mountain ranges framed through the windshield of my rental car, I reach Mountainair. The drive was worth the schlep outside the Albuquerque city limits. The tiny town (pop: 1,116) could almost be described as a ghost town—consignment shops that look dusty inside and out, a

Nov 8, 2010

“Grandma, this is sweet!” exclaimed 9-year old Jenna upon entering our 70’ Forever Houseboat. It set the tone as three generations of the Scott family from three states set sail into the new year. Jenna and her 7-year-old brother, JJ, checked out the four bedrooms and entered into a debate over whom was going to sleep in which bedroom at which point I,