Browsing: North America

I vaguely knew there were barrier islands off the coast of Georgia and the Carolinas, but for years our family beach vacations had been to Pensacola, Florida where my grandmother lived. We rented a beach house out on Santa Rosa Island and enjoyed the beautiful white sand of the Florida Panhandle.

But when we heard from a friend that Tybee Island, Georgia was beautiful, secluded, and only a 10-hour drive from Lexington, Kentucky, where we …

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Charlotte, North Carolina is commonly neglected by the multiple books and websites that create lists of the best places to visit. When people think of the state, a couple things usually come to mind: either the talented athletes at University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and Duke University or the gleaming beaches of the Outer Banks.

What many do not realize is that Charlotte is a bustling metropolis and an important financial city of …

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Does your winter warm-weather search include a stop in San Diego? If it doesn’t, it should. Mild winters make this destination a favorite for anyone seeking an escape from snow and cold. It’s not uncommon to go walking on the beach on Christmas Day in flip-flops and shorts or jogging on New Year’s in a tank top.

What’s good for you is good for Fido, too. San Diego is emerging as an extremely dog-friendly destination …

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Victoria is in the British Columbia region of Canada. It is actually the capital of the province. This quaint city borders between the water and the mountains, allowing breathtaking scenery and plenty to explore, taste and learn.

It’s easy to get to Victoria. Ferry service is available from Port Angeles and Seattle. You can also fly directly into the airport from many Canadian cities (including Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary), as well as Seattle and San …

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Think this will be just like any other cemetery? Not true. Think this will be like Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.? Maybe. Similarities do exist.

After all, the men and women buried in both have one thing in common … they all served their country.

Southeastern Iowa holds some unique history. Lush rolling hills along the Mississippi River initially were inhabited by members of the Sauk and Fox tribes. Sauk Chief Keokuk, an important …

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Nothing quite surpasses nature’s design in southern California’s inland desert plains of cacti and boulders, bordered by rose and ochre mountains.  At the same time, the modern world has contributed creatively in the flourishing towns that lie just off Highway 111 in this region.  One such development on the human side that stands out these days is within Palm Desert, a desert community attuned to the civic and commercial benefits of a diverse art …

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You’ve probably never heard of Sandpoint, Idaho.

But the readers of USA Today/Rand McNally’s “Most Beautiful Small Town in America” survey have heard of it. They recently bestowed this honor on Sandpoint, a classic Old Northwest village in the Idaho Panhandle, just forty miles from the Canadian border.

It doesn’t take long to see why. As you cross the two-mile-long bridge over Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced “pond-a-ray”), surrounded by the snow-capped Selkirk Mountains, a village …

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Volunteering doesn’t always mean you have to go to far-flung parts of the world to assist people in need. Sometimes visiting places with poverty, pain and despair can be a bit too emotionally demanding for younger volunteers who want to employ their skills to help out. There’s a place closer to home that is more suitable for high school graduates to able-bodied 75-year-olds. A place that caters to the welfare of animals that are open …

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Johnstone Strait, a deep glacier carved passage running between the east coast of Vancouver Island and the west coast of British Columbia mainland, is one of the best places in the world to spot killer whales (also known as orcas). The deep waters of Johnstone Strait are home to the world’s largest resident pod of orcas, numbering around 200, who are attracted to the region by the thousands of salmon who frequent the waters every …

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Until the 2010 Olympic Games brought it to the attention of the world, Vancouver was a quiet British Columbia city that was often forgotten when planning vacations. The renovations and revitalization of city for the world’s biggest sporting event has left a region with great food, wine, culture and activities, all between the Pacific Ocean and the snowcapped mountains.

Granville Island
As you cross into Granville Island, the world changes quickly as you no longer …

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I’ve never owned a Harley; in fact, I have never owned a motorcycle. So why does the adrenaline flow and the blood pump faster when I see one of these shining speedsters drive by?

Maybe that’s why the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee has become such a shrine with non-riders as it has with owners of the iconic machines: The museum, located in the heart of the city’s downtown, is not your everyday museum, just as …

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Nestled in the rolling hills of central Arkansas, this little burg should be on everyone’s quick-get-away list…from infrequent travelers to euro-snobs to jaded jet setters. Here’s a dozen reasons why:

Three beautiful lakes – All are man-made, created by building hydro-electric dams in sections of the Ouachita River (pronounced ‘wash–ah–taw’ – the French spelling of an Indian word meaning “good hunting grounds”). The smallest is Lake Catherine at 1,900 acres and five miles long. …

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Our flight departed Phoenix, Ariz., at an obscene time of the morning – 6:30 a.m. – but despite that fact, we were still ready, willing and able to kick off our vacation with a morning mimosa. It was the beginning of the Labor Day holiday, but the airport traffic in Phoenix was not bad. Upon arrival in Honolulu’s airport, we were welcomed by the humidity that swathed our body like a damp blanket; yet, despite …

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The origins of its name are shrouded in some mystery: Delray Beach is said by some to derive from Spanish colonial times, while others suggest an even wider range of possible roots. What there is no doubt of nowadays is that this once sleepy southeastern-Florida coastal town has emerged to make its mark as a regional destination with its own distinct highlights. How it has managed to do so reveals a dedication to preserving the …

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