Travel

• AN INTERESTING START TO PERUVIAN VACATION
  It's been awhile since I was in sixth grade and wrote an essay on "What I Did On My Vacation." So I figured it's about time I wrote another one, even though no one cared then, and probably no one cares now...
  
  
• LUCKY TO LIVE WHERE WE LIVE
  I am a weather wimp. Born and raised in San Francisco, I have lived all my life in a moderate climate, not too hot, not too cold. And after spending a tortuous (for weather wimps) eight days in the deep South last week, I appreciate it more than ever....
  
  
• DOWN AND OUT IN WASHINGTON D.C.
  Ahhh, summertime!!! A time for vacations, for relaxing from a long year of hard work. A time to stop the rat race and have fun. A time for a joyous celebration of life...

• THERE REALLY IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME
  I've always liked going in circles. If I go on a hike, it's always best to go in a loop. I've never liked going to a spot and then backtracking. So it made sense about a month ago to go in the ultimate circle....

• DOWN AND OUT IN WASHINGTON D.C.
  Ahhh, summertime!!! A time for vacations, for relaxing from a long year of hard work. A time to stop the rat race and have fun. A time for a joyous celebration of life...

• YES, YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN
  I was telling my Irish electrician that I was going on vacation for a couple of weeks. "Wher' ya goin'?" he asked in a particularly strong Irish brogue....

• SAVING THE WORLD CAN BE DANGEROUS
  A few weeks ago, I decided it was time to save the world, or at least a small part of it. I told my wife that we were going to work at an orphanage. She was extremely enthusiastic about the idea, until she learned the orphanage was in Tijuana....

• BACK TO VIETNAM FOR THE FIRST TIME
  It was 38 years ago, when I turned 18, that I got my draft number from the Selective Service Bureau. At the time, the lottery system was in place, meaning they drew birthdays, and if your number was....

• DON'T ALWAYS SAY NO TO DRUGS
  I'm a big believer in that old adage I first heard from my sister's mother-in-law as she haughtily boarded a plane before everyone else, including her son: "If I don't fly first class, my children will."....

• HOW TO WASTE A DAY IN RIO
  We were on the tail end of our three week adventure in South America. Only a couple of days to go. Everything had gone beautifully, every day new sights, every night new tastes. All was well with the world...

• A LITTLE ROCKING, NOT ENOUGH ROLLING
  As part of our South American adventure, we planned a three-night cruise around Cape Horn, which is pretty much the end of the world. Actually, Antartica is farther south, but it gets no respect....

• EATING UP THE LATIN CULTURE
  Our oldest daughter, who has been around the world and done stuff like eat tarantulas in Cambodia, decided she was going to teach 4th graders in South America for two years. And that's why I'm writing this...

• WHO SAYS I AIN'T GOT NO CULTURE?
  We made the plans back in June. Five days in New York visiting our 26 year old daughter---what good parents. I made the non-refundable plane and hotel reservations for September and looked forward to....

• A Sucker Born Every Minute
  The invitation came in the mail, and it was hard to resist---four days and three nights at The Four Seasons Aviara, which is near San Diego. The cost to us would be about $34.95, or something like that...

• No Good Plan Goes Unpunished
  For reasons unknown, I have been designated the official vacation planner in our family. I didn't ask for the job, but it's mine. Like any marriage, the role just developed over time. Coincidentally, my wife...

• It is my Turn to see the World
  A couple of weeks ago, the phone rang. It was my 25 year old daughter calling. "Got any miles?" she asked. "Excuse me?" I replied. "How about a hello or a how are you, dad?"....

• Slow and Steady Wins the Race
  The trip had been planned for awhile. Six days playing that horrid game of golf, somewhere on the west coast of Oregon, at a place called Bandon Dunes...

• Roller Coasters are for weenies
  "Let's stop at Magic Mountain, let's stop at Magic Mountain!!!!" The cries came from the back seat of my car as we were driving down Interstate 5 a couple of weeks ago on our way to a Spring Break vacation... 

• The vacation that wouldn't die
  They call me Joe Pinecrest. Well, to be honest, no one has ever called me that except me. But after 40 consecutive summer vacations at idyllic Pinecrest Lake...

• If you like rocks, this is paradise
  Like many baby boomers, Bob is thinking about retirement. He’s 54 years old, and the cold and rainy winters of Northern California are getting him down...

• Language barrier is no problemo
  We were in the South of France, spending a few days in the sun-splashed villas of Cannes, Antibes and St. Tropez... 

• Down and out in Aspen
  Some friends of ours, who have more money than God, bought a vacation house in Aspen, Colorado a few years ago. And naturally, they started inviting their friends to come and visit...

• Fear of crashing
  I usually don’t begin thinking about death until the morning of the flight. It’s kind of like dieting---I have tremendous resolve, right up until the time I’m hungry. Flying is similar---I’m a big, strong, brave soul, until...