I’ve written before about my affection for the photo series Earth from Above by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. So I was alert when I read this quote from Joseph Corbett of the US Postal Service. “Once you’ve seen the world from above, you never look at it quite the same way again.” He’s right of course. Corbett makes this observation by way of introducing a new series of postage stamps that show us the world as viewed from airplanes and satellites. The artists who put together this beautiful collection of stamps have taken familiar subjects and given us a new perspective by with a top down angle…. Read More…

I can’t believe it was just one year ago that my internet-savvy daughter, Marian Schembari told me about Airbnb. I was visiting her in New Zealand headed to the United Arab Emirates  and – as is my wont – had not yet booked a hotel in Abu Dhabi.  “Why didn’t I check Airbnb?” she asked, and I had to confess, I’d never heard of it. Simply, Airbnb is a web-based marketplace for people to rent overnight accommodations to travelers. These can be as modest as a bed in a shared room or as grand as an entire house. In additional to these conventional places, people… Read More…

When I told the folks I met in Providence, last weekend, that it was my first real touristy visit to their city, even though I lived right next door in Connecticut,  they were not surprised. Seems news about the spectacular renewal in Rhode Island’s capital city skipped right over us here in the Nutmeg state.  I was told all the first time visitors from Connecticut are equally surprised. Judging from the number of people who crowded onto the walkways lining the rivers in Providence on Saturday night, everybody who is not from Connecticut already knows that tiny Providence is not-to-be-missed. Let’s start with the reason… Read More…

I’ve never quite understood recumbent bikes. I mean, what is the point of laying back on a bike? So before I went for a ride on the 46 mile Withlacoochee Trail in Citrus County, Florida with Regis Hampton and Cindy Messer, of Hampton’s Edge Trailside Bikes, I asked, what does the recumbent have over conventional upright bikes? Riding feet-forward, low to the ground on a big seat with back and headrest is not only more comfortable it provides a viewer-friendly way to take in the surroundings, Regis explained. On a paved path the bike is stable enough to take one’s hands off the handlebars and… Read More…

Tina Lassen, a travel writer from Oregon, doesn’t mince words. Frankly I think she found my behavior on board Don Chancey’s flat bottomed fishing boat too cold-blooded for her taste. This explains why she is now calling me the “salt water assassin.” We were spending a glorious Florida day fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, just a few miles off the coast of Homosassa in Citrus County where the gulf water is shallow. Don was the captain of our vessel, the Grouper Hunter and rounding out the group was the adorable and charming Peter Sacco, who writes for the travel website gonomad.com. The afternoon of… Read More…

Having spent days trying to figure out a way to keep the bears out of the garbage at my little log cabin in the mountains in Connecticut, I must admit I feel a little hypocritical traveling to Florida’s Nature Coast on a wildlife tour. But here I am, swimming with the manatees and cooing over the fish and birds in the accurately-named Crystal River and feeling my heart break over orphaned baby bears at the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park – a rehabilitation center for injured or orphaned animals. I mean, what is cuter than this bear still too young to be foraging in garbage cans… Read More…

On my recent trip to Arizona, I ate at Denny’s. Twice.  It’s not that I’m a fan of Denny’s but traveling in Arizona without a car, I was restricted to eating in restaurants within walking distance of my hotels. Denny’s wasn’t the only choice but it was the healthiest choice. Don’t choke on your escarole. I’m not kidding. In spite of a menu that includes a 770 calorie omelet, a cheeseburger with 1810 mgs of salt and a key lime pie with 87 grams of carbohydrates, and a predominance of offerings that are just over-the-top fattening, there are a few selections for the health-conscious. Which… Read More…

If you saw my story in the Travel section of The New York Times last month, you might get the impression I’m eager to get in and get out of airports as fast as I can. That would be wrong. My affection for airports goes back to the days when my dad would throw the plastic webbed lawn chairs in the back of the pickup truck and he and mom and the four of us kids would all go down to Miami International Airport and have a picnic at the end of the runway.  We would watch planes take off and land until it was… Read More…

The moment I saw the bus driver’s smile I realized I was far, far from home; at a magical place where public transit workers realize they’re in the service and hospitality business and act accordingly.  LIKE! What surprised me even further on my recent stay in Phoenix was that the warm fuzzies went both ways. Drivers greet passengers with a smile and travelers reply in kind. It was obvious when I boarded my first Vally Metro bus, during the morning commute that I was a tourist.  I fumbled with the very basics; Where do I put my money? How do I get a transfer? How… Read More…

My friend and fellow aviation and travel writer Harriet Baskas reports on a survey that shows the majority of travelers think air travel is stressful. Not exactly surprising news, but the results of the HNTB study could help the aviation industry enhance how it interacts with its customers, which I suppose is the goal. What ticks travelers off? Oh, you know, the obvious: invasive security, long lines to check bags, that sort of thing. Here at GO HOW, I’m proposing that we take a glass-is-half-full approach to getting where we’re going by concentrating on all the great experiences we have in transit because I know… Read More…