This is a story about a glorious part of Nova Scotia that I originally had published in CAA magazine a couple years ago. Since we can’t travel right now, I’m posting some stories of mine from the past in the hopes of providing a bit of inspiration. The Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia is only a short drive from Halifax, but it’s another world. When I was there a few years ago I didn’t see a chain hotel or a franchise restaurant anywhere. What I did find were beautiful, quiet bays, goofy but inspiring folk art places and a lovely Read more
kayaking
CRYSTAL RIVER, FLORIDA – It’s late afternoon and I’m nursing a cup of coffee on the patio outside my room at the Plantation on Crystal River. It’s mostly cloudy but I can see some breaks off to the west. The lazy person in me wants to stay and drink my coffee. The photographer in me says, “Hey, sunset!” The photographer wins. I walk out to my rental car and make the 15-minute drive out to Fort Island Beach, a pretty spot on the Gulf of Mexico. I’m expecting maybe a handful of folks on a Sunday night, but I find Read more
NAPLES, FLORIDA – I’m only a few minutes away from one of the top destinations in Florida on a bright, clear morning. But the only sounds I hear as I wander along a wooden boardwalk at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary are the shrill warbling of tiny birds in overhead pines and a light wind tickling the fronds of a palm tree. Below my feet, the water likes flat and shiny blue-back beneath my feet. Spiky bromeliads, neon-green plants that grow from the trunks of trees, shine in the dappled morning sunlight and tiny insects scurry across the dark surface of Read more
This story appeared earlier today on Postmedia/Sun Media websites…. MYRTLE BEACH –. The golf is tremendous. The beach practically runs from Georgia to North Carolina. And the clanging pinball arcades are legendary. I love all those things about Myrtle Beach. But I also enjoy the quiet side of this seaside city; the placid waterways lined with brilliant white egrets and the fine shops and restaurants. Here’s a look at the adult side of this popular getaway spot for Canadians for all kinds of travellers. THE WINE LOVER I don’t know that I’ve had as much fun wine-tasting as I did Read more
A shorter version of this story was posted earlier Monday on Sun Media/Postmedia websites in Canada. BLOWING ROCK, NORTH CAROLINA – I’m out to catch the first rays of sun in the mountains of northwest North Carolina. I’m driving along the famous Blue Ridge Parkway and pass a cyclist wearing an American flag jersey working his way up a steady hill. As I pass over a bridge suspended over a high canyon I glance to my left and see an electric pink sun rising over pale grey-white clouds on the horizon below me. I pull over as soon as I Read more
