Maine is such an idyllic spot that visitors seem to get nostalgic for it even if they haven’t visited it yet. Indeed, as you cross the Piscataqua River marking the border between New Hampshire and Maine, you’ll pass a sign alongside the highway that reads “Welcome to Maine: The Way … Read more
A Place for All Seasons “Montana,” so the popular slogan says, “is the last best place.” Call me biased, but if that’s true, then Montana’s Gallatin and Park Counties are truly the last last best places. Small slivers in the shape of states, the counties huddle against one another in … Read more
TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE – Celebrities on Broadway The famous towers of Midtown Manhattan. Photo: Ben Dwork I recently saw Dr. Frasier Crane on Broadway. Well, actually Kelsey Grammer is on Broadway, but it’s hard to tell him apart from the zany psychiatrist he made famous during 20 … Read more
LA Local: A Tale of Six Neighborhoods Sunset Boulevard, Rodeo Drive, the Hollywood Hills—it’s all quite glamorous. It’s also your typical LA story. As a new resident of Southern California, I owed it to myself to dig a bit deeper. What I discovered is that the real stars of … Read more
An hour from Little Rock lies a gem of a city, the Ouachita Valley land of peaceful waters, Hot Springs, Arkansas. Steeped in history and exuding an inviting southern charm, it’s home to horseracing, the baths, and the blues. Blushing when in festival mode, this small city shares the … Read more
When most people think about New York, they think of Manhattan, or maybe even Brooklyn. But there is another borough that is worth checking out: Staten Island. Staten Island may share the “718” area code with Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, but it distinguishes itself with its own unique … Read more
Bigger is Better Kodiak Island, Alaska, is where the American frontier ran out of land and went to sea. For a tourist it is the unheralded gem of the state, a wild, primeval combination of big mountains and big ocean. Its history is rich, too, first settled 7,500 years ago … Read more
LA Local: A Tale of Six Neighborhoods Sunset Boulevard, Rodeo Drive, the Hollywood Hills—it’s all quite glamorous. It’s also your typical LA story. As a new resident of Southern California, I owed it to myself to dig a bit deeper. What I discovered is that the real stars of Los … Read more
Rhett Butler was not exactly being cynical when he made up his mind in Gone With the Wind to leave Atlanta. “I’m going back to Charleston, back where I belong,” he said. “I want peace. I want to see if somewhere there isn’t something left in life of charm … Read more
As surprising as it may sound, Gladys Knight, Ray Charles, Ludacris, and The Charlie Daniel’s band all have something in common. They all wrote songs about the Empire State of The South, The Peach State, Hot ‘Lanta, or as it is most commonly known to outsiders, Georgia. With a population … Read more
What’s Going On A Mile Above The Rest As a former resident of Denver, it was easy to take for granted the beauty and simplicity of the city where I lived. But as a New Yorker going back to visit Denver, it’s easy to see why Denver has been … Read more
When Detroit, the Motor City, morphed into Motown, the automotive capital of the world became Hitsville, U.S.A., as the phenomenon of the pop-soul sound was unleashed on the world. Today Detroit is on the cusp of a 21st-century transformation, as urban agriculture puts down roots in this post-industrial landscape, a … Read more
Terror Behind the Walls- #1 Haunted House in America Let me start by saying I am a huge horror fan; Scary movies are my favorite and Halloween is something I look forward to all year. During the month of October I try to visit as many haunted trails, houses and … Read more
If bombed-out Detroit is post-apocalyptic America, then booming Austin, Texas, is the happier version of the future. Austin, population 700,000, has a thriving D.I.Y. creative class and thanks to high-rise condominium development an increasingly dense urban center. This is no small feat in Texas, the third largest state, where sprawl … Read more