Rarely, if ever, do we get a chance to view virtually first hand the transition of civilizations, or one might say, the interplay between the dim past and the even dimmer past as well as the vestiges of both. Recently, I had just such an experience and, truthfully, it was one of the most amazing days I have spent in Mexico.

There has been much interest in the past couple of years regarding the famed Mayan Calendar. It is the calendar devised by the extraordinarily advanced civilization of the ancient Mayans who populated most of the Yucatan Peninsula and nearby land which is now known as Central America.... Read More

While we would all love for everything at Disney to be open all the time, sometimes closing an attraction or two is necessary. And right now two of Walt Disney World’s major attractions are closed for refurbishment: Magic Kingdom’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Epcot’s Test Track.

Animal Kingdom’s Tree of Life and Tough to Be a Bug attractions are also currently closed but, actually, not due to refurbishment. The Orlando area experienced some intense storms the night of April 21 and a small branch from the Tree of Life fell the following night.... Read More

I recently lodged another notch on my California sightseeing belt: 17-Mile Drive. This winding road hugs the Monterey Peninsula coast as it traverses the gated community of Pebble Beach. In addition to providing glimpses of some seriously challenging golf courses, it is famously scenic—and as scenic drives go, this one definitely does not disappoint.

You can access 17-Mile Drive via several access gates off SR 1 and SR 68, but the two main gates for a sightseeing jaunt are those at the northern and southern ends. On a sunny Sunday morning—part of a weekend trip to Monterey from San Francisco—my friend and I departed the altogether charming town of Pacific Grove and took Ocean View Boulevard around the northern tip of the peninsula to the Pacific Grove access gate, where visitors pay a $9.50 toll fee (cash only). ... Read More

When A. Reynolds Morse and Eleanor Reese married in 1942, they treated themselves to a unique wedding present: a painting by surrealist Salvador Dali titled “Daddy Longlegs of the Evening Hope!” The pair quickly became avid Dali collectors, and, as a result, developed a close friendship with the eccentric artist and his capricious wife and muse, Gala.

But, by 1965, it was clear the Morses’ modest Cleveland, Ohio, residence could no longer accommodate their massive collection of oil canvases, drawings, watercolors, prints and objets d’art. Though Dali suggested his longtime patrons build a museum with “walls that breathe and pulse imperceptibly, moved by a pneumatic apparatus” in New York, the couple instead chose to display the artworks in a wing of the Injection Molders Supply Co., a business Mr. Morse founded in 1949 in Beachwood, Ohio. ... Read More

Sitting in a classroom always left me feeling drowsy or restlessly watching the clock. That was true until I had the opportunity to explore the depths of my tasting senses in hopes of earning a Master’s Degree in Chocolate Tasting from Hershey University.

Driving down Chocolate Avenue (yes the road is actually painted the color of a deep, rich chocolate brown with Hershey Chocolate Kiss lamp posts) to my chocolate tasting class at Hersey Chocolate World in Hershey, Pennsylvania, my mouth was salivating at the thought of eating my way through the subject matter. Entering the classroom with the sweet smell of chocolate wafting in the air, I was given a sugar-coated greeting by the Professor of Chocolate. ... Read More

When I found out I would be going to the nation’s capital on a business trip, I was excited. I lived in neighboring Fairfax County, Virginia, in the 1970s and ’80s, and one of my favorite springtime things to do was drive into Washington, D.C., to see the cherry blossoms when they were in full, glorious bloom. It was a pilgrimage that stopped when I relocated to Florida, and I was looking forward to celebrating it again.

Then Mother Nature began playing havoc with my planning. In mid-February I booked my trip for the first week in April. Every year the National Park Service estimates the date of peak bloom, which is defined as the day on which 70 percent of the blossoms are fully open. ... Read More

I visited the National September 11 Memorial on a gloomy New York day. Normally I would have been annoyed at the uncooperative weather, but instead the drizzling rain and cloudy sky served to put me in a somber mood, which helped me reflect on the events that shaped our nation almost 11 years ago.

The September 11 Memorial and Museum features two one acre-sized waterfalls that sit where the former Twin Towers were located. On the edges of the reflecting pools are etched some 3,000 names of those who lost their lives in the terrorist attack. ... Read More

The busy upstate New York town of Watkins Glen is where I have called home most of my life. It is located on the southern end of Seneca Lake, one of 11 Finger Lakes central to upstate New York.

Seneca Lake is the deepest of the lakes and is the second largest in length and width to all the Finger Lakes that were formed millions of years ago during the Ice Age.  Receding glaciers carved out great crevasses with water and stones, creating streams and waterfalls that ultimately created gorges from the bedrock of siltstone and sandstone.

The “gorge” is affectionately called the “8th wonder of the world.” ... Read More

In addition to evaluating hotels and restaurants, AAA Inspectors are also called upon to evaluate attractions from time to time. Recently, I had the opportunity to evaluate what has to be one of the most memorable attractions of my career with CAA/AAA so far – the National Helicopters Inc. helicopter tour over Niagara Falls. ... Read More

I’ve heard that Legoland Florida appeals mostly to families with kids ages 2 to 12 years old, and/or lifelong Lego fans. I’m a single, 40-something girly-girl and fit into neither category, so I wasn’t sure what my experience would be. 

But from the moment I walked up to the entrance on a cool, cloudy December day and saw the huge Legoland sign made of vivid primary-colored plastic blocks, the outlook seemed pretty bright.

I stopped at Miniland USA first (it features cities and people made entirely of Legos), and I was entranced. As a child, I loved dollhouses and miniature furniture (I told you I was girly), so I was in my element. ... Read More