Skiing in the Morning, Biking in the Afternoon in Marvelous Bend
Today we really ran Bend through its paces and boy, did it perform. How about a city where the first thing you do is stop into a restaurant by a cozy fireplace, looking out at their raised salad and herb garden beds and open up a menu full of so […]
Mt Bachelor in Oregon: A Huge Mountain in a Great Little City
On the slopes of Mt Bachelor, in Bend Oregon today, the sun was shining and people were in a great mood. Not only did all of this sun cause the snow to loosen up into very pleasing corn snow, it made sitting out on a deck during lunch an even […]
In a Bend Barber Shop, My GOP Opinions Met with Silence
There are few ways to better get to know a small city than to visit a local barber shop, and then spend a while in a nearby tavern drinking a local beer. In Bend tonight, I got to do both. First I visited Debbie Brooks at L&K Barber Shop on […]
Bend, The Coolest City in Central Oregon
We arrived in the high desert, windy open country of central Oregon and reached Bend, our home for the next four days. My traveling companion is a fellow web publisher and self-admitted geek who hacked his own Android phone and has been publishing First Tracks Online since the ancient internet […]
Keith Ferrazzi Asks Us to Help, So That We Can Get Helped Too
Keith Ferrazzi got us all energized this morning with a lesson that focused on one thing–human relationships. We were gathered for the Travora Publisher’s conference, about 100 members of the sales and tech force, the new CEO Nan Forte, and many travel publishers and mobile platform specialists. Ferrazzi works with […]
Catching Up with My Travel Writing Family in NYC
The travel publishing community is like a family. I always enjoy the time I get to spend with the familiar faces who grace the stage at the NY Times Travel show and who are fixtures at the after parties that are such an important part of the networking of the […]
UMass Permaculture in the Running for a White House Award
I drove a snowy road down from Wendell following a snowplow at 20 mph today at 6:20 am, en route to Amtrak, headed for NYC. On the way I got a chance to listen to Monte Bellemonte on WRSI interviewing two UMass students who have created a food garden just […]
Davy Jones, Horseman and Monkee, Always Wanted to be a Jockey
Davy Jones, who to many fans was always thought of as the cutest of the Monkees, was an enthusiastic horse rider and horse breeder, I learned on CNN the night that he died. Mickey Dolenz, the drummer of the band, talked at some points with tears in his eyes about […]
How to Travel Cheap: Tips I Gave to Woman’s Day Magazine
The other day I got a call from Woman’s Day magazine, they were looking for budget travel ideas and so I spent a little bit of time thinking of what’s new that I could share with them. “We are looking for ideas for women who might be interested in a […]
Passpoint Initiative Will Mean No More Wi-Fi Passwords and Hassle
Someday you will be able to get Wi-Fi without any log in or passwords. You might have heard about why AT&T was trying to buy the third largest wireless carrier, T-Mobile, and was turned down by regulators. They ended up paying $4 billion to the owner, German Telephone, for backing […]
The Really Big Show Lives Up to its Name
Yesterday we indulged in a Northampton tradition that stretches back 19 years. On the final Sunday of every February, the Really Big Show channels the ghost of Ed Sullivan and brings jugglers, singers, comedy troupe actors and musicians together for an entertaining afternoon of fun. For the second time in […]
Podcamp is the Place Where the Geeky Answers Can Be Found!
A few years ago I first heard about and attended Podcamp Western Mass. It’s a truly creative day where people who love geeky things get together and share with each other. It’s that chance to finally figure out how to post videos on a blog, or how to sync your […]
Airbnb.com: How to Rent an Apartment for Less than a Hotel
We took a different route this week for our accommodations in Pittsburgh to visit Mary’s family. Instead of the Holiday Inn, where room prices were about $189 a night, we choose to rent an apartment for far less. The service is called Airbnb.com, and it matches up people with spare […]
A Day in Shadyside, Where a Real Toy Store Still Thrives
We spent the day in this city of three rivers, in the Shadyside neighborhood where Mary spent her childhood. In our rented one-bedroom apartment, it was nice to decamp and be able to visit Mary’s family and have a place to come home to afterward. Shadyside’s Walnut Street is one […]
In Busy Park Slope, Brooklyn Fish Camp is the Choice for Dinner
We’re en route to faraway Pittsburgh this morning, and I’m up early in Kyle and Maggie’s apartment in Park Slope Brooklyn. The busy street, Fifth Avenue, has hundreds of restaurants, shops and cafes, and last night we had to pop into three different places to find one that would seat […]
A Chance to Meet an Important Man in Mary’s Life
It’s a Saturday morning, I’ve already been to the gym, and I’m in that good mood that comes with a view of nothing but vacation ahead. We’re going on a road trip: first to Park Slope, Brooklyn to visit Mary’s son and daughter in law, and then Sunday, a long […]
“Truth” Brings the 1800s to the Academy Stage
It was a world premier, and the tears of joy on Linda McInerney’s face as she stood introducing the show in the corner of the Academy stage showed how much this show must mean to her. It was, as she wrote in the program, the culmination of a big effort […]