Meet the only store that Wal-Mart fears….Aldi. The German-owned chain of small grocery stores has a lot of reasons behind their spectacularly low prices, and a story today on a foodie blog called forthemammas.com explained some of them. It starts with the size of the stores…none of them giant […]
In the wake of the recent Typhoon Haiyan disaster in the Philippines, Projects Abroad is calling for volunteers to help with valuable typhoon recovery work. To help in areas that have been affected by Typhoon Haiyan, Projects Abroad is directing resources and efforts in the Philippines toward providing volunteers to […]
On a trip a last week to Belize, we sat with a group of journalists from Mexico City. “You should come to our Valley,” said Paul Shoul, my photographer travel buddy. The sophisticated Chilangoes were interested…because Paul is right. For anyone who loves great music, great food, smart locals and […]
I read a small article that may have a big ramification in the Springfield Republican when I was having my car serviced. It said that in Boston, the MBTA, the people who run the T, are facing a challenge from another company that wants to bid on running the bus […]
After what happened at LAX last week, with the crazed gunman shooting a TSA officer, things must be tensing up at airport checkpoints around the world. My friend Reed found this out the hard way three days ago, and now his whole life has been turned upside down. It began […]
I can’t think of another country where I could have had the range of experiences I’ve had in the past two days. We spent the first four days here in the western part of the country, in a state called Caya. Our first accommodations were at Chaa Creek Resort, in […]
I’ve swum in infinity pools, and in rivers and lakes around the world. I’ve been refreshed and I’ve gazed upon cascading waterfalls and clicked my camera like everyone else. But today in Northern Belize, I am confident that I’ve discovered the most wonderful swimming hole on God’s green Earth. It’s […]
We woke up this morning in the brilliant tropical sunshine, after a few very loud birds and some howler monkeys chimed in. A giant tree branch fell in the forest, waking up a few of my compatriots but I never heard a thing. We had breakfast at the Chaa Creek […]
A glorious cacophony awoke me around 6 am this morning at the Chaa Creek Resort in San Ignacio Belize. It was the sound of thousands of birds, each with their unique sound, telling me to wake up. There are so many birds here it’s hard to keep track, along with […]
We arrived in Portland around 7:30 last night, and wasted no time–we wanted to get over to the BBQ and Blues tent on the harbor. There were 500 people and we were told that five of the restaurants expected to serve samples of their grilled meats were no shows. But […]
We’re heading Downeast tonight, as soon as we can get ourselves packed and depart. We are heading to a wonderful event that apparently is so popular it’s sold out altogether–the Harvest on the Harbor Festival in Portland, Maine. We should arrive in time to listen to blues, munch barbecue, and […]
Today one of my Facebook friends reported that she woke up at 6 am in her home in Cleveland, looked out the window at six inches of snow, then decided to go back to bed. Another friend posted a highway en route to Elmira New York, covered with a white […]