Hotel Irvine – An Ideal Venue in Orange County’s Urban Hub
By J.C. Thomas Irvine is commonly characterized by the hundreds of corporate headquarters whose high-rise office buildings tower over the city’s neat and sunshiny master-planned landscape. This makes it easy to overlook Irvine as a vacation destination, but look beyond its businesslike veneer and you’ll uncover the vibrant urban epicenter of Orange County. Unlike the […]
Visiting Oakland? There’s No Better Place to Stay Than the Waterfront Hotel
By J.C. Thomas If you have never considered Oakland as a travel destination, may I suggest you think again? National Geographic Traveler recently named Oakland one of the “28 Best Places to Visit in the World for 2019.” The world. It is only one of four locations in the United States and the only one […]
Reflections on Cambodia
By Roger Allnutt It has been 10 years since I visited Cambodia, the “Kingdom’ of Wonder” and although there have been improvements since that time the majority of inhabitants of the country are still desperately poor. In the capital Phnom Penh and other larger cities like Siem Reap and Battambang there have been major improvements […]
A Family Guide to St. George, Utah
By J.C. Thomas A first-time family visit to St. George, Utah feels like you’ve been let in on a not-so-well-kept secret. Entertaining kids away from home without sacrificing enjoyment for yourself tends to be a challenge – but not in St. George. This city at the very southwest corner of the state is as close […]
Beamers, Dreamers and Dads
The perfect gift for dear old Dad on his birthday just might be a morning visit to the BMW Performance Center in Thermal, California By George Christopher Thomas COACHELLA VALLEY, CA – If you are looking for the ideal gift for your old man, taking him to driving school at the BMW Performance Center will […]
The Hotel with a Heart Turns 55!
By Ariel Johns Since opening its doors on May 25, 1964, the Hilton San Francisco Union Square has welcomed convention goers, families, professionals, tourists and such celebrities as Lucille Ball, John Wayne and the king himself, Elvis Presley. Located in the center of three popular neighborhoods, Union Square, SOMA and the Tenderloin, this landmark hotel […]
Exploring Little Rock and More in Arkansas
By Roger Allnutt For many people their only knowledge of Arkansas is that Bill Clinton was Governor of the state before he became the President of the United States in 1992. Sandwiched between more “trendy” states of Tennessee and Texas, it has a surprising amount to offer albeit at a more relaxed pace. Interstate 30 […]
Exploring the Mediterranean Island of Corsica
By Roger Allnutt The large Mediterranean island of Corsica has had a turbulent history over the centuries, even up to the 1970s with its fiercely patriotic inhabitants calling for independence from France. Corsica has a strong connection with Napoleon Bonaparte who was born and raised in Ajaccio, the major city on the island. Bonaparte spent […]
Discover the Magic of Macau
By Roger Allnutt In the past decade or so Macau, the former Portuguese enclave on the south coast of China near Hong Kong, has undergone a dramatic transformation. On the one hand the slower paced and historic elements of the territory (it reverted to China in 1999) together with a definite European and Chinese feel […]
Stay at the Dream Inn For Sand, Sunsets and the Santa Cruz Surf Scene
By Joanne Thomas In a town like Santa Cruz, where tourism revolves around the beach, the surf and the Boardwalk, it’s remarkable that there’s only a single hotel – the Dream Inn – claiming a beachfront setting. Since it first opened in the 1970s, the only beachfront hotel in Santa Cruz has promised its guests […]
Discovering Spanish Heritage in the Northern Philippines
By Roger Allnutt Most tourists heading to the Philippines fly into the capital Manila and after a couple of days fly out to one of the popular island destinations such as Cebu, Boracay or Palawan. However, the region north of Manila at the northern part of Luzon island is not be missed. An hour’s flight […]
Visiting Botswana’s Chobe National Park and Okavango Delta
By Roger Allnutt The elephants are in mourning and very agitated. Amongst the stark foliage of the trees lining the Chobe River in northern Botswana a small family of elephants fret and stamp, emitting mournful noises. A few days earlier one of the herd was shot by poachers across the river in neighboring Namibia and […]