I’ve often wondered why so many Americans are obese when places like Wal-Mart and Target are so enormous that surely just walking from Electrical to Greeting Cards must burn off a few hundred calories.

And so I wasn’t particularly surprised when I read that some Las Vegas tourists--exhausted, evidently, by strolling from casino to buffet and back to casino again--are hiring motorized bikes to navigate the Strip.

Called “mobility scooters,” these controversial forms of transportation were originally intended for the elderly, infirm, or disabled--all people who should, without question, be able to use them to make their vacation a little easier. But for $40 a pop, perfectly able-bodied patrons are hiring their own mobility scooters to make that afternoon walk from the Luxor to the Bellagio, well, a drive.

The depressing thing is, I’ve heard similar reports of perfectly healthy people hiring wheelchairs at Disneyland in order to see the park sitting down. Even in San Francisco, one of the fittest cities in the country, I often see groups of people (read: tourists) navigating the hills on motorized Segways. Yes, the streets are steep, but isn’t that part of San Francisco’s charm? Shouldn’t you experience it first-hand like the locals do, exert yourself a little, get that pulse racing just a tad, rather than copping out before even trying it and hiring a machine to do the work for you?

A little walking never killed anyone, is all I’m saying. Even on vacation.

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Posted in Health & Wellness, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Travel News
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Think of the popular travel writers publishing today and the names Bill Bryson and Pico Iyer come to mind. Soon enough, their books will sit on the shelves next to a new sort of travel book, written by a person who is wildly popular, but who does not actually exist.

Over the weekend, CNN reported that Borat, the fictional Kazakh reporter who recently made such a big hit at the box office, now has set his literary sights on dishing out travel advice. The book deal has already been signed with Flying Dolphin Press. Coming to the shelves in November, the book will be entitled "Borat: Touristic Guidings to Minor Nation of U.S. and A." and "Borat: Touristic Guidings to Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." That's two books in one. Nice!

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We have to take this with a pinch of salt, of course, but reports surfaced earlier this week that Britney Spears--she of the bald-headed breakdowns--delayed a Miami-bound flight for almost an hour, after she threw a tantrum and stormed off.

The reason? The seats on the plane weren’t made of leather.

But of course! Why, I don’t know why I haven’t stormed off every single plane I’ve ever flown on--after all, I don’t recall any of them having leather seats. Or even pleather seats! But for Brit, apparently, it was a deal breaker. After a minor tussle with the flight attendants, she was allowed off the plane, which then had to wait--much to the chagrin of the other passengers--while baggage handlers pulled her luggage off. Presumably, Brit then went and booked another flight to wherever she was going, making absolutely sure to specify that her well-toned posterior was to rest on nothing short of real leather for its entire duration.

What do you think about this? Kooky celeb who should be pandered to because she’s, well, a kooky celeb? Or spoiled brat who inconvenienced a whole planeful of people, and should be ordered to pay in some way? You decide.

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Posted in Air Travel, Celebrities
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Like any kid, I couldn’t wait for school to be out and summer time to roll around. The average summer day in Texas meant sweltering heat and swimming pools, but the real treat was our weekly theme park visits.

I always had the cool mom. The one who hosted the best slumber parties and carted me and my friends around to various hot spots. My sister and I always had season passes to Six Flags and Wet n’ Wild (now called Hurricane Harbor), and we never seemed to grow tired of splashing around in the wave pool; daring each other to try the newest, highest slide; or screaming with our arms raised as we dropped over the first hill of the Texas Giant. Ah, those were the days!

I guess in a way I’m nostalgic for those times, even though I’m not quite sure how I managed those 100 degree days. (I suppose kids are more resilient than us old folks!) Even now, I try to make it to a theme park every summer, and I always find myself wondering what they’re going to come up with next! New, more daring rides pop up each year, overshadowing the oldies but goodies. (But, that’s ok with me! The lines for the old rides are shorter!) Check them out, and let me know if you’ve had a chance to try any new attractions this year.

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Posted in Family & Kids, Holiday & Seasonal, Theme Parks
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What’s a trip to Australia without seeing a koala or a trek in Peru without a llama? Sure, there are zoos and animal parks that bring giraffes to the Bronx and hippos to Cleveland, but, to me, there’s nothing like seeing animals in their natural habitats.

Like a lot of people in the Bay Area, I’ve been following the story of the humpback whales that have lost their way out of their natural habitat and into the waters near Sacramento. Everyone I know is really rooting for them to make their way back through the Golden Gate and to the ocean. To have whales come in such close proximity to the Governator’s office is a novelty, and the rescue effort is drawing large crowds of both locals and tourists alike.

From bird watching and savanna safaris to city zoos and animal parks, seeing animals has long been part of the allure of travel. And, according to an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, people are paying more and more for their animal encounters. The article mentions, for example, that last year, over 70,000 people at San Diego’s SeaWorld forked over the extra money for a behind-the-scenes tour.

But seeing exotic creatures doesn’t always require a pretty penny, as is the case right now with the Sacramento whales. And the best animal encounters are always surprises—unless it’s coming back to your tent and finding a hungry bear, of course. Just recently, on St. John, I looked out the window while brushing my teeth and found myself within just a few feet of a smiling (or sneering?) iguana. That’s something that wouldn’t ever happen to me back home.

Do you travel out of your way to see animals? What’s the most exotic animal you’ve seen on a trip?

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A few months ago I cashed in 50,000 miles for a trip to the UK, Ukraines, Russia and back. I have no complaints because the ticket saved me a pretty penny – and of course I actually got the flights on dates that I needed which is amazing in this day and age. But nonetheless as I scramble to prep and pack ahead of my trip across the pond today I started to ponder how an open skies agreement will change overseas airline prices. Those coveted International fares remain the priciest of tickets. In a way they're like the last frontier to be conquered but they're also the lucrative routes that have allowed the airlines a break from the brutal competitive marketplace. But now…everything changes.

The New York Times travel section said it well this weekend with their blurb about Zoom Airlines called Trans-Atlantic Bargains Begin. Can you imagine a flight to London for under $200? Seriously, Imagine!

As I fly to London tonight I'll be dreaming of my next trip – at that price what's going to stop me?

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: flying domestically within the U.S. is like flying in a third world country.

In fact, it’s worse than flying in a third world country. I should know. Last fall, I made the trip from tiny Bagan, Myanmar (formerly Burma) to tiny Inle Lake, Myanmar on the modest Air Mandalay. Aside from the fact that I’d picked up some tropical parasite and felt like death warmed up for the full hour and a quarter, it was one of the most pleasant flights I’ve had. The aircraft was clean, new, and perfectly punctual, the crew was delightful--several flight attendants even offered me Ibuprofen when they saw I wasn’t well--and we were (gasp!) actually given food we didn’t have to pay for. Sure, the flight was announced by a man yelling through cupped hands, and the same woman took the payment for our ticket, checked us in, and--for all we know--even flew the plane, but the experience was still better than any I’ve had flying within the U.S.

Complaining about domestic American air travel is nothing new. Who could forget, after all, the debacle of the stranded passengers on the JetBlue flight and the media furor that followed? But this article in the Dallas Morning News about the impending results of an airline industry customer satisfaction survey conducted by the University of Michigan raises the issue yet again. While Dallas-based Southwest Airlines and Houston-based Continental Airlines have improved since last year, the Customer Satisfaction Index for the airline industry as a whole--ranked on a scale of 1 to 100--fell from 65 to 63. And it was the same old laundry list of problems dragging it down: disenchanted employees, skyrocketing fuel costs, bankruptcy, and record levels of lost, delayed, and damaged baggage.

If there’s a plus side to the results of the survey--which, by the way, revealed Southwest Airlines to have the highest Customer Satisfaction Index rating and United to have the lowest--it’s that the large U.S.-based airlines might finally listen up and start treating their passengers less like cattle and more like the self-respecting, high-fare-paying, eminently valuable customers that they are. I mean, come on. If teeny-tiny Air Mandalay can do it, so can they.

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Posted in Air Travel, International Travel, Polls & Studies, Travel News
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Earlier this week, my mother took a 19-hour flight from San Francisco to Singapore. Before the shuttle came to pick her up, we sat down to a gargantuan breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. In her carry-on bag, she packed a few roast beef sandwiches and a bag of licorice to tide her over. Her plan, she said, was to keep as full as possible for as long as possible.

So that’s where I get it from, I realized, casting back to all those foil-wrapped packages I’d tucked into tote bags before leaving the house for the airport. I’ve always brought my own food on the plane--whether taking a short hop from San Francisco to Las Vegas, a puddle-jumper from London to New York, or a 28-hour all-out affair from Charleston, South Carolina, to Bangkok, Thailand. My motto? Always have snacks.

Which begs the question, of course: what are the best snacks to take on an airplane?

I’ve long been a fan of almonds, and also of dried fruit. Both are easy to pack, easy to eat--unlike, say, pistachios, which you shouldn’t embark on unless you have a vessel for the shells, and no qualms about spitting things out in front of strangers--and are fairly healthy to boot. Granola bars are useful and Goldfish crackers hold up pretty well. And it’s always nice to have some sort of candy to suck during take-off (or, if you’re me, during the entire flight.)

As for sandwiches, I’ve found wraps work best--but if you don’t like the idea of that, then a sturdy bread like a baguette or ciabatta makes a fairly crunchy cage for your fillings. (Sliced wheat? It’ll be crushed in a second in your bag.) Stay away from potentially malodorous fillings like egg or tuna, and go for something innocuous like ham, cheese, turkey, chicken breast, hummus and veggies, or plain old PB&J.

What are your favorite foods to bring on a plane? Do you have a failsafe snack for flying? Want to share any never-again sandwich fillings? I’ve got a few long journeys coming up this year; I could use the ideas! (And the entertainment...)

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As more and more destinations around the world emerge as gay-friendly, one thing is clear: the gay community is not only one of the most avid groups of travelers, but they’re also among the savviest and most adventurous. Community Marketing’s 11th Annual LGBT Travel Survey revealed that 71 percent of gay U.S. citizens hold a valid passport compared to only 24 to 30 percent of all adult U.S. citizens, and almost half of those surveyed used their passport to travel last year.

I was able to catch up with Tom Nibbio with the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association to get his thoughts on what’s hot in gay travel.

TWS: Can you name a few can't-go-wrong destinations for gay and lesbian travelers?

Nibbio: In North America, I would recommend Fort Lauderdale, Key West, Palm Springs and Provincetown, which IGLTA labels as its Top 4 Gay Destinations. These “resort towns” are truly gay with numerous gay-owned resorts and businesses. They include a major portion of their marketing budgets focusing on gay travelers.

Other cities that IGLTA labels as Destinations Where Gays Love to Travel are:

• Chicago
  
• Dallas
  
• Hawaii
  
• Las Vegas
  
• LA/West Hollywood
  
• Miami/South Beach
  
• Montreal
  
• New York City
  
• Orlando
  
• Philadelphia
  
• Portland
  
• Puerto Vallarta
  
• San Francisco & Sonoma County
  
• Seattle
  
• Toronto
  
• Vancouver
  
• Washington DC

TWS: What are some up-and-coming gay-friendly destinations that travelers may not know about?

Nibbio: Curacao in the southern Caribbean, Antwerp, Belgium and Viareggio, Italy along the Tuscan Coast and Prague, Czech Republic are four hot new items that travelers need to check out!

TWS: What should travelers look for in a gay and lesbian resort or vacation destination?

Nibbio: Anyone can hang a rainbow flag by their door, but it takes a truly devoted business or destination to give back to the community. First of all, the resort or destination needs to give back to the gay community by spending advertising and marketing dollars in major publications such as Passport Magazine, Instinct Magazine, Out Traveler Magazine, Logo TV and here! TV in addition to mainstream publications and media. Also, they should be displaying their IGLTA membership logo to show that they have joined the worlds’ only travel association for gay and lesbian businesses. IGLTA has accreditation and educational programs for these various businesses and destinations.

TWS: Any tips on researching things to do once you decide on a destination?

Nibbio: I truly feel that your gay or gay-friendly travel agent is the best and most experienced source for things to do when you travel to specific destinations. Always check out the calendar of events on IGLTA.org for activities and events worldwide. Also check calendars listed in various other media, publications and websites, i.e. Planet Out FunMaps.com and Gay.com. Sometimes websites such as Travelocity may even list gay events, advertisers and specials pertaining to them. GayDays.com is also very helpful.

TWS: Are there any travel trends that we should know about?

Nibbio: European River Cruises (groups or charters with various gay-owned companies) and small luxury cruises (groups or charters) also with gay-owned tour operators. They offer the safe, friendly atmosphere, but not the big circuit party environment. Adventure travel is also hot. Zoom Vacations, Out in Alaska and also Alyson Adventures are three of many great gay-owned tour operators who offer vacations for those who have done the ordinary.

TWS: Is there a different travel trend between the gay traveler vs. the lesbian traveler?

Nibbio: In general, gay men go on more vacations and spend more per year than lesbians. Family, children and other factors all come into play with these statistics. Lesbians also have fewer choices then the men. There are very few female only resorts whereas the men have over 30 male only resorts in towns like Fort Lauderdale and Palm Springs. Provincetown can host both sexes or men only at their wonderful guesthouses and resorts.

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I’ve just returned from the U.S. Virgin Island of St. John after a week of sunset swimming and amateur snorkeling attempts. If you’re interested in that sort of thing—and in hiking, boating, sunbathing, and pina-colada drinking—then the good news is that, according to the Boston Globe, prices on Caribbean vacations and cruises are remaining refreshingly low for summer.

St. John is unique in that two-thirds of it is national park (so pristine!), and this extends under the sea to its rich coral gardens. On the island, just five minutes outside of Cruz Bay, each bend of the jungle road leads to another unspoiled beach, no two alike but all equally blessed with the fabled white sands and clear waters so touted in all the brochures.

And crowds? We encountered none (although we did encounter some newly-hatched mosquitos), and the lack of crowds was a good thing since my first stint at snorkeling involved a lot of awkward maneuvering (hint: only put your flippers on if you’re actually near the water). Despite swallowing half the Caribbean Sea, I managed to see corals that looked like flowers and fish that looked straight off the fashion rack.

We also got the special, and rare, treat of having Trunk Bay beach at sunset completely to ourselves (if you arrive after 4:30pm, you don’t have to pay the fee to get in). This is a beach that has been named by the National Geographic Society as the “most beautiful in the world” and is touted by the National Park Service as “the most photographed in the Caribbean.” To say it was sublime and serene doesn’t cut it—just look at the photo above.

If you're thinking about going, my family planned it so that we arrived the first week of the off-season, which gave us access to lower rates at the condo we stayed at. While winter is the Caribbean’s high season, the islands are no less enjoyable at other times of year. The same tree frogs sing at night under the stars, the same calm waters provide bathtub-like conditions for swimming, the same fair-weather clouds swoop on by right at sunset to provide a canvas for your photos.

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Posted in Beaches, Caribbean, Nature & Outdoors
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Honestly I'm a little surprised it took this long, but it finally looks like soaring costs and an unfavorable exchange rate has started to soften demand for European travel this summer. That continent has always been a favorite for vacationing Americans and so it leaves many people wondering just where to go this summer. While some are taking advantage of places farther afield with better exchange rates on the ground (like India and China, for example) there are many who aren't prepared to go quite that far. For you I've come up with a list of places where you can go this summer instead of Europe. These are places that you can find many of the charms of Europe but a little closer to home and most certainly for less.

• Quebec City (the old walled city) feels like you're in a French Village
• Napa Wine Country: Napa & Sonoma - for wine country like you'd find in the Rhone Valley http://www.world66.com/europe/france/alpes in France.
• Woodstock,Vermont: Eat locally grown produce and meet local restaurateurs like Dierdre Heeken & Caleb Barber at Osteria Pane e Salute. Bike ride in the mountains like you would in the English Countryside of the Cotswolds.
• Leavenworth, Washington: See a classic Bavarian Village that looks like something straight out of Austria. Look for their annual festival when things really come to life!
• Holland, Michigan: Located about 2 1/2 hours N of Chicago hosts and annual Tulip Festival which feels like you're truly in the real tulip capital that is Holland.

Where have you found a little bit of Europe on your travels? I'd love to know!

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Where I come from--England, by way of Southeast Asia--barbecue means something entirely different from what it means in Charleston, South Carolina, where I moved right out of college. So when I invited my new Southern friends over for a barbecue shortly after hitting town, I was thinking hamburgers, hot dogs, and roasted marshmallows. They were thinking pulled pork, ribs, and sweet tomato-based barbecue sauce.

It was an interesting party.

I bring this up because next Thursday is the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, which means you still have time to book your flight to Tennessee for a little adventure in gluttony. Known as “the Superbowl of Swine,” “the Granddaddy of Grills,” and (my personal favorite) “the College of Pig Knowledge,” the carnivorous competition attracts close to 100,000 visitors from all over the world--Morocco, Thailand, and Estonia, to name but a few--who all come to breathe in the hickory-smoked air of downtown Memphis.

Hoping to win more than $60,000 in prizes, contestants really do go--pardon the pun--the whole hog. From May 17 through May 19, visitors can sample some of the best ’cue around from vendors and exhibitors, and can even participate in the People’s Choice Contest. And if you’re not able to make it, just keep up with the festival’s barbecue-based blog. But don’t blame us if your tummy starts rumbling.

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Posted in Culinary Travel
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This weekend I was in New Orleans for Jazz Fest – it was awesome. And New Orleans is definitely able to show tourists a grand ole time – just like before. Only, well, a little different. Katrina changed the people of New Orleans as much as it changed the foundation of the land. When everyone talks about the culture of New Orleans – the music and the food and the history – this storm is now a part of all of that. Everyone you talk to has a story.

It was my first trip back post Katrina. And I wanted to learn as much as I could about how things were now. I have to say that everything I've read and heard about New Orleans is true. New Orleans is very much ready for tourists to return. I stayed in the W on Poydras Street – just outside of the quarter. It was vandalized and set on fire after the storm. You'd never know. I walked along the warehouse district and Magazine street is thriving. The nearby Garden District's gorgeous homes are still standing proudly. And of course the French Quarter buzzes around the clock. Bourbon Street shows no signs of Katrina whatsoever. And yet, the city still needs help.

Once you venture beyond those areas, especially if you wander to the lower 9th ward around the levee – what you see is astonishing. There are dusty roads outlining the shape of the neighborhood but tall green grasses grow where houses used to stand. Some places have battered structures on their plots but many don’t even have that. Even in the slightly better off upper 9th ward there are trailers outside many homes of the homes which remain uninhabitable. Those people are lucky because they're able to salvage and rebuild. Many residents are still living in limbo or trying to establish their lives elsewhere.

The group I traveled with wanted to do their part to help a city that has provided us all with many a good time. So rather than just listen to music and go home we decided to spend a day volunteering.

What an amazing day it was! Not only did we learn about building (I'd never hammered together wall supports, made cement, or known what a dutch hip was) but we gave back. We heard a little about the family who would live in the house when it was complete – but we felt that we were helping to repair and rebuild a community that remains in tatters in so many ways. I hope that in some way we were able to make their lives better.

What struck me was how many other people came out to help too. On Monday, the day after a rocking performance at Jazz Fest Joss Stone got to work volunteering just like everyone else. You never know just what you'll learn or who you'll meet when you volunteer. I think the power of volunteering or doing good and tourism are a pretty powerful combination.

If you want to learn more about voluntourism check out www.travelocity.com/travelforgood. Everyone has to start somewhere. Even the people of New Orleans who are rebuilding one house at a time.

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Posted in New Orleans, Travel News
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“Maybe,” said my Dad over the phone without a hint of irony, “during the hottest hours of the day you kids can come back inside like when you were little and do art projects.”

We were talking about an upcoming family trip to celebrate a milestone birthday for him, one in which he, my mother, two sisters, brother-in-law, and I are going to share a condo together on the Caribbean island of St. John. With the youngest of us being age 25, none of us even remotely qualify for the “kid” label anymore. Yet, judging by our hats in the photo I’ve posted above, things tend to, uh, regress a bit on the rare occasions when we all can get together as grown-ups.

A check of family reunion activity ideas listed on a few popular websites, including Better Homes & Gardens, confirms that mine is not the only family to act a little precocious when we get together. Among the suggestions given, for example, are “how to perform a splash-worthy cannonball,” “crazy croquet,” and the enigmatic “dueling nozzles.”

Amid the sun and snorkeling, piña coladas and palapas, I’ll try not to regress so much I can’t let you know how it all goes in an upcoming blog post. In the meantime, if you have any family vacation survival tips for me, I’m all ears.

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It’s the word that all cell phone users loathe: roam. And nothing’s worse than opening that monthly phone bill expecting the normal $68 price tag and discovering that you owe a whopping 200 bucks. What! Did! I! Do?!

Well, I’ll tell you what I didn’t do. I didn’t take the time to thoroughly understand my cell phone plan, and it ended up costing me. My cell phone and I are inseparable. We dine together. We workout together. I even activated international calling, so we can travel together. I know that making a phone call from France or Mexico or Argentina costs me anywhere from 49 cents to a painful $1.50 per minute. Even sending and receiving text messages puts a dent in the bank account. Last month, I made the mistake of thinking that I had a North American cell phone plan through T-Mobile, so I used my phone as I normally would on a short trip to Vancouver. When I received my phone bill, I discovered that my plan only covered the U.S. and not our neighbors to the north as I thought. Ouch!

After reluctantly paying my monthly bill, I vowed (for my financial wellbeing!) to be a smarter international caller. (Check out this nine part feature on using cell phones abroad in The Travel Insider.) My cell phone and I are getting ready for a trip to Australia later this month, and I don’t want to be shocked by another outrageous phone bill!

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Posted in Budget Travel, Guides & Planning, International Travel
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I'm not a big hiker. To be honest, I'm not really a big exerciser. Sure, I drag myself to the gym every few days and walk 50 minutes roundtrip to and from work, but I only manage to do the former because it's in the lobby of my office building, and I certainly make up for the latter with supplementary trips to the candy bowl. (Supplementary to the candy I'm already eating, you understand. Because I need my strength with all that walking!)

And so this weekend when the mercury hit the high 70s in San Francisco and my boyfriend dragged me out of the house for some fresh air--some fresh hillside air--I wasn't too into it. Because although my single greatest achievement in life is the completion of a four-hour hike over the Great Wall of China in 90 degree heat and badly-fitting shoes, I only really did that by accident. (I thought we were going to a nice busy spot, where I could take a few pictures, wander around a little, and buy some postcards. I didn't know we'd be trekking from one remote spot to the other, with only a few hastily-made peanut butter sandwiches and a can of overpriced Pringles for sustenance.) In the end, the hike was fun, of course, but it was fun in the way that eating ten Snickers bars in a row is fun. Which is to say, I probably wouldn't want to do it again.

How wrong I was! Because hiking, it turns out, is a blast. Something happens, I think, when one steps outside of one's usual sphere of influence and indulges in a new activity, and the feeling is very much akin to the one you get when you travel. Sure, I was only across the bay in the Marin Headlands on my weekend hike, but I might as well have been on the other side of the country, so unfamiliar was the experience. And although I wasn't outside of my city--I could still see it on the other side of the water, at least--I was certainly outside of my comfort zone. The change of scenery--and the change of activity--was like a mini vacation in itself.

So I'm going to take a leaf out of the book of mothers everywhere and urge you to get some fresh air already! Your next big trip might be months away, but you'd be surprised what a spot of hiking--or kiteboarding, or rock-climbing, or whatever new and daring thing you're not into (yet)--can do to tide you over until then. Don't be frightened; change is good. Getting off the couch is better. And anyway, hiking--if we're honest--isn't that different from walking, really. And you already know how to do that.

Photograph by Sean Slinsky

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Posted in Health & Wellness, Nature & Outdoors, San Francisco, Ski & Sport
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I swear this post is about the mountains, despite the apparent lack thereof in the picture. (If you squint really hard you can see them in the background I swear - but isn’t my dog cute?) Today is my one-year anniversary of having left my mountain town for the city, and while I have very few complaints about the relocation, I still desperately miss the mountains – particularly in the summertime. While the picture might not scream mountains, it reminds me of all the things I love about them in the warm weather months.

See, I’m not a skier - not a snowboarder either. When I tell people I lived in the mountains for four years and can count on two hands the number of times I attempted those insane downhill endeavors, they look at me like I’m the crazy one. But I’m a certifiable wuss - a barely-coordinated, flatlander wuss who is much better off for having snowshoed with my dog in the mornings then poured après ski beers for the locals instead of joining them on the hill all those years. Don’t get me wrong - I adore the ski culture. The insatiable lust for steep, untouched runs covered in new, deep snow is shared by some of the world’s greatest people. They play hard, they love deeply, they are hot-blooded and easygoing all at the same time. They have infinite hope in the future and care profoundly about the planet and their community. And for that reason, my heart aches when I think of what I left behind in the mountains.

But there’s another reason I pine for the mountains, which brings us back to summer: because summer was my season there. While I spent wintertime on the fringes, I dove headfirst into the summer months in the mountains – literally, much of the time, thanks to my cabin’s convenient location just a couple hundred yards from Lake Tahoe.

It’s difficult to put into words how unbelievable it feels to step outside first thing in the morning on any given day between the months of May and October. The air has a quality like none other. Almost overwhelming in its purity, it can make you think that you can simply scamper up that towering peak looming in the distance like a deer, or that you’ll live an extra couple of years just for having been there to breathe at that very moment.

Once you’ve taken that first gulp of mountain air, the days feel gloriously endless. Wander down to the lake and dive into the perfect stillness of it before boats make their presence known. Scramble onto a dock to dry off, then make a beeline to a local diner. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but in the mountains it’s also one of the highlights. While I’m sure they not are replicable, most mountain towns have a handful of quintessential spots like Tahoe’s Fire Sign Café or Utah’s Ruth’s – jammed with locals downing a cup of joe and inhaling huge plates of huevos rancheros and biscuits. Now that you’re ready to tackle the colossal terrain that surrounds you, the options for doing so are equally vast. Mountain biking is a great way to cover a lot of ground, and there are plenty of first-class outfitters that will not only hook you up with a sweet ride, but also give you extensive tips on great trails and even provide you with a guide. If that sounds a little aggressive to you (like it does to me - see the above “wuss” reference) then many of those same trails are also stellar for hiking or horseback riding, depending on your locale. If the altitude is giving you attitude, there’s nothing like piling your entire crew along with some frosty beverages onto a massive raft and lazing down the river (you can also do the hardcore version Durango-style), or if it’s solitude you seek, fly-fishing is a fine way to while away the day. As the sun starts to slide behind the undulating horizon, make sure you’re in a good place to catch the luminous blush of the alpenglow, preferably with a cocktail in hand.

Sigh. If you have the chance to head up to the mountains this summer, I obviously endorse it wholeheartedly, or if you have memories of sunny days on the peaks that you want to share, please do so here. This time of year I can’t stop thinking about that intoxicatingly-fresh air, those lonely backcountry trails, those technicolor wildflower meadows that appear out of nowhere, that feel-like-you-could-live-forever feeling. Guess it’s time to start planning my own trip back to my old home in the hills.

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Posted in Holiday & Seasonal, Nature & Outdoors, Ski & Sport
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The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival began this past Friday and I’m completely jealous of everyone who will be able to attend. The line-up includes the likes of Ludacris, Gillian Welch, and Harry Connick Jr., plus local favorites like Rebirth Brass Band, Galactic, and the New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars (regarding the latter, I can say from experience: you’ve got to see it to believe). Also, Joss Stone plays, hosts a private event, and volunteers to build homes for musicians uprooted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

About a month ago, I was in New Orleans and saw a show at Preservation Hall, which brought back many fond Jazz Fest memories. At past festivals, I remember poking my head into the gospel tent and coming out much later wanting to join a choir. I remember watching Ani DiFranco cringe when Lyle Lovett began his set with a mocking “Stand by Your Man.” I remember feasting on fried green tomatoes. And I remember dancing for hours at a Karl Denson show and stepping outside for some fresh air only to be shocked that it was sunrise (truth be told, I only kind of remember that last one).

For anyone who hasn’t been, I can’t recommend it enough. At Jazz Fest, you’ll find every type of music imaginable, from country to Zydeco, played by musicians young and old, by living legends and stars-in-the-making, and all fueled by gusto and gumbo. If my visit last month is any indication, the soul of the city is alive, kicking, and ready to burst into song.

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Posted in Festivals & Events, New Orleans
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