PLAN AHEAD A Melissa Etheridge cruise, bucket list vacays, and more.

Cruising Melissa Etheridge

A week in Caribbean waters with the lesbian rocker!

In 2016, when Melissa Etheridge launched her first fan cruise, she was surprised at what she got out of it. “It was actually more of an experience for me,” she told Out Traveler earlier this year. “I think my fans had a great time, but just being there, realizing that there’s actually 3,500 people that really want to spend a week with you on a boat. And how freeing it was just to do all the songs I wanted.” That gave Etheridge the opportunity to have different interactions with fans than she does performing at stadiums on tours. And it’s what’s brought her back for what will be her fourth cruise.

Produced by Sixthman, Melissa Etheridge Cruise IV sets sails aboard the Norwegian Jewel November 12-18, 2021, traveling from Miami to Great Stirrup Cay, Ocho Rios, and Nassau. This year, Etheridge has something special planned, with special guest star multi-platinum singer-songwriter Jewel co-headlining the cruise. In addition to promised Melissa-Jewel duets, passengers will also be serenaded by Dorothy, Shawn Colvin, Lucy Spraggan, Wendy Moten, Sonia Leigh, Antigone Rising, and many others. (themelissaetheridgecruise.com)

—JACOB ANDERSON-MINSHALL

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Bucket List. Check.

Next year take a once-in-a-lifetime safari, cruise, or adventure.

By Donald Padgett

Go on safari with your chosen family on Olivia’s 11-day/10night South Africa Adventure. This exciting adventure starts in Cape Town and visits Franschhoek, Cape Winelands, the Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, Kruger National Park, and more before ending in Johannesburg. You’ll see the natural wonders of South Africa, while also enjoying wine tastings and visiting cultural sites with primarily lesbian travelers. The tour departs April 17, 2022, and includes all accommodations, group transfers, most meals, some alcoholic beverages, gratuities, and more. (olivia.com) If you’re tired of the stress of daily life, then head to the 5-star Oasis at Andaz Papagayo resort on VACAYA’s 8-day/7night Costa Rica tour (June 5-12, 2022). The resort sits on 1,400 acres of lush tropical rainforest with stunning views of Culebra Bay. Whether you join the LGBTQ+ vacation to learn to paddleboard and surf, relax by one of the resort’s four pools with a book and cocktail, pamper yourself at the spa, or party into the night with friends and family at one of the multiple bars and lounges, this amazing oasis on Costa Rica’s north Pacific coast just might be the escape you crave. (myvacaya.com) Break out your speedo, sunscreen, and copy of Homer’s Odyssey for an epic adventure cruising the Mediterranean Sea on the Atlantis Odyssey Med Cruise. This absolutely gay cruise sets sail August 21-30, 2022, onboard the brandnew 4,200-guest Odyssey of the Sea. Starting in Rome with stops in Naples, the Greek Isles, Sicily, and Corsica (the birthplace of Napoleon), the cruise has just the right mix of destinations and onboard activities and promises to be your own epic voyage of discovery. (atlantisevents.com) Windstar Cruises’ The Grand European Bucket List Adventure, is an exclusive, 79-day cruise from Stockholm to Istanbul onboard their newest yacht, the all-suite Star Legend. With only 312 guests onboard this smaller luxury vessel, you’re certain to receive top-notch service and attention with little problem practicing responsible social distancing while onboard. The cruise visits 71 ports in 22 countries with multiple overnights when it sets sail on July 25, 2023. (windstarcruises.com)

A Gay Winter Wonderland

Aspen’s original LGTBQ+ ski week returns to queer the slopes for its 45th anniversary.

Wax up your Pride rainbow skis and start making plans now because Aspen’s Gay Ski Week is just around the corner. The nation’s longest running LGBTQ-themed ski week runs January 17-24, 2022 — and promises plenty of fun on and off the slopes.

The 45th edition will feature some of the best skiing and snowboarding in the country. Still a snow sports virgin? No problem! There will be plenty of parties and live music, not to mention mountaintop yoga, history hikes, art exhibits, and drag queen bingo. You can also sample some of the country’s best dining and spirits at Aspen, Colorado’s 80 restaurants and drinking establishments.

Best of all, Aspen Gay Ski Week raises funds for AspenOUT (aspenout.org), a local nonprofit group that promotes tolerance and combats bullying. So, you’ll be doing your part to help the queer community while having an amazing time with great friends. What could be better? (gayskiweek.com)—DP

PICTURED Worcester Royal Porcelain Co., Worcester (manufacturer) Aesthetic Teapot 1882 porcelain, 15.4 × 17.5 × 8.5 cm (overall). The Dr. Robert Wilson Collection. Presented through the NGV Foundation by Dr. Robert Wilson, Honorary Life Benefactor, 2002

The Queen’s Queer

The National Gallery of Victoria International, Melbourne, Australia, is staging the biggest LGBTQ+ themed show in that nation’s history, opening this December. Queer includes more than 300 works of art pulled from deep within the museum’s archives. Pieces range from antiquity to the present day, making the exhibition the most historically expansive thematic presentation of its kind put on by an Australian art institution. Rather than soliciting new works from LGBTQ+ artists, the curators chose to explore the gallery’s extensive collection from a queer perspective, to “interpret queer concepts and stories in surprising and thought-provoking ways,” according to NGV director Tony Ellwood. The collection includes everything from an Ancient Greek vase picturing male warriors embraced in combat and sex to a selfportrait by South African nonbinary photographer Zanele Muholito, to less explicitly queer pieces like this fey, quintessentially British (Empire) teapot. The exhibit, Queer, runs December 10, 2021, to June 2022. —JAM

Destination: Imagination

You don’t need to hit the road when you have a great travel book.

By Donald Padgett

Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America by Candacy A. Taylor is an examination of the famed publication that listed establishments serving Black patrons from 1936 to 1966 during the era of Jim Crow and segregation in the Deep South. Overground reveals the personal stories behind many of these establishments and is lled with both archival and the author’s own photos. A young adult version is due out next year. (Abrams) Around the World in 80 Trains: A 45,000-Mile Adventure by Monisha Rajesh is the story of one woman’s quest to circumnavigate the world via train. Rather than just provide a guide for each train she rode, Rajesh instead centers the human experiences that made her journeys truly unique. She takes readers along through Russia, China, North Korea, and Mongolia. (Bloomsbury) To Shake the Sleeping Self: A Quest for a Life with No Regret by Jedidiah Jenkins is the story of one gay man’s journey riding a bike from the beaches of Oregon to the southernmost tip of South America. Throwing aside a successful yet unsatisfying career, Jenkins took a break from that world and ultimately found himself and what truly matters in life in the process. Originally published in 2018, To Shake the Sleeping Self is now available in paperback. (Rider) Subpar Parks: America’s Most Extraordinary National Parks and Their Least Impressed by Amber Share celebrates the natural beauty of the National Park system and the unbelievably clueless reviews by lessthan-impressed visitors. Subpar Parks e ortlessly seams photographs and illustrations that capture the breathtaking beauty of our National Parks along with hilarious and head-scratching reviews of those who clearly don’t know a good thing when they see it. (Plume Books) Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States by the former Mormon missionary-turnedtransgender reporter Samantha Allen is a road trip through the red state America that she loves, revealing stories of LGBTQ+ folks who are surviving and thriving everywhere from the Utah to the Deep South. Queer America is lled with authentic stories from red-state queers who will inspire you as much as they make you laugh out loud. (Little, Brown and Company)