Assignments and upcoming articles slated for AAA Northern New England Journey, AAA Home & Away, Boston Globe, Global Traveler, Private Clubs, SKI, Snow, Yankee, Consumer Traveler. Locations include: US: Florida, Maine, Utah, Wyoming; Canada: Alberta, New Brunswick, Quebec; Europe: London, Northern Ireland, Paris, Switzerland.
A sampling of recent articles:
GT Tested: Grand America, Salt Lake City, Utah, Global Traveler, February 2012
Arrival/Check-in: Upon our arrival, a doorman came out to welcome and usher us inside for a speedy registration. Salt Lake City’s only 5-star hotel earns the “grand” in its name. Built for Utah’s 2002 Olympic Games, it was designed and furnished with artwork and antiques personally selected by owners Earl and Carol Holding, who traveled the world not only to select specific pieces but also to oversee artisans’ crafting of custom furnishings and architectural details.
Refresh Body and Spirit with Nontraditional Arizona Spa Treatments, Consumer Traveler, Jan. 27, 2012
Looking for a spa service different than the usual massage, facial, or wrap? These three treatments, available in the Phoenix-Scottsdale area in Arizona, are just that. Each appeals to those willing to consider that the universe offers truths and powers that can be enlisted and drawn upon, if we’re open to it. With me so far? Okay, cue the New Age music, and I’ll tell you more.
Maine’s Western Mountains: For outdoor adventure or indoor comfort, get ready to lose yourself in the beautiful towns and mountains of western Maine, Yankee, Jan.-Feb. 2012
More than anywhere I know, the soul of a New England winter exists amid the frozen waterways, snow-drifted woods, and frosted peaks of western Maine. Raw, remote, and wild, this slice of the state, cornered by New Hampshire and Quebec, draws skiers, snowboarders, snowshoers, and snowmobilers, who revel in the deep cover and rarely crowded trails, surrounded by miles of natural beauty. Looking out from the summit of Sugarloaf or Saddleback Mountain on a brittle blue-sky day, with the snow all around blindingly white, I feel that the frozen confection below will crack and crumble if I expel a warm breath.
Charmed by Bermuda: Walks along the Railway Trail reveal the island’s lesser-known gems, AAA Northern New England Journey, Jan.-Feb. 2012
The wooden boardwalk threading Bermuda’s Paget Marsh slices through tangles of red mangroves and edges a sawgrass savannah before it ends in a stand of centuries-old cedars. As I padded along, the buzz of scooters diminished and white-roofed buildings disappeared from view.
Ski versus Snowboard: Skiing has timeless appeal but the upstart snowboard grows more popular every year. Two winter sports fans let the snowflakes fly, Via, Jan.-Feb. 2012
Alas, snowboarders don’t actually know what they’re missing: the joy of carving big honking S turns on Deer Valley Resort’s corduroy cruisers, or ping-ponging Alta’s mogul-laced powder bowls, or challenging one of Mad River Glen’s sinewy, muscle-bound trails.
Schnitzel and Sauerkraut, Down East, Dec. 2011
Amid the rolling hills, woodlands, and fields of rural North Waldoboro, David Swetnam and his wife, Jacqueline Sawyer, have turned a popular local fresh sauerkraut operation into a culinary destination for German food aficionados.
Ride the rails, see the lights, and go extreme: Seven reasons to get out and enjoy winter’s wonder, Boston Globe, Nov. 6, 2011
This winter, experience the chills, thrills, snow, and ice from a different perspective. Savor the possibilities of a culinary snowsports tour in Italy. Conquer any fear of steep and deep with a specialty ski or snowboard program. View the frozen winterscape from the warmth of an excursion train. Be dazzled by the brilliance of the Northern Lights. Splurge on handmade ski boots. Careen down a snow-packed track or a sled, bobsled, or skeleton or glide across Olympic ice.
Irish Fling, Global Traveler, Oct. 2011
Northern Ireland’s Antrim Coast can steal a gal’s heart. It wooed me with promises of giant-sized steps, soaring headlands, Neolithic sites and castle ruins, then seduced me with forested glens, craggy cliffs, walled gardens and birdsong. I came armed with a laundry list of must-sees and must-dos, which included soaking up the Irish craic and sipping pints of Smitty’s, but as soon as I departed Belfast, heading north on the A2, I tossed my plans aside and let serendipity rule.
Ireland. A Rock and a Hard Place: Ramble through Irish history in the unforgiving landscape of The Burren, Global Traveler, Sept. 2011
“Where are we?” asked Shane Connolly. I glanced around the small parking pull-out, with ledges descending to Galway Bay on one side and a hill rising on the other. There was no “You are here” marker in sight.
GT Tested: Sofitel London St. James, Global Traveler, May 2011
Arrival/Check-in: The doorman spotted me approaching on foot, luggage in tow, and immediately came over, took my bags and escorted me into the hotel. Even better…
Where Now: Saddleback Maine, SKI, March 2011
My friends would prefer I not dish about Saddleback. They don’t want to share the big-mountain skiing with little mountain attitude, the inviting glades, staggering views and down-home charm.
Neon Nights, Private Clubs, Jan. 2011
It’s midnight, and it’s 44 degrees below – yes, below – zero. Celsius, Fahrenheit, it doesn’t matter; the scales meet at 40 below.
A Toast to Belfast, Global Traveler, Nov. 2010
Belfast’s historic claims range from being the birthplace of C. S. Lewis and Van Morrison to being the site of the Titanic’s construction and The Troubles, the euphemistic name given the political terror that marred the late 20th century.
Catch a Rising Star , U.S. Airways Magazine, June 2010 (PDF)
Where the South Coast’s famed beaches yield to Maine’s rockbound peninsulas, that’s where you’ll find Portland. It’s a contemporary seaport dressed in Victorian brick and cobblestone, skirted by a petticoat of islands.
Welcome to Portland; now let’s eat, U.S. Airways Magazine, June 2010 (PDF)
Before Bon Appetit named Portland “America’s Foodiest Small Town” last year, culinary tourists had already discovered the city’s seemingly insatiable appetite for all things food-related.
• How to Live on Isle au Haut, Islands, May/June 2010
Interview with Kate Shaffer about living on a remote island and operating a successful artisan chocolate company.
• Destination: Midcoast Maine A guide to the best Down East: What to see, do, buy and eat, Endless Vacation, Summer 2010
When you stand on the summit of Ducktrap Mountain, you can scan midcoast Maine’s craggy coastline from Monhegan Island in Muscongus Bay to the south all the way to Mount Desert Island, rising out of Blue Hill Bay to the north.
• Where long memory tolerates modernity, Boston Globe, March 14, 2010
TUBA CITY — Few places move the spirit the way the Navajo lands do. I keep returning to this landscape of red sandstone, deep canyons, and grassy mesas, and each time I visit, I’m awed by its beauty and humbled by its simplicity.
• Olympic Playground, Via, Jan. 2009
What is it about the Olympics that turns perfectly rational folks into sportcrazed fools? For me, it’s the theme music. I hear those opening drums and I’m ready to take on anything. Even the Dave Murray Downhill.
• Sidetracks: Howl About It, SKI, Oct. 2009
Dogsledding across the shores of Maine’s pristine Lake Umbagog offers a glimpse of backcountry New England not easily seen
• Destination: Maine’s Big Apple Feast on history, art and seafood in Maine’s largest city, Endless Vacation, July/August 2009
Portland delivers on the Maine icons but good. Lobster boats bob in the harbor. An L.L. Bean outlet can be found downtown. You might even spot the occasional stray moose. But Maine’s largest city (pop. 65,000) is more than postcard fodder.
• Sidetracks: Ice Climbing in Alberta, SKI, Nov. 2008
Southern Coast
Greater Portland
Mid-Coast
Penobscot Bay
Blue Hill Peninsula
Acadia Region
Down East
Aroostook County
Maine Highlands
Kennebec Corridor
Western Lakes & Mountains