Mendocino Coast Vacation With Kids–My Travelogue

This year, I decided to take my 7 1/2 year old son Jacob on a one-on-one bonding trip. I’ll take my daughter Dina on a similar trip when she gets a little older. In California, we are blessed with many…

Netherlands and Paris Vacation Reflections

It took me 42 years to make my first trip to Europe; then, my first two trips to Europe came within 3 weeks of each other. First, at the end of May, I went to a conference at Erasmus University…

When is the Best Time to Visit the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?

Contrary to popular belief, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge experiences all four seasons–winter, spring, summer and fall. It’s just that three of the seasons are really short. Winter is effectively nine months long and the other three seasons are each…

West LA Vegetarian Restaurants Quick Reviews: Veggie Grill, Real Food Daily, A Votre Sante, Interim Cafe, Rahel

Lisa and I took a 48 hour veggie-tourist getaway to Los Angeles last weekend. Our principal agenda was to visit some old vegetarian favorites and explore some new ones. A quick recap of the tour: Veggie Grill, El Segundo. Website….

Review of Ah, Rose Marie Bed & Breakfast, Fairbanks, Alaska

The Ah, Rose Marie Bed & Breakfast is a seven-room B&B in downtown Fairbanks, Alaska. I spent 3 nights there in June 2008 before and after my Hulahula River rafting vacation. My buddy and I picked the Ah, Rose Marie…

Santa Clara County “Staycations”

After literally traveling to the end of the earth on my last vacation (Kaktovik, Alaska), my next few vacations probably will be closer to home. On that topic, the Mercury News ran a special feature this weekend on Santa Clara…

Free WiFi in San Jose Airport

San Jose Airport is now offering free ad-supported wireless Internet access to airport travelers. Hooray! The odd thing is that they still offer paid subscription connectivity as well. Hmm–wonder how well that will work? I’ve been avoiding SJC due to…

Therma-a-rest Compressible Pillow Review

At Epinions, I posted a glowing review of the Therm-a-rest Compressible Pillow, one of the many gear items I procured as part of my Hulahula River rafting trip and one of the best investments I made for the trip. Check…

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Reading List

To prepare for my Hulahula River rafting trip, I wanted to read some books that would preview this foreign environment and give me a general orientation. However, I was surprised by the dearth of helpful reading lists about the Arctic…

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge/Hulahula River Photos and Videos

I’ve uploaded 216 photos (with explanatory titles) of my trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Hulahula River to Kodak Gallery’s website. I haven’t really edited the photos with care, and I hope to showcase a much smaller…