When my family arrived from Canada, I was eleven, and was very naïve and ignorant to the ways of the world. So, my first memory was moving into a small apartment on Lower Queen Anne Hill. Eventually I would become a high school student on the hill’s top at Queen Anne High School, the same place where I first met my lifelong friend, T-Boy editor Ed Boitano.
As the road winded through rolling hills and a ranch full of playful ostriches, we knew something special was awaiting. And when we past a pasture of grazing horses and entered a tiny village of windmills and half-timbered buildings with gabled roofs, our suspicions were confirmed: we were going to have a memorable time in Solvang.
And we hadn't even entered the huge barn containing all the afore-mentioned stalls proffering fresh fruits and veggies, baked goods, cheese and chocolates, plants and more varieties of nuts and dried fruits than you ever knew existed. Also clothes, backpacks, jewelry, African handicrafts, tropical oils, bath products and too many other items to even contemplate. If there's anything you could possibly want, I promise you it's there - you just need the patience to seek it out.
Most people know of - and many people live by - the aphorism "It's 5 o'clock somewhere," but during my recent trip to Hollywood, Florida, it took on an even more special meaning. When Jimmy Buffett died in September 2023, he left behind a beloved legacy of famous songs. Such is true of many well-known musicians. But none has also left behind an empire of bars, restaurants and hotels as celebrated as the artist himself. The various "Margaritavilles" - based on Buffett's 1977 hit song - attract thousands of visitors nationwide and it felt particularly fitting, as an ardent fan, to visit one.
From my untrained eyes, the collections seem to be more contemporary than historical. In fact, you can rent the venue for personal and business functions. There are permanent displays as well as seasoned highlights of contemporary artists. At the time of my visit, the featured artist was Ayana V. Jackson. Kudos to the architects and the exhibit designers who gave each room its own personality.
Port Hueneme is a hidden gem on the California coast. Tucked between a naval base and a large port, the oceanfront town in Ventura County is easy to pass on the freeway, but as I recently learned, it is well worth an overnight visit.
I used to live around the Washington, DC area in my college days and I’d been to the Smithsonian Museum and the different monuments. But it never occurred to me that this is the town where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. So to my delight and surprise I found out, through a museum information booth, that the original Ford Theater where he was shot and the house where he died had been preserved all these years and it was just a few blocks away.
The Grande Colonial Hotel in La Jolla has it all: history, charm and an incredible waterfront location. Add to this a walkable town with tasty restaurants, and beaches with seal lions and leopard sharks, and you know why the hotel is one of my favorites in the San Diego area.
Is there anyone who doesn't know you don't put Baby in a corner? Or who doesn't automatically hum along to "The Time of my Life"? Imagine revisiting "Dirty Dancing" at its original locale - and visiting the site where Baby and Johnny practiced "the lift" - possibly the most famous dance routine ending ever? Welcome to Mountain Lake Lodge in Pembroke, Virginia channeling the Catskills hotel -- AKA the Kellerman's Resort.
So there I was in my white lab coat examining the 40 different vials and trying to determine which combinations to mix to get the best outcome. Admittedly, I wasn’t enacting some important scientific discovery or creating a medical breakthrough but it felt almost that significant. What if I screwed up, made ridiculous choices as to the most effective ingredients and came away with an awful smelling product. Yup, I was making perfume at the Tijon Parfumerie & Boutique on the French side (obviously!) of the Caribbean island of St. Martin.
