A feature about sustainable and authentic destinations around the world.
Sometimes the best vacation is a repeat vacation. I ought to know. I’m in Los Angeles again after just a nine-month absence. There’s something that keeps pulling me back here, and it’s not just the weather.
Everywhere we went in Provo, we saw Charlie. There were signs for Charlie on power poles. We saw Charlie — or at least we thought we saw him — zipping between the apple orchards on the sprawling Utah Valley Hospital campus.
No question about it. Charlie was having a wild time in Provo — and so were we.
It’s harvest time in western Colorado — the perfect time for a fruit safari.
A what? OK, so “fruit” may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Colorado. And the western slope of the Centennial State is so different from the rest of the state that you’d think you were in Utah or Arizona anyway.
But in September and October, this place is a fruitapalooza of apricots, apples, grapes, peaches, pears and plums. You can spend a Saturday afternoon canvassing the farms near Grand Junction and discover some of the tastiest produce this side of the Rockies.
Of all the Disney World secrets I heard when I lived in Orlando, only one made me laugh out loud. It involved the tunnels under the theme park. They exist but are useless to the average park visitor.
On a frenetic holiday weekend, I drove to Alabama’s Gulf Coast with the kids. Maybe I should have known better.
Houston with kids, in the middle of the summer. If those aren’t the perfect ingredients for a family adventure, then I don’t know what are.
A lot of Houstonians flee to the mountains during the hottest months, seeking relief from the 90-degree temperatures and oppressive humidity in Colorado or New Mexico.
Even though I call Arizona home, I never waste an opportunity to take my family to the water. And there’s never been a better time of year than now, in the final, fiery throes of summer.
It’s time to think cold thoughts. Cold, as in get me out of this heat! Cold, as in snow.
It’s the middle of summer, and chances are you’re indoors right now, a refugee from the unbearable heat. Maybe you’re imagining a cool family vacation.
Maybe you laughed when I said Santa Fe was hot last week. That’s not hot! Betcha you wouldn’t go somewhere like Scottsdale in August.
Oh, but I would.
What can I say about Santa Fe? It’s a hot destination, especially this time of year when the average daytime highs are in the mid-80s.
But I’m not talking about the temperatures or even the fiery-hot cuisine. (Beware of the salsa!) Santa Fe is now an all-around great place to be for other reasons, especially if you’re traveling with your family.
