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Destinations WINTER 2020

RHINE RIVER

Castles & cathedrals from Switzerland to The Netherlands

The enchanting 14th century Rheinstein Castle, originally a customs fort, near the town of Trechtingshausen, Germany, is among more than 30 medieval castles along the Middle Rhine River. Today, Rheinstein is privately owned and serves as a hotel, museum, restaurant and conference center.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY JOHN HUMENIK Lee Enterprises

little good-natured naiveté can be empowering for the curious traveler. When everything seen in a foreign place creates a new experience, we’re free to wander with our eyes wide open.

That was my expectation last fall in Europe during an eight-day cruise on the legendary Rhine River. It was my latest plunge into the unfamiliar and my first in Europe. With a pocket full of euros, a digital camera, a notebook, and a very patient family, I set out to document our travels northward from Basel, Switzerland, to The Netherlands.

Many years earlier, I cruised the Mississippi River and the Ohio River. I have traveled to 48 states, including Alaska and Hawaii, and explored Mexico and Canada. But traveling the Rhine River provided a spectacularly picturesque experience I couldn’t have fully imagined. I had to go and see it. And thankfully, by expecting the unexpected, I was greatly rewarded.

The Rhine River, which originates in the Swiss Alps and meanders 766 miles to the North Sea, is one of Europe’s most important waterways as a major transportation route for industry, shipping, commerce, and tourism in the region. It creates the border between Germany and France and is a symbol of multinational pride.

The Middle Rhine, for example, contains the most spectacular sights to behold in the Rhine Valley. It was by far my most memorable passage. The breathtaking panorama of lush, terraced vineyards in Germany north of Rüdesheim am Rhein blend with the natural beauty and man-made structures.

More than 30 medieval castles and 20 ruins dot the sloping hillsides. Majestic churches — in remarkable shapes and colors — stretch skyward from dozens of communities large and small.

Buildings, in neat rows along the river and painted in mint, salmon, tan, orange, and blue tones, lined the shore. Metal docks stretched to welcome sightseers. People on shore watched us as we watched them move about their daily routines. Speeding passenger and freight trains disappeared into ornate hillside tunnels. Large white signs with black numerals informed our location in kilometers along the river.

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Inside

Few structures on the Rhine River are as awe-inspiring as the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany. Exterior statues frame the decorative arched entrances, massive stained-glass windows depict religious scenes, and, inside, magnificent figures and artifacts are within view.

The Cologne Cathedral, which measures 515 feet, and the Hohenzollern Bridge create a compelling view of Cologne’s skyline day or night.

Construction of the cathedral was started in 1248 but was not completed until 1880. The bridge was rebuilt after being destroyed in WWII.

MONHEGAN ISLAND TAKES VISITORS BACK IN TIME

DON’T DISCOUNT THE BENEFITS OF SOLO TRAVEL

When you cruise a river, you get to know the captain, the staff, and your fellow passengers quite well. You dine together, celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, and participate in activities like food demonstrations, lectures, games, and music.

On land, you travel the old towns in small groups, which usually include the boat’s hospitality staff enjoying their free time. You interact with locals who serve as tour guides, navigating you from place to place. You are engaged every minute. And you come to appreciate shared experiences with other passengers.

These are among the joys of cruising a river at a slow and steady pace, and traveling the Rhine River didn’t disappoint.

History is profound in the Rhine Valley and a constant topic of conversation. For centuries, powerful political strife, cultural battles, and wars shaped the region.

SINGAPORE IS PERFECT BLEND OF MODERN AND HISTORIC

Continued on Page 2

THE DEADLINE TO HAVE REAL ID IS APPROACHING

Rhine River

FAIRYTALE TOWNS: Above, Strasbourg, France, with its half-timber structures, and at top left, the Black Forest, with its lush fields for livestock and ornate figurines, provide travelers a sense of stepping back in time in the Rhine Valley.

At left, colorful architecture in the Romanesque style can be seen in the Rathaus, or town hall, in Basel, Switzerland.

Cruising the Rhine River a history lesson for adventurers TERRACED VINEYARDS AND SLOPING HILLS: At right, workers harvest grapes in the vineyards near Boppard, Germany.

In the center photo, Bacharach, a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in RhinelandPalatinate, Germany, is among the bestpreserved medieval port towns in the Rhine Gorge. Below right, sheep are plentiful near the water’s edge on the peaceful Waal River. The Waal is the main tributary of the Rhine in The Netherlands.

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Entire river cities have been built, destroyed, and rebuilt. The medieval castles that tower over the river belonged to lords who required tolls of those who traveled this lucrative trade route.

What I didn’t expect about the Rhine River was its power to blend cultures over centuries, especially cities and regions in the theater of devastating conflicts. Reminders of war can be seen everywhere. In Strasbourg, France, a World War II mortar shell is affixed to a building in the Old Town area.

Bridges that span the great waterway have been built, demolished and rebuilt. Legendary port cities like Strasbourg and Cologne, Germany, have been bombed, burned, and reborn since WWII, and their great medieval cathedrals have withstood the challenges of turbulent and changing times.

Delights are plentiful While we heard four languages spoken, including the most familiar English, we had few difficulties finding or enjoying the fabulous cuisine, bakery offerings, and coffee in the Rhineland.

We enjoyed traditional cherry and chocolate cake in the Black Forest; shared apple strudel in Heidelberg, Germany; sampled macarons in Colmar, France; and treated ourselves to Gugelhupf Kugelhopf with nuts in Strasbourg. We tasted cheeses at a dairy farm in The Netherlands. We devoured savory plate-sized bacon and cheese Dutch pancakes in Amsterdam.

We attempted a few words of German, including “prost!” before enjoying Kölsch beer — brewed crisp, bright and golden in color — and only in Cologne. The beer

arrives at your long table in a narrow glass called a “stange.”

The sights and delights of traveling in the region form a collection of sensory experiences. Each landmark along the river, and those contained in the larger cities, tell a story drenched in medieval and modern history and culture.

cathedral, the enormous Astronomical Clock cast shadows and wonderment over a large gathering of onlookers. Crowds gather each day on the half hour to eagerly watch time pass as animated figures (a child, a teenager, an adult, and an old man) are revealed in the stages of life moving in front of a figure of death holding a scythe. The mechanism dates back to 1842.

Basel, Switzerland Basel, where Switzerland, France, and Germany meet, has more than 2,000 years of history. Its narrow streets invite the wanderer to seek out culinary treats, explore creative water features like the Tinguely Fountain, and engage in the many cultural museums of this industrial city.

Among my favorite landmarks in the heart of the walkable Old Town was the Basel City Hall. The Rathaus, which overlooks a sprawling market square, is a 500-year-old, red-sandstone structure with a tower and a strikingly decorative façade.

Bridges are revered in the Rhineland, and few are as significant as the Mittlere Brücke, or middle bridge, which originally opened in 1226 and was rebuilt in 1905. It’s an iconic symbol of Basel, marking one of the oldest Rhine crossings between Lake Constance and the North Sea. Rising more than 200 feet above the city are the twin spires of the Basler Münster, a compelling red-sandstone cathedral with a colorful tile roof that was built between 1019 and 1500 in the Gothic and Romanesque style. On the façade is a statue of St. George slaying a dragon and statues of two smiling women. A clock and a sundial also share space on this incredible stone structure.

Black Forest, Germany After a winding bus ride took us from our port in Breisach,

Heidelberg, Germany

Germany, into the scenic and dense Black Forest of southwest Germany, we were ready to stretch our legs and explore the origins of the cuckoo clock. These iconic and decorative carved wooden clocks, which date back to the mid-17th century, generated income for farmers during the winter months.

Colmar, France This fairytale town of half-timbered medieval buildings, including the extravagant Maison Pfister built in 1537, was one of my favorite locations to spend a day. The French country town in the heart of the Alsace region was a short bus ride from our river port in Breisach.

We had limited time in Colmar, but made the most of it. The Old Town’s collection of narrow canals, cobblestone streets, colorful structures, and shops with large decorative street signs designed by French artist Jean-Jacques Waltz — also known as Hansi (1873-1951) — made for a delightful two-hour visit. It would have been easy to linger in Colmar for days, enjoying the charm, hospitality, amazing bakery goods (especially the

brightly colored macarons), and the fabulous French wines.

We explored St. Martin’s Church, which was built in the Gothic style between 1235 and 1365, and saw the house where sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi was born in 1834. A large statue honoring Bartholdi, who is famous for designing the Statue of Liberty in New York, was a must-see attraction on our walking tour.

Strasbourg, France Strasbourg, the second larg-

est port on the Rhine River, was another walkable city. And we were eager to explore the cultural center of the Alsace region.

Our longboat arrived in Strasbourg at night, docking in the industrial Bassin du Commerce.

By morning, we were walking into the well-preserved Old Town with its blend of French and German influences. Much like Colmar, Strasbourg’s streets were lined with half-timbered houses along canals that provided incredible photo

opportunities. In these amazing cities, a mix of the old and new is common.

Time seemed to stand still in Strasbourg, though, as we moved down narrow streets, looking up to beautifully decorated window boxes. Strasbourg is a city of flowers and reflections. And when you see both mirrored in the calm waters of the Ill River, a tributary of the Rhine, it gives you pause.

In a place that has seen war, there is peace.

The port city, once part of Germany, was returned to France after World War I, occupied by Germany during WWII, liberated

by French forces in late November 1944, and returned to France after the war.

The highlight of our visit was the awe-inspiring Strasbourg Cathedral de Notre-Dame. The magnificently restored red-sandstone cathedral, the world’s tallest building from 1647 to 1874, reaches 466 feet. Its impressive collection of stained glass was breathtaking, especially walking beneath the massive multicolor Gothic rosette window.

And in the far right end of the

Another shore excursion brought us into Heidelberg and up a winding neighborhood street to the imposing Heidelberg Castle. The structure rises 330 feet above the Neckar River and the Old Town.

The red-sandstone castle and palace attract one million visitors each year. Once the most notable structure of the Renaissance, the castle experienced the ravages of war in the late 17th century but was spared from bombing in WWII. The interior courtyard opens to the façade of the Friedrich Building where ancestral statues of Friedrich IV are on display. Heidelberg Castle also is home to the world’s largest wine barrel. It once held 50,000 gallons of wine.

Koblenz, Germany This traditional German town was founded more than 2,000 years ago at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle rivers. A massive statue of Prince William I dominates the point and is known as “German Corner.” On a hill opposite the statue is Ehrenbreitstein, Europe’s largest fortress, which was begun in 1100 and partially destroyed by Napoleon in 1801.

A cable car spans the Rhine to connect Koblenz with the fort, which towers 400 feet above the river.

KINDERDIJK, THE NETHERLANDS: At left, the lowlying lands of South Holland are home to the largest gathering of working windmills in The Netherlands.

The 19 windmills that remain in the village of Kinderdijk, which is about nine miles east of Rotterdam, were constructed in the mid-18th century.

The dykes and windmills form a water management system to keep the land, which is below sea level, free from flooding.

Cologne, Germany Cologne, a blend of Roman heritage and modern and historic architecture, is an amazing 2,000-year-old river city and the fourth most populous in Germany.

Its skyline is its most photographed feature, with the Cologne Cathedral, the largest gothic cathedral in northern Europe, looming large.

The Hohenzollern Bridge over the Rhine and the Cologne Central (railway) Station form an impressive backdrop.

The city and the cathedral are rich in history, especially considering that more than 95 percent of it was destroyed during heavy bombing in WWII. But the 516-foot, twin spire cathedral was spared.

The Shrine of the Magi, which houses the bones of the biblical Three Kings acquired by Cologne in the 12th century, is a must-see stop on any visit to the cathedral.

More than six million tourists and pilgrims visit each year.

North Sea Amsterdam

NETHERLANDS

Kinderdijk

BELGIUM

GERMANY Cologne Koblenz Rüdesheim Speyer

FRANCE Strasbourg Colmar

Breisach

Basel

SWITZERLAND maps4news.com/©HERE, Lee Enterprises graphic

THE FINAL STOP — AMSTERDAM: Gabled roofs, arched bridges that span an elaborate network of 165 tranquil canals, an abundance of bicycles — about 800,000, in all shapes and sizes — more than 2,000 houseboats, and world-famous museums and parks, made this location the perfect setting to conclude our trip. We spent two days there in the charming and vibrant Dutch capital city. We saw the works of Van Gogh and Rembrandt, and toured the Anne Frank House. All created moving and lasting experiences.

Rhine River

Ehrenfels Castle, near the town of Rüdesheim am Rhein, was constructed on a steep hill in 1212 and destroyed by the French in 1689. The castle, along with the nearby Mouse Tower, located on a nearby island, controlled customs on that stretch of the river.

Medieval castles, legendary ruins PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXT BY JOHN HUMENIK

Within minutes of departing Rüdesheim am Rhein, Germany, on the Rhine River, the excitement builds. You’re entering the most beautiful stretch of the Middle Rhine — home to the most magnificent castles, ruins, towers and defensive walls in the Rhineland. Rounding the bend and traveling north, the Ehrenfels ruin emerges from a steep hill to your right. And then, Rheinstein Castle, Reichenstein Castle, and Sooneck Castle appear on your left as you pass the charming towns of Trechtingshausen and Bacharach. Your journey back to days the Middle Ages has begun.

Marksburg Castle, above, located high above the town of Braubach, is the only medieval castle on the Rhine that has survived intact. At left, Sooneck Castle was constructed in the 11th century to protect the area around Niederheimbach. It has been destroyed and rebuilt a couple times.

At top, Maus Castle, or “Mouse Castle,” located near Sankt Goarshausen, was completed in the 14th century. Middle, Reichenstein Castle was built in the 11th century and was last restored a century ago. The castle is a neighbor of the Rheinstein Castle. Above, Katz Castle was constructed as a fortress in 1371 and later was destroyed in 1806 by Napoleon. It was rebuilt 90 years later.

In the town of Oberwesel between St. Goar and Bacharach, two medieval fortifications are noteworthy. First, above, the Ox Tower, located near the Rhine River, and the city’s circular wall, which was originally comprised of 21 towers. They provided protection for the city. Today, 16 of the defensive towers are still standing. At left, one tower remains a ruin.

The creation of this special section was a collaborative effort among staff members from Lee Enterprises, Inc. PUBLISHER John M. Humenik, Vice President/News, Chief Content Officer, Lee Enterprises

EDITORS Ben Cunningham, Director of News Presentation Terry Lipshetz, Senior Manager of Custom Content

DESIGNERS Diane Cunningham and Emily Shullaw, Lee Design Center

ONLINE Visit our website to see more reader photos from destinations around the world.

International TA N Z A N I A

Wild

NORMA MEYER

The San Diego Union-Tribune

H

ello kitty — and please don’t tear me to shreds.

In Tanzania’s worldfamed Serengeti National Park, a sleek fanged cheetah shockingly jumps up on our safari jeep just a claw’s swipe away from us.

Let me reiterate: We’ve been carjacked by a wild big cat!

The extraordinary encounter in the savanna grasslands begins as we’re stopped at a distance watching the on-the-prowl female carnivore, who casually turns, slowly paces toward our Land Cruiser, then disappears at our vehicle’s rear. All six passengers, including myself, are standing up in the open-air pop-top facing that direction when suddenly — with a scratchy thud and our audible gasps — the spotted creature lands on the back roof right before our eyes. She curiously peers at us, as if we’re the surprise. Our Tanzanian guide Moses (pray for a miracle) calmly whispers, “Be quiet.”

Fortunately no one resembles a tasty gazelle antelope, which cheetahs — who rule as earth’s fastest mammals — race down, viciously bite in the neck to suffocate and bloodily disembowel to devour. I once witnessed this unforgettable slice of nature in Kenya, so today’s regal party-crasher (with their black “eyeliner,” cheetahs are Hollywood glam of the jungle) has me both fascinated and with my fur up. Normally, cheetahs perch atop high termite mounds to survey their antlered prey. This hungry cheetah commandeers a dusty Toyota for a much better view.

For nearly 10 (oh is my heart thumping) minutes, the keen-visioned predator changes positions as she intensely scans for hoofed dinner — when she rotates on all fours, the black-and-white ringed tip of her long tail pokes into our cab; when she erectly sits, her muscular left haunch spills over padding above the back seats.

(Those occupants, two 20-something guys, have wisely ducked and nervously stuffed themselves into the corners.)

Hearing cameras click, the quizzical cheetah again fixes amber eyes on the rest of us upright, frozen paparazzi. Mind you, we’re in a closed-window 4x4, so if she dives in or accidentally falls in, it’ll get ugly. Eventually, the confident cat leaves only after another safari truck pulls alongside and deliberately guns its engine.

If it seems like a National Geographic episode, well, by chance, I’m on a National Geographic Journey with tour operator G Adventures. The seven-day “Tanzania Safari Experience” is also one of G Adventures’ Jane Goodall-endorsed itineraries, focusing on protection of wildlife. Which is why the next day we listen to a conservation lecture, coincidentally given by Dennis Minja, manager of the Serengeti Cheetah Project and a field researcher who keeps tabs on 120 of the 200 cheetahs roaming the park.

He’ll try to identify the jeep-leaper through our photos; every cheetah has a unique spot pattern. Later he emails to inform me she is Grace, previously named by him after the elegant real-life princess and movie star Grace Kelly.

(His study subjects also include Bradley and Cooper.) Grace is about 3 years old.

“When she reached the age of 8 months, she started jumping on the cars, and she perfected this behavior during her adolescence,” he writes. That trick isn’t condoned for her safety either. Grace already beat the odds — 95% of cheetah cubs don’t survive to 18 months, often slain by lions to eliminate competition or by hyenas for food. Grace became independent early last year, just months before her mother was tragically killed by a speeding vehicle in the Serengeti.

It turns out before pouncing onto the

time on a Serengeti safari

dirty work first). The pair ultimately and futilely dash after striped targets, who frantically stampede off in a black-andwhite blaze.

Elsewhere in this primal province, majestic, spindly legged giraffes feed on prickly acacia trees, warthogs sillily scamper, half-submerged hippos monstrously yawn and scores of delicate impalas stand on alert as a devilish pack of hyenas skulks by.

This night, at the welcoming Tortilis Camp in the heart of the Serengeti, I roll up the heavy canvas flaps of my glamping tent, so the entry and sides are just mosquito screening. Crazy, kinda, but I want to hear the calls of the wild. And do I. Into the wee hours, wildebeest bellow (like a cow’s moo crossed with a deep-voiced frog), zebras weirdly bark like little yappy dogs, and hyenas chillingly cackle and scream. But the first noise that resoundingly echoes when I hit the pillow is a guttural soul-shaking HUFFF-HUFFFROARR-RRRR. The next morning, I learn a pride of 22 lions lives in this territory.

Cultural visits

ABOVE: A young lion settles onto a lofty tree branch, presumably to get away from biting flies below in the Serengeti.

LEFT: A Maasai family gathers outside their hut, which has been outfitted with a healthy clean-cooking stove in Tanzania’s Monduli district.

TOP OF PAGE: In the Serengeti, zebras often appear skittish and on the look-out for abundant predators.

NORMA MEYER, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE VIA TNS

roof, Grace first hopped up and straddled our two back spare tires — one of those claw-punctured wheel covers aptly reads: “Your Journey Begins Here.”

Lion country This journey is a cat-a-rama. During just a day and a half of game drives, I count 25 magnificent lions, five gorgeous cheetahs and three distant leopards in the Serengeti, where we’re mesmerized by spectacular striped parades of zebras and thundering caravans of bearded wildebeest, the last to make the massive annual migration north to Kenya. We also travel inside the planet’s largest intact volcanic caldera, Ngorongoro Crater, a 3 millionyear-old wonder crawling with untamed animals (a genuine cat fight occurs when a snarling teeth-bearing pride chases off an intruder lioness).

And throughout the weeklong road trip, we gain cultural insights — in one rustic village, I learn to brew pungent banana beer with locals, and in another, I’m in awe of tribal “Maasai mamas” who build lifesaving smoke-free stoves in their airless cow-dung huts. All along the way, children excitedly greet us in Swahili (“Jambo!”) and in the Rift Valley, three school-age Maasai cattle herders, cloaked in traditional red shuka robes, approach and proudly count aloud in English from 1 to 10.

The Serengeti is one of the world’s greatest lion lairs, with around 2,800 beastly kings marauding about the 5,700-square-mile park. Scouting from the pop-top, we find fierce felines up to all kinds of tricks on endless golden

grassy plains.

Tree-climbing lions are rare. But a family of them strangely lounges on branches of an acacia tree, the mother sacked out on her belly, while her two fidgety youngsters keep readjusting themselves on separate limbs, as if griping, “Why are we up here?” (Moses says some lions scale trees to get away from irritating flies.) Miles away, a bonded pride snuggles in a cozy heap, the females licking and grooming each other’s faces and cubs, while lazy orange-maned Simba naps behind bushes and a rowdy juvenile springs up and down tormenting a mongoose as if it’s a toy. We come across this group after noticing a towering tree loaded with lion-averting baboons.

And speaking of spooky primates (those baboons with scary old-man faces!), en route to the Serengeti, we visit the UNESCO heritage site, Olduvai Gorge, where acclaimed anthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey excavated evidence of early man dating back nearly 2 million years. There, I gape at the heralded skull of what was once believed to be a vegan apelike, prehuman with huge molars, dubbed “Nutcracker Man.” Back on the meat-eater front, a vigilant lioness has stashed her fuzzy whelps in a granite rock outcropping to deter murderous hyenas and leopards. One adorable cub gnaws on what looks to be a Thomson gazelle fawn’s lower leg. Later, for some time, we follow two lionesses patiently creeping toward a sizable herd of unsuspecting zebras, the male lion lagging far behind (the women do all the

Earlier in the trip — the same day a glorious herd of elephants moseys up to our jeep in Lake Manyara National Park — a local guide named Mkopi walks us through Mto wa Mbu village, distinctively comprised of two-legged inhabitants from 120 ethnic tribes. Not terrific for a travel brochure but in Swahili the village means “River of Mosquitoes.”

Inside a dirt-floored banana-leaf shack, woodcarvers from the Makonde tribe masterfully sculpt figurines of their malnourished kin who fled as refugees from Mozambique: nearby under shady palm trees, artists create wildlife-themed tinga tinga paintings and offer me a piece of a ceremonial cow’s head cooking in a pot. Like elsewhere in Tanzania, the friendly village women are swathed in “kangas,” beautiful African design fabrics of lemon yellow, lime green, cherry red and other vibrant colors.

One woman peels bananas under hanging laundry while Mkopi intricately explains how the Chagga tribe brews “mbege” (banana beer), an age-old lengthy process of fermenting boiled bananas with a liquid millet porridge. The thick, yeasty beer comes in a 1-liter plastic cup to be shared, so after I blow off the bubbles as told and sip (ooh, tangy!), it’s communally passed around to beaming villagers.

“We use it for bridal dowries and to settle arguments,” Mkopi says.

My vegetarian lunch at another clan’s rudimentary home is delicious — it includes the polentalike staple “ugali,” “sukuma wiki” collard greens, “chapati” flatbread, fried plantains and savory cinnamon-spiced “pilau” rice.

The “Maasai mamas,” though, blow me away. Another morning, in a tiny Maasai village, we meet these determined tribal women trained in the G Adventures-sponsored Clean Cookstoves Project. Dressed in a checkered shuka and her head traditionally shaved, “stove engineer” Kakenya first invites us into a family’s cow-dung-and-mud hut filled with choking smoke from typical open-fire cooking. Indoor smoke is a major cause of death in such poor rural areas, causing cancer, lung and heart disease, and burns.

Clean-cooking stoves are a simple cheap solution; so far, more than 750 donated ones have been installed in 60 Maasai villages.

In an adjacent hut, a “Maasai mama” vigorously builds a new stove’s brick chimney, her hands muddied in mortar, ancestral beaded bracelets wrapped clear to her upper arms. “We are very powerful,” Kakenya rightly proclaims. Out in the fields, a young mother milks a cow into a plastic mug that will be her 3-yearold son’s breakfast.

For me, the slogan on our wheel cover — “Your Journey Begins Here” — has taken on a whole new meaning.

International BARBADOS

The gardens and house of St. Nicholas Abbey in Barbados.

Plenty to see, do in

beautiful, diverse

Barbados I that grew on the island, the “Bearded Fig Tree” aka Shortleaf Fig (Ficus Citrifolia) that the sailors thought looked ’ve been obsessed with Barbados like a bushy beard. As Barbados was since I was a kid, when I read the named for it’s magnificent foliage, you Newbery Medal-winning book can rightly assume that the surround“The Witch of Blackbird Pond” ing natural beauty is going to make it

by Elizabeth George Speare. For hard to put your camera away. anyone who somehow managed to Regardless of what kind of touring or escape their summer reading, the adventure you are after, you are bound book is about a fictional 17th century to be excited by and admiring of the young woman who, orphaned, must natural beauty that will envelop you. leave her home in Barbados and travel One of the first tours we opted to take to New England. Now in Puritan Conwas a walking tour of Historic Bridgenecticut, she often reminisces about town. This three-hour walking tour was her home and her childhood growing the perfect introduction to the area, and up in beautiful Barbados. was led by local professor and historian Yes, as an adult, I now realize the colMorris Greenidge. Extremely passiononizer themes that ran rampant in the ate, knowledgeable and just honestly book. However, the images left in my impressive, Greenidge is “the” expert, mind’s eye of the lush and balmy Barcalled to discuss Barbados and topics bados had impressed on me the desire that intertwine with the local history on to make my way over to the tiny island panels and conferences worldwide. as soon as I was able. No better time When there was not enough history then the present, so we headed over to or information available, Greenidge just finally see the nation well known as the decided rather than lament it, he would birthplace of rum. research and write the histoLocated in the lesser Antilles of the ries himself. Almost all West Indies, in the Caribbean by himself, as well. region of North America, Self-taught, he Barbados is about a has researched five-hour flight from and written New York City. Just the history 166 square miles of the island in total, it dwarfs from its the smallest founders state in the U.S. to local by quite a bit legends (Rhode Island, and heroes at 1,034 square as well as miles), and it walking packs a lot into a guides and small space. more. (Side Though she be note, some of but little, she is ABOVE: these books are fierce. Alright, Getting up hard to find outside perhaps not close with turtles on of Barbados, so you may exactly a Barbados snorkeling want to buy them while you fierce, but excursion. are there if you like them. Bodefinitely nus, he will be happy to sign a force. On BELOW: The national flower them for you. I regretfully only this wisp of of Barbados, “The Pride of bought two of his books at the an island, Barbados”, aka Dwarf time, and am having a rough you will Poinciana or Flower time finding some of the experience Fence. others. Lesson learned, amazing food hopefully you can avoid (yes, quite a lot of my error.) There are seafood, but vegans not a ton of books out and vegetarians rejoice, there on the history there are plenty of of Barbados, not options on this very many novels either, foodie-progressive isso they were a good land), blissful beaches, find and give good friendly people and ininsight from that of a credible scenery. No matlifelong inhabitant. As ter what you are interested well, I have to admit that in, you will find plenty to keep after having spent time with you occupied while you vacation Greenidge, I hear the books in his voice in beautiful and diverse Barbados. and they are quite a fun and unique reNot ones to lay about the beach and minder of our time spent touring. resort all day, we wanted to see as much Meeting us in dress slacks, crisp shirt as we were able to in our (much too and suspenders on a blisteringly hot short!) stay. Not that lying about has day, Greenidge speaks slowly and delibanything wrong with it — you couldn’t erately, often pausing in thought, giving pick a more picturesque place to relax an incredibly thorough tour of a place and take in the sun and sand. We did you can see he loves dearly. We began our share of lazing, but spent most the tour at Chamberlain Bridge in aptly of our time exploring the island. The named Bridgetown (the capitol and by history of the island is as colorful as its far largest city in Barbados) under Ingardens, and during our stay we endependence Arch. The bridge connects joyed learning about the island’s first Bridgetown over the Careenage (aka peoples through events in our current Constitution River), which cuts the city time period. Luckily for us, there are in two parts. Formerly a swing bridge some fantastic tour guides who are that was vital to the shipping industry gracious enough to share Barbadian as well as connecting one part of the culture and history with tourists, and city to its other half, it’s now rebuilt and they are very thorough. The best part is, designed for the current needs of the the more you learn, the more you want island — mostly pleasure boating and to know. fishing. Not only one of the oldest cities The Arawaks and the Caribs were in the Caribbean, but also a recognized the first inhabitants of what became UNESCO World Heritage Site, there is a known as Barbados. English Captain lot to experience in Bridgetown.

John Powell arrived in 1625 and claimed the island for King James I of England.

After returning to England and back again, the island was given the name “Los Barbados,” a variation of “Os Barbados,” used by the Portuguese sailors since 1536. It was named after a tree

SAMANTHA FEUSS

Tribune News Service

We toured the “best of” and “must see” spots such as the garrison, forts and religiously important buildings, as well as some hidden gems, hearing interesting stories and about local characters, and of course important governmental sites such as the Parliament building.

We ended our tour in the shopping and restaurant district, which was perfect, as it was indeed lunchtime. Those outdoor cafes are delightful, but if it’s still too hot for you, head indoors and find some air conditioning. Many offer both options.

As mentioned, Barbados is the birthplace of rum, which Bajans are quite proud of. There are more rum tours and tastings then you can shake a stick at (because that’s something normal people do, anyway) so you will have to choose your tour(s) wisely. We really enjoyed our time at St. Nicholas Abbey, which is one of the smaller options in terms of distilleries, but the extraordinary house, gardens and museum aspect more then made up for that.

Located in St. Peter parish, it gives visitors more than just rum. If it were not enough to be a plantation house, museum and rum distillery in one, St. Nicholas Abbey is architecturally unique as well, as it is one of only three genuine Jacobean mansions in the entire Western Hemisphere. Built in 1658, it has never had anything to do with the church despite it’s heavenly name, and was always a sugarcane plantation up until 1947. Barbados thinks enough of this location to name it one of the “Seven Wonders of Barbados,” and we agree. It’s absolutely lovely — and yes, you can indeed visit the distillery and taste the rum.

Historical touring and gardens are a “must” in my book, but with the clear, always warm waters that stretch in nearly every direction you turn, I’m guessing at least part of why Barbados calls to you is its open ocean. There are as many ways as there are hours in the day to spend time in Bajan waters; narrowing it down might be the hardest thing you do while on your holiday. Of course, beach lounging has it’s place in the sun (so to speak? Pun intended?

Sorry, I had to) but while you are here and escaping your ordinary, why not opt for some extraordinary as well?

I highly recommend taking the time to go snorkeling or scuba diving. The water is warm and clear as day, the fish and underwater flora are varied and beautiful (and friendly! No fear of humans, and will swim in your oh-soclose proximity), it’s both a relaxing as well as exciting day. About how many things can you say that? As well, I cannot, cannot recommend taking the Bliss Boat tours enough. When you book, make sure you head out with Hayden and Emmanuel, they and their crew are the most excellent team. Experienced, fun, easygoing, and the best part — well prepared. Honestly just all around cool people. This was a standout portion of our time in Barbados, and the people made it so as much as the location and tour itself.

Hayden and Emmanuel will get you to all the best spots in their glass-bottomed-boat, and while not crowded with other boats or catamarans. This is

important, since you don’t want to be swimming into other people (or have them endlessly crashing into you).

Not only that, but it makes for better photos and wildlife spotting. There is an excellent chance you will not only see, but swim with turtles (who are treated with the respect and care they deserve). Hayden comes with you and your group, and takes underwater photos that he sends everyone in a Dropbox after the trip for no extra fees.

These are beautiful, we cherish them.

Visual keepsakes of this amazing time are priceless and quite special, some of the shots are amusing as well. Really, this excursion is one to top the list.

Don’t forget to book with Hayden, you will be so thrilled that you did.

One rainy day, we decided the best use of our day would be to take surfing lessons. Water above, water below — it was such an interesting experience.

We headed out to the deAction Beach Shop, owned and operated by worldranked windsurfer and “Bajan beach culture promoter” (as per self and personal site), Brian “deAction Man” Talma. The word I would use to best describe it would be “groovy.” It was a chill place with a relaxed vibe, covered in art mostly created by Talma himself (some available for purchase) as well as beach and surf paraphernalia. Located in the Silver Sands area, equipment rentals are available, as are lessons.

Take your pick of equipment — starboard boards, surfboards, sail models, SUP/stand up paddle boards, and more are available for rent. Wetsuits are also available if you would like.

After you have signed in, met your instructor, and chosen your equipment (or had it chosen for you), you will all head out to a local beach where there aren’t many swimmers. This is important, because you don’t then need to worry about hitting anyone as you flail about on your watercraft of choice. If you are new to the sport and anything like us, you might not be the most graceful as you learn. We ended up falling off the boards and “into the drink” more often then not, but by the end of the lesson we had each gotten up and stayed up at least a few times. I don’t mean to brag, but one time even making cleanly it to the shore (pinkies up, quite fancy). Clearly, headed for the pros.

This was different than everything else we had done while in Barbados — it was physical, it was fun, it was at times silly, and something we had never tried before. It was letting yourself look foolish and perhaps act foolish as well. It made us a little closer by doing this new thing, where we looked goofy and were constantly coughing up ocean water, a good example of a lovely (loving) bonding experience we still talk about and won’t forget.

I could go on for ages about all there is to do and experience in Barbados, and that’s not even touching upon the amazing food (don’t even try to diet) or the laid-back atmosphere, the gracious people we were lucky enough to meet and spend time with, the perfect weather (even during it’s bursts of rain, perfection), and of course, more food. It was ridiculous to wait 20 years to visit Barbados, I kept putting it off, because ... well, you know. Life. I won’t be waiting 20 more to return.

There are many options for boat and water excursions, such as snorkeling with this glass bottom boat.

SAMANTHA FEUSS PHOTOS, TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

International SINGAPORE

PERFECT BLEND Beautifully modern, historically rich DOUG HANSEN

The San Diego Union-Tribune

30-foot-long, red and yellow cloth dragon with daggerlike white teeth blocked our way as my wife, Shirin, and I strolled down Singapore’s famed Orchard Road, a treelined boulevard known for its upscale stores and hotels. Drums beat rhythmically as a dozen men maneuvered the undulating dragon along the broad sidewalk.

This symbol of strength, power and good luck in Chinese culture was part of the lingering festivities following the Chinese New Year 10 days earlier. As we paused to watch the colorful show, I thought to myself, “You have to expect the unexpected in Singapore.”

Our five days in Singapore were meant to be a warmup for our six-week Southeast Asia tour, but I discovered belatedly that Singapore should have been the grand finale, since it proved to be one of the highlights of our five-country trip. In fact, Singapore has become my favorite major, modern city in the world.

There is much to like about Singapore, but I’ll start by getting out of the way the only two drawbacks I can think of. First, Singapore is consistently ranked among the most expensive cities in the world, along with Paris and Hong Kong. Second, due to its proximity to the equator, Singapore’s average temperature hovers around a daily high of 88 degrees and a low of 75 degrees, with 84% average humidity and rain showers possible on most days. The all-time low temperature is 66.9 degrees.

Modern Singapore was founded by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819 as a trading post for the British East India Company. The island city state (just 279 square miles) blossomed in just six decades from a place of strife and relative poverty to a global powerhouse for entertainment, education, finance, health care, manufacturing, technology, tourism and transportation.

During our visit to the National Museum, we were struck by the magnitude of the country’s accomplishments, displayed in what could be called “the bragging rights room”: Singapore is consistently rated as one of the world’s safest and cleanest countries; it has the world’s top rated airport and airline; its students year after year rank No. 1 in the world for science, reading and math; it is the world’s second busiest container port, third largest global foreign exchange market and third largest oil and refining center; and Singapore ranks as the eighth healthiest.

As we toured various parts of the city, invariably we found the Singaporeans to be kind and helpful. Fortunately for us, English is their main official language, followed by Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.

We never perceived any tension as people from Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Philippines, India and Europe mixed freely everywhere.

“Even though we have a very mixed population,” explained a local man, “we all get along well because from the earliest days our country focused on policies that ensured that people from different countries and cultures could live and work together peacefully. That’s why every year on July 21 we celebrate Racial Harmony Day, to remind ourselves of how important this is for our success.”

My wife and I opted for an unorthodox way to explore the city by staying in hotels in three different areas. Our first hotel, the Six Senses Duxton, placed us near

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DOUG HANSEN PHOTOS, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE VIA TNS

Singapore now carefully preserves its remaining historic buildings such as these scattered throughout the city.

The iconic Singapore Lion fountain at Merlion Park.

Chinatown, the elaborate Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and across from the Maxwell Hawker Center, one of the city’s best places to try tasty yet inexpensive Singaporean dishes.

While much of Singapore has been rebuilt with towering modern buildings, the city now rigorously preserves the remaining historic homes and shops as heritage sites. We made a reservation to see a good example of this protection, the NUS Baba House. As a carefully restored Chinese home built in 1895, it gave us a glimpse into the lives and traditions of a wealthy Chinese family in that era.

Our next lodging, the five-star Capitol Kempinski Hotel, had recently opened after a restoration that combined two historic structures. This location placed us within walking distance of several major museums, the famed Raffles Hotel, St. Andrews Cathedral and the spectacular bayside Merlion Park.

For our initial outing, we headed first thing in the morning to the 160-year-old Singapore Botanic Gardens, only 10 minutes by taxi from our hotel. Being plant lovers, we had looked forward to visiting these gardens, and we weren’t disappointed. We delighted in exploring this

One of many images of Buddha found inside the Buddha Tooth Temple.

UNESCO World Heritage site, whose 203 acres of tropical gardens offered miles of hiking and jogging trails, three lakes and a spectacular orchid garden.

The area surrounding our hotel was attractive during the daytime, but after nightfall the city transformed itself into a nocturnal kaleidoscope of color, especially down by the bay. The horseshoe-shaped bay presented a Las Vegas-like fountain show with sound and lights, while the city’s signature Singapore Lion spouted a massive stream of water from its jaws as hidden lights painted the

statue in endlessly changing colors and patterns.

Small tour boats festooned with colored lights twinkled in the water while in the background, the three towers of the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel loomed large, topped by an enormous lintel shaped like the bow of a ship. When we visited that lofty perch, the 360-degree view of Singapore was overshadowed by the enormous infinity pool that seemed to float in the air 57 stories above the city.

Wherever we walked, we appreciated Singapore’s efforts to create a more eco-friendly environment. As a result, large, lovely trees graced most streets, while many buildings had walls and roofs covered with plants. In some areas, pastel-colored, historic shophouse rows stood in stark contrast to the surrounding modern buildings with their stunning architectural designs.

One of our taxi drivers boasted, “Dining is our national pastime,” and it certainly seemed true, based on the number of international restaurants and the 114 hawker centers that offered every kind of food imaginable.

For our final exploration of the city, we decided to splurge and stay at the five-star Capella Singapore on exclusive Sentosa Island, known for its beaches, golf courses and attractions including Universal Studios Singapore. Inside our hotel’s courtyard, we found a brass plaque embedded in the sidewalk, marking the spot where President Donald Trump first shook hands with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un. Our room overlooked the cargo ship-filled South China Sea and a nearby Indonesian island bristling with oil refinery structures. A path behind the hotel led us down to a beach and a free shuttle that transported visitors around the island.

As we prepared to leave Singapore and continue our Southeast Asia sojourn, Shirin and I agreed that someday we will return, stay longer and savor even more of the specialness of Singapore — a bold, vibrant, attractive and innovative citystate with pleasant surprises around every corner.

CHILE

EXPLORING THE SOUTHERN END OF THE ATACAMA DESERT MARK JOHANSON

Chicago Tribune

hen my plane touches down at the Desierto de Atacama Airport in northern Chile, it feels as if I’ve been launched out of orbit to some Martian landscape. Aside from the small terminal, there isn’t another building in sight amid a panorama of parched earth.

About 15 miles away from the airport, I’m zapped back to reality at the small beach town of Bahía Inglesa, a toothpaste-blue colored bay with pearly white sands, where I enlist the help of local guide Carlos Pizarro, of Chillitrip, to explore the remote southern half of the Atacama Desert.

As we head down roads made of bischofite (a sea salt concentrate), we spot nomadic fishermen harvesting seaweed along wild desert beaches. There are also small port towns such as Caldera and Chanaral, where leather-faced men at waterfront markets sell freshly picked piure (a tomato-red sea creature) and tangy ceviches.

Pizarro takes me for a lunch of shrimp empanadas in the small fishing village of La Caleta on a rugged beach within Pan de Azúcar National Park. Just offshore,

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MARK JOHANSON, FOR THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE VIA TNS

A couple walks towards the shore of Laguna Verde in Nevado Tres Cruces National Park. on the park’s namesake island that looks like a sugarloaf, is a small colony of about 40 Humboldt penguins prowling the coast in search of food.

The sea here may be bountiful, thanks to the nutrient-rich Humboldt Current, but the land is barren and thirsty. This is, after all, the driest nonpolar place on Earth. It hasn’t rained in the park in over a year. There are some weather stations in the Atacama that have never recorded

a single drop. Sporadic rains every few years cause a desert bloom, when a blanket of pink, white and yellow flowers covers the mountain valleys near the only real city in these parts, Copiapó.

Copiapó, itself, sprouted from the desert in the 18th century as a gold boom town, home to the first railroad in South America and earliest telegraph line in Chile. It remains a prosperous mining town to this day, though copper is the metal du jour. (Chile is the world’s largest copper producer.)

If you’ve heard of Copiapó, it’s no doubt because of the 33 miners who were trapped more than 2,300 feet underground in 2010 at the nearby San José Mine. Their dramatic rescue after 69 days was watched by an estimated global audience of 1 billion and turned into a 2015 Antonio Banderas movie.

I’ve flown into Copiapó’s airport to try to discover what everyone else is missing. After a long afternoon traversing the coast, I set off on day two with Pizarro to explore some ancient rock art in the nearby Quebrada de las Pinturas.

This jagged ravine is home to a collection of paintings made about 1,500 years ago. They depict llamalike guanacos and humanish figures, and give tantalizing

clues about the Las Ánimas culture, whose people etched out a life in one of the planet’s most inhospitable places.

Pizarro says it’s one of the best spots in the Atacama “to reflect on the life of our ancestors and the deep connection they had with the desert.”

On my final day in the Atacama, Pizarro and I head up to the Altiplano (high plain) via a wide, khaki-colored valley. The plan is to take in the (quite literally) breathtaking features of Nevado Tres Cruces National Park, a cloud-hugging Andean reserve just west of Ojos del Salado, the second tallest mountain in the Western Hemisphere and highest active volcano in the world at nearly 23,000 feet.

Pizarro says this area is called the “sky of South America,” as it’s home to a collection of 16 summits over 20,000 feet. Nowhere beyond the greater Himalayas has such lofty earth.

The way back to Copiapó that afternoon skirts the edge of the Salar de Maricunga, a blindingly white salt flat near the border with Argentina. It’s the southernmost salt flat in South America, and its bleached earth sits in stark contrast to the burnt-brown hills of the Altiplano.

International ‘DUTY-FREE’ AIRPORT SHOPPING: THE PRICING PUZZLE

MEXICO

ED PERKINS

Tribune Content Agency

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Sunsets in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, come highly recommended TIM SCHNUPP PHOTOS, TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

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Zihuatanejo hotel proves ideal place to do a whole lot of nothing in the hills above town, the lobby bar and dining areas offer a truly breathtaking vantage over the ometimes doing nothing glistening bay, with a nod to the is best of options. massive ocean beyond.

When traveling, Truly doing nothing is not however, doing nothing as easy as it sounds, though, usually isn’t much of an so meeting our nongoals was option at all. Especially going to be a challenge. First off, international travel, the room itself is crucial — agwith the carbon footprint that comes gressively idling for days on end along for the ride. A multihour flight requires the proper environs! The just to sit around a hotel room and five-suite campus had us covered stream movies? Preposterously sinful! no matter where we stayed, but our This offseason trip to Zihuatanejo, suite featured that view, be it lounging Mexico, was a definite exception for us, in bed, in the sun on the deck, in the though. A whole lot of nothing was the shade from the hammock, or maybe only item on the agenda. My wife and I from the private plunge pool. We had were celebrating our wedding anniverno shortage of lounging options. sary, and work had her on the fringes of The most important hurdle, howpure exhaustion by the time we tapped ever, is food — how lazy can one be if Alaska Airline’s direct flight from Los you have to get dressed et al. to seek out Angeles. meals? Fortunately for us, the Amuleto After we grabbed our checked bag, was a gastronomic oasis, and we never we bypassed the immediate offers of had to step off the property for a meal a taxi to the hotel and went directly to that was just as fancy — or as simple — the official, clearly marked “Taxi” desk. as we wanted.

Better to pay up-front here than trying Every morning at breakfast (included your luck with an independent driver. with room), a gourmet option was Still, we had to have been a pretty available with Instagram-worrough-looking sight as we thy presentation and made our way to the front delightful flavor prodoor of the Amuleto files. The frittata was (amuleto.net). Little well-received, and did we know what the chilaquiles — a gem we’d found, my wife’s favorite the perfect landing breakfast dish spot to execute our — were the best absence of plans. she’d ever had. The Mind you, there rather extensive are an abundance lunch menu reads of activities for a more like the dinner visitor to this Parmenu of a high-end adise on the Pacific, Mexican restaurant in just north of Acapulco. the U.S., and even a The civic motto of “CiChilaquiles simple order of beef udad de todos,” everyone’s at the Amuleto tacos is likely to prove city, is a perfect fit. Any variation hotel. memorable. In fact, of water sports one can think of ANDREA SCHNUPP, TRIBUNE NEWS I’ve been trying in is going to be on offer, and one SERVICE vain to copy those tafellow hotel guest reported a woncos since we got back! derful fishing experience. There’s Dinner is a whole other also ample beach space for pure loungballgame, though. Expect a ing, with shopping and restaurants three-course tasting menu that is truly steps away from popular Playa de Ropa. magnificent. The onion tart tatin with On the flight over, our seatmate was a parmesan ice cream, parmesean tuille resident of the area and he also sugand arugula was an amazing starter. gested nearby Troncones and Barra de Entrees featuring grilled shrimp (on Potosi for day trips. black fettuccine in a lemon-parmesan We were having none of it, howsauce and topped with chile threads) ever, as we made our beleaguered way or the beef filet (with an onion puree through reception. Within minutes, and Portobello mushroom sauce) arwith complimentary guacamole and en’t going to allow any other dishes to margaritas in hand, we knew we were steal the show, though. Truly masterful in the right place. What a view! Nestled

TIMOTHY SCHNUPP

Tribune News Service

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TIM SCHNUPP PHOTOS, TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

Dusk settles over Zihuatanejo, Mexico, on July 17, 2019.

The visage of Frida Kahlo is a familiar sight throughout Mexico, and Zihuatanejo, “Ciudad de todos,” is no exception.

meals, carefully crafted from thoughtful ingredients, a genuine 11/10. As for dessert, we all scream for ice cream, of course, but don’t be afraid to venture into the lemongrass pannacotta and berries in hibiscus sauce.

Not feeling so fancy? No problem!

The lunch menu is still in play (just give the kitchen a heads-up so they have time to prepare) and a team this good is going to come up with surprises. One night my wife wasn’t feeling well and they whipped up an off-menu chicken soup that would heal the most troubled of souls.

What truly sets the Amuleto apart, though, is the quality of service. Indeed, one expects a certain level of service to match that level of cuisine, but with so few guests on the property at any given time, the staff here was able to achieve a certain transcendence. It went beyond being a highend boutique hotel to become more like spending a few days at a friend’s place.

Guests here aren’t served, they are truly cared for and genuinely encouraged to feel welcome.

As incomparable as the hotel may be, the amazing thing is that it hardly seemed alone. The hills around Zihuatanejo are positively littered with properties that shimmer with the potential to offer a uniquely magnificent experience of their own, with plenty of options available across the budget spectrum. The possibilities for celebrating a wildly memorable vacation are seemingly endless. Your own favorite is just out there waiting to be discovered!

We hope to come back with the kids and explore, too, but we’ll definitely stop by the Amuleto to say hello to our new friends.

A suite at the Amuleto hotel in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, offers a variety of lounging options.

he airside (after security) areas of most international hub airports look more like shopping malls than serious transportation terminals.

To get to your gate you are often forced to run a gauntlet of stores pitching “tax free” or “duty free” deals. Tax-free stores claim that their prices are always great deals, but in fact, a new report shows that tax-free or duty-free prices are wildly inconsistent.

What is tax-free or duty-free, really? The “tax” or “duty” you avoid is the tax and import duty that applies to local retail sales in the area/ country where the airport is located, not U.S. import duty. It’s usually some combination of value-added tax (VAT) and sales tax. Tax-free or duty-free stores don’t just lop local taxes off the retail price. Instead, those stores mark the pre-tax price up just enough to make prices attractive to locals — and to give the airport a generous cut.

The United States is a low-duty import country, so items that are good buys for U.S. travelers are those few on which the U.S. assesses high excise taxes or on which manufacturers maintain high markups — specifically, tobacco, liquor, cosmetics and some perfumes. Cameras, watches, electronics and such are almost always cheaper at Amazon, Costco or Walmart than at any duty-free shop. Style merchandise and such are harder to quantify: some may be good deals, some not.

As a U.S. resident, you generally can’t buy tax-free items on arrival in the U.S. from a foreign country. You buy it at the foreign airport where your flight originates. A new report from The Points Guy (thepointsguy. com) ranks major foreign airports with the best duty free prices for popular purchases:  Overall: Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Grand Cayman.  Liquor: Kiev, Madrid, Grand Cayman.  Cosmetics: London/Heathrow, Dubai, Vienna.  Fragrance: Madrid, Porto, London/Heathrow.  Tobacco: Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok.

Airports with highest duty-free prices, overall, are Santorini, Sydney and Zurich; prices at Santorini, Accra and Athens are high for liquor; at Bangkok, Zurich, and Madrid for cosmetics; at Bangkok, Vienna, and Accra for fragrances, and at Sydney, London/Heathrow and Paris for tobacco. The survey also found that prices can vary among duty-free outlets in different terminals in the same airport.

Liquor is a popular tax-free buy for returning U.S. travelers, and you can now carry full bottles in the cabin, even on connecting domestic flights, if you use a TSA-approved tamper-evident bags (STEB) for liquor (and other liquids, too). If you do find some hardware — electronics, camera, digital device, or other device — at a truly attractive price, consider it, but make sure that the factory warranty will be valid in the US. The fundamental key to smart tax-free shopping is knowing prices at home — what you’d pay for the same product at Amazon, Beat Buy, Costco, Macy’s, Walmart or wherever you shop — and comparing tax-free prices with those prices.

And when you’re comparing, keep in mind that foreign tax-free stores may use unfamiliar metric measures. Also, before you buy any kind of souvenir, ask yourself, “If I buy this, where will it be in my home six months from now?”

The only reason you’d buy tax-free at a U.S. airport is for consumption or as gifts during your trip. Liquor and tobacco are heavily taxed in many countries, so you might want to consider buying what you need at your destination when you leave the U.S. You have to check your destinations to see if that makes sense.

For more information, you can check out the Points Guy’s posting at thepointsguy.com/guide/duty-free-comparison. Also, Skyscanner posts links to duty-free shopping outlets at dozens of major airports: skyscanner.net/news/how-cheapare-duty-free-shops.

I suspect that a lot of tax-free sales are to travelers who are just killing time between security, immigration and departure. That’s fine, as long as you recognize that you’re shopping as a recreational activity. But if you’re looking for really good deals, you’re likely better off waiting until you get home.

Grand adventures hat was your destination? From a Civil War battlefield and majestic mountain ranges to brilliant fall colors and an infinite starry night, images from readers captured moments in time not only across the United States, but around the world. Nearly 800 photos highlighting their favorite vacation moments were submitted to our third Destinations Photo Contest.

First place winner Melissa Foltz earned $1,000 for her photo of a stunning sunset serving as a backdrop to the silhouette of a tree. Second place winner McKayla Boyle won $500 for her image of a scene through the leaves during a hike in Wisconsin. Third place winner Joe Reece secured $250 for his view on the water on the tip of Baja California in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

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VIEW MORE PHOTOS ONLINE: Visit our website to view hundreds more photographs that were submitted from around the country to the Destinations Photo Contest.

GERMANY – David Baer photographed a scene straight out of a fairy tale during a vacation in the Bavarian Alps, capturing nature’s reflection in glassy waters.

STURGEON BAY, WIS. – Door County’s Cave Point was home of this frozen scene on the Lake Michigan coast. Photo by Lori Minnema.

Photographer Vincent Liao shared this image he called “Windy & Hot,” which shows the shadow of a lone figure standing in a sandy and deserted location.

OUTTER BANKS, N.C. – “Sunset on the Sound” captures the pink and purple skies behind a lone tree on the Outter Banks of North Carolina. Photo by Douglas Cassel.

ST. LOUIS – Holly Loussaert’s photo takes you for a look up inside the historic Old Courthouse in St. Louis.

MICHIGAN – Waves crash along the shore near this lighthouse in a photo taken by Doug Shields.

MONGOLIA – Old customs continue to live on as Ayu stands with his eagle, Ana, east of Ulgii, Mongolia. Photo by George Neill.

MAUI, HAWAII – Tina LaPointe captured this early-morning rainbow stretching from the clouds to the water from a hotel in Kahului on Maui.

WISCONSIN – Brilliant fall colors of yellow and orange hang over the waters of Ghost Lake on a cloudy October day. Photo by Brenda Kay Nelson.

OREGON – A single mountain climber watches as the morning sun rises above the snowy summit of Mt. Hood that extends over the Oregon clouds. Mount Hood, which is the highest point in Oregon, is the fourth highest point in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest. Photo by Jeremy Leder

UTAH – Rachel Wood captures the cloudy blue skies of a beautiful day above Mesa Arch inside Canyonlands National Park in May of 2018.

MANASSAS, VA. – A haze lingers over an old cannon on a Civil War battlefield of gold and green in this photo from Jim Schlett (left).

TETON COUNTY, WYO. – Stars from the Milky Way extend over John Moulton barn inside Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming (above). Photo by Braeden Roesler.

PAGE, ARIZ. – Lori Laster captures the curves and colors as the sun shines through this slot canyon in Arizona.

BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA – Christy Turner captured a stunning fall evening surrounded by purple and blue skies and snowy peaks at Emerald Lake Lodge in Yoho National Park.

CANNON BEACH, ORE. – A beachgoer walks through a storm along Cannon Beach on the Pacific coast during the summer of 2019. Photo by Tim Mossholder.

First place

DONORA, PA. – Melissa Foltz captured a fieryorange sunset along the horizon at her old home last April, which served as a backdrop for the silhouette of a tree.

MONTANA – The dam at Mystic Lake, surrounded by mountains, is captured by CR Shandy during a hike in Big Sky Country.

BILLINGS, MONT. – Shane Noble’s photo “On the Path” captures the brilliant colors and fallen leaves on a beautiful autumn day at Norm’s Island.

FRANKSVILLE, WIS. – McKayla Boyle’s photo peeks through the leaves during a summertime hike at Johnson Dog Park.

Second place

Third place

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO – Joe Reece took this picture one morning while heading out to fish on the tip of Baja California, his favorite place to vacation.

West CALIFORNIA

BRIAN VAN DER BRUG, LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA TNS

Customers relax outside Caffe Trieste on Vallejo St. in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco on Sept. 6, 2019.

In San Francisco’s North Beach,

pasta, poetry and a big helping of

UNCERTAINTY CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS

Los Angeles Times

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efore we get to the bad news, let’s agree that San Francisco’s North Beach, the West Coast’s most-storied Little Italy and the richest vein of Beat Generation memories anywhere, can still deliver a moment the way Frank Sinatra delivered “My Way.” As you line up for morning cappuccino among the young and old bohemians at Caffe Trieste, you spot a few who may have been present at its opening in 1956: one with bell-bottoms and a ukulele; one in a jacket that says “Rent Is Theft”; and one who is so focused on what she’s typing that she might bite through the pencil in her mouth.

As you eavesdrop on Columbus Avenue near Vallejo Street, you hear a burst of Italian, a flurry of Chinese and a smattering of Spanish, all within two minutes, all from locals.

As you shoulder through a crowd outside Golden Boy Pizza on Green Street, which has sold slices since 1978, you discover yet another line at the door of Sotto Mare, where the cioppino is king and the walls are crowded with big fish and old photos.

Fisherman’s Wharf is north. Chinatown is south. And Columbus Avenue plows through it at an angle, because what’s interesting about 90-degree street corners?

“This is the only real neighborhood that’s left in San Francisco,” Louis Samuels, a longtime North Beach resident, told me. “The tourists have been here forever, so they can’t (foul) it up.”

But from many angles, it looks like low tide in North Beach.

In 2017, the restaurant Rose Pistola at 532 Columbus closed after 20 years, and L’Osteria del Forno at 519 Columbus closed after 27 years. Caffe Puccini, at 411 Columbus, burned and closed that October after 28 years. In March 2018, Caffe Roma at 526 Columbus closed after 29 years.

North Beach’s retail vacancy rate ranks among the highest in the city, higher than it’s been in years. One city report calculated that 45 of 219 storefronts were empty at the end of 2018.

This might be a good moment to grab a mental snapshot of North Beach before the next wave of change, to grab a meal that involves tomato sauce, browse one of the nation’s most storied bookshops (City Lights on Columbus) or perhaps lay your hands on fine ceramics from Perugia at Biordi, also on Columbus Avenue.

Or just drink where Jack Kerouac drank (Vesuvio Cafe on Columbus).

But not as much, please.

While you’re at it, remember someone is always remembering how much better this neighborhood used to be.

The Ohlone were entitled to say it when Spanish colonizers grabbed their land in the 18th century, followed by

CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS, LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA TNS

Caffe Trieste, at 601 Vallejo St., North Beach, San Francisco, says it became the first espresso coffee house on the West Coast when it opened in 1956.

BRIAN VAN DER BRUG PHOTOS, LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA TNS

LEFT: Against a backdrop of the National Shrine of Saint Francis of Assisi, tourists Christian Scaccianoce, right, and Samara Bishop, left, share a bottle of wine inside a 1965 Fiat 600, which converts into a curbside picnic table, in front of the Mona Lisa Restaurant on Columbus Ave. RIGHT: Franco Crivello stands by to help customers at Molinari Delicatessen on Columbus Ave. gold seekers in the mid-19th, and Italian fishermen and their families in the late 19th.

All the world said it in 1906, when the great quake and fire leveled much of the city. I’m betting somebody said it again in the 1920s, when the San Francisco Art Institute moved in, putting bohemians and Italians in proximity.

By 1949, Herb Caen himself was saying it. “What’s left of San Francisco’s bohemia is centered in North Beach,” the author and columnist wrote. He went on to lament that high-priced apartments ($200 a month) were crowding out the artists.

Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Kerouac arrived a few years later, leading the most notorious invasion of poets, painters, dreamers and loiterers the city has ever seen.

(That’s when Caen coined the word “beatnik.”)

All these years later, the fascination continues even as details evolve.

“This is cyclical. I’ve seen this 15 times,” said Jimmie Schein, who has put in 18 years as co-owner of Schein & Schein Antique Maps and Prints on Grant Avenue. “North Beach is simply suffering from what San Francisco is suffering from.”

The tech millionaires. The homeless. Within two minutes, Schein told me “I love it here” and “We are failing miserably as a city” — and clearly meant it both times.

At Molinari Delicatessen, which has stood at Columbus Avenue and Vallejo Street since 1907, “It’s not the same, the way it used to be,” said head of operations Nicholas Mastrelli. “And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. …

I’m really excited.”

Mastrelli, 23, is the fourth generation of his family to stand behind Molinari’s counter. He told me how, as a kid helping his dad, he used to walk the neighborhood in the morning, buying bread from bakeries that no longer exist.

Now Mastrelli is adding gluten-free pasta to the inventory but still selling old-school sandwiches that bring crowds at lunchtime. Grab a number and order the Molinari Special Italian Combo Sandwich.

Here, as tides of change roll in, are several lessons from North Beach now.

There is no beach. Once upon a time there was a beach. But in the late 19th century, as San Francisco’s leaders used landfill to create more real estate, Fisherman’s Wharf grew and North Beach found itself landlocked, with Chinatown to the south and Coit Tower rising from Telegraph Hill to the east.

Also, there are no cigars at Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Store Cafe, there are no live worms at Live Worms Gallery, and Original Joe’s isn’t in its original location and has never been owned by Joe. There is no Italian restaurant shortage. Several have closed, dozens remain, and a few are new, such as Barbara Pinseria on Columbus, which specializes in rustic Roman-style pizza. Some have great food. Some have Italian owners who arrived in the ‘80s or ‘90s. Some have achieved maximum kitsch through liberal use of cherubs, murals, carvings, lights and bibs.

Show up early to beat the line at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana on Stockton Street; it promotes its prize-winning pizza Margheritas by making just 73 of these gooey yet crisp pies per day.

Get yourself into a deep conversation with a meatball sandwich at Mario’s Bohemian Cigar Store Cafe on Columbus Avenue. Linger over ravioli as Dean Martin sings “That’s Amore” above the old-school tumult of a Friday night at Sodini’s Green Valley Restaurant on Green Street. (“No decaf, no desserts, no reservations, no exceptions.”)

To learn a little more about the Beats and their successors, the hippies, cross Columbus to the Beat Museum, which is really more of a shop than a museum, but which has vintage hipster photos and first editions, an old mimeograph machine, one of Cassady’s shirts and an electric organ attributed to Ginsberg.

Beyond Columbus Avenue, rewards await. Columbus is the spine of the neighborhood but it’s also the beaten tourist path. Upper Grant Avenue has a more pedestrian feel that draws locals to galleries and boutiques such as Paparazzi; jewelry and metal sculpture at Macchiarini Creative Design; and antique maps and prints in the snug confines of Schein & Schein.

“First map of the city!” I heard Schein cry out one afternoon as a customer considered a reproduction document from the 1850s. “You’ll notice that there’s no Columbus Avenue.

They won’t put that in for years.”

And once they did, you can bet someone complained that the neighborhood would never be the same.

West A R I ZO N A

CALIFORNIA

‘Hiker trash,’

a fat rattlesnake and fickle

Mother Nature

INSIDE THE HUNTINGTON LIBRARY AND GARDENS CHUCK BARNEY

MELANIE RADZICKI MCMANUS

The Mercury News

Chicago Tribune

o it seems that railroad magnate Henry E. Huntington and his wife, Arabella, were basically hoarders. And I mean that in the best sense of the word.

Way back in the day — during the socalled Gilded Age — the couple habitually collected rare books, glorious pieces of fine art and distinctive botanical specimens. They could not be stopped. They filled whole train cars with this stuff and transported it to their sprawling ranch in San Marino, California, about 12 miles from downtown Los Angeles.

As Henry and Arabella neared the end of their lives, rather than unloading their wares in the world’s largest garage sale, they turned their estate into a collections-based research and educational institution for the public’s benefit.

Lucky for us.

Now, 100 years later, the acquisitions continue and the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens is a cultural wonderland that spans 207 beautifully landscaped acres.

At the suggestion of a fellow visitor, I wound up in the Mapel Orientation Gallery, where I learned all about the Huntingtons and their property via a brisk 10-minute film (I love a good backstory).

And it was here that I met Lisa Davis, an ultra-enthusiastic docent. “(Huntington) was a very modest man — not like Trump,” she informed me. “Even though he was richer than Trump.”

I quickly discovered that, even with its rare and extremely valuable treasures, The Huntington manages to radiate a playful, unstuffy vibe.

For example, there’s a fun Children’s Garden and crafts activity stations that cater to the youngsters. There are brochures instructing visitors how to conduct their own “quirky” tours.

I even found a spot that urged me to “Take a Selfie With Blue Boy.” Ha! Surely artist Thomas Gainsborough never imagined the rampant use of cellphones while he was working on his fabled portrait in the late 1700s.

After snapping a couple of shots with little boy Blue, I dropped in on the Huntington Art Gallery. This grand, 55,000 square-foot building was where Henry and Arabella lived in luxury. It now serves a couple of functions: to maintain the Beaux-Arts mansion as a period home, and to provide displays of The Huntington’s amazing European art collection.

SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. at drops of rain tap out a mournful melody on the nylon ceiling stretched over my head. Peeking out from under a thick down quilt, I watch tiny rivulets of water drip down the sides of my tent and sigh.

It’s not supposed to be raining here, at the entrance to Arizona’s Saguaro National Park.

Not in March. Not here in the Sonoran Desert. But rain is the least of my problems.

I’m just a week into a 45-day trek along the Arizona National Scenic Trail, or AZT, which unravels northbound from the state’s Mexican border to Utah. Here, in its southernmost passages, the path stumbles up and over Mica Mountain. The problem is that Mica’s summit hovers around 8,600 feet. If this storm weeps over the mountain all night and much of tomorrow, as forecast, Mica will be socked with 2 or 3 feet of snow — not something I want to hike through.

Flopping back onto my stomach, I pull the quilt over my head and pray the storm drifts far away. And soon.

The AZT is one of 11 National Scenic Trails in the U.S., an elite group that includes the Appalachian and Pacific Crest pathways.

While on the shorter side at 800 miles, the AZT is billed as one tough trek. You traverse the Grand Canyon and climb up and down a slew of mountains along the way.

And then there’s the issue of

S

F

ABOVE: Giant saguaro cacti stand tall along many parts of the trail. water. It’s scarce. And while thru-hikers like me — those trying to hike the entire trail in one attempt — can avoid summer’s oven-like temperatures by hiking in the spring or fall, there are no guarantees on this path. The trail unspools through diverse landscapes of desert, mountain, canyon and forest. You may be hot one day, then freezing the next. Kicking up endless swirls of dust in the south, then slogging through miles of kneedeep mud or snow in the north.

Its intimidating reputation isn’t scaring away hikers. Far from it.

Like other National Scenic Trails, the AZT has seen tremendous growth in traffic over the last five years. From 1998 to 2014, the Arizona Trail Association recorded an average of five trail completions per year. Now, there are more than 100.

ABOVE: Traversing the Grand Canyon ranks as one of the trail’s top highlights.

RIGHT: Some of the mountains along the Arizona Trail remain snow-covered well into the spring, making backpacking an adventure.

Humphreys Peak, pictured here, still sported several feet of snow last April.

MELANIE RADZICKI MCMANUS PHOTOS, CHICAGO TRIBUNE VIA TNS

For me, the attraction of an AZT thru-hike is the chance to immerse myself in nature. And to push myself. With this night’s deluge, the AZT has just given me a big shove.

The steady staccato of raindrops wakes me in the morning. A quick call to the Saguaro National Park rangers results in the grim recommendation to decamp, stat. And stay off Mica for about a week, unless I want to posthole through knee-deep snow. I don’t have a week to burn, so the next two days I hike around Mica’s base and that of neighboring Mount Lemmon, whose peak is also snowbound.

A fellow hiker tells me some people got caught in the storm at the top of Mica and were evacuated, confirming I’d made a wise decision.

From Mica and Mount Lemmon, I tromp around the town of Oracle, then head for the Black Hills and Tortilla Mountains.

The trail devolves from a smooth pathway into a rocky, inhospitable mess. Stumble, fall, curse, repeat.

Thankfully, I’m distracted from my misery by the immense fields of colorful spring wildflowers that pop up trailside: Mexican Gold Poppies, bobbing their brightly hued heads; delicate, feathery lupine, which soothe with their pink and lavender tones; bright-red chuparosa, whose flowers taste like cucumbers, and so many more.

Three weeks in, and I’ve got the hang of things. I’m adept at filtering water, setting up my tent and checking my shoes for scorpions.

I haven’t tired of eating Pop-Tarts for breakfast, and I’ve learned to clean up at night with a tiny bar of soap and a few capfuls of water.

When a fat rattlesnake blocks my passage, flicking its forked tongue, I only freak out a little before taking a rocky detour.

As I make my way toward the towns of Kearny and Superior, then Payson and Pine, I enjoy occasional meetings with my fellow “hiker trash,” as we long-distance trekkers jokingly refer to ourselves. Cashmere, Cookie and Tic Toc tell me to ditch my heavy Nalgene water bot-

tles in favor of lightweight Smartwater disposables, which also fit my screw-on water filter. CowStep and I trade snacks, my candy bar for a scoop of his chocolate chip-laced peanut butter. Golden and I curse about the several-day stretch of trail comprised almost entirely of baseball-sized rocks, which battered our feet and our psyches. And I fret over Long-Hauler, who fears his persistent leg pain is because of a torn tendon.

By the time I reach Flagstaff, I’ve got 500 miles under my pack straps and dozens of video clips in my head, which contain all of the breathtaking vistas the trail has shown me. While I’m eager to see what lies ahead, I know serious challenges remain. From here, the trail ascends Humphreys Peak, whose 12,633-foot summit is Arizona’s highest point. The AZT climbs only 9,000 feet up Humphreys’ flank, but there’s a lot of soft, deep snow up there. After that, I’ll face trekking in and out of the mighty Grand Canyon, then navigating its North Rim — which, like so many other spots this year, is buried under several feet of snow. Can I do it?

My final exam is tough. I repeatedly sink up to my knees in the soft snow on Humphreys Peak, causing tears of frustration. Once off the mountain, strong winds pummel me for two days. I battle several short-lived, but unnerving, blizzards. Pick my way across some treacherous rock slides climbing out of the Grand Canyon. I’m forced to pitch my tent on the porch of the North Rim park ranger’s cabin when the voluminous snow cover makes it impossible to camp elsewhere.

On Day 45, I arrive at the trail’s northern terminus. Long-Hauler and a few other friends are there, and we all dig into a feast of hot dogs, chips and beer, courtesy of a handful of other hiker trash eager to provide “trail magic” for their kindred spirits. Then it’s time for reflection.

I’d set out on this journey to enjoy nature while pushing myself a little.

Now I can attest that while Mother Nature is awfully beautiful, she’s one tough cookie. And so am I.

A backpacker traverses the Arizona Trail’s Four Peaks passage, brightened by a profusion of spring wildflowers. Roosevelt Lake, pictured in the distance, is a popular resupply spot.

GINA FERAZZI, LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA TNS

The Clear and Transcendent Pavilion has open sides and is designed as a stage for music and other performances at the Huntington Chinese Garden inside the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California.

My jaw was in perpetual plunge mode as I gazed at the elegant furnishings in the drawing rooms, dining room and the south terrace. And I wondered how many decades it would take me to get through the gigantic wall of books presented in the room where Henry routinely lost himself in literature.

As for the art, I was told that the collection of British portraits from the 18th and 19th centuries is considered “one of the greatest anywhere.”

Soon I was wandering over large expanses of manicured lawns while regretting my failure to bring a blanket and fat book to peruse under the sun.

All the gardens at The Huntington offer their own aesthetic pleasures: The Jungle Garden, with its gurgling brook and canopy of greenery, transported me to the tropics. And the Japanese Garden, with its koi-filled ponds, is a magical destination.

My favorite turned out to be the enchanting Chinese Garden — formally known as The Garden of Flowing Fragrance (Liu Fang Yuan). It features a man-made lake, stone bridges and waterfalls against a wooded backdrop of oaks and pines.

The Chinese Garden has a calming effect, epitomized by a simple stream-side structure called the Pavilion For Washing Away Thoughts. It’s a place that encouraged “quiet contemplation.”

Feeling like I was a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, I happily obliged.

West OREGON

Discovering the merits of

solo travel S TAYLOR BLATCHFORD

The Seattle Times

olo travel is something everyone should try at least once. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate backpacking trip up the Pacific Crest Trail a la Cheryl Strayed, or a whirlwind European extravaganza.

Even taking a weekend trip by yourself can be enriching and refreshing, and that’s precisely what I did this spring on a spontaneous trip to Portland, Oregon.

I’d wanted to visit Portland since moving to Seattle last fall, but the timing to go with friends had never quite worked, thanks to the strange hours and abnormal weekends of a newsroom schedule. But after spending a relaxing Memorial Day in Seattle, the inundation of vacation photos on social media gave me a travel itch. I checked my calendar for the following weekend and in an uncharacteristically spontaneous decision, I booked an Airbnb for one.

A few days later, I woke up, tossed a duffel bag in my car and drove down Interstate 5 with recommendations from friends but no agenda. I had no shame about doing “touristy” things because I’d never been to Portland, but I hoped to make the most of a short time without waiting in long lines.

I moved to Seattle from Missouri alone for my first job out of college.

I live by myself and I’ve traveled alone before while interning or studying abroad. Through all that, I’ve found that the main thing you have to conquer is the self-consciousness that comes with doing things alone.

After arriving in Portland in late morning, I grabbed a quick breakfast before heading to the top of my list: Powell’s Books.

I look for local bookstores in any city I visit, and Powell’s had been on my radar for years. But while I knew it was renowned for its size and catalog, I wasn’t expecting to be as overwhelmed as I was. For a few hours, Powell’s felt like a peaceful haven, just a bit insulated from the outside world.

Being alone meant I could leisurely venture through the connected rooms without worrying about frustrating travel companions. I got a little lost, I got distracted by new and familiar titles, and I eventually got three books, with a lot of self-restraint.

Bookstores are ideal for solo travel, but restaurants and bars can be less so — there’s a certain self-consciousness about asking a hostess for a table for one. But it’s only awkward if you make it awkward, and at every food stop, eating

without companions to talk with left more room for getting to know the new ones around you.

At my lunch stop, Pok Pok, the waitress and I chatted and I learned that she’d moved to Portland from Denver, where I’d grown up. The restaurant had come recommended by multiple friends, and for good reason. The Vietnamese fish sauce wings were crispy and full of flavor, and a light beer complemented the wings.

The early summer heat was perfect for sitting outside to sample Portland’s breweries, and I enjoyed an afternoon at Ecliptic Brewing and an evening at Deschutes Brewery while diving into one of the books from Powell’s.

After a night at my quiet Airbnb, I was ready to spend the day exploring the Columbia River Gorge, fueled by an incredible buttermilk old-fashioned donut from Blue Star. The Pacific Northwest’s natural beauty has captivated me since moving here, and I’d chosen the gorge over another day in the city because, being from Colorado, the outdoors is where I feel most myself.

I drove up the Historic Columbia River Highway with detours to Latourell Falls and Horsetail Falls, both surrounded by luscious greenery. Multnomah Falls was a true highlight — I couldn’t help but gasp when I reached the stunning double-waterfall view.

Further up the highway I stopped at the Bridge of the Gods, thinking of “Wild” — one of the first portrayals I’d seen of the Pacific Northwest’s natural beauty. I was no Cheryl Strayed, and a two-day trip was no hike up the Pacific Crest Trail. But the theme of our trips was similar: I knew spending time with myself helped me learn, reflect and become comfortable in my own skin.

As I drove from Hood River back to Seattle, I realized how much I’d fit into a quick 36-hour trip, largely because traveling alone means you’re able to be shamelessly selfish.

There are safety considerations to traveling solo, especially as a young woman. I would’ve stayed out on trails later and ventured out into more remote areas if I’d been with friends or family. I explored during daylight, was careful about how much I drank while sampling breweries and booked a quiet residential Airbnb with a “superhost” and great reviews.

What I got in return was time and space for flexibility and self-reflection. The next time I’m back in Portland with friends or family, I’ll be content knowing I got to first explore the city on my own terms.

TOP OF PAGE: Multnomah Falls on the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon.

ABOVE: A flight of beers at Deschutes Brewery in Portland.

LEFT: Redwoods in the Hoyt Arboretum in Portland on May 31, 2019.

TAYLOR BLATCHFORD PHOTOS, THE SEATTLE TIMES VIA TNS

N E VA DA

VEGAS IS GETTING A MILLENNIAL MAKEOVER ELAINE GLUSAC

Chicago Tribune

O

f all the ways to burn through cash in Las Vegas, zip lining 12 stories above the throngs at the outdoor mall known as LINQ Promenade may be the most thrilling. Next to hunting down zombies in a virtual reality game, seeing Lady Gaga in concert or hanging out at an arty day club with DJ Marshmello working the decks.

Say so long to your dad’s Las Vegas of windowless casinos, showgirl revues and Celine Dion ballads. Resorts along the Strip and beyond aim to attract the next generation of hedonists — millennials, and the likeminded — keen on technology, contemporary art, food and the outdoors. Now that Dion’s residency has bowed and Gaga’s is underway, welcome to hipster Vegas.

“Forty percent of Las Vegas visitors (in 2019) will be defined as millennials,” said Cliff Atkinson, the former senior vice president of hotel strategy at MGM Resorts International and current president of its Luxor Hotel & Casino. “You have to evolve and give that audience more of what they are looking for.”

Two renewed resorts embody the new Vegas zeitgeist: the Park MGM Las Vegas, which replaced the Monte Carlo on the Strip; and the remodeled Palms Casino Resort, which spent $690 million on a contemporary art-filled redesign.

PALMS CASINO RESORT VIA TNS

Damien Hirst’s sculpture of an 13-foot tiger shark preserved in three tanks floats atop the The Palms’ Unkown Bar and also inspired the name of Bobby Flay’s new restaurant.

“The next wave of Vegas arrivals is coming in every day,” said Jon Gray, the general manager of the Palms, fresh off the Electric Daisy Carnival that filled the resort with fans of electronic dance music in May. “You’re seeing that shift a lot more to millennials. They are more experience-focused.”

To be sure, excess is still the timeless temptation of Sin City and Vegas is a constant chameleon. But the present iteration feels fresh, with more diversions.

Checking into the Park MGM is like living in an Eataly. The Italian food emporium made its Vegas debut in December 2018 at the resort, occupying 40,000 light-flooded square feet with stalls devoted to pizza, pasta, panini and more under a two-story skylit ceiling that resembles an Old World train station.

Park MGM takes its name from the plaza it backs up to outside of T-Mobile Arena, home ice of hockey’s Vegas Golden Knights. The outdoor theme is welcomingly low key in a town where

the Luxor is a pyramid, and most welcome is outdoor seating at the Paris-channeling bistro Primrose and at Eataly.

In its arty makeover, the Palms is also going for the party set, starting with its over-the-top dayclub and nightclub Kaos. A nearly 60-foot-tall statue of a humanoid by Damien Hirst strides on a daybed-filled island in a pool surrounded by sofas where day drinking patrons groove to the likes of Marshmello and Louis the Child.

Gaming in Las Vegas means, of course, gambling. But increasingly, this casino town is embracing other forms of gaming, including the video variety. Luxor, for example, added HyperX Esports Arena, a 30,000-square-foot, high-tech video gaming stadium with tiers of player stations.

At the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, the 12,000-square-foot Level Up offers classic pool, foosball and ping pong as well as an arm wrestling table and Giant Pac-Man. But its next-gen pull is a 2,000-square-foot black box room that serves as the setting for Virtual Reality Powered by Zero Latency. Players wear VR goggles and backpacks and roam untethered through video worlds.

For no-skills thrills, the LINQ Hotel & Casino opened FLY LINQ in 2018.

Ten parallel zip lines race toward the High Roller observation wheel 12 stories above ground (rides from $25).

South GEORGIA

Columbus may be Peach State’s

COOLEST CAT MARY ANN ANDERSON Tribune News Service

C

olumbus, on the far western side of Georgia, isn’t near an ocean, a sea or even the Gulf of Mexico.

So, then, you might think it odd to see a tanned surfer dude — or maybe a surfer chick — strolling around downtown with a surfboard under one arm and a wetsuit under the other.

That’s because Columbus, the second largest city in Georgia after Atlanta, is anchored by the Chattahoochee River, the dividing line between the Peach State and Alabama.

Columbus is so close to Alabama that you can literally throw a rock across the river and hit a Crimson Tide or Auburn fan.

On the river you can actually go whitewater rafting and surfing right past downtown and all of its historic buildings. Yes, surfing, as in surf’s up.

River surfing, it’s called. The Chattahoochee has the longest urban whitewater rafting course in the world — you can shoot the ‘Hooch for about 2.5 miles — with a pocket of the rapids providing the perfect opportunity for pretty decent surfing.

While river surfing on the ‘Hooch may not quite be the caliber of, say, Oahu or Malibu, at least you don’t have to worry about a great white making you its ichthyological entrée.

And if you dare, you can even zipline across the Chattahoochee from Georgia to Alabama and back again on the Blue Heron Zip Line, named for one of the river’s most famous denizens that congregate among its rocks and shallows, the stately blue heron.

“It’s the only place in the U.S. where you can zipline from state to state,” pointed out Shelby Guest of the very modern, very snazzy Visit Columbus Welcome Center, where I stopped to load up on brochures.

Here’s the thing about Columbus and its downtown, especially if you’ve explored Atlanta and Savannah but still want to see a different facet of Georgia. Columbus may well be the coolest cat in Georgia at the moment.

The core of Columbus is history and can best be described as having all the architecture, museums, attractions and captivating array of restaurants of its Peach State cousins, but without Atlanta’s notorious traffic and Savannah’s even more notorious gnats and humidity.

“Columbus has one of the largest contiguous historic districts in the U.S.,” Guest said as she pointed on a map several places to see. “It goes on for 28 blocks and has lots of antebellum architecture.”

History and museums Very long story short. Columbus, once the site of a Creek Indian village before the Creek and Cherokee were forced out of Georgia in the infamous Trail of Tears, was established in 1828 as a frontier trading post, primarily for King Cotton, with the Chattahoochee as its focal point. The Civil War came and went, and then Reconstruction brought textile mills, and a little later Coca-Cola fizzed up, its formula the creation of Dr. John Pemberton of Columbus.

After World War I came Camp Benning, named after Confederate Gen. Henry Benning, and which would metamorphose into the U.S. Army’s Fort Benning, which has trained untold thousands of soldiers, including the likes of Omar Bradley, Colin Powell, George S. Patton and Dwight Eisenhower. Then World War II and the civil rights movement happened, and most recently a renaissance of downtown that managed to put Columbus on cuisine and cultural maps where it previously wasn’t found.

include chicken, steak and grilled seafood that changes seasonally.

For an extra-special dinner, the choice is EPIC Restaurant. EPIC has tons of accolades, but being the recipient of Wine Spectator’s “Award of Excellence” and the AAA Four-Diamond Award tells you the menu is outstanding. The highlight is probably Chef Jamie Keating’s Chef’s Table, an eightcourse tasting event that some would call, well, epic, and which takes place, appropriately so, in the kitchen. The courses, as well as the regular menu, change with what’s locally and seasonally available, but expect anything from lobster to bison to kangaroo.

No matter where you dine for lunch or dinner, sweet dreams are made at The Loft, and that’s where you should go for dessert. Its sweet treats are huge. The confections are amazing.

Four of us at one table shared two desserts, a rich carrot cake and a slice of strawberry cheesecake, and we still had leftovers.

MARY ANN ANDERSON, TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

A vintage bus is part of the décor of Country’s on Broad, a restaurant in downtown Columbus, Georgia, that’s known for its barbecue, ribs, and chicken.

EXPLOREGEORGIA.ORG VIA TNS

The Chattahoochee River at Columbus has the longest urban whitewater rafting course in the world at 2.5 miles and also provides opportunities for kayaking and surfing.

The history of Columbus is told through the Columbus Museum, the second largest museum in Georgia and with a focus toward the Chattahoochee River Valley. Two museums are just on the edge of downtown, the National Infantry Museum and the National Civil War Naval Museum, where you can plan to spend at least a day seeing both.

Whether you have kids or no kids, the Coca-Cola Space Science Center is filled with NASA artifacts from the space shuttle program, with its coolcat centerpiece of a space shuttle main engine nozzle that has flown into space on nine NASA missions. The Lunchbox Museum, the world’s largest collection of lunchboxes, is also in Columbus, and for those of — ahem! — a certain age, is guaranteed to spark a sense of nostalgia.

Where to eat I’ll start with a really, really casual restaurant, and that would be Country’s on Broad. A former Greyhound bus station — a vintage bus is part of its décor — Country’s has been serving Columbus comfort food of ribs, barbecue and chicken for decades.

Just about everybody loves its banana pudding in a jar, but its made-fromscratch lemon pie was recently named

to Georgia’s prestigious “100 Plates Locals Love” for 2019.

The macaroni and cheese at Minnie’s Uptown Restaurant, a meat ‘n’ three that may very well serve the best fried chicken in all of Columbus, also made the “100 Plates Locals Love” a few years back.

For those not in the Southern know, a meat ‘n’ three is a hometown restaurant that serves meat — maybe chicken, pork chops or ham — and three sides from a variety of fixin’s along the lines of mac ‘n’ cheese, butterbeans, corn or collards.

For a casual restaurant, mosey on over to Smoke Bourbon and BBQ where the brisket is as fine as any you would find west of the Mississippi and the barbecue as slow-cooked and sweet as any in the entire state of Georgia. Start with the appetizer of pimento cheese wontons, though, before moving to Smoke’s rooftop patio to sip some mighty fine bourbon.

A step up from casual is trendy.

Saltcellar is the third in a sisterhood of locally owned upscale restaurants that include the long-established The Loft and Mabella. At Saltcellar, snack on crispy chickpeas seasoned with Spanish paprika before moving on to an appetizer of chilled smoked shrimp in strawberry cocktail sauce. Entrees

Not to miss The 22-mile Chattahoochee RiverWalk meanders past downtown.

Take the little ones to play in its splash pad while you relax in its many green spaces. Or you can just bike or walk the RiverWalk and enjoy the blue herons and other birds soaring above the river.

“It’s natural and quiet, even though parts of it run close to uptown’s entertainment district,” Guest said.

Although I didn’t stay there, Guest said I should see the Rothschild Pound House, the only bed-and-breakfast in the historic district. She said Bruce Willis had stayed at the inn when he was making “The Long Night,” but also pointed out that portions of “We Were Soldiers,” “The Fighting Temptations” and “The Green Berets” were filmed in Columbus.

Fan of the blues? Snap a photo of Gertrude Pridgett Rainey’s home.

That’s Ma Rainey to most of us, the Mother of the Blues, who was born in Columbus in 1886.

Do take the time to check which performances are at the Springer Opera House, a National Historic Landmark and the official state theater of Georgia, as well as the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts.

“We do a variety of national Broadway touring productions,” says RiverCenter’s Norman Easterbrook, its executive director. “We’re getting ‘Cats’ before the Fox Theater in Atlanta gets it. What that means is the quality in Columbus at this particular theater is quite extraordinary.”

Other Broadway spectaculars at RiverCenter in the upcoming months are “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” and “Waitress.” In between are performances by, among others, the Columbus Ballet, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and Schwob School of Music from Columbus State University.

One of the last cool cat things about pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly Columbus, including its uptown, downtown, and all around, is that it’s also car-friendly. Parking is free everywhere, even parking garages, and that’s all day, all night, all the time. By the river, by a restaurant, by the historic district, or by anywhere, there’s nary a parking meter to be found. That means two things to not worry about in Columbus: parking tickets and great white sharks.

MARY ANN ANDERSON, TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

The 22-mile Chattahoochee RiverWalk meanders past downtown and includes a splash pad, greenspace and natural areas.

South KENTUCKY

KOKOMO

PEOPLE STILL SEARCHING FOR THE BEACH BOYS’ GETAWAY JOHNNY DIAZ Sun Sentinel

Y

BOWLING GREEN AREA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU VIA TNS

Fountain Square is the focal point of Bowling Green’s compact downtown.

A

fascination with small-town America

Bowling Green offers a mix of historic and modern PATTI NICKELL

Tribune News Service

W

ho would believe that a 30foot hole encased in glass would attract 230,000 annual visitors from around the world to come and gawk?

All the more amazing as there is nothing to see in the enclosed abyss. That would not have been the case, however, on the morning of Feb. 12, 2014 at 5:39 a.m. when a sinkhole opened up inside the National Corvette Museum, swallowing eight of the classic cars. It has come to be known around here as the $5 million hole.

While the hole itself is empty, seven cars are displayed alongside it. Five remain in the condition they were in upon removal, while the eighth — the one millionth — is in the exhibit hall.

The National Corvette Museum is an enormous draw, but Bowling Green, located in southwestern Kentucky — closer to Nashville, Tennessee, (less than an hour’s drive away) than to Louisville (a two-hour drive) — is benefiting from travelers’ current fascination with small-town America.

It helps that Bowling Green (population 68,401) punches considerably above its weight, with a wealth of attractions that would do justice to a city three times its size.

If you’re looking for a classic American amusement park, they have it. Ditto a railroad museum devoted to the golden era of rail travel.

Then there’s a lost river inside one of the area’s numerous caves; a historic, mostly intact African-American community; an antebellum mansion that survived onslaughts by both the Union and Confederate armies, and a thriving food and craft beer scene.

And if all that isn’t enough, Mammoth Cave National Park is but a short 30 minutes away.

But let’s get back to Bowling Green’s star attraction.

In 1953, Chevrolet introduced a new sports car, naming it after a World War II warship known for its compact size and maneuverability. In 1963, the second generation of Corvettes was introduced, and America fell in love — with the sporty convertible becoming symbolic of the freedom of the open road.

While originally manufactured at GM headquarters in Flint, Michigan, since 1981, Bowling Green has been the sole home of the much-loved ‘Vette.

There are several ways to experience the thrill of driving a Corvette here. Start by piloting a real ‘Vette around a virtual track in a simulator.

If that isn’t adrenaline-boosting enough, arrange to drive your own (or ride shotgun with a professional driver) around the three-mile course at the Motorsports Park.

It will be difficult to tear yourself away, but there’s lots more to see and do in Bowling Green. While this whole area of Kentucky is riddled with caves (nearby Mammoth Cave is the largest mapped cave system in the world), one cave is located right here.

At Lost River Cave, you stroll through a canopy of trees to the cave

ABOVE: The Historic RailPark and Train Museum is a restoration of the old Louisville & Nashville depot.

BELOW: Riverview at Hobson Grove was begun before — but not completed until after — the Civil War.

entrance — all the while hearing stories of disappearing Civil War soldiers sucked into the blue hole of the cave’s underground river, never to be seen again.

Your experience will be much more pleasant, as most of the time visitors can take Kentucky’s only underground boat tour. I say most of the time because on my visit high waters resulting from above-average rainfall had made it impossible to enter the cave.

Next up was a self-guided tour of the ShakeRag District, listed on the National Historic Register in acknowledgment of its importance in African-American history. Following the Civil War, the neighborhood, with its collection of bungalows housing both businesses and residences, was home to an increasing black professional class. Later, it provided a haven in this segregated city.

Notable buildings include the State Street Baptist Church, the city’s oldest African-American church (1838), and the Underwood-Jones Home.

This two-and-a-half story, Italianate-style mansion was the home and office of Dr. Z.K. Jones, the community’s first doctor.

If you’re traveling with children, a visit to Beech Bend Amusement Park and Splash Lagoon is a must. A twoday play pass ($39.99) is good for admission and all rides and shows.

If you’re a lover of vintage rail cars, you won’t want to miss the Historic RailPark and Train Museum and L&N Depot. Once the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Station and now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it offers self-guided museum tours and guided tours of five restored rail cars.

For those who can’t get enough of historic homes, there’s Riverview at

Hobson Grove, another listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

The view of the Barren River — once visible from the upstairs hallway — is obscured by trees today, but the drive up to the imposing front entrance makes up for it.

There was supposed to have been a large porch to take advantage of the view, but construction of the house which began in the 1850s, was halted by the Civil War, and when it was finally finished in 1872, it was without a porch. So upset was the lady of the house that she was known to have said, “that pesky war kept me from getting my porch.”

Once you’ve seen the sights, you should save time to just wander Bowling Green’s charming downtown, anchored by Fountain Square.

A few hours spent roaming the hilly campus of Western Kentucky State University is also well worth your time. The on-campus Kentucky Museum has exhibits such as A Star in Each Flag: Conflict in Kentucky.

While Bowling Green served as the Confederate Capital of Kentucky, there were Union sympathizers as well, and the exhibit shows that Kentucky really was a state divided.

My favorite exhibit showcases Kentucky icon Duncan Hines, often celebrated as one of the south’s most influential food writers and an early endorser of culinary brands.

I loved the pithy quotes attributed to Hines — who must have been equal parts courtly charm and cantankerous behavior — especially this one.

After eating at the home of a wealthy acquaintance, Hines remarked, “If the oysters had been as cold as the soup, the soup as warm as the wine, the wine as old as the chicken and the chicken as young as the hostess, it would have been a fine dinner.”

There’s one thing for sure — Bowling Green makes for a fine travel experience.

ou know the catchy, relaxing lyrics: “Off the Florida Keys, there’s a place called Kokomo,” goes the 1988 hit by The Beach Boys.

Three decades later, people are still wondering, where is Kokomo?

Whether it’s in the Keys, the Caribbean or stuck in your head, people continue to look for the fictional romantic island getaway “where you wanna go to get away from it all.”

Using social media, tourists and fans of the song mark the spots that look and feel like the destination The Beach Boys reference, even though you won’t find Kokomo on a South Florida map.

On Instagram, there are more than 116,000 hashtags dedicated to #kokomo. Users post photos of sun-dappled beaches with palm trees and seas in various shades of blue dotted with sailboats.

The tune continues to bring good vibrations. At the Islamorada Chamber of Commerce, people inquire about the song and its inspiration, said Judy Hull, executive director.

“You hear it down here all the time,” Hull said. “Because the song is still very popular, we do have people ask about it.”

In its heyday, the Holiday Isle Resort had a poolside bar called Kokomo. The owner at the time created the bar after hearing inquiries from tourists looking for Kokomo.

A sign at the bar plotted the distance to all the places referenced in the song, Hull said. Aruba, Jamaica, Bermuda, Bahama, Key Largo, Montego.

Although the resort is now the Postcard Inn Beach Resort and Marina, people still make the connection between Kokomo and Islamorada. The resort has a re-imagined pool bar called Kokomo that serves cocktails, beer and wine and light fare from nachos to sandwiches.

Farther south, as in the end of the continental U.S., there was also a “Kokomo Beach.” Casa Marina Resort in Key West renamed their beach to reflect the song.

Although the 1,100-foot private beach is no longer called Kokomo, the song still carries an association with the Keys, said Maureen Holden, a spokeswoman for Casa Marina, a Waldorf Astoria resort.

“Definitely a song that will always have relevance and meaning for Key West and The Keys. Great state of mind,” she said.

The song was featured in the 1988 movie “Cocktail,” about an ambitious New York bartender (Tom Cruise) who moves to Jamaica and falls for a beautiful young artist (Elisabeth Shue).

The song was written to invoke the spirit of a tropical paradise where two lovers escape to.

“Bodies in the sand, tropical drink melting in your hand. We’ll be falling in love to the rhythm of a steel drum band, down in Kokomo,” The Beach Boys crooned. The ditty peaked at No. 1 in November 1988 and rode a wave of popularity on the charts for 28 weeks, according to Billboard.com “It’s said to be our biggest hit single and everybody sings along,” Beach Boys front man Mike Love told KeysWeekly. com in April before the group performed in Key West.

“Kokomo was a name that originated with John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas,” Love told the publication. “Phillips wrote the melody and the verse, and I wrote the chorus, and our friend Terry Melcher produced the record, and he came up with the ‘Oooh I want to take you …’ and it was a true collaboration.”

Although Phillips pictured Kokomo as a place off the Florida Keys, there really is no Kokomo in South Florida. There is a Kokomo Charters in Sarasota, a Kokomo city in Indiana, a Kokomo in the Fiji Islands and a community named Kokomo in Hawaii.

But the music video was filmed in Florida. The Beach Boys, with actor John Stamos on bongos, shot the video at The Grand Floridian before it officially opened.

CASA MARINA KEY WEST VIA TNS

Casa Marina Key West used to call its private beach “Kokomo Beach” after The 1988 song “Kokomo” by The Beach Boys. Tourists still associate Kokomo with the Florida Keys.

Midwest ILLINOIS

MICHAEL TERCHA, CHICAGO TRIBUNE VIA TNS

Armloads of fried chicken is served to hungry diners at Rip’s Tavern in Ladd, Illinois.

Starved Rock country There’s no excuse to go hungry, from crispy fried chicken to creamy peanut butter pie MICHAEL AUSTIN

Chicago Tribune

OTTAWA, Ill. ometimes you just need to get in a car and drive, out to the edge of Chicago, through the suburbs and past the exurbs, to a place where the highway is straight and smooth and the sky shows you where it meets the land, or at least the treetops, in all four directions.

I do this now and again, on Interstate 80, and usually I end up in LaSalle County — in Ottawa, Utica, LaSalle or Peru — or in Ladd, a tiny town just over the county line.

Ottawa is where the Fox River meets the Illinois River, that meandering ribbon that flows into the mighty Mississippi.

Ottawa is also where Abraham Lincoln met Stephen Douglas on Aug. 21, 1858, for the first of seven debates.

I made many trips to town before I saw the debate site, and only after about a dozen visits to LaSalle County did I venture to Starved Rock State Park, one of Illinois’ most popular destinations for fall colors. I’ve never visited the skydiving or zip-lining attractions, nor have I ridden in a mule-pulled boat on the historic Illinois & Michigan Canal. Know why?

Because I drive the roughly 85 miles from Chicago to Ottawa (or beyond) to chow.

Fried chicken. BBQ. Crawfish etouffee, boudin balls and gator. Gourmet flatbreads and burgers. Cheese curds. Peanut butter pie. Deep-fried kale. Fish tacos.

Locally made beer and sparkling wine.

What I find so interesting about this part of Illinois is not that there are good places to eat, but that there are enough good places to eat for a month of Sundays, lunch and dinner. And then another month of the same.

You could start, as I did, with Tangled Roots Brewing Co.’s brewpub The Lone Buffalo in downtown Ottawa. They use local ingredients like Slagel Family Farm’s dry-aged ground beef and make dishes like house-made roasted red pepper hummus, bison chili, and flatbreads ranging from simple margherita to pepperoni, pickled jalapenos and three cheeses. Ask for beer-pairing advice or sample a flight.

Elsewhere in Ottawa, overlooking a harbor connected to the Illinois River, The Red Dog Grill is bright and uncluttered, with a decor I’d call contemporary nautical. They serve upscale-ca-

S

MICHAEL AUSTIN PHOTOS , CHICAGO TRIBUNE VIA TNS

Tangled Roots Brewing Co.’s restaurant The Lone Buffalo in downtown Ottawa, Illinois, sources local ingredients and will help you match one of their beers, or a flight, to your meal. sual American and seafood dishes with a full bar. How about Baja fish tacos with Southwest slaw, guacamole and lime sour cream for lunch? Or lemon ginger whitefish with spinach for dinner? The food is objectively good on its own, and the view of the harbor makes it better.

You might hear a high-pitched “Aiyeee!” during dinner at Cajun Connection in Utica. That’d be the affable proprietor, “Cajun Ron” McFarlain, who’s originally from Louisiana. His pecan pie, and the light and flaky batter he developed — for gator, oysters and the rest — are the foundation of the restaurant, which used to occupy part of the home he shares with his wife and business partner, Amy. “We were part-time over there,” he says of the previous location. “This is more of a legit restaurant.”

Technically, it’s still part-time — Thursday through Sunday for sure, sometimes Wednesday — but the kitchen turns out pretty much everything from scratch. Get the fried boudin balls appetizer and the catfish jambalaya (a sort of sampler plate), and ask Ron to take your picture under the giant gator presiding over the dining room. Then ask him for the story behind it.

On the charming main drag of downtown Utica, you can visit August Hill Winery Tasting Room to sample reds, whites, roses and dessert wines, as well as traditional-method sparkling wines bottled under the Illinois Sparkling Co. label.

Haze Smokehouse, which opened in 2015 in LaSalle, Illinois, has a large indoor dining room and a patio, where you can often hear live music.

Choose five samples for $5 and move on from there — to the lounge, front sidewalk or back patio. It’s a friendly, relaxed place.

“We welcome everyone from hikers with dirty boots to bridal parties,” supervisor Jessie Ziano says.

I haven’t made it to all three wine-tasting rooms in Utica (not a typo, there are three), but everybody needs a goal. Fancy yourself more of a beer connoisseur? You’re in luck, because across the street from August Hill, one of the other wine shops, Clarks Run Creek, with its tidy Old West general store/saloon vibe, also serves beer. A few doors down, Lodi Tap House, which opened in April, has growler-bottle light fixtures and a chalkboard full of Illinois beers. Their cocktail list includes “Build Your Own Mule” options and mule flights.

On a recent night, Sarah Foote was waiting tables there. She left town in 2006, which she estimates is when the traditional, homey restaurants of LaSalle County started getting replaced by more modern spots.

“I remember I came home from college and I was like, ‘When did we get cool?’”

Foote says. “It was a little bit slick and a little less mom-and-pop. That’s what I knew, growing up — all mom-and-pop.”

Try Lodi’s smashed Black Angus burger with a thick slice of Velveeta and a side of white cheddar curds, or a basket of Argentine red shrimp and chips. Or

August Hill’s tasting room in downtown Utica, Illinois, is friendly and laid back. “We welcome everyone from hikers with dirty boots to bridal parties,” supervisor Jessie Ziano says.

stroll to Skoog’s Pub & Grill for a basket of jumbo wings in many flavors, the perfect hearty fare for fall.

“Weekends in the summer, you can’t get a seat,” Foote says. And a nearby server adds: “In the town.”

I have to believe it’s the same in autumn, because seated anywhere on the block, in the right light and frame of mind, you might think you’re soaking up sidewalk sun in an old Western mining town, just down the street from a mountain ski resort. I’m picturing hikers, bikers and road-trippers like me savoring the colorful fall foliage of Illinois.

The LaSalle-Peru area has its share of quiet or empty storefronts, but it also has some really good restaurants, including two that specialize in barbecue.

The more sit-downy of the two is Haze Smokehouse in LaSalle, with its expansive dining room and patio, and its heavenly peanut butter pie from local bakery Tiers of Joy. Haze owner Lee Pakula arrives each day at 5 a.m., and for the next 10 to 14 hours, he smokes the restaurant’s brisket and pork. This is also the place for that deep-fried kale.

Less than 2 miles away in Peru, Stone Jug Barbeque is more casual but just as serious about its ’cue. You order and pay at a counter, but there’s a full bar, and a server will bring your food to you. You can’t go wrong at either place.

I’ve saved the most quaint for last.

Rip’s Tavern has been spiffed up since it opened in Ladd in 1936. And sure, they have fancy beers now, but you still can get a can of Busch Light for $2.50. And yeah, co-owner Angie Panizzi might take your order on an electronic tablet, but she’ll serve your food on a paper plate.

That’s where the contrasts end, because the straightforward fried chicken Rip’s is famous for is likely as meaty, tender and juicy as any you’ve had, and so profoundly crispy and delightfully loud, your first bite might startle you. That’s fun.

Get there early or plan to wait.

“There’s no real rhyme or reason to it,” Panizzi says. “You could wait an hour on a Thursday.”

I asked her why Rip’s draws regular customers from as far as an hour away, and occasional customers, like me, from much farther.

“I think it’s just a tradition,” she says.

“We have generations of people who come in and say, ‘This is where our child had her first meal,’ or, ‘My husband and I had our first date here.’”

Me? I just like the chicken. And the drive.

Haze Smokehouse owner Lee Pakula arrives at 5 a.m. each day to smoke the restaurant’s brisket and pork for 10 to 14 hours.

Midwest WISCONSIN

MICHAEL AUSTIN PHOTOS PHOTOS, CHICAGO TRIBUNE VIA TNS

SAP Brunch, Brown Bag & Bakery offers five kinds of eggs benedict, including this Florentine version with potatoes and a salad.

HOW TO EAT YOUR WAY THROUGH APPLETON

MICHIGAN

Sweet summer trip Where to get your blueberry fix

A protein bowl containing beets, blueberries and chicken is finished with blueberry vinaigrette at HawksHead restaurant near South Haven, Michigan.

MICHAEL AUSTIN

Chicago Tribune

D

on’t expect apples to be jumping out at you in Appleton, Wisconsin. I found one on a recent trip, and it was a doozy.

But others like it might be gone by the time you get here. We’ll circle back to my singular apple, but first consider that this city, hugging the Fox River, was named for someone named Appleton — not because it was once a town full of apples.

The village that was founded in the mid-1800s is a city of about 75,000 residents today, so also don’t expect a small-town-Wisconsin experience. It is Wisconsin, though, so you’re going to encounter that special brand of Badger-State friendliness that spans from downtown Milwaukee to the far reaches of the Northwoods. And because it’s Wisconsin, there will be cheese everywhere. And beer. But there’s more than that to Appleton’s dining and drinking scene.

Rye Restaurant & Lounge has got to be the best restaurant in town. Connected to the CopperLeaf Boutique Hotel & Spa, Rye has a rustic-riche vibe, with food that is at once simple and sophisticated. Like oysters, raw or grilled — impeccably presented either way, on ice with three sauces or on a bed of charred wood chips.

The braised short rib crostini appetizer is a dish I’m still thinking about weeks later. Same with the seared scallops with pickled local asparagus and red onion, toasted pepitas and warm vanilla bread puree. I got the feeling early in the meal that probably anything that came out of the kitchen was going to be great, and it all was. Same with the service — refined, but also Wisconsin-warm. Good wines by the glass made the whole lingering affair even better — the most enjoyable meal I’ve had in a very long time. In Appleton.

I didn’t eat at Fratellos Waterfront Restaurant, one of the other fancier spots in town, so I can’t vouch for the food. But I can surely endorse the bar area, where the huge windows offer striking views of the rushing Fox River.

For beer, head to … well, anywhere — it’s Wisconsin! — but be sure not to miss Stone Arch Brewpub. The pub and dining room are tucked into the uber-cozy lower level of a stone building that dates back to 1858. Built as a brewery near the river, the place is also home to a great little map store and a comedy club. Stone Arch makes some really nice beer, including a German pilsner, English mild ale and pumpkin spice ale.

You say you love homey taverns and garish Christmas decorations? Get thee to Cleo’s Brown Beam Tavern, where it’s Christmas every day. Drink in the spirit and then head across the street to the panAsian restaurant Bowl 91. It serves Thai noodles and curries, ramen, bulgogi kimchi fries, pork belly buns with sweet chili hoisin and tasty lemongrass chicken tacos.

In the stark light of morning, for a charming breakfast or brunch in a rather uncharming part of town, head to the Fox River Mall. Among the retail sprawl, you’ll find SAP Brunch, Brown Bag & Bakery, sort of a contemporary take on a retro diner — quirky and cheerful with a breakfast bar and a bakery case.

OK, now the cheese. Appleton is home to Simon’s Specialty Cheese, an emporium of local cheese and beer (duh) but also lots of other Wisconsin products, including the largest selection of cheesehead hats I’ve ever seen. I passed on the cheeseheads and left the store with three blocks of actual cheese (Muenster and aged brick from Simon’s, and cranberry white cheddar from Maple Leaf Cheese in Monroe), a bag of Mike’s Popcorn Triple Mix from Kaukauna, a dark chocolate cow pie (Baraboo Candy Co.’s answer to the turtle), a bag of Door County dried cherries from Appleton-based Cherryland’s Best, and three candy bars from the Appleton institution Vande Walle’s Candies.

Vande Walle’s also has a retail store of its own, again back at the Fox River Mall, and I thought it would be a missed opportunity not to pay a visit. Oh yeah, the apple. Because I was in Vande Walle’s at the beginning of fall, I also scored a caramel apple, and it was right up there with the best caramel apples I’ve ever had. If you make it to Vande Walle’s in time, get one for yourself and wonder, as I did, if Appleton should maybe be renamed Caramelton.

JAY JONES

Chicago Tribune

M

ike DeGrandchamp’s boast is as big as his sprawling blueberry farm, about half a mile east of Lake Michigan.

“We were in the drive-thru business before McDonald’s,” he said.

In fact, in the late 1950s — more than 15 years before Mickey D’s sold its first burgers from a drive-up window — DeGrandchamp’s mom was selling blueberries to vacationers, most of them from the Chicago area, who’d veer off U.S. Highway 31 on the outskirts of South Haven.

Motorists didn’t have to get out of their cars at Beatrice DeGrandchamp’s roadside stand. A driver would simply roll down the window, hand her a dollar and get three pints of farm-fresh blueberries in return.

The wooden shack with its red and yellow bunting is long gone, but during July and August, the parking lot at DeGrandchamp Farms is crowded with cars. Mike said most of them still have Illinois plates.

For generations, people visiting the beaches at South Haven and beyond have made a point of stopping at the 250-acre farm to buy blueberries.

More likely than not, they’ll grab pails and head off into the rows of bushes to pick the navy-colored fruit.

“It’s a family outing to get out on the farm,” said DeGrandchamp, whose last name, in French, means “big field.”

Just a couple of hours’ drive from Chicago, in fields large and small, berries ripen in stages from late June until around Labor Day in the area nicknamed “Blueberry Capital of the World.” U-pick opportunities abound.

Restaurants create special dishes featuring the region’s berry bounty, and people plow face first into blueberries during pie-eating contests.

U-pick is small fry compared to Michigan’s commercial harvest of about 100 million pounds a year, most of it from three, lake-hugging counties in the southwest corner of the state. Stretching from South Haven to Holland, the region’s acidic soil and a

microclimate created by the lake make ideal growing conditions.

“It’s the lake effect,” said Joe Corrado of Joe’s Blues, a relatively small farm near Bangor, a few miles inland from South Haven. “It provides a layer of protection in the cold.”

“Michigan grows some of the sweetest blueberries in America,” said Frank Corrado, Joe’s father and business partner. “They’re small and they’re sweet.”

The Corrados pride themselves on using natural, pesticide-free growing methods on their 12-acre patch.

“We’ll put our blueberries up against anybody’s,” Frank said. “We don’t sell blahberries. We sell blueberries.”

Visitors to Joe’s Blues can pick their own for $3 a pound or buy them already picked for a couple of bucks more. They’re also available at farmer’s markets and shops in the Chicago area within 24 to 48 hours of picking.

“They don’t sit around very long,” Joe said.

Guests should also make time to take a walk along the “Bees, Please!” trail. Designed for kids but informative for grown-ups, too, the trail teaches visitors about the crucial role bees play in pollinating blueberry bushes and other plants.

Also at Joe’s Blues, people can choose to spend the night in a small bunkhouse once used by migrant workers. Perched at the end of a row of blueberry bushes, the tiny, twostory dwelling sleeps up to four people. It comes with an outdoor shower and a hot tub.

Joe Corrado’s imaginative spin on a hot tub is an old bathtub set on top of breeze blocks in the front yard. The water is heated by lighting a log fire under the metal tub.

The “Pickers’ Shack,” with 365 square feet of comfy living space, is available on Airbnb starting at $70 a night.

The Corrados said business has boomed in recent years following reports about the health benefits of blueberries.

WebMD describes them as an “antioxidant superfood” said to lower the risk of cancer and heart disease.

They’re also an anti-inflammatory. “(The publicity) has helped tremendously,” Frank Corrado said.

South Haven’s population of 4,300 swells nearly 15-fold when the National Blueberry Festival arrives. The 57th annual celebration will take plus Aug. 6-9.

“It is definitely South Haven’s signature event,” festival director Megan Cairns said.

“Blueberries are such a part of our culture.”

Folks who miss the festival can buy blueberry products year-round at The Blueberry Store along the main drag through South Haven’s downtown.

“This is where blueberries are always in season,” said owner Shelly Hartmann, who also runs True Blue Farms in nearby Grand Junction along with her husband, Dennis.

Walking into the bustling shop, visitors are offered free cups of blueberry-infused coffee. They’re also encouraged to try samples from jars of blueberry butter, jam, jelly and preserves. Each has its own distinct texture and flavor.

“Our philosophy is ‘try it before you buy it,’” she said.

Hartmann estimates that she stocks roughly 750 products, including bratwurst, caramel corn, hard cider, salsa, wine and even dog treats — all made with Michigan blueberries.

Some of the store’s products are incorporated into dishes served at the restaurant at HawksHead, a golf club and inn about 6 miles northeast of downtown.

Overlooking a serene forest, the restaurant features items such as a Buddha bowl with beets, five-grain blend, blueberries, chicken, feta cheese and sweet potato croutons on a bed of greens. The protein-packed dish comes topped with blueberry vinaigrette. Short ribs are coated with the store’s blueberry barbecue sauce, both sweet and tangy.

Shelly Hartmann was visibly amused while reminiscing about the summer job she had picking berries when she was just 12 years old. Back then, she never imagined that she would marry a fourth-generation blueberry farmer and be instrumental in running not only a store, but also a 1,200-acre farm.

“I swore I would never have anything to do with blueberries again,” she said with a laugh.

BELOW: A gift box at The Blueberry Store contains blueberry beef jerky and various condiments, all made with Michigan blueberries.

A so-called hot tub sits in the front yard of the Pickers’ Shack at Joe’s Blues.

A wood fire set beneath the old tub heats the water for guests staying in the tiny house.

JAY JONES, PHOTOS CHICAGO TRIBUNE VIA TNS

Northeast MAINE

CONNECTICUT

Scenic Monhegan Island brings visitors back to simpler times

HORSESHOES AND STRAW HATS

A DAY OF POLO

CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS Los Angeles Times

E

ALAN BEHR Tribune News Service

leven miles off central Maine, a duck bobs in shallow water near a rocky island shore. A 19th century lighthouse rises nearby. Three painters drag their easels onto the beach.

A lobsterman tinkers in his

shack.

This is Monhegan Island, cherished throughout New England for its scant size and population, weather-beaten buoys and wayward stacks of lobster traps. These are landscapes you’d expect a Wyeth or Edward Hopper to paint, and indeed they have. The place looks today largely as it did a century ago: no cars, no paved roads.

But like that duck in the shallows, Monhegan is always churning beneath the surface. This makes it not only a gorgeous destination but also a fascinating one, especially if you’re accustomed to California coastlines and bigger cities.

I arrived by ferry on a Tuesday morning in June, eager to see Monhegan stem to stern, a little worried I might finish before lunchtime. The island is less than two miles long and less than a mile wide, with no airport, police, doctor or bank, but plenty of well-worn Boston Red Sox caps. Population drops to 65 or fewer in winter, when snow falls and the few remaining lobstermen set out their traps.

But the warmer months are different. In spring and fall, birders show up, eager to catch song birds mid-migration. The island is fully awake June through September, when the population increases to perhaps 250 seasonal residents, joined by scores of day-trippers and short-term visitors.

That modest tourist tide is enough to sustain three summer-only inns, a handful of summer-only restaurants, one or two bed and breakfasts and assorted rental homes. In other words, it’s Brigadoon with shellfish and costume design by L.L. Bean.

Like summer people everywhere, these visitors hike, read, eat outside, huddle over jigsaw puzzles and dawdle by the water.

But by long Monhegan tradition, many also paint. On any day, you’re bound to find a dozen or more artists with their easels and nearly as many tripod-lugging photographers. More than a dozen painters and sculptors keep island studios with regular summer visitors’ hours.

“I used to do only portraits,” said Alison Hill, who moved to the island full time in 2002. “Then I started doing landscapes because you have to. It’s so beautiful here.”

“You get this mist, this atmosphere, that intensifies the colors,” said Jack Hobbs, who had come from Massachusetts to set up his easel at water’s edge.

Even if you’ve never heard of Monhegan, there’s a good chance you’ve seen it on a museum wall. Artists have been visiting since the 1850s, including a great burst between 1895 and 1920 when Robert Henri, George Bellows, Alice A. Swett, Maud Briggs Knowlton, Edward Hopper and Rockwell Kent, among others, came to paint.

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A portrait of Brigadoon mixed with L.L. Bean

Back in the day The ferry that delivered me, the Laura B, a 65-foot wooden boat, has been carrying mail, passengers and freight from Port Clyde since 1954. The dock doesn’t look much different from what it did when Robert Van Vorst Sewell captured it on canvas in 1916. The same goes for the nearby red house on the rocks, which Jamie Wyeth put front and center in an early 1970s watercolor.

The 19th century lighthouse and keeper’s residence dominates the landscape just as they did when Hopper painted them during his four island summers, 1916 through 1919. Those buildings now house the deeply engaging Monhegan Museum of Art & History.

The village’s centerpiece is the Island Inn, where I stayed. It was built in the early 19th century, expanded in the early 20th and renovated in the early 21st by new owners who were wise enough to keep telephones and televisions out of its 32 guest rooms. (In another sign of the island’s rustic leanings, several of those rooms still share bathrooms down the hall.)

I sprawled for a few minutes on its porch full of white rocking chairs, then dined at the inn’s restaurant, where I had seared scallops, the tastiest meal of my visit. Lobster scramble was for breakfast the next morning.

That day, as I wandered widely, the ghosts of painters past followed me like a faithful retriever.

At Fish Beach, the gulls swooped and shrieked just as they surely did when Bellows painted it in 1913.

Out at Lobster Cove, the battered bow of the tug boat D.T. Sheridan, wrecked in 1948, was still stranded on the rocks, now much rustier than when Kent painted it in 1949.

From the cemetery just below the museum, I had a wide western view of Monhegan’s tinier sidekick, Manana Island, which shelters Monhegan Harbor. This being Maine, “Manana” rhymes with “ banana.”

There are plenty of great paintings covering the island’s surf-battered eastern edges too. But once I reached Gull Rock, Burnt Head, White Head and Black Head, the actual earth, wind, sea and sky crowded the artists out of my imagination.

Windswept 150-foot cliffs. Wave-lashed

CHISTOPHER REYNOLDS, LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA TNS

Painters on the beach at Monhegan Island, Maine.

Jamestown (in what was later Virginia), the first permanent English colony in North America.

If the seas are calm on the sheltered side of the island, you might rent a kayak at Fish Beach and paddle for an hour within the confines of the harbor.

Push and pull

CHISTOPHER REYNOLDS, LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA TNS

Longtime summer visitor Mike Levine plays guitar at the Monhegan Brewing Company, Monhegan Island, Maine. boulders. Narrow, muddy paths through dense forest. Wild strawberries demanding to be tasted.

If you end up in the roiling water on this side of the island, I heard a veteran hiker tell newcomers, “You’re dead. The waves will beat you into the rocks.” I found historical accounts from 1926 and 2011 that made clear he wasn’t joking.

Thanks to Monhegan Associates, a nonprofit created in the 1950s by Thomas Edison’s son, Ted, about 350 of the island’s 513 acres are protected as a natural reserve. That territory, including the rugged eastern edge, is crisscrossed by nine miles of well-labeled trails, along which smoking, drone flying, camping and biking are

banned.

The island has about 12 miles of trails. In three days, I covered most of the network, circled the island, and met many fellow visitors, almost all repeaters, almost none from California. (Painter Doug Andelin, from the San Francisco Bay Area, was the exception.)

When you visit, you’ll want to cover the same ground. You’ll also want to browse the art at the Lupine Gallery and the Rockwell Kent-James Fitzgerald House & Studio run by the Monhegan Museum.

Look closely at the big boulder next to the island’s one-room schoolhouse: It commemorates a visit by Capt. John Smith in 1614, seven years after he founded

If you’re as intrigued as I was by the island’s size and isolation, you’ll also find yourself questioning everyone you meet about what it takes to keep the place alive.

Every year, they told me, the residents elect three assessors to be in charge. A constable, also elected, keeps the peace.

The community’s annual report for 2018 shows 76 registered voters, five pupils in the one-room K-8 schoolhouse, four marriages, two births, one death and one arrest (a domestic disturbance).

The Monhegan Island Sustainable Community Association, reports that housing costs have more than doubled since 2014, and that over the last century, the number of Maine islands with year-round populations has dropped from more than 300 to 14.

Yet in his book “The Lobster Coast,” Colin Woodard writes that Monhegan remains “one of the few places in the world where the scions of great moneyed families are socially and politically outranked by persons who earn their living stuffing rotten herring in nylon bags in an effort to ensnare large bottom-feeding bugs.”

There is one ATM and one grocery store, traditionally left unlocked in winter in case somebody needs something.

In the immaculately kept Monhegan Memorial Library, you can pull up a chair and peruse two old National Geographic stories on Monhegan — one from 1959, one from

2001 — or perhaps the photo book on the hermit of Manana Island, who kept sheep and lived in a mostly driftwood house from the 1930s into the 1970s.

“The biggest change since I’ve been here? The telephones,” said longtime islander John Murdock. “We got telephones in 1983.”

Mary Kordak of Hamden, Connecticut, who has been coming to the island with her husband since the early 1970s, told me that when her children were little, “They refused to go to camp in a normal fashion.

They only wanted to come to Monhegan.

Now my kids are adults and they still come.”

Some long-timers do fret that the island is seeing fewer children and more retirees, and many visitors are staying for days instead of weeks. But newcomers do turn up.

“We found this place through Google. As soon as I got here, I got tearful,” Sun Park, a New Jersey music therapist told me over dinner at the Trailing Yew. “It’s magical and amazing. Things are at peace.”

Her partner, Alfred Lee, also nodded.

This was their fifth year visiting, he said, and “I think we’ll be (coming) here for the rest of our lives.”

My pulse seemed to slow with every hour I spent on Monhegan. But for locals, it’s not always easy to keep Monhegan viable in winter and charming in summer without surrendering a bit of its soul.

This is what moved Ted Edison to warn in 1976 that “thousands of people can’t enjoy solitude together” and what causes the keeper of the island website to remind the world that “Monhegan is a village, not a theme park.”

For instance, lobsters have been central to the island’s character and winter economy for more than a century, but trapping them is becoming more difficult as fisheries fluctuate, regulations tighten and the number of working lobstermen on the island dwindles to about half a dozen.

“This might be my last year,” said Sherman Stanley, 72, as he rigged a buoy in his workshop above the Fish House. Stanley, a fifth-generation islander, put out 350 traps last winter. Next winter, “I might just set a handful of traps. I’ve had both hips replaced and one knee is about to go.”

More signs of push and pull Though cars are banned, everyone who has a business on Monhegan is allowed to have a truck. Your first view upon arrival will probably be the back ends of half a dozen trucks, collecting supplies and luggage. You’ll also discover that some folks are using golf carts to navigate the dirt and gravel paths.

Many summer people here are quick to say how much they love being unplugged.

But plenty sneak peeks at their phones, despite seriously iffy coverage. The island’s leaders, eager to make telecommuting easier, have been working on a boost in broadband that could mean big changes.

The island is dry; no alcohol is served in restaurants, though you can bring in storebought bottles and cans. But in 2013, Monhegan Brewing Co. started making beer and serving pints on its patio on summer afternoons.

The picnic tables are surrounded by a wall of blue-wire lobster traps, a hint that co-owner Matt Weber is a lobsterman. (It’s also his turn as constable this year.) The island’s lone food cart lingers

ew England starts just south of Greenwich, Connecticut, but luxury, which is the town’s birthright, honors no borders, remembers no beginning and anticipates no end. In New England, wealth, like so many other regional features, is practiced with deference. It is a style of fine living that does not shout, “Look at me,” but says, “Perhaps I do live rather better than you; please don’t take it personally.”

As statistics have shown so many times, the really fun thing about having money is enjoying what you can buy with it. The main shopping street, Greenwich Avenue, is providentially helpful in that regard, and it has, in jewel-box form, many of the same shops as my hometown, Manhattan. Although Ralph Lauren has vacated a purpose-built facility, leaving a large, vacant premises and much collective regret, local branches of two of my regular emporia, Saks Fifth Avenue and Brooks Brothers, are in good working order. I respectfully toured the former and, with my son having just started fifth grade, I bought him a shirt at the latter, sold to me by the kind of well-spoken woman who can wear the brand’s two centuries of retail tradition as naturally as if it were a single strand of pearls. Nearby stands a Tiffany & Co., the jeweler that defines American style in precious metals.

Wealthy people being uniquely capable of turning over their wardrobes, the area has a number of consignment shops. I stopped in at COUTUREDossier (CODO for short), which is owned by Yulia Omelich and her husband, Andrey. As Yulia sold a pair of blue Salvatore Ferragamo pumps that were the feminine mirror for the blue Ferragamo loafers I was wearing, we got into a discussion on how to spot a fake second-hand Hermes bag. Three young shoppers listened in, taking mental notes. (Highlights: watch for the unique Hermes nails and check if the leather has no uncharacteristic odor and has the expected softness to the touch.)

Boutique comfort For a boutique hotel to qualify as a member of the French-based Relais & Chateaux group, it has to display a sense of intimate refinement that is hard to acquire and even harder to sustain with consistency — all while supporting a fine kitchen. The Homestead Inn is one of only 13 hotels in New England to hold membership, and for my stay that evening, it was easy to see why it could. The woodframed main house was built in 1799 and had been reworked in the Italianate style during the 19th century.

The staff bring in a relaxed American take on luxury, giving you the feeling of staying at the house of a wealthy friend who knows how to cook.

I checked into a comfortable suite in the carriage house annex. You know you are not in a chain hotel when you get a four-poster bed the size of a Buick, the room’s windows really open, and the back door lets out upon a long, shared porch.

At the Thomas Henkelmann restaurant that evening, its chef and namesake came over to my table and introduced himself. Working with his charming business partner, Theresa Carroll, Chef Henkelmann has been the star attraction of the hotel since they purchased it together in 1997. He comes from the Black Forest, in Germany, which is a center of culinary expertise in Central Europe, but he was trained in Alsace (variously French and German throughout history, but now solidly part of France). His cooking is recognizably contemporary French in spirit and execution, but he is also faithful to local ingredients.

Refined entertainment As sporting events go, professional tennis matches are unusually refined.

Where else would an umpire call out “thank you” to a disapproving cluster in the crowd as a euphemism for “do shut up”? Even tennis can look raucous, however, compared to polo.

The actual game is more dynamic than most. The field is the largest in professional sports (10 acres in area), and play typically involves eight riders on full-sized horses (called ponies by convention) smacking violently at a small white ball with weapons-grade mallets.

The sidelines at the Greenwich Polo Club, however, could not be more refined. The entry fee is paid per vehicle — whether you park it or are dropped off. I chose to add a supplement to sit in the shaded lower grandstand, where you just find a comfortable place and sit down, without assigned seating. Many who came to the match did so while picnicking on blankets; another, even more comfortable contingent sipped cocktails on folding chairs set up under spreading canopies in roped-off areas sold at premium prices.

Ticketing in such a noticeably tiered manner is relatively new at the club, and it has caused some controversy among the locals, who are used to fairly well having the run of the place, without great distinctions based on cost.

Consider as well the egalitarianism represented halftime entertainment, which is a divot stomp. That is, everyone is invited onto the field in his or her Ferragamos (or simply barefoot) to stamp down the clumps of turf churned up by the horses.

You can come as you are to a polo match, and if who you happen to be stylish, all the better. I managed to blend in with a new jacket of rare

navy-blue seersucker wool custom-made for me by the American designer Alan Flusser — over a regulation Brooks Brothers oxford shirt and Ralph Lauren Purple Label chinos. The New York custom menswear brand Knot Standard handed out free pocket squares at the entrance to the Players’ Lounge.

My grandstand seat gave me a good view of a well-played match between a team sponsored by Audi, the German carmaker, and another named Monterosso, after the largest town in Italy’s Cinque Terra region.

No hawkers lumbered through the stands, calling out offerings of hot dogs and beer. Food trucks outside the grandstand vended different styles of cuisine. I tried the Asian truck, which delivered noodles with chicken — although it took working my chopsticks like polo mallets to get a handle on the sparsely placed bits of chicken. This being a polo match and not a baseball game, cocktails and Veuve Clicquot (the Coca-Cola of the American upper class) were available for purchase.

Sometimes at polo matches, the crowd, especially in the VIP areas, can be inattentive, but polo being the hometown sport, the Greenwich fans were enthusiastically engaged as Audi came from behind for the win, 12 to 7 in six chukkers. An Uber picked me up at the designated collection spot, took me back to the Homestead Inn to collect my luggage and then on to the Metro-North station for the return ride to Manhattan.

Travel, at its best, is about seeing a milieu different from the one of your routine experience and having the privilege to immerse yourself in it. Greenwich is not that far from my home, but I came away feeling that I had been to a place quite different from one that I knew — a place that proved surprisingly agreeable and, just as surprisingly, quite a bargain for what you get, even if you splurge on a round or two of Champagne.

NEW YORK

EXHIBIT TAKES VISITORS INSIDE THE HUNT FOR BIN LADEN AT THE 9/11 MEMORIAL & MUSEUM MICHAEL SHERIDAN New York Daily News

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EW YORK — The 9/11 Museum is taking visitors deep into the hunt for Osama bin Laden with a new exhibit that includes recently declassified information.

The vast exhibit that opened in November and runs through May 2021 includes 60 artifacts and multiple, personal accounts from those involved in finding, and ultimately killing, the al-Qaida terror leader who planned the deadly Sept.11 attacks.

“Our special exhibition, Revealed: The Hunt for Bin Laden, offers powerful testimony to this decisive chapter of our nation’s history, reflecting the dedication of men and women from all walks of life in pursuit of a critical and dangerous mission on behalf of their fellow Americans,” said 9/11 Memorial & Museum President and CEO Alice M. Greenwald.

Among the exhibits are a pair of handcuffs. The cop locks originally belonged to Port Authority Police Officer Donald James McIntyre, who died during the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center.

Those cuffs were later used by the military to detain suspected al-Qaida members during operations overseas.

There is also a backpack worn by a member of Red Squadron in Navy SEAL Team Six. That elite group was chosen to carry out the raid on the compound where bin Laden had been hiding.

The exhibit also includes a detailed

SPENCER PLATT, GETTY IMAGES VIA TNS

A poster and picture used to identify Osama Bin Laden is displayed at the new exhibition “Revealed: The Hunt for Bin Laden” at the 9/11 Memorial Museum on in New York City. The exhibition features declassified documents, testimony and objects to tell the story of the decade long hunt and capture of Osama Bin Laden, the terrorist mastermind behind the September 11 terror attacks.

miniature of that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where the U.S. military captured and killed the terrorist in 2011.

“The new exhibition vividly depicts the many frustrations and triumphant breakthroughs that culminated in the famous raid staged by U.S. Navy SEALs,” said Bruce Hoffman, director of the Security Studies

Program at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.

In addition to the unique items, special multimedia presentations were designed to provide visitors with detailed insights into the yearslong search for the terror leader.

For ticket information, visit www.911memorial.org/revealed.

New England

An array of color paints autumn in vivid splendor PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXT BY JOHN HUMENIK

In the White Mountains of New Hampshire, autumn captivates you. Traveling the almost 35 miles of the winding Kancamagus Highway, from Conway to Lincoln, you’ll marvel at the natural beauty of the mountains and the valleys. And you’ll delight in seeing red, orange, yellow, and even green, in a spectacular new light. The Sugar Hill, C.L. Graham, and Hancock overlooks provide the best vantage points to an endless flow of hues that paints the New England landscape each October. Fall in this part of the country blends the mountain vistas, the charming two-lane villages, the peaceful coastal cities with rich history and timehonored traditions. In search of the quintessential New England experience, I traversed the multi-state region from Boston, heading north along the coast of Maine from Kennebunkport to Bar Harbor, across New Hampshire, through the Green Mountains of Vermont, along the Long Island Sound in Connecticut, to Newport, and Providence, R.I., before returning to Massachusetts.

Clockwise from top left, paddle boarders at sunset near Bowen’s Wharf in Newport, R.I.; rural life in the sloping hills along Vermont Route 100; a tranquil moment on the water in Kennebunkport, Maine; the stunning Moss Glen Falls in Stowe Vt;. the Gloucester Fisherman’s Memorial in Gloucester, Mass.; lobster buoys adorn a rustic building in Bar Harbor, Maine; the Portland Head Light near Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

Travel tips

The new Real ID drivers license will be required to board flights starting October 1, 2020. The new cards are distinguished by the star in the right hand corner.

ROB OSTERMAIER OSTERMAIER, DAILY PRESS (NEWPORT NEWS, VA.) VIA TNS

Travel dilemmas Time to heed Real ID alerts with deadline looming CATHARINE HAMM

Los Angeles Times

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f you already have your federally compliant driver’s license, you get a star. Literally. We’ll explain that in a bit.

If you don’t know whether you have a federally compliant driver’s license, you probably don’t, because you would remember the pain of going to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get one.

If you don’t know why this matters, this is a good time to find out, because the clock is ticking.

Almost three-quarters of Americans either don’t have Real ID or don’t know whether they do, according to a study released in October by the U.S. Travel Association.

If, on Oct. 1, 2020, you are flying domestically and you expect your regular driver’s license to get you through airport security (and you aren’t carrying another form of compliant identification, which you can find at bit.ly/alternateairplaneID), you will not be able to board.

Getting the federally compliant license requires you to gather your documentation, make an appointment and go to the DMV. You apply, your documentation checks out and you get a new license with star in the upper right corner — that’s how you know you have a Real ID.

The travel association study estimates nearly 80,000 potential passengers could be stopped from catching your flights on the first day this is implemented because you don’t have Real ID (or another form of acceptable identification), resulting in $40.3 million in lost spending for travel businesses. Play that out for a week, and it’s more than half a million people representing $282 million in lost spending.

To bring this home: If you get turned away at the airport and forget to cancel your flight, you can kiss your ticket goodbye.

By now you may be sputtering about why you didn’t know about this. It’s not totally your fault.

After all, it’s been nearly 15 years since this mandate was signed into law, and there have been numerous delays in its implementation.

There’s been “an assumption by folks that this would be extended or pushed back, so folks haven’t taken it as seriously as they should,” said Tori Emerson Barnes, executive vice president of public affairs and policy for the U.S. Travel Association, which is now communicating this information to the public.

How to do that? We spoke with communications experts who suggested that this message requires:

A sense of urgency. You know how you put off calculating your taxes until April 15? That’s how people look at getting Real ID. You’re not going to jail if you don’t have Real ID, but you aren’t going to go anywhere on a domestic flight unless you have it (or another acceptable form of ID).

“The TSA and DHS appear to be relying on FAQs at their websites” to communicate this change, said Ethan Rasiel, chief executive of Lightspeed PR, a New Yorkbased public relations business that helps clients introduce new technologies. “This isn’t going to be sufficient,” he said in an email.

Use every tool in the communications toolbox. “It’s time for a full-court press to get the word out,” said Nico Melendez, formerly a media representative for the Transportation Security Administration.

It’s important to use all media — including social media — to let people know, he said.

Go where travelers are. If you want to let people know about changes, go to travel websites, hotels, travel agents and those who work with business travelers and ask for their help in communicating, said Kevin O’Malley, chairman and chief executive of Travel and Transport, a large corporate travel agency.

Go where travelers aren’t. This may be the most difficult group to corral, O’Mal-

ley said, especially if they are infrequent travelers. It may require a grass-roots effort through banks, institutions, clubs, organizations, personnel departments at large companies and so on.

Reinforcement from voices of authority. Airport TSA officers are telling people who are boarding flights that they need to have a compliant ID, said Jenny Burke, a TSA representative.

Deemphasize the punitive, said Joshua Dorsey, assistant professor of marketing at California State, Fullerton. Explain “the benefit to you of why you’d want to have Real ID,” he said. “Tether the Real ID to something positive that allows me to continue to have a growth experience.”

Dorsey was half-joking when he suggested sadvertising, a term with which I wasn’t familiar. “You know those ASPCA ads?” he asked, the ones in which sadeyed critters need your financial help to avoid terrible fates. I knew immediately and started getting teary-eyed just thinking about them.

You may encounter these types of messages in the coming months (except maybe the sad-eyed cats and dogs). And there’s one more you might consider: word of mouth. Ask your family members.

Ask your friends. Because friends and family don’t let their friends and family fly unawares.

FLIGHT CANCELED: WHAT ARE YOU DUE? ED PERKINS

Tribune Content Agency

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irHelp calculated late in 2019 that cancellations had affected some 13.5 million airline passengers in the U.S. American Airlines was the biggest culprit, with more than 4.5 million affected passengers, followed by Southwest at 3.63 million and 2.2 million on United.

Given these numbers, you probably ask the obvious question: What compensation does an airline owe me if my flight is canceled?

The answer depends on where you’re flying and what airline you’re on.

1. Everywhere No matter where you are or what airline you’re flying, if your flight is canceled, your airline always owes you either the next available seat to your destination or a refund of any portion of a ticket you haven’t used yet.

2. In the U.S. For purely domestic flights, U.S. regulations require monetary compensation in only one specific case: denied boarding (“bumping”) from an oversold flight. If an airline can’t get you to your destination on an alternate flight within an hour of your originally scheduled time, you retain the full value of your original ticket plus cash compensation specified: up to 400 percent of your one-way fare up to $1,350, depending on how long it takes you to reach your destination. As a practical matter, rather than cut checks, most airlines entice volunteers to take a later flight with future-flight vouchers. Beyond that single case, travelers in the U.S. are due only what each airline’s contract of carriage calls for.

3. In, to and from Europe On any flight within Europe (EU member countries), on any flight from Europe to a point outside Europe, or on any flight from a point outside into Europe on a carrier based in Europe, you’re

covered by European regulation EC 261.

In the event of a canceled flight, that regulation mandates four requirements:  A full or partial refund of your original ticket — and a return flight to your original point of departure if needed.  The earliest possible alternative transport to your final destination.  A new ticket to your final destination at a later date of your choosing, subject to availability.  If your flight is canceled 14 days or less before departure, EC 261 specifies monetary compensation up to 600 euros (about $667), depending on flight distance and how late you are getting to your destination. Airlines can avoid paying compensation if they can reroute you within specified time limits.

4. Other international flights Flights between the U.S. and most other countries outside Europe are governed by the Montreal Convention, a multinational treaty among 130 countries last updated in 2003. Basically, it calls for airlines to compensate travelers for “damages” in the event of a canceled flight, generally including unforeseen expenses. But the term is loose and can be interpreted in various ways in different countries.

5. Getting help AirHelp follows cancellations closely, because its income is based on helping travelers recover airline payments due them. And although it collects information on U.S. airlines, its core business is compensation for travelers due under EC 261. It makes its money by taking a small cut of whatever compensation it recovers, with no up-front fees. It also helps travelers recover under U.S. regulations and the Montreal Convention, but I suspect that’s a small portion of its business. Airlines outside the U.S. often stonewall legitimate compensation requests, so with its worldwide offices, AirHelp is in a much better position than an individual traveler to pursue a request diligently.

WATCH OUT FOR RENTAL CAR TOLL GOTCHAS ED PERKINS

Tribune Content Agency

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ay you’re driving a rented car in an unfamiliar vacation destination city and start to cross a big bridge, when you suddenly find you owe a toll and there’s no toll booth around to accept cash?

Depending on where you live, that might be either routine or unexpected, but in either case, it’s more common: Many toll bridges, tunnels, and highways have eliminated conventional staffed or automatic toll booths that can accept cash or credit cards in favor of all-electronic systems. And driving through an electronic toll collection point without the right hardware can lead to a stiff fine. You can avoid most problems with a little planning: 1. Determine whether you’re likely to encounter any toll facilities wherever you plan to go. The best place I know to find that information for driving in the U.S. is a Federal Highway Administration compilation, at www.fhwa. dot.gov/policyinformation/tollpage/ page00.cfm.

2. Use the FHA charts to determine the primary toll-collection agency for any facilities you plan to use. A few collection agencies cover multiple states or metro areas: E-Z Pass (e-zpassiag.com) operates in 17 states, so if you already use E-ZPass where you live, you may not need to do anything more. Other systems, however, are unique to a single facility.

3. Electronic toll collection systems come in several different flavors:  The system scans a vignette or decal you put on your windshield that can be read by scanners. Some vignettes are prepaid for a specified time; others charge per-use and link you to an online payment process.

 The system relies on scanning your license plate as you drive through.

You set up an account and pay for each trip online or by smartphone app.

Sometimes, you don’t even have to set up an account; just call or log in and pay within a few days of use.  The system communicates with a transponder device that you return after use.

4. Do not blindly rely on your car rental company. Rental companies may offer toll-recognition and payment as an add-on option, but you almost always pay more than when you arrange your own system. One nasty scam: A rental company charges you a daily toll-collection price for every day of the rental, whether or not you use the system every day — and maybe it adds a markup, too.

5. When you drive in Europe, you’ll encounter lots of bridge, tunnel and highway tolls. In some cases, you have the option of using a toll gate that can accept cash or credit/debit cards, but in others electronic is the only option.

Even when booths are available, automated tolls are almost always easier and often cheaper. Check TollTickets (tolltickets.com/en/) for requirements in each country and to buy/rent whatever you need.

6. A few important visitor destination cities, including London, Milan, Singapore and Stockholm, assess a heavy congestion toll for driving in a core area, and New York City is seriously thinking about it. Tolls are collected, and fines assessed, through license plate scanning. Normally, the combination of a city-center accommodation and a rented car doesn’t work very well, but if it works for your trip, contact your hotel about how to get to and from without paying any fines.

Travel tips

TICKETING HACKS — LEGAL OR NOT? ED PERKINS

Tribune Content Agency

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ufthansa billed a customer $2,300 to cover what it claimed the customer owed for a trip he had already taken and paid $780 for in full.

Why? The customer who lived in Frankfurt had bought a round-trip ticket from Oslo to Seattle, with Frankfurt connections. He paid the published Oslo-Seattle fare of $780. To take the trip, he bought a cheap ticket from Frankfurt to Oslo, and then took both outbound connecting flights. On his return, however, he did not take the Frankfurt-Oslo connection and instead remained in Frankfurt. And Lufthansa said that because he didn’t return to Oslo, he owed Lufthansa the published fare of $3,080 for a round trip from Frankfurt to Seattle.

This is an example of a longstanding ticketing hack variously described as skiplag, point-beyond, hidden-city, or throwaway ticketing. The basic idea is simple: Sometimes the nonstop airfare to a traveler’s intended destination is higher than the one-stop fare to a second city, beyond the first, on flights that connect at the intended city. In that case, a traveler heading to the intended city buys the connecting fare to the second city and just doesn’t take the connecting flight.

Another form of throw-away ticketing has become scarcer. Formerly, on many routes, one-way tickets cost more than round-trip tickets. So a traveler could cut costs by buying a round-trip and not taking the return. When the cheapest round-trips required a Saturday night stay, travelers could buy two round-trip tickets for a short trip, one starting at each end of the trip, and throw away both returns. These opportunities have been cut dramatically as low-fare airlines introduced one-way ticket pricing throughout much of the nation.

Lufthansa’s move is just the latest in a series of occasional airline attempts to stop travelers from using the throwaway ticketing gimmick to cut trip costs dramatically. In 2018, United threatened a passenger with going to a collection agency and/or canceling his frequent flyer credit and status unless he paid a $3,000 fare difference. Over the other years, other airlines have done the same.

Threats include confiscation of frequent flyer miles.

The “legality” of throw-away ticketing is murky. All legacy-line contracts of carriage specifically prohibit throwaway ticketing, and airlines claim that travelers who use those tickets violate their contracts with the airlines. But, at least as far as I can tell, the hacks are not illegal, in a criminal sense. Airlines have threatened travelers with collections and other forms of coercion, and they have successfully claimed payments from travel agents that issued throwaway tickets. But I know of no criminal prosecutions that have been initiated against individual travelers.

Another hack that hasn’t seen as much publicity is the throwaway land package. In some cases, airlines sell air-hotel packages for less than the lowest airfare, using “tour basing” fares that are lower than any simple airfare. So you can buy an air-hotel package, select the cheapest hotel available, and throw away the hotel voucher. Or you can even find a good hotel option and use it, paying less than the lowest airfare and room rate separately. This has been going on since before deregulation, with full airline connivance: I remember TWA packages to London years ago that included one night in a Scottish guesthouse for considerably less than London tickets alone.

If you’re considering a point-beyond ticket, you need to know the risks:  You can’t use point-beyond for most round-trip travel: As soon as you miss a connecting flight on the outbound leg of your trip, the airline cancels the rest of your ticket, including all return flights. The only round-trip on which it works is one where you miss the last connection on your return trip.  You can’t check baggage on a point-beyond ticket. In most cases, airlines will not check bags just to a connecting airport.  You run a minor risk of re-routing through a different connecting city.  With any throwaway ticket, the airline may pressure you to pay the difference.

If, despite the risk, you’re looking for point-beyond opportunities, skiplagged.com searches for options on any route you enter.

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Make sure children wear a bicycle helmet that fits correctly to help prevent head injuries.

Staying safe on vacation EILEEN OGINTZ

Tribune Content Agency

I

s it safe?

That’s the first question parents — and grandparents — ask when a teen wants to zip line on vacation, a tween tries the resort’s bungee trampoline or a preschooler enters the “junior” water play area.

Is it safe to take kids to developing nations? To fly with babies when they haven’t yet been vaccinated for measles? To let them swim in the ocean?

Yes, we’ve been bombarded by worst-case scenarios — fatal shark attacks in the Bahamas and Hawaii; unexplained tourists’ deaths in the Dominican Republic, even a fatal flesh-eating bacterial infection contracted on a Florida beach. Last July, a toddler fell to her death through an open window on a Royal Caribbean ship docked in Puerto Rico.

“Travelers shouldn’t be more scared or worried, but they should do their research and evaluate what risks they feel willing to take,” said LaShanta Sullivan, manager for travel assistance at Allianz Global Assistance.

Remember these situations are not common. Take flesh-eating bacteria.

“Flesh-eating bacteria (infections) are extremely rare,” says Dr. Andrew Bernstein, a practicing pediatrician and spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics. He also teaches at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “Showering after swimming in questionable water and getting any unusual rashes checked out by a pediatrician would both be good ideas.”

Use waterproof adhesive bandages on any open cuts when swimming and immediately clean new cuts, other experts add.

Consider that mundane accidents and illnesses are more likely to derail a family trip — an ear infection that prevents a flight, a broken leg, a grandparent’s heart issue. That’s where travel insurance can help.

Many policies insure kids free, pick up costs their insurance doesn’t and more important, facilitate needed care. (Figure the cost will be 4 percent to 6 percent of your trip, but a lot less than medical evacuation, which starts at $20,000, if evacuated by air ambulance.)

Err on the side of caution, especially with young children, and seek medical care if a child gets sick on vacation, especially if “you have a bad feeling about what is going on,” Dr. Bernstein said. If you can, call your pediatrician first, as they know your child best.

But if you

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Parents should focus on water safety this summer, which includes wearing life jackets while swimming or on a boat.

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Put down your phones and watch the water as drowning can happen in seconds. can’t wait for a call back, head to the emergency room of a major hospital, if possible.

“Walk-in clinics and independent urgent care clinics are often not equipped or experienced in how to deal with illness in children,” he said.

On vacation, parents should be more concerned about water safety, sun protection, tick and mosquito exposure, bicycle helmets, and communicable diseases, Dr. Bernstein said, rather than rare incidents that grab headlines. Drowning is the number one cause of injury-related deaths among children ages 1 and 4.

Safe Kids reports that preventable injuries are the number one killer of kids in the United States, and that on vacation it is all the more important not to let your guard down. Insist that everyone in the family wear helmets when using bikes and scooters; insist everyone be safely buckled in age-appropriate safety seats in the car and that kids ride in the back seat until they are 13.

As for shark attacks, they have declined in recent years, notes Dr. Steve Kessel, director of Marine Research at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

“The relative chance of any given individual being bitten would have remained constant and very, very low,” said Dr. Kessel, who studies sharks in the Bahamas.

That said, Dr. Kessel added that it’s important to remember “the oceans can be a dangerous place,” and it is important to be diligent when enjoying the water.

Seek local advice before going into the water

and only swim where lifeguards are present. Should you see a shark, he said, remain calm and exit the water. When possible, face the shark and swim calmly backward to a safe point of exit. In the very unlikely scenario that a shark bites you, Kessel said, focus any defensive efforts around the eye and gills, which will give you the best chance of the shark backing out of the encounter.

Even if lifeguards are present, a responsible adult should stay with your children, the Red Cross says.

Adults can take turns being “water watchers,” putting down their phones when it’s their turn. Drowning often is silent and happens in seconds — less time than it takes to send a text. Insist that children, inexperienced swimmers and boaters wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets. “Floaties” are not enough.

Those traveling with infants should be concerned about the measles outbreak. Children under a year old are at greater risk of suffering measles complications, explained Dr. Bernstein, but they’re too young for the standard recommended MMR vaccine. However, by CDC guidelines, an MMR vaccine can and should be given to infants at least six months old, who are traveling internationally. This dose of the MMR is in addition to the two doses traditionally given at 12 months and 4 years old, Dr. Bernstein said, adding that parents should be cautious traveling with a young infant to a place with a higher measles risk.

A traveling first-aid kit should have some bandages and antibiotic cream for cuts and a steroid cream for irritated skin or bug bites. Families also might want to consider bringing pain medications or allergy medications. Other needed items will depend on the vacation destination and activities planned. Families should think about discussing this with their pediatrician, suggests Dr. Bernstein.

And wherever you are, please don’t leave kids unattended in a car, even for a few minutes. Did you know heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related deaths for children under age 14?

Stay safe out there!