St Vincent and the Grenadines, First Visit

Another night in the Holiday Inn JFK and it seems like hundredth in recent years, but with Long Island traffic and an early flight well worth it. I head to St Vincent and the Grenadines in the AM, one of the sleepiest parts of the Caribbean. Sailors and the yachting set have long gone there but not many travelers. Besides St Vincent I will visit Bequia, Palm Island and Union Island by boat and small prop planes. As I have over recent visits to St Croix, Puerto Rico, Nevis and St Lucia, I am sitting in HI JFK wondering what new adventures await, I bet on many.

The Frost is on the Pumpkin

The frost is on the pumpkin and finally some cool weather has arrived. It will be dinner near a crackling fire and red wine will actually fit in as the temps drop. Just as I greet some cool weather I am also packing for a Carribean trip to St Vincent. There is no packing away the summer clothes and bringing out the winter ones in this business, you never know where you'll be going next.

Boston Red Soxs Fans

We hooked up with Max and Cindy in Great Barrington last night for a belated birthday dinner and to catch up with GoNOMAD stuff. GB is Boston Red Sox turf so it was good to have two fans like them with us. After dinner we headed back to the motel to catch game three, Sox kicking butt, but today we head back to Yanks territory.

Two Winners in North Adams Mass

I usually do my homework before heading out and when it comes to restaurants I do read reviews at places such as Trip Advisor. I have over the years though come up with a foolproof plan for finding local gems. I ask owners and clerks at local bookstores for their favorite choices. The choice we were giving here in North Adams was a funky little bistro called the Gramercy Bistro, bingo, bookies rule! The Gramercy Bistro got double thumbs up, not easy to do. Owner/Chef Alexander Smith has a winner on his hands. On the way home fully sated we checked out the old Mohawk Theater on Main Street a Loews movie house opened in 1938, the bright lights drew us like moths to a flame.

Colors of the Berkshires and Mass Moca

After living all those years in Arizona I am a confirmed Northeast leaf peeper of the highest degree, it was actually one of the reasons I moved back to Ulster County, NY. After checking out all of the Catskill Mountains over the last few weeks we decided to head out and check on what colors the Berkshires still had. Plenty it turned out.

Heading out from Albany we traveled back roads through the mountains guided by the Magellan. With the sunroof open and classic rock tunes blaring from the radio we peeped away. Red, yellow and gold blanketed the hills and leaves’ blowing by on a blustery fall day was sheer heaven. We ended up in North Adams a one time booming industrial city that has had a renaissance as an Art City. Mass MoCa, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the country is just down the street and tomorrow’s first stop. Sometimes it is the little trips that matter!

The LA Times Keeping Jen Leo Busy as a Bee

Her smile is 1000 watts and her energy catchy and I found her again. I am talking about Jen Leo a traveling gem. Jen is now blogging for the LA Times, giving travel info. My first contact with her was back when she was working in the office of Traveler’s Tales books and I got a few stories published with them. Then I got hooked on her Written Road blog one of the very first popular blogs. Her series of books for TT were big and mostly due to her diligence. I got to interview her for GoNOMAD awhile back and she was a pleasure to interview. Congratulations Jen good running into you again.

Budget Travel Magazine, Right On With Road Trips

Wow, do I love Budget Travel magazine and with good reason; they always come up with places I have been but never written about. The most likely reason is because they were places that fit in my past. In the days I lived in or visited such places as Silver City NM or Peterborough NH I had no idea that I would be a travel editor or travel radio correspondent.

I was a student, at least for a while, at Franklin Pierce College near Peterborough NH and have always loved the place that Thornton Wilder used for the play Our Town. When I lived in Scottsdale, AZ, Silver City NM was a great retreat. My wife, son and I even got a gig as extras for a Peugeot commercial filming there. I got a chance to really meet the locals during that experience. Silver City was where Billy the Kid started his stealing career. I have to love a magazine that goes where others do not—keep it up! Check out the Sept. issue.

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Pumpkins in Cottekill

For the last 5 years I have lived in the Hamlet of Cottekill I have placed pumpkins on the wall in the front yard. I was reminded the other day by a friend I ran into at the Corner Deli, the hub of the Hamlet about that very fact. People here have great memories and I headed to Gill's Farm Stand immediately to continue a Cottekill tradition, my little pumpkins are now in place. The only thing I cannot do this year is give out the candy on Halloween, I will be in St Vincent. Lil however will be manning the door.

St Vincent and the Grenadines, Heading to Young's Island

I believe that I have just spent one of the longest periods home in the past five years. While it is always great, I am ready to again head out. I got my finalized itinerary today for my Halloween trip to St. Vincent & the Grenadines and it looks just fantastic! A lot of sailing, snorkeling and hiking in a place I haven’t been to before. The islands are supposedly laid back and beautiful as well as being in sailing heaven.

The itin also reminded us to pack light as a lot of our island hopping will be by boat and small prop planes as well as be on the move. One of my favorite parts of traveling is checking out lodgings and it appears that we have a winner with Young’s Island for my last two nights. Young’s is a 35 acre private island that is 600 feet off of St Vincent. As with all interesting lodgings it has its own legend, it was once where a Carib Indian chief kept his harem. He traded the island for a black stallion. I wonder what he did with the harem? I plan on contemplating that very question in a hammock under a thatched roof, if I get the time!

No Bull

 

Morning in Playa de Carmen

You Are What You Google

According to the site meter 58% of the visitors to Be Our Guest, are from the US with 6% logging in from Canada. All the rest are scattered from around the world. I was reading about Google’s Trend Labs statistics yesterday and BOG is in sync. According to their report the nation that tops the list using SEX as a word search is Egypt. That fits my research as I once labeled and posted this picture as Babies on Brazilian Beach; the hits it generated were topped by Egypt and followed by Iran. The US didn’t even make the top ten for SEX. If I use hangover in my title I should generate hits from Dublin followed closely by NYC. Be careful what you Google for, it just might come true.

Fall Colors

A Great Uncle

I always thought I was a good uncle, this Columbus Day I became a great one. My niece Kourtney and her husband Greg Fall had their first child, Taylor Fall. Holding Taylor is Uncle Drew, first time for his new Uncle title!

The Travel Channel, Stone & Company Entertainment and a Face for Radio

I got an interesting email from Samantha at Stone & Company Entertainment yesterday about a hosting gig on a show about international travel. The show is for The Travel Channel and someone brought my name to their attention as a prospect, pretty cool for a guy with a face for radio. All I have to do is be fun and dynamic; maybe some cosmetic surgery would tip things in my favor! Then I recalled that my favorite travel host, Ian Wright also has a face for radio and he did great on TV.

Last night we went out for dinner and that email kept popping up in my head and I decided to see if I could be funny and dynamic. I figured if you can do it in a tiny restaurant in Kingston NY it would be easy at some of the world’s best destinations. I dynamically ordered my plate of spaghetti; it came out with the wrong sauce. I tried entertaining my gruff waiter Gino, he was to busy to be entertained. Even my wife Lily seemed to find the chicken supresso more fun if not at least tastier than I. I pushed thoughts of the email aside; at least I have a face for radio. I’ll keep you all updated.

Doing Travel Radio, Love Around the World Travel Show

Doing travel radio is a gas but doing it for Around the World Travel Radio is just fantastic. I now get to hear my segments and watch video streamed from the studio, a great touch. AWTR has been California’s primo travel radio show since it began in 1998 and primo host Arthur von Wiesenberger is the one big reason! I never realized that Arthur gets so into it, even donning a Panama hat for my Puerto Rico piece.

The show originates in Southern California and airs on AM 1290 KZSB three times. From there it spreads like wildfire, especially in Australia. Arthur and Richard Mineards have a travel radio show that will be the standard ,listen from anywhere and then go.

Exploring the Mid Hudson Valley with Jeff

There are tons of bogs out there about traveling but I just checked out my buddy Jeff Hillman’s new one, Tripping’ the Love Fantastic. Jeff was on a press trip to Sweden and Finland with me a few months back. His happy demeanor carried the day and his laughter was infectious, I look forward to traveling again with him. Jeff’s main outlet is Business Traveler, in between issues I plan on keeping up with him on his blog.

The last few postings have been about his recent visit to my home area, the Mid Hudson River Valley. His postings about activities in towns like Woodstock and Warwick are insightful and complete with driving directions better than even a local can give. Just one complaint, Jeff was in Rosendale just down the road from me and passed us by. Next time stop in!

The Food of Puerto Rico

In preparation for tomorrows radio show and my segment on Puerto Rico I came across my notes on food, a topic I personally love. I once owned restaurant years ago and my interest in foods from around the world has grown ever since. Here are some of my favorite PR dishes:

Piononos- Ground beef and plantains
Fricase-A dish made with stewed chicken or goat
Bacalo a la Viscaino- Codfish stewed in a rich tomato sauce

A mandatory dessert is the Flan and drink of choice is anything with rum. Checkout Around the World Travel Radio archives for more about Puerto Rico.

Around the World Radio, Puerto Rico Adventures

Some places just fool you, Puerto Rico did me. I expected a mini Miami and got some great adventure, far from the emerald ocean and deep into the interior. That is what my gig on Around the World Radio will be about this Thursday when I call in my report. I am really not the type that likes lingering on a sandy beach and that wasn’t a problem in PR. While there I hiked through the dense forests and up the Tanama River, many parts through caves filled with bats. Rappelling down cliffs was new for me and a thrill, cannot wait to do some more. For the last twelve years that has been my day in the office, some place new and new adventures.

This trip was a perfect blend for me, rough days and luxury nights at a place like the Marriott on Condado Beach, complete with a balcony overlooking the ocean. Old San Juan was a pleasant place to explore before heading deep into the Yanque Rainforest on an ATV. Better yet is my chance to share my experiences, I get to relive them that way. Around the World Radio now just doesn’t air on ten stations in California and thirty in Australia, the archives can be heard on its website. So if you have some free time click on and head to PR with me. Checkout Max’s latest segment on Elba and Tuscany, another day in the office for us, take a break from your day.

Successful Pot Head, Bottoms Up

Back when I was a student at Franklin Pierce College, shopping for bowls and bongs was as important as stocking up on edibles. In fact the food choices were geared for filling up the bong and then dealing with the munchies. These days I am far more inclined to get a good bottle of red wine and pompously use phrases like, “full bodied with smooth silky wash”.

The NY Post's new Sunday Page Six magazine had a fascinating piece about NY’s young successful functioning pot heads struck home. Basically is pointed out how these movers and shakers all thought that some pokes on a dobbie made them so much more creative. All now state that it was quite the opposite, memory problems and clouded thinking was more like it. I’ll have to reread it over a glass Chateau Lafitte Rothschild just to make sure I got it right.

Mariachi in Merida Mexico

On Sept. 19th Mexico celebrates its independence from Spain. All go to the Zocolo to hear the proclamation read, the one written and read many years ago by Father Hildigo. These mariachi music makers were stars for the celebration in Merida, viva Mexico!

Pictures on Google

Though I have been snapping photos for awhile I was surprised to find so many on the Google Picture Place.

Grasse, Perfume and Murder

Pumping down water and antibiotics is about all I‘ve been able to do since Friday night. Thankfully I picked up a slew of movies to watch while in a semi- conscious state, I have the sound turned up high to compensate for a clogged ear. I loved watching the movie Perfume: Story of a Murderer last night. In June I went to Opio, a Club Med Resort in Southern France that I loved. One of the nearby villages to visit was Grasse, one time capital of the perfume world. (Still is symbolically)

The movie is based on Patrick Suskind’s best selling book and is based in the 18th century, one of my favorite historical time periods. The anti hero Jean –Baptiste has a nose that knows but it leads to murderous obsessions. While the movie only grossed $2.208.939 in the US I loved the way it was shot and the 2 hours and 25 minutes was the highlight of my day. Now if I could only unclog my head maybe I could wake up and smell the coffee.

Don't Blame it on Rio

I happen to be a travel editor who really likes going to events to see what is going on in a city or country. Unfortunately I am going to have to miss lunch at the 21 Club in NYC and a chance to catch up with all that is going on in one of my favorite destinations, Rio de Janeiro. My ear infection hasn’t cleared yet so it is back to bed with a little time at the computer. Rio has some big events coming up such as the Pan American Games. Even with no events I pine to spend some more time exploring its beaches and shopping its inner city. The view of the city from anywhere is stunning but from Sugar Loaf it is astounding! I apologize to Joao Rodrigues and the rest of the Rio team for missing what I know will be a great event in NYC.