Tropical Travel Girl
So what’s it like to be on board Windstar Cruises’ Wind Spirit…in Tahiti, no less? Since the ship will be your temporary home for seven to 10 days, according to which itinerary you choose (7 day, Dreams of Tahiti or 10-day Tahiti and Tuamotus), it’s nice to get a feel for what life is like …
More than six years have passed since my husband and I returned from a dozen days spent in Tahiti and the Tuamotus — a remote part of the South Pacific located halfway between California and Australia — and I still haven’t fully recovered. Any vestiges of jet lag dissipated long ago and re-entry to real …
I’ve visited lots of aquariums, or as I like to call them — indoor oceans — but never one located inside a bright turquoise glass-windowed pyramid! A total of 1.5 million gallons of saltwater exhibits are contained within the 10-story aquarium, including ocean life from the Atlantic, Pacific and Caribbean. It is the largest aquarium …
While no trip to Memphis would be complete without paying a visit to the home of the King of Rock ‘n Roll, this city has a lot to offer beyond Graceland. Of course, much of it is still related to the mark Elvis Presley made after moving with his family to Memphis…
It had been 15 years since I entered the gates of Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. This year, 2017, the 40th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s passing on August 16, 1977, the timing was right to return.
As a SCUBA diver for more than two decades, one of my favorite places to be is underwater exploring a coral reef, swimming among colorful schools of fish. When that’s not possible, visiting an aquarium like the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores is an excellent alternative.
Wide beaches and wild horses await visitors to North Carolina’s Cape Lookout National Seashore, covering more than 50 miles on three undeveloped barrier islands off its central shore.
Springtime is a glorious time of year to visit California’s central coast. I spent the first nine days of April 2016 in a roughly 200-mile area within Ventura and San Luis Obispo Counties, venturing as far north as Paso Robles…
Springtime is a glorious time of year to visit California’s central coast. I spent the first nine days of April 2016 in a roughly 200-mile area within Ventura and San Luis Obispo Counties, venturing as far north as Paso Robles…
Mopion islet. I discovered it in 2004 after surfacing from a dive on the surrounding coral reefs, and snapped this photograph that has become one of my all-time favorites. It was only after…
For those of us who love to travel, looking back at the memories we’ve made in places outside our home territory is a way to extend the pleasure of the experiences we’ve had. It also helps to reinvigorate the sense of wanderlust we feel for seeking out new destinations to explore in the year to come. I hope you’ll enjoy this retrospective of my travels in the past year.
Thinking of booking a cruise of the Greek Isles that leaves from Athens? If so, you should plan to arrive a day before the ship departs from Piraeus port for a couple of reasons. Most importantly, you don’t want to miss the ship, due to unforeseen circumstances, like a flight delay or cancellation. And you don’t want to miss experiencing the high points of this amazing ancient city.
Serendipity: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
What were the chances… “You’re going to Santorini when?” My husband and I had booked our Windstar cruise of the Greek Isles and two weeks before we were to leave, I found out that a couple from my hometown — very good friends that I’d known most of my life — were going to be staying on Santorini the same week we would be visiting from our ship.
Scuba diving to a soundtrack of tunes like Jimmy Buffet’s “Fins” and the Beatles’ “Octopus’s Garden” was a first for me. Typically, the only sounds I hear underwater are the sounds of my own breathing, in and out through the regulator, as I fin along the reef.
While the focal point of Morro Bay, California, is Morro Rock, one of nine extinct volcanic peaks found along the central coast, the sea life in the bay itself is what attracted me most on a recent visit. Along with a group of fellow travel writers, I boarded Sub Sea Tours’ SSV Seaview, a 21-passenger …
Anne McAlpin, nationally known packing expert and author of Pack it Up: Travel Smart, Pack Light, travels more than 100 days a year and averages 12 flights each month. She has visited 78 countries on six continents, including lots of tropical islands. In a recent interview she shared specific tips on what to pack for …
I have strolled through many museums, admiring artwork and sculptures from renowned artists, but my visit to an underwater museum, outfitted in SCUBA gear, was a first for me. Last July, my husband and I visited Grenada’s Underwater Sculpture Park during our stay at the all-inclusive, Sandals LaSource Grenada and found it to be a …
Swimming with whale sharks, the largest fish in the sea, had been on my bucket list for years. On August 18, 2015, my dream was fulfilled, just a few days after my birthday. It was a belated birthday gift worth waiting for, but it didn’t come easily, as you’ll read in my article, published in …
While Sanibel Island, Florida, is perhaps best known for its world-class shelling, it is also the location of the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge Complex — the largest undeveloped mangrove ecosystem in the U.S. Covering over 6,400 acres, it attracts over 245 bird species and is famous worldwide for its spectacular migratory bird populations. …
It’s not every day that you get to walk the beach with a “shellebrity.” Pam Rambo, shelling expert extraordinaire, based on Sanibel Island, Florida, graciously agreed to meet up with me, along with my husband, Stephen, when we were on vacation in Sanibel in early January.
An old friend paid me a visit at my Paradise Beach Nevis villa on my first full day in Nevis, June 8. Pas Turner and I go way back—to ’98 or ’99—when I had my first mango daiquiri at Cla-Cha-Del, the restaurant he then operated along with his mom, Claudina.
If you’re a certified scuba diver and a lobster lover, boy, do I have an experience for you! On a recent trip to Nevis, while staying at the Four Seasons resort, I accompanied Executive Chef Jason Adams, on a quest to lasso a lobster.
The travel bug bit Anne McAlpin at age 16, when she spent six weeks cycling through Europe. It was her first experience with overpacking, as she and…
“What is your favorite island?” Because of my experience in traveling to tropical locations, this is a question I’m often asked.
Others are: “I want to go somewhere…
I’ll admit it. History and geography weren’t my favorite subjects in school. Memorizing dry, historical facts and trying to make sense of places on a one-dimensional map…
It’s the most photographed islet in the South Pacific—Motu Tapu—just a five-minute boat ride from the Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort. It was the private beach of…
I chose this day, March 30th, as the official launch day for my website, not at random, but because it is my dad’s birthday. William R. (Bill)…
Now that you’ve found your way here, I’d like to help you navigate the site and know what’s here.
To learn about me and how I came to…
Do you ever dream about a good meal you had while visiting a faraway destination? Do you ever wish you could return to that restaurant and experience…
Petunias and geraniums are about as exotic as it gets in Indiana, except for the occasional “hot house” orchid we can buy but must keep indoors so…