It’s a Virtual Winchester House, She Told Me
I asked an website usability testing guru to give me her thoughts on GoNOMAD’s design. She called one section ‘A Winchester House,’ which of course led me to look up just what she meant. And it made perfect sense. In 1830 Leonard and Sarah Pardee of New Haven had a baby […]
This Jersey Subs Guy Has Some Pearls of Wisdom
Peter Cancro started a sub franchise in Jersey when he was only 17. The former boy wonder was profiled today by Eileen Zimmerman in the NY Times. I love his practical, no nonsense way of doing business. For starters, these tips… “I learned how critical the right location is for […]
In America: Irish Immigrants in Big Bad New York City
A family arrives at a border crossing from Canada. “We’re on holiday,” the dad tells the daughters, while the border agent looks around the back seat of the overstuffed station wagon. After a bit of tenseness when the older daughter remains stoic and silent, it’s ‘welcome to America,’ and we […]
GoNOMAD Travel Slices Now Playing on WHMP-AM
I’m sitting on my deck watching our flock of chickens do what they love best….take dirt baths and fluff all of that dirt into their feathers. Oh, the joys of country living. These are the best composters in the world! This week I was pleased to hear from a good […]
We’re Busy. But We Go
My mother always used to say, if you really want something done, ask a busy person. Well, that reminds me of another maxim: if you want to find people to travel, ask someone who already travels a lot. Somehow, they’ll break down, and against all scheduling logic, will probably be […]
At a Meeting of Railroad Planners, We Dare to Dream Big
Railroad people have their own vernacular, and a unique set of acronyms that are shared between them. One is Federal Railway Administration, FRA, the new federal agency that is taking care of spending the $8 billion in funds that’s been allocated by the government. The other is ‘service area’ or, […]
Dad’s Drunk, Mom’s Crazy, and There is Never Any Food
Have you ever had a book that kept you reading, late, late late into the night? That was so hard to put down, you risked being super tired in the morning because you had to find out what happens next? I’ve been blessed with such a book, that came to […]
Mendocino County: No Cellphones, No Problem
Mendocino has two most excellent events coming up that are worth checking out if you are traveling or live nearby in California. June 4-6 is the Mendocino Film Festival, and their music festival July 10-24 “ón the edge of the world.” My friend Bruce who is a 10-year Mendocino resident, […]
He Told Me About the Railroad, and Plans to Build More Track
On my last night in Northern California, I stayed in the town of Ukiah, population 14,000. I met a man there who told me he was a retired professional rock and roll guitarist. With that introduction, Hal Wagonet shared what people have been talking about over coffee during the past […]
His Private Fire Dept Is Ready to Serve. Can I Offer You a Cocktail?
RD Beacon is known far and wide. When I asked my hosts for my usual request for ‘interesting local people’ with whom I could meet, this name came up and he definitely is an unusual character. RD is the laid back proprietor of RD Beacon Light Bar, perched on the […]
Cherie Is Her Own Best PR…Just Look at Her!
Cherie Soria in person is all the advertising and PR she’ll ever need. Meeting this slender, dynamic owner of four successful businesses and a mini-empire based on raw food, it’s clear that she’s been practicing and honing the science and has become an expert. She looks all of 45 and […]
Fort Bragg Ain’t No Stinkin’ Mendocino…No Way
What a long and twisty road separates this beautiful place from the rest of the world. Maybe that’s why just 1100 people have chosen to live in the artist’s colony of Mendocino. That plus the fact that you can’t have double pane windows, skylights or even solar panels. It’s all […]
You’ll Wish the Drive Was Two Hours, He Said
I bought coffee in the small town of Boonville, on the Northern California coast. A friendly guy asked me where I was going as he passed me some milk. “Fort Bragg,” I told him. “Is it really another hour?” I had been driving since 10:30, and it was just past […]
Where Miwoks Once Ground Acorns, Near Volcano, California
For centuries, the Miwok Indians in Northern California used a series of holes in a giant black rock to grind acorns. Right near the 50-foot long slab of rock stands two towering Valley Oak Trees, the source of the hundreds of thousands of acorns which would be ground up, rinsed […]
Like a Hole in the Donut, The Downtown Still Needs Help
Last night I joined my German travel writer brethren and met with the sales manager of the local Hyatt. She piled up plate after plate of choice items from their menu, and my six fellow writers were glad that her boss speaks German and chatted them up. German readers love […]
The Best Way to See a City is from the Seat of a Bike
I can’t think of a better way to see a city than from the seat of a bike. I was met at my hotel by Nick Leoni, an enthusiastic member of the tourism board team here who immediately began talking about where we shouldeat, hey, we gotta get fueled up […]