At age 52, Tulasi Shrestha, whose parents wouldn’t let her attend school because she was a girl, is finally learning to read. Shikha Gauchan, after receiving training on a computer, has vastly increased her business to foreign trekkers by promoting her guesthouse on Facebook. Children who once couldn’t pass the entrance exams to further their education have so excelled that the community built a secondary-level school to accommodate them.

While everyone seemed to be relocating north to Seattle, I bolted from my home town for the bright lights of Los Angeles. But I would return to my ancestral home often. While visiting, I would frequently kick myself for never exploring the amazing attractions outside of the western part of the state.

In the 1840s, the population of California was only 14,000, but by 1850 more than 100,000 settlers and adventurers had arrived from all over the world – and they came for one reason: gold. James Marshall had discovered the first gold nugget at Sutter’s Mill in El Dorado County, creating the largest gold rush in history.

I never met a kid who didn’t love Legos. The toys are simple, durable and inspire creativity and imagination. So when LEGOLAND California opened in 1999 as an entire theme park dedicated to the little, plastic building blocks it was major news. And now today, as it celebrates its 20th birthday, the destination is more popular than ever and still welcoming families and exciting new attractions.

Three days were not long enough. Nevertheless, when I had an opportunity to visit Buenos Aires, Argentina, I jumped at the chance. As soon as I climbed into a cab, I was immediately awestruck by the city’s wide boulevards, grandiose monuments, rolling parks and distinctive neighborhoods of somewhat faded glory.

Nothing against the plains or oceans, but if you want to hypnotize a kid with nature, go for three-dimensional spaces with high vertical, try the Bugs – Canada’s Bugaboos – one of the continent’s premiere hiking and climbing arenas.

The Palladian Traveler goes back in time to Colonial America as he walks the brick-lined pavement of historic Annapolis, MD and savors a fresh catch-of-the-day pulled right out of the Chesapeake Bay.

On first sight, the American Duchess charmed me with her white, wedding-cake exterior adorned with gingerbread trim. The big, red paddle wheel on the back paid tribute to her steamboat lineage, a descendant of the legendary vessels that began plying the Mississippi River more than two centuries ago.

Driving through the mountains of Bosnia, it’s easy to become enchanted by the verdant beauty of this little visited Balkan country. It’s also easy to forget it’s one of Europe’s poorest countries, and that through the 1990’s, it was torn by the worst ethnic warfare Europe has seen since the Second World War.

Deep turquoise waters, ancient Andean cultures, breath-taking landscapes, and majestic 400 year old cathedrals make the region and city of Ayacucho one of Peru’s most interesting, yet least visited tourist attractions.

The Palladian Traveler meanders around the town that George Washington envisioned, stopping long enough to smell the cherry blossoms, soak in the history, marvel at the art and architecture and inhale the aromas of epicurean delights as he files his latest dispatch from the US capital.

When I read about our upcoming visit to the Embera tribe of indigenous peoples as part of our Caravan tour to Panama and the fact that the women were naked from the waist up, I promised myself I wouldn’t stare. I’m not sure whether I was disappointed or relieved to find them fully clothed – clearly dressing up for the tourists.

Ron Howard was born into a show biz family making his acting debut at the ripe old age of 18 months. He made his screen debut at when he turned four and has spent his entire life in Hollywood with his breakout role as Opie Taylor on the “The Andy Griffith Show” shining a national spotlight on this adorable little kid from Duncan, Oklahoma.

The Addiction (1995) is the most stringent product of director Abel Ferrara’s current manner — a highly original morality play about guilt and redemption.

The Palladian Traveler joins the masses around the Tidal Basin as Washington, DC rolls out the pink carpet during the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

I awoke the next morning, Wednesday, August 2nd, to find the campground socked in with fog. No matter, I thought, as I had quite a day planned. I headed out to the office that would arrange to take me about 130 kilometers further north, to the native fishing village of Tuktoyaktuk, or “Tuk,” situated right on the shores of the …

I’ve visited many of the famous and yes, infamous, battle sites and related military places in Europe but, until a few years ago, I’d never had time to see – up close and VERY personal – the Mohne Dam in Germany. Before YOU read any further, do YOU know why it fits into either of the above categories?

Ron Howard certainly falls into the category of a national treasure beginning with his role as America’s favorite kid, Opie, on “The Andy Griffith Show.” Since that time, that little kid from Duncan, Oklahoma, co-starred in a variety of episodic television shows as well as directing Emmy-award winning programs.

Though it was just a segment along the way, Arizona loomed long and strong in my memory. Its striking, forbidding landscapes, so different from the lush agricultural land of eastern Kansas, were imprinted on my young mind. The Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert, the Petrified Forest, each rolled into memory as we rolled through them.

Wales loves its artists. That’s easy to say with the likes of actors Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins and Michael Sheehan all hailing from the South West Coast of Wales, near Swansea. No artist, however, commands a deeper place in a Walesian’s heart than poet and writer, Dylan Thomas.

The Palladian Traveler files his eighth and final dispatch from his 24-day stay Down Under by having a “Captain Cook” along the picturesque Coastal Pathway.

When I told people about my plans for a summer camping trip a few years back, the response was almost invariably, "Why?" It wasn’t an unfair question to ask, as my camping trip was a solo journey that took me deep into the Arctic. Beginning in Canada’s Yukon Territory, or “Above 60” as it’s known to the locals (the Territory begins as 60 degrees latitude), I traveled about 800 miles further north on the globe.

Here’s the thing about western art. It’s an acquired taste, like rattlesnake steaks and Rocky Mountain oysters. If your great-grandparents crossed the plains in a covered wagon or homesteaded in Montana, it could be in your genes.

If you’re heading out on a West Coast road trip this summer, here’s some essential equipment to bring along for the ride. No, it’s not a dash cam or a multi-prong charger, but the two-volume Pacific Northwest Garden Tour and California Garden Tour by travel expert and garden enthusiast Donald Olson, published by Timber Press.