travel

  • Explore your Inner Captain: Great Reads about Nautical Pioneers

    Ah, sailing: the full sail puffed up with pride, the wind whipping through my hair, the salty scent of brackish water. At least, for the next 89 minutes. Then I have to return the rental boat.  The beautiful waterways in and around Seattle inspire us with dreams of great voyages, whether you’ve got  Old Salty… Continue reading

  • Risks of Sunbathing Topless

    Just came across this delightful Literary Staycation post, with book recommendations from Margaret, a high school volunteer at the Teen Center at The Seattle Public Library. How can I now resist reading The Risks of Sunbathing Topless and Other Funny Stories from the Road when Margaret says, “By the end, I felt as if I’d been… Continue reading

  • Women on the Water

    The first voice came to me as we anchored in the peaceful silence of Squirrel Cove, B. C.   In The Curve of Time, Wylie Blanchet’s classic Northwest boating  story of the remote boating community of British Columbia in the 1930’s, she was telling me of the summers long ago when she took her five children… Continue reading

  • Great Fantasy Audiobooks for the Road

    Parents everywhere are looking for solutions to their annual summer dilemma…  “How do we find audiobooks that the entire family – adults included – can enjoy for that long car/airplane/boat trip?”  Here are a few suggestions that are guaranteed to entertain:  The Amulet of Samarkand, by Johnathan Stroud Read by Simon Jones CDJ St892A Nathaniel,… Continue reading

  • Best audiobooks for family travel

    You are about to embark on that ever-romanticized ritual, the family road trip.  The bags are packed, the car has a full tank and tires have air.  Now, what about entertainment for the backseat crowd?  Having a selection of audio stories may be key to maintaining a zen-like, peaceful atmosphere in your car while you… Continue reading

  • Walkabout

    Taking a walk is such a mundane activity, but there is still something mysterious and wonderful about it, even if it only takes us around the neighborhood. One notices a relaxation of pace and shortening of perspective, perhaps — objects often seem farther away in a car or the bus, bracketed, as it were, by… Continue reading

  • Which books to bring?

    Whenever I plan a trip, the first thing I consider is which books to bring with me. I want books that are pertinent to my travels as well as books that will entertain and inform me—and comfort me in my strange and scary new environment. Also, for obvious reasons they must be in paperback. I… Continue reading

  • Toronto, Mon Amour

    I grew up in Seattle, and am used to hearing out-of-towners who visit the downtown library raving about our breathtaking city (and libraries). Well now I know how they feel. I just returned from my third visit to Toronto, where I was speaking at a library conference, and have been boring everyone silly with effusions… Continue reading

  • Long Way Round and Down

    Do you like learning about the world? Do you like motorcycles? Do you think that Ewan McGregor is easy on the eyes? If you have answered yes to any or all of those questions, then keep reading. In 2004, actor Ewan McGregor, who some may know from Trainspotting, the Star Wars prequels, or Moulin Rouge!,… Continue reading

  • Tour d’Amsterdam, part 2

    In my previous blog entry, Tour de Amsterdam, I mentioned rules learned the hard way while riding a bike in downtown Amsterdam. Recall that biking is a mode of transportation and not the competitive leisure sport as viewed by most Seattlites. The topography of Amsterdam is wonderfully flat! Riding for hours is possible with perhaps… Continue reading

  • Tour de Amsterdam: Biking as a Tourist

    Biking in Amsterdam is an experience that can be enjoyed by even novice cyclists. On almost all streets and roads, cyclists enjoy an exclusive wide path separated from motor vehicle traffic by a strip of ground, a ditch or high curb. Riders have the right of way over pedestrians (a practice that takes time getting used… Continue reading

  • The Romans are here: are you ready?

    Where would you stay if you were able to visit ancient Rome, say in 200 AD? What would you have for dinner? Where would you go for entertainment? What tips would help you survive on those mean, mean, streets? Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a Day by Philip Matyszak purports to be a travel guide… Continue reading