I was strapped tightly into the front of the cockpit via an elaborate seat belt that made sure I couldn't damage myself from any angle. The pilot sat behind, flying with his set of master controls. A retired Rear Admiral, a champion stunt competition biplane pilot who teaches stunt flying, and a former teacher and practitioner of dentistry. Who would have imagined that combination? Maybe Doc Holiday. Bill Finagin, the 2008 inductee into the International Aerobatic Club Hall of Fame, has won stunt competitions all around the country. Years ago, after reading something about him, I called him on a whim and he kindly offered to take me up in an incredibly beautiful machine.

Near the stream are the park's teepees and covered wagons, which make for memorable family accommodations. The teepees are recreations of Sioux Indian dwellings. They are about 20 ft-tall and feature a queen and twin bed and a couple tables. They don't come with electricity, but offer lots of natural light.

BELIZE CITY, Belize- It was just three words, the Great Blue Hole, that stuck in my head. A giant marine sinkhole in the center of Lighthouse Reef, 40 miles off the coast of Belize, the 407-foot-deep hole was such a mystery that ocean scientist Jacques Cousteau led an exploratory expedition to the site in 1971, and filmed the adventure. Which I'd forgotten. Until last summer, that is, when my wife Val and I decided to celebrate the lull in the Corona-virus lockdown with a brief vacation, one we agreed had to be outdoors, on a mountain trail, or alternatively, in the water.

Donned out in snorkel equipment and wet suit – getting in and out of which was admittedly the most challenging aspect of the whole experience -- I entered the 200,000 gallon coral reef tank filled with large and small residents -- over 50 species of fish, sharks and eels -- into whose life I was about to intrude at the Aquarium Encounters complex in Marathon, Florida.

We visited his brother-in-law, Paul, whose vineyard is in Ledyard, Connecticut. Maugle Sierra Vineyard is named after Paul’s last name, Maugle;  and his wife’s maiden name, Sierra. Paul owns a hundred acre farm with around 20 acres of his land planted in grapes: St. Croix, St. Peppins and Marquette. He patiently harvests somewhere around eight 5’x5′ fisherman’s totes of crushed grapes in a good year (less stems and leaves of course) at harvest time.

Just when we thought breakfast couldn't get any better, we heard a gentle puffing sound in the sky. Looking up we saw a giant, colorful hot air balloon slowly rising above our bungalow like a red, blue and yellow planet. It was an awesome sight and it made our breakfast in the middle of a lush vineyard even more memorable.

May is white asparagus season in Germany. The plump stalks of the sweet, delicious vegetable are paired with Hollandaise sauce, or butter, and sometimes ham and boiled potatoes. They are on every restaurant menu, in every grocery store, in every market. The season is short – from April until June 26. When it’s over, it’s over.

So, that's their claim to fame: The Oldest Winery in the Americas. Catchy, but we had never heard of this place before. My wife, Sheri, and I are wine drinkers with 50-bottles of wine at our home. Alright, it's not a cellar, but we have a small house. We belong to a few wine clubs. We have been to many wine regions around the U.S., Baja California, and other countries such as South Africa, but what is this place that has such a significant title? One might think that a landmark like this would come up in conversation or be read in articles. Nope, not even on our radar.

There is nothing better in a travel-foodie blogger's life than to receive an invitation to attend a special event involving a knife, fork, spoon and wine glass. I scored such an invite several years ago from Bottega S.p.A., an award-winning Italian estate built inside Villa Rosina, a renovated and expanded 19th century manor house surrounded by ten hectares of just-picked vineyards, in tiny Bibano di Godega di Sant'Urbino, just 45 km (27 mi) north of La Serenissima, Venice.

The genesis of the Best Films of 1971 poll was highly influenced by Christina Newland's thoughtful piece in BBC Culture, "Why 1971 was an extraordinary year in film."