Pack Your Curiosity for an Educational Trip

Once you’ve seen the Eiffel Tower, well, you’ve seen the Eiffel Tower. But when you learn about the history of how it was built (this architectural marvel was designed as the entrance to the World’s Fair of 1889 commemorating the 100th anniversary of t… Continue reading

OPINION: Your Bucket List Isn’t Worth a Dime

A recent Stanford University School of Medicine survey of 3,056 people found that 91% of them had a bucket list — things they want to do before they die. But I think the whole idea of a bucket list is disheartening. I say that because items on a “bucke… Continue reading

Mad for Midcentury: A Trip to Palm Springs’ Modernism Week

Arguably, midcentury modern’s biggest fans are the second cohort of boomers, those Americans born between 1956 and 1964. There’s more to our obsession with midcentury modern style, however, than a love of sleek, simple design. The allure is nostalgia. … Continue reading

How to Get in Shape for Your Bucket-List Adventure

Bucket lists and adventure trips are more popular than ever, especially among older adults who are no longer spending their money and time raising children. Maybe you have aspirations to climb Kilimanjaro, hike across the Grand Canyon, ski the Swiss Al… Continue reading

Exploring My Family Tree Let Me Find Answers

It was a typical gray and cool October day when we arrived in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. The last time I was there, I was a toddler, visiting my Oma and Opa (grandmother and grandfather) with my parents. I’m 58 now. When my husband Peter said e… Continue reading

2020 Travel Tips: Smart Ways to Save Money and Time

You may be thinking about making your 2020 vacation plans right about now. Before you do, however, read below what I heard from four experts at last week’s New York Times Travel Show. During their sessions, they shared savvy advice on how to save money… Continue reading

11 Tips for Traveling With a Tour Group

During a dinner party, friends mentioned they were going to China. It was a 10-day, dirt-cheap, fully-guided, all-inclusive trip — and there were still spaces available. I’d never had the country on my bucket list, but when my husband said “I’ve always… Continue reading

The Spiritual Practices of a Lapsed Protestant

It’s 6:30 a.m., and I have just left my “holy corner,” where I sit alone every morning for an hour or two. The early morning is for me a sacred time, what the Celts call a “thin place,” where the gap between the sacred and the secular is very narrow. T… Continue reading

‘Women-Only’ Trips Represent a Growing Travel Trend

“Girlfriend Getaways” to spas, all-inclusive resorts or gambling meccas have long appealed to women who enjoy traveling with female friends and family members. More recently, though, groups of women are heading out to ride horses in Mongolia, learn bur… Continue reading

What to Know if You Get Sick or Injured on a Cruise

(This article appeared previously in Kaiser Health News.) Royal Caribbean’s gargantuan Oasis of the Seas boasts four outdoor pools and an 82-foot zip line and made quite a splash shortly after its 2014 refurbishment when it added the first Tiffany &#38… Continue reading