lake-powell-resorts-and-marinas-photo

Forget Crowded Highways. Enjoy Your Next Vacation on a Houseboat

America, California, Europe, North America, Travel

Houseboats lure thousands of families to rivers and lakes for unique, get-away-from-it-all vacations. The slow-moving vessels sleep up to a dozen passengers and are equipped with many modern amenities, such as ovens, refrigerators, toilets, hot showers, gourmet kitchens and bedrooms with linens. Some houseboats look downright luxurious, albeit somewhat compact. Lake Powell is billed as America’s Best Houseboating Destination because of the stunning scenery in southern Utah and neighboring Arizona. The lake is among the nation’s largest manmade reservoirs with 2,000 miles of shoreline, hundreds of private beaches and 96 side canyons where you can drop anchor and bask in the majestic solitude.

Kayaking - Credit Sea Island

The Butterfly Effect of the Georgia Coast

America, Business, History, Travel

In 1972, mathematician Edward Lorenz coined the phrase ‘the butterfly effect.’ He used the term to describe the unforeseen results that stem from seemingly inconsequential changes in the natural order. It’s as if, he mused, a powerful tornado could be started by the distant flitting of a butterfly’s wings. The historic Georgia coast, a charming amalgam of colonial history and maritime beauty, has played the role of that butterfly many times.

Ocean gate Titan Submarine

Tourism Takes Travelers to New Heights and Depths

Business, History, North America, Travel

World attention remains focused on the ill-fated voyage of the deep-sea submersible Titan, a tear-drop-shaped submarine that imploded during a voyage to the wreck of the RMS Titanic killing five people. Due to the tragedy, the world learned of the dangers of “undersea tourism,” which caters to people willing to pay $250,000 for a ride to the bottom of the ocean. Tourism has morphed into a variety of ways to travel. There’s even a Travel Industry Dictionary that describes niche forms of traveling.

Schlitz Park Poster

Milwaukee’s Beer Heritage Still Is Hopping Thanks to Wisconsin’s Germans and Their Culture

America, Business, Culture, Europe, History, Travel

  By Mark Orwoll “Have you ever closed Wolski’s?” That’s not an uncommon question in this city. If your answer is yes, you’re considered a true Milwaukeean. Bumper stickers bearing the slogan “I closed Wolski’s” have been spotted not just in Milwaukee, but in the most unlikely places as a badge of honor, the emblem…

Coffee Girls

Vietnam’s Central Highlands Envision Becoming a Global Coffee Capital

Asia, Culture, Travel

Vietnamese love their coffee. Credit the French. Although Vietnamese have little love for France’s colonial history, modern Viet culture embraces Gallic style, from wardrobe and architecture to — especially — cuisine. Báhn mì sandwiches, crispy baguettes wrapped around pâté and vegetables, are a legacy of the French. So, too, is phở, the rich beef noodle soup that has become an international icon of Vietnamese taste. But coffee truly distinguishes Vietnam from its neighbors. Most coffee shops are tiny, just big enough for patrons to enjoy conversation while waiting for the grind to filter through a four-part aluminum phin, often into a pool of sweetened, condensed milk to balance the bitter essence. More often than not, the brew is consumed iced in a glass: cà phê sữa đá (literally “coffee milk ice.”) Enthusiasts can even find such unlikely adaptations as egg coffee (with beaten egg yolks, sugar and condensed milk) and cheese coffee, that has a creamy foam topping that is stirred into the drink or scooped out and eaten separately.

Cathie and Julie

Yosemite’s El Capitan Delivers Joy, Peril and Life Lessons

America, California, Travel

We’d been climbing for three days, traversing upward across the stony face of the mountain, when an icy winter storm rolled through Yosemite Valley. Our bivouac for the night was high above on a narrow ledge. Getting there meant hoisting ourselves between bolts and pitons pounded into the granite by earlier climbers more than a decade ago while pushing through a waterfall of melting snow.

Octantis weather

Great Lakes Cruise Lets Passengers Become Scientists

Asia Pacific, Business, Culture, Europe, Travel

A chilly breeze blowing across the Great Lakes separating the U.S. from Canada greeted passengers as they climbed to the top deck of the cruise ship. From the far end of the boat, three figures holding aloft an enormous helium-filled weather balloon began moving toward the gathering in an awkward six-legged parade. Expedition cruises featuring adventurous activities and exotic destinations, such as the Antarctic and the Galapagos Islands, are increasingly popular with families desiring a learning experience. The Viking Octantis, a 380-passenger vessel built to be part cruise ship and part scientific research platform, includes a laboratory and its very own submarines. The goal, says a marine scientist on the Viking staff, “is to do rigorous science that will be credible in academia and allow guests to participate.”

Street

Nature, History, and Storybook Villages Fill New York’s Hudson River Valley

America, History, North America, Travel

Ever since the pilgrims’ arrival in 1620 America has dreamed of expanding westward. A Promised Land existed beyond the Appalachians, across the fertile Ohio Valley and on the other side of the Great Plains. America’s Manifest Destiny was to turn a continent into a country. But America’s first frontier was the Hudson Valley. The Hudson River may run north to south, but in concert with the 19th-century Erie Canal, it became the highway to the West, providing a detour past the natural obstacles that hampered expansion. During its turbulent history, the Hudson River Valley has experienced war, inspired great works of art, witnessed treachery and powered the growth of one of the world’s most dynamic cities. Some say the Mississippi River is more famous, but you’ll find no more history-rich river (and few more worth visiting) than the Hudson. Read More