-
Mushroom Hunting in Soria
As a family goes mushroom hunting in Soria, in northern Spain, their writer daughter-in-law seeks not only the treasures of the forest, but also human connection. “Aquí!” I shout, partly out of economy, and partly because in my moment of excitement, I’ve lost the ability to say “I found a bunch of mushrooms” in Spanish. The smooth, rusty heads of three porcinis stare up at me from a mossy patch of forest floor of the Urbión National Hunting Reserve in Navaleno, in the north-central province of Soria, Spain. With my fingers, I grasp the solid stem of the closest mushroom and wiggle it back and forth until it pulls free…
-
A River Runs Through It: Weekend Train Hopping in the Hudson Valley
Many thanks to the Metro North Transit Authority, Visit Westchester NY, and Dutchess Tourism for supplying train and event tickets and for hosting me overnight on this trip. The support of businesses and organizations such as these helps me to create useful guides for readers like you. All opinions are my own. Breakneck Ridge, Cold Spring, Garrison, Manitou. I’d glimpsed the names of these Hudson Valley towns from the window of the Metro North commuter train dozens of times before, but never did more than wonder how many miles they were to my destination in New York City. I was, I reasoned, too busy to stop at every little town…
-
1000 Islands Road Trip: Penn Yan to Clayton, Cape Vincent & Sackets Harbor
Many thanks to CM Communications and the 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel for hosting me on my 1000 Islands road trip. The support of businesses and organizations such as these helps me to create useful guides for readers like you. All opinions are my own. This is part 2 of a road trip through the Finger Lakes and 1000 Islands. If you missed part 1, start here. 1000 Islands Road Trip Day 3 Itinerary: Watkins Glen to Clayton Along Route 14, on the western lip of Seneca Lake, broad fields tumble down to the shoreline, their flat-topped hills crowned with enormous rolled bales of hay bleaching in the sun. We make…
-
Does the World Really Need Another Travel Blog?
Does the world really need another travel blog? Ever the pragmatist, I wrestled with this question before making the decision to toss one more set of opinions, especially on coastal travel, out into cyberspace. There are already millions of travel blogs online, some terrific, many run by bloggers who work their tails off and have mastered SEO and social media, and have followings that will probably always be many times larger than I’ll ever have. All signs point to no. So why bother? Simply put, because I didn’t see the kind of travel stories I wanted to read. You can find a “10 best things to do in [name the…
Writing the waves of coastal travel
