Open the Present

Every time a new itinerary comes via e-mail I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. I rush to download and see the gift given. Just got my draft itin from Croatia and it seems grand. I can tell that my tongue will twist in the wind learning Croatian for thank you and please, much less where I am headed. It seems amazing that I will be visiting castles and vineyards and to the Livade region known for its white truffles. Up next is Mejimurje with its culinary delights complete with nettles and pumpkins. Highlight for me is a visit to the wineries of Varazdin. Looks like I’ll need the trip to Montana that begins 2 days after my return. Hope its to a fat farm, I’m saving that itin to read tomorrow.

Roughing It

Recently headed to Arlington Vermont to kayak down the Battenkill Creek. The leaves where just beginning to get some glow and the weather perfect. The day was great and I headed back to Manchester to bivouac for the night. Strangely enough as I headed up 7A I noticed no lights on in any houses as the Vermont night crept over the Green Mountains. No glow from one of my favorite towns lit up the valley. Even the venerable Equinox Inn was dark.

Southern Vermont was blacked out and sheer panic hit the town and I heard, “no restaurants open” several times as I headed into the Toll House Motel. “What are we going to do”, was also repeated. I almost got caught up in the panic, I mean no dinner! Then it occurred to me that my buddies in SW Louisiana would kill to have an MRE meal. I hoped back into the jeep and drove 24 miles to the Paradise Motel in Bennington. I wish it was that easy for those on the Gulf Coast.

Great Orange 

Welcome to VT 

Speed dating

Often I am asked by other writers how I meet connections to the places I go to. The answer networking, attending events for just that purpose. Max and I filled out our request forms today for the Unlimited European Exchange on Nov. 1 in NYC. These events are a bit like speed dating. Your bio is given to the exhibitors and you request the ones you want to see. For the next few hours you go booth to booth to get info and contacts. Here are the basic qualifications:

Registration is open to known journalists who receive an invitation as well as all qualified, professional travel journalists, including, but not limited to: editors, staff writers, contributing editors, freelance writers and photographers with proven outlets, video and film producers for online newspapers, magazines, television, broadcast/video/film, select Internet publications, travel guides, books. All applications are subject to approval. Media not known to Europe Unlimited Media Exchange must provide clippings/samples of their recently published work in major outlets to qualify for an invitation.
Hopefully GoNOMAD readers will read about some of Europe’s newest destinations as a result of our media dating.

Fish for Dinner 

SW Loiusiana MG Parade in Jeff Davis Parish 

Mardi Gras in Lake Charles 

Band in Lake Charles 

SW Louisiana Remembered

At the Travel Media Showcase, New Orleans’s booth was empty except for a vase of flowers placed there in sympathy. While at the show I did get a chance to see some of my friends at the SW Louisiana booth. If the show was held next week there is a chance that their booth would also get a vase of flowers. It appears Hurricane Rita is at this moment making a visit to Lake Charles and the SW. I had the good fortune to celebrate Mardi gras there last year. It is Louisiana’s second biggest.

Coverage on the news media is all about petroleum plants and rising gas prices. I am thinking about the treasures seen on my trip, starting with the very friendly people. I wonder about the Krewes that march on their floats in the MG parades and the thousands of faces I threw beads to from one of the floats. I think about the restaurants that served up some of the best Cajun food I’ve ever had. I wonder how the Creole Trail (180 mile National Byway will hold up). Here is a link to that article for GoNOMAD about the area. It will fill you on about what I really am thinking and praying about.

The Guides

Sometimes as a travel editor I forget about the people that matter the most when I land at an airport. I forget that they helped me get a grasp of a place I do not live. They are the ones that deal with foreign visitors. Camera wielding, spoiled, bath robed bastards, yes I am one! I try, but on occasion, I slip into Guide Forget Mode! Every once in a while I get an e-mail from one that has suffered because of my choices. Left a family behind to traipse in my fantasy. Schlepped through mud, madness and mayhem so I could report! Got an e-mail from one of the best in Guatemala recently. She read my piece on GoNOMAD and filled me in. Ivania Sibrian is a Guatemalan treasure. We traveled hard roads, but she always smiled, even when I didn’t. Here is an excerpt from her report:

I am glad that now you had lost your fever about snakes, they are not as bad
as they look.
One month ago in Lanquin in the department of Coban I small coral snake fell
from a tree, just in front of my head, and all I think in that moment was
IVANIA RUN.
The snake was more skared of me than I was, but for 1 second I was in panic.
But in my job I am so close to them that finally I am getting us to them.
Hope see you soon and next time you visit Guatemala remember just to ask for
5 star hotels.

I love this woman and how she handles a Gringo. I remember sending an e-mail to Max, I think it stared as **** you. The yellow snake was on the beams above. He told me it would be a trip I would always remember. It was, and so is Ivania. No better hands than this great guide could be expected! Here is her contact number: 502 2334-9847.

Perfect Marriage

Every once in awhile it all comes together and today in NYC was one of those days. I went to the Explorer’s Club for a lunch sponsored by Northern Territory of Australia. They and Myriad Travel Marketing know what they are doing.

First off the Club was just tremendous and filled with a historic vibe. It was woody and clubby and filled with the spirit of famous adventures. Sir Edmond Hillary, Lowell Thomas and Senator John Glenn have all stood at the podium in the cozy banquet room where lunch was served. The renowned Bill Harney provided stories and didgeridoo tunes. Better yet was running into old friends like Jon Haggins who now also does NPR radio, besides his very successful NYC TV cable show. Myriad’s Managing Partner, Al Merschen also was there adding his usual energy. This guy has a steel-trap mind and great demeanor.

Best of all was hearing about the importance of online publications. That we know about at GoNOMAD. Thirty four % of travel is generated via the web and is growing. For example my article on the Ghan Railway in NT was reprinted or linked to on eight other sites. With our unique visitors alone that means it reached 150,000 plus and is still archived and out there. Myriad was one of the first to realize the power and possibilities of the web. The NT studies show that the majority of travelers to the territory are spirit or adventure travelers. That is all so something we at GoNOMAD understand. Myriad and NT, thanks for the memories!

Why Why Why!

In anticipation for lunch at the Explorer’s Club with the Northern Territories, Australia this week I picked up a new book. After endless banter last week at the Media Travel Showcase I needed to stock up on more conversation topics. Just in case someone asks me, why do men have nipples? I’ll have the answer because that is the title of the book I got. The premise of the book is “hundreds of questions you’d only ask a doctor after your third martini”.

Mark Yeyner and Billy Goldberg M.D. have a winner on their hands. Hilarious and educating and dam fun! Some of the topics I should be able to handle are
· Why does your pee smell after eating asparagus?
· Do Oysters really make you horny?
· What is a hickey?
Then there is my personal favorite, does drinking kill brain cells?

Spice it Up 

The People That Matter

Trade shows are far more than meeting other writers; it is really the CVB and Tourism Board that matter. They are the ticket. Seeing some that were met last year added greatly to this showcase. If fact I reconnected with two of my favorites, Steve Zimmermann from Alexandria VA and Karen Hedelt of Fredericksburg VA. I visited both cities last year after attending the Travel Media show in Tucson last year. They did phenomenal itins complete with sites, restaurants and lodgings so I am forever a fan of Virginia. Better yet they are fun people to hang with again. These guys are pros.

Steve updated me on Alexandria’s happenings and my favorite Metro DC city is booming. In fact I meant to head into DC on my visit but never left except to go to Mt. Vernon, very nearby. Steve then filled me in on news there. While doing digs on GW’s house they found his distillery. In his day the man was the largest distributor of whiskey. Alexandria then held a benefit using old time punch recipes, and big distillers jumped on board. Head down and take advantage of the area’s pub and dinner promotions. My favorite eatery, Eve’s is the place to be. Congrats to Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood on being named as one of the top place to live in America. God I love this city! Will tell more about the Fred Burg soon.

Show Time

One of the best aspects of attending the Travel Media Showcase is meeting others that write travel content. Max and I had a chance to have lunch with two people that I’ve read but never meet, till now. The first was the fast traveling Johnny Jet A.K.A John E. DiScala. Strange just read his newsletter about his trip through Europe. He is off tomorrow to Ireland; glad I actually met him, as he seems very down to earth. This guy makes me look like a piker when it comes to globe tripping.

The other was Tim Leffel, author of The World’s Cheapest Destinations and columnist for Transitions Abroad. Tim is hard at work on a book for my favorite travel publishers, Travelers’ Tales. Attending shows like this one is such an important part of travel writing and is down right fun.

The Fish 

Over the Top 

Picture Perfect

It doesn’t get much better up here in the Catskill Mountains than it was last night. The weather picture perfect and the pure light reflected off the peaks. The warm day was retreating into the cooler evening like the sun sinking behind Overlook Mountain. Coincidently we were headed to The Northern Exposure Photography Gallery in Woodstock NY for the opening of Michael Tischler’s Images of the Catskills. The gallery was filled with people and lively, Tischler’s photos stunning! His sensitive eye captures the nature and beauty of the area I once again call home. My two favorites were Catskill Moss and Winter Stream.

Northern Exposures also had some powerful works by Jill Gasero and Nick Zungoli. Travelers will really appreciate Jill’s photos from Venice. After seeing Michael’s local shots I may never walk the Rail Trail in Cottekill again with out a camera in hand. Funny I shoot photos from around the world and yet so few from one of the most beautiful places in the world. The gallery is located at 63 Tinker Street right in the middle of town.www.northernexposuresgallery.com 845 679-3344

Who Knows

There is no telling what tomorrow brings. I just received my latest copy of Business Traveler in the mail today. I like the way BT shares tips for seeing a place on a limited amount of time. In reality most people only have a limited amount of time. Sadly one of the features was a piece on New Orleans’s golf courses. The four covered are all very close to the city. “Plantation- style clubhouses, Cajun cuisine and a legendary music scene make the Louisiana culture capital a unique golfing destination”, starts the piece by Michael Shiels. I love New Orleans for what it represents to travelers and I have no doubt that it will rise from the depths of destruction. Interestingly enough the following article was about Houston, know known as the city with a huge massive heart.

T-Mobile Saves the Night

Keeping in touch is an addiction and I got it. It is quite obvious on press trips that I am not alone. True the last toast at the dinner table is still a part of the trip, but it last far shorter than before. Everyone is on a lappy checking his or her e’s. Those without their laptops are lined up at the hotel’s business center.

I’ve taken the addiction one step further, a Sidekick Two, from T-Mobile. The only downside is that Paris Hilton used the same phone. Still the girl is busy and is always in touch. Just read Page Six of the NY Post! Cargo Magazine did a piece on the different phones and services that can keep you in contact virtually from anywhere. With my GSM phone I can virtually call Max or home from anywhere, but watch the minutes they are extra. Still according to the article T-Mobile offers the cheapest permanent minutes of all the carriers. It also can be used for data services like text messaging, Web and e-mail. Handy if I ever need to see Paris’s latest web cast. Better yet I can be in the hotel lounge or nearest hot spot doing my job, checking things out. At my age I hardly think Paris and I will be checking out each other!

SS Bonita 

The Mighty Bonita

It happens quite often up here in the Hudson Valley, plans are made over a wine infused dinner for the next day. Often the plans go the way of wind blown leaves in November. This Labor Day however they were just perfect. My buddies Dennis and Denise came over for dinner Sunday night. In between the second or third bottle of red Dennis asked about the sailboat given to me on my 50th this August. A million excuses came up, “No trailer hitch, no sailing knowledge and busy”, I murmured “Hey I got a hitch on the truck and some sailing under my belt”, Dennis said. Instantly plans were made to head to the Hudson River next day for the Bonita’s first sail.

At ten as planned the phone rang, D&D were on their way and the Bonita was soon hitched to Dennis’s truck. The sky was pure blue and the Hudson majestic with the peaks of the Catskill Mts in the background. The kind of day that rarely happens when you’ve made plans. Mast was raised and the hounds and spreaders set. I was soon keel stepping, not to be confused with two stepping. With Dennis’s knowledge is was evident that the Cottekill Yacht Club had its first Commodore. It weren’t me, me hardies. Dennis then backed down the ramp at Kingston Point and he and I hopped in. No point in risking the ladies lives on the first run! Minutes later Dennis informed me that I had us smack dab in the shipping lane. “Hells Bells”, I shouted. The swells of the passing boats threatened the Bonita’s very existence. After shouts of mainsail, jib, tiller, all of which sounded like cocktails on Martha’s Vineyard, the Commodore had us free and catching the blow. The rest of the day went remarkably well and smiles were wide as the Pacific. The addition of Mat, Denise’s son added to the pleasure.


That night I went to bed with a copy of The Handbook of Sailing by Bob Bond. I ended at the reefing chapter, certainly far different then the reefing I did at Franklin Pierce College years ago. PS: to the tanker that went up the Hudson Monday, show some respect to the mighty Bonita and its noble crew!

Near Miss 

Commadore Gogg and crew 

Cottekill Yacht Club Members 

She is Mine!

Blogging is a trip; I never realized how personal it gets. Some guy with a handle of, “Lost Wisdom of the Ages”, tried to pick up my wife! He saw her picture on my entry of Here’s to you. Wanted to know about the gorgeous girl slugging champagne and if she liked older men. Totally, I happen to be 50, his age is 48 according to his profile. Guess she really likes much older men. Still it made her night might cost me a dinner out. She is however old enough to send our son off to college. Maybe she should take me out for dinner? She just wanted Wisdom to know that she rarely slugs from a bottle, just when on a lobster boat in Corea Maine, and then only when doing a service for passed away Mom. Need I explain more.

Don't Count'em Out

The tragedy of Katrina is mind blowing and my heart goes out to all that lived through it. The importance and power of tourism was brought home today because of an e-mail I got from the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Commission.

Here are the facts:
· Tourism produces $9 Billion in economic activity in Louisiana every year.
· New Orleans brings in 45.9 % of that.
· Now more than ever Louisiana is open for business.

The point they want to get across is that the unaffected areas need business to the benefit of the whole state!

Last year I had a great trip to the SW part of the state that was just fantastic. I went to several great Mardi Gras events in Lake Charles and Jeff Davis Parish. Here is a link to the article in GoNOMAD. After sending some cash to one of the numerous relief agencies, book a trip and see what others are now seeing. The warm wonderful people of Louisiana.

Best of the Alps

Class always outs itself, no need to blow horns. I certainly can attest to the classy way the Best of the Alps treated myself and five other writers and editors last week. We were treated to a fantastic lunch at Yankee magazine’s designated, “Best Urban Restaurant”. No.9 Park in Boston was just great. I was so glad since I drove from NY to get there.

The Best of the Alps is an organization that consists of the twelve best alpine resort towns. It is the A list of European outdoor life. The reps reflected the style that you would expect of towns like St. Anton,Grindelwald, Cortina, Davos, St. Moritz, Kitzbuel, and the others. Check them out here. Thanks, Sammy, Wilma, Gabriella and Erika. Hope to visit soon!

And the Winner is, Me

I had one of those nights where you love your job. Our job in Great Barrington was to select the second winner of the GoNOMAD travel grant. Max, Cindy, Lil and I started out with a great meal at Xicohéncatl (pronounced “shi-ko-ten-cat”). There we feasted on authentic mole several ways. Both the red mole Poblano based in Puebla and the mole Negro from the Oaxaca area were the big features. The fruity sangria on the porch while the rain pelted the area was perfect for old friends and colleagues with a tough job ahead.

After we retreated to my room at the Choice Inn to read the remaining entries, and they were all fantastic. I am so happy about the future of travel writing and those who love travel. The winner had very tough competition. Congratulations Kelly Westhoff, I will call this weekend to say in person thanks. For more on the top five go to Max’s blog.

Final note: Holiday Inn be aware that though I have been a Priority member for years, I chose the Comfort Inn last night, more for less. With gas prices rising the $30 difference matters.