Despite all evidence to the contrary, I love nothing more than a good road trip. I’ll get on a bus to anywhere: Belfast, Ireland; Providence, Rhode Island; Stowe, Vermont; Dijon, France; and Pythagorio, Greece, are among the places I’ve first glimpsed through the windshield of a Peter Pan (or equivalent) coach.

But after reading the reactions of the first group of passengers to disembark from the London-to-Sydney OzBus—under the headline “End of the road for the OzBus after 84 days of mishaps and mayhem”—I have to wonder if a transcontinental-continental-continental bus ride is more terrifying than terrific.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member lcampbell

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Posted in Australia, Car Travel, International Travel, Scenic Drives
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There is almost nothing more American than a good, old-fashioned road trip. Fill up the tank, call up your friends, and take to the great highways. But if you’re anything like me, before you go, you load up your iPod with a road trip mix that is so well-crafted (and let’s face it, borderline genius) that surely your friends will oohh and aahh all the way to Albuquerque. (That never happens, by the way.)

My only problem when creating these mixes is the embarrassment of riches to choose from. Not only do Americans love riding along in their automobiles, but bands love to sing about it too, making the wealth of road trip songs nearly overwhelming.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member kwasiak.

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Posted in Car Travel, Scenic Drives
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Deep in bluegrass country where horse-studded pastures alternate with woodsy hillsides and the only rest stop for miles around is at Abraham Lincoln’s boyhood home, there lies a string of historic bourbon distilleries open for tours. Last weekend, when I was in the region, I stopped in at two of them: Maker’s Mark and Woodford Reserve.

Despite the alcohol in the name, you don’t go to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail to get tipsy. First, there is a lot of driving involved on winding country lanes so a big bourbon buzz is a big no-no. Second, I know it’s a shocker (at least it was to me), but not all the distilleries give tastings. Third, a clear head is needed to navigate the rustic (and largely unmarked) backroads. But that’s part of the fun. Just when my friends and I thought we’d reached the middle of a beautiful nowhere, a sign popped up to show the way to the spirits.

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member MilwVon.

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Posted in Culinary Travel, Educational & Historic, Scenic Drives
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When I was traveling around Southeast Asia last fall, there was a t-shirt making the rounds in the markets of Bangkok. It featured a tree with a speech bubble over its branches reading “hug me,” and a man standing next to it saying “no.” I’m not sure exactly what it signified--for all I know, it could just have been poorly translated from the Thai--but I chose to believe that it had something to do with the fact that sometimes we just don’t make the right ethical, environmental, and moral choices when it comes to looking after the world.

With Earth Day upon us, it’s important, I think, to highlight the amazing natural wonders of the planet, whether it’s the ones we use up our vacation days going to visit, or the ones we pass by every day. And so it was with great delight that I stumbled across Neatorama’s list of the Top 10 Most Magnificent Trees in the World.

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Posted in Green Travel, Nature & Outdoors, Scenic Drives
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From Angelina’s tattoos and necklaces to Britney’s possible conversion, the flutter of the heart has caused many a romantic to fall out of the coo-coo’s nest. With Valentine’s Day just over a week away, this makes for some interesting tourism possibilities. Most famous of these is, of course, the Taj Mahal. I’ve never been, but imagine it blows the neon-pink petals off the papier-mâché flower given to me by a well-intended but not particularly artistic ex-boyfriend. In this vein of the love-struck homage is the Coral Castle, which bakes like a beautiful but overheated valentine in the Florida sun just outside Miami.

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Posted in Scenic Drives
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