This is getting harder. Now that I’m travelling a lot more (and not tied to the desk as much as when I was the Toronto Star Travel editor, a post I left in August, 2013), my year-end “Jimmy Awards” are proving a little more tricky. I did a fair bit of travelling in Canada this year, hitting all the provinces except Newfoundland and New Brunswick. Which means I have a great many more things to single out than in previous years. Which is why I’m splitting up the Jimmy’s into two categories: Canada and the rest of the world. I’ll Read more
golf
Kauai’s Hanapepe is a quiet, wonderful town with a western flair and a laid-back, artsy atmosphere. Click here for my full story from the Toronto Star in November, 2014.
Carmel and Carmel Valley California are blessed with more wonders than any area should be allowed. The food and wine are superb, the hotels exceptional and the scenery – and golf – unsurpassed. Carmel Beach is a luscious, white sand affair that goes on forever. The fact that Pebble Beach Golf Course is on one end doesn’t hurt. The 17-Mile Drive is one of the great drives of the world. Be sure to stop at the Lone Cypress for an iconic photo. And be sure to drive all of the coastal route. The inland portion is lovely but can’t compare Read more
I’m constantly getting scrunched up faces from people at cocktail parties or dinners. I shower a lot and try to get to the laundry when I can, so it’s not that. No, what surprises some folks is that not even travel writers and former newspaper travel editors get to go everywhere they want. When I tell folks all the places that are still on m to-do list (Portugal, Poland, pretty much all of Africa, all of Central America and definitely all of South America) they look at me like I’m a little crazy. Some of it I can explain. Some Read more
Royal Westmoreland is a marvellous golf course in the northwest part of Barbados. The conditioning is superb and there are plenty of elevation changes to keep things interesting. Royal Westmoreland was designed by famed golf architect Robert Trent Jones II, so you know it’s an outstanding track. One bonus feature at Royal Westmoreland are the green monkeys that live in a nearby ravine. They’re awfully cute, unless they steal your golf ball that is. There’s a free shuttle from the villas at Royal Westmoreland to Mullins Beach, a terrific stretch of sand on the west coast of Barbados. Take a Read more
