Editor’s Note: This is a first-hand journal of my trip through the South and along the East Coast in fall 2009. I kept a diary along the way, but given the fast-paced nature of the trip and schedule of appointments along the way, we opted to publish this chronological blog upon my return. You’ll find [...]

Heading back from Luxury Travel Expo in Las Vegas on Friday, I was flying on  Continental Airlines through Houston. My connection flight to Tampa was set to depart from Houston at 1 p.m., but the airline had cancelled other Tampa flights that day due to approaching bad weather. I was buying a deli sandwich to take on [...]

About a year ago, I planned a trip to Biloxi, MS, and en route home to Florida, I motored off I-75 for a brief visit to Dothan, AL, in the heart of Peanut Country. What an eye-opening experience?! If you head anywhere through this part of southeastern Alabama, don’t miss the wonderful downtown murals on Dothan’s building facades. [...]

Florida residents and visitors alike enjoy peering at manatees at the Big Bend Power Station’s Manatee Viewing Center. It’s cold in Florida and that’s good news for residents and tourists who want to see manatees in the wild. Those lovable, lumbering marine mammals typically head for the warmest water they can find in winter. Often, [...]

Lately, we’ve all heard a lot about StayCations, those trips close to home that allow us to re-charge our batteries but don’t eat up our wallet at the same time. Often it’s the simple things in life that have the most kick, years later when reminiscing about “the good ole days.” I recall trips to [...]

I recently flew US Airways home from Dover, England to the U.S. after a cruise. So with great interest, I read an editorial by Scott McCarthy in the Wall Street Journal on July 22 about how US Airways has turned its worst place on-time performance into the best. The transformation has been quite amazing, actually. It just goes to [...]

The last time I drove through Micanopy, FL, earlier this year, the tiny town looked just about the same as it had the time before…and the time before that. The appeal of Micanopy is its historic landscape and laid-back feel. It never seems to change. Peruse the antique shops, stroll by historic buildings, and definitely take [...]

Lately, the television anchors in local markets drone on and on about StayCations. Yes, these close-to-home choices for vacations are a great idea. Yes, we’ve even promoted them on our own sites — talking about fun travel close to home. In the melt-down (or melt-up as it might be more correctly phrased) of gasoline prices, people [...]