All-day transit passes great for tourists
When I’m in Portland, I’m usually hopping around between points in or near the city center. Trips are often short enough that I can comfortably walk. But when it’s raining — which, in Portland, is quite a bit of the time — I’m happy to hop on the light rail or a bus for even a few blocks. And that’s easy, because I can buy an all-day pass for $5, which allows unlimited... READ MORE
Four presidents who retreated to Virginia
U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was a gregarious, swashbuckling outdoorsman who hunted elephants in Africa and bears in Colorado. He came from wealth and owned a 23-room mansion, Sagamore Hill, on Long Island’s Oyster Bay. But when Teddy and wife, Edith, wanted to relax, they traveled four hours south of Washington to a plain little wood-frame cabin in Virginia’s woodlands called... READ MORE
Cruises abound for almost any interest
Civil War buffs Tom and Elaine Preston wander through reconstructed forts where a major battle of that conflict was fought. Betsy and Andy Cross follow a guide slogging through a dense rainforest. Lauren Davis and Jim Goodman enjoy an exciting Go-Kart track and exhilarating water slide. As inviting as these disparate experiences are, they have something in common. All take place during... READ MORE
The Golden Isles of Georgia and Florida
Vast saltwater marshes fringe southeast Georgia’s and northern Florida’s barrier islands, acres of luscious wetlands of thick golden reeds and grasses swaying in the gentle breeze as far as the eye can see. The Spanish dubbed them Islas de Oro (the Golden Isles) in the 1700s, even though they failed to find the hoped-for gold. But eventually the gold came to them, when northern... READ MORE
Delaware’s mansions, gardens and more
Some members of the large, wealthy family lived in a 175-room mansion set amid 1,000 acres of magnificent gardens, sprawling woodlands and splashing fountains. Others made their home in a chateau modeled after the palace where Marie Antoinette once hung out. Not far away, workers who toiled in the business that affluent dynasty was creating resided in more modest quarters. They included... READ MORE
Montana: vanishing glaciers and grizzlies
I had a lot of expectations heading to Montana last summer. I expected to check off my bucket-list dream of driving Glacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road. I expected to be ready should I meet any bears because I’d brought “bear bells” to repel them. And I was sure I’d love the local meat pies called “pasties.” Wrong on all counts. The Going-to-the-Sun Road is... READ MORE
Exploring the Grand Canyon’s grandeur
As I stared at the multi-colored layers of the yawning abyss stretching across the horizon for miles, I was immobilized by this geologic layer cake a billion years in the making. It was a pinch-me moment. I first saw a picture-postcard image of the Grand Canyon in the third grade. Then, I could never imagine seeing it for real. But here I was standing 7,000 feet above sea level on the... READ MORE
Mississippi’s resilient Gulf Coast beckons
Exploring Mississippi’s 26-mile Gulf Coast is a sojourn to small, laid-back towns, sugar-white beaches, artsy enclaves, “aromatic” fishing villages, and even a whiff of William Faulkner’s fictional Yoknapatawpha County. Life moves at a slow southern pace, and friendly locals greet out-of-towners with a hearty, “Hi ya’ll!” Mississippi Gulf people are proudly resilient.... READ MORE
Batteau festival celebrates the James River
Boaters piloting 15 to 20 shallow, flat-bottomed boats (called batteaux) will launch on the James River in Lynchburg in mid-June, slowly paddling 120 miles until they arrive at Maiden’s Landing west of Richmond a week later. For the past 33 years, members of the Virginia Canals and Navigations Society have been navigating the James River on such batteaux. For the society’s yearly... READ MORE
South of the border: Raleigh/Chapel Hill
Despite — or perhaps because of — our rivalry with Tar Heels, Virginians love our neighboring state to the south. Unlike our own capital city, North Carolina’s Raleigh, 175 miles southwest of Richmond via I-95, or 155 miles on I-85, received little damage in the Civil War. My husband, Tom, and I — fans of Richmond’s architecture — enjoyed seeing the well-preserved... READ MORE
