Diamond Head, the iconic landmark of the Hawaiian islands, is more than a distinctive volcanic tuff cone. It’s also a neighborhood that encompasses the 300-acre lush green Kapiolani Regional Park at the edge of Waikiki and miles of coastline dotted with beaches and pocket parks. History Hawaiians believed Diamond Head is a manifestation of Pele, …
In a previous article, I described my favorite hikes around Anchorage. In this article, I describe five hikes further south from Anchorage on the stunning Kenai Peninsula. The scenery couldn’t be more dramatic than the soaring peaks and water views of the Cook Inlet and Gulf of Alaska. These five hikes on the Kenai Peninsula …
Alaska has long been a favorite destination of mine. I love the majestic mountains, remoteness, lingering pioneer spirit, and softly angled light. I’ve flown in and out of Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, and Whitehorse, Yukon, but never spent much time around Anchorage, using it as a launching point for other adventures. Over the last two years, …
Lima, Peru is a city that has a lot to offer but doesn’t always make a good first impression due to the cloak of chilly fog it wears for months of the year. Not to mention the press of nine million residents in the capital city. However, it is rich in history and there is …
People often ask how I can travel for five weeks or five months with a carry-on suitcase. The key is to do sink laundry when traveling. I can pack for about a week and go indefinitely if I can wash my clothes in the sink when I travel. I mostly wash as I go, a …
I’ll start by saying that there is no dress code in Morocco or India, and I saw a wide range of clothing choices among tourists. This is an opinion piece—it’s my opinion about how I choose to dress in conservative countries, and I wouldn’t presume to tell others how to dress. I am sharing it …
Japan is a relatively small country (California is a bit bigger) but is packed with so much history, culture, and natural beauty that it’s difficult to narrow down the choices. There’s so much to appeal to so many different interests that there are plenty of opportunities to personalize an itinerary. Our three weeks in Japan …
After exploring the island of Hokkaido and Tokyo, my husband and I headed south. For this segment, we moved around quite a bit. We tried to see as much as we could of Kyoto and beyond on lower Honshu Island, Japan. This included Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nagoya, the Nakasendo Trail, Lake Kawaguchiko, and Mount Fuji. This …
There is so much history, culture, and natural beauty in Japan that it’s difficult to narrow down the choices. I wanted to divide my time between the big cities and smaller towns so we started with Tokyo and knew we wanted to visit Hokkaido on the rugged northern island (see my article: A Week in …
Timeshifter is an app designed to help travelers or shift workers adjust to different time zones using science and technology. The science part involves research into such topics as the effect of bright light, melatonin, and caffeine on the sleep cycle, while the technology part relates to how the app lays out a plan based …