Downtown Gatlinburg wasn’t always filled with cheesy souvenir shops, wax museums, and fast food joints. In the years before Dollywood and the miles-long carnival strip of Pigeon Forge, this eastern Tennessee town was known for craftsmen and artisans who occupied shops and roamed the city streets, demonstrating their skills.

An early craft shop, not so different from what you'll see today. Photo courtesy of Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community.

As tourism grew, escalating rents drove the arts and crafts community from the city center. But for the vision of woodworker John Cowden and a few of his friends, they could have faded into obscurity. Suffering from from long hours and worn out feet, Cowden and his fellow artists decided to just stay home where they would be near their tools and the source of their supplies. They opened workshops, studios, and galleries right alongside their homes or even inside them, most of which were concentrated along a an eight mile loop along that winds through the Tennessee hills surrounding Gatlinburg. As visitors started coming, other craftsmen and artists joined in, until it grew to be the largest group of independent artists and craftsmen in America.

Located just three miles from downtown, this historic district has been designated a Tennessee Heritage Arts & Crafts Trail. Marked with distinctive signs, the trail is easily driven, and all of the shops provide free and ample parking. Better yet, from mid-March through December, leave Read the rest of this entry »

This week’s Blogging Boomers Carnival is stuffed with interesting articles ranging from why boomers are not at the head of the line for H1N1 flu shots to the top ten fears about growing older. And that’s just a small sampling – you’re definitely going to want to check it out. Read a brief summary of all the posts at The Boomer Chronicles.

With growing anticipation I approached the town of Moore Haven in central Florida, where I expected to catch my first glimpse of Lake Okeechobee, the second largest freshwater lake lying completely within the United States. I negotiated a long curve into town, watching for the lake to emerge on my left. Nothing. No water, no view. Just a giant, grass-covered berm rising 20 feet above the highway. My stomach flip-flopped a bit. Surely the lake was not being held back by this mound of dirt? As if mocking me, the berm followed me around the southern shore. By the time I had passed through Moore Haven, Clewiston, South Bay, and Belle Glade, it became clear that the highway would afford no view of the lake. At various spots, signs pointed to Okeechobee trailheads, but I was expected in West Palm Beach and had no time to explore. Besides, the thought of millions of gallons of water lapping at the top of that behemoth berm, just waiting for an opportunity to break free and sweep me away, was unsettling to say the least.

The dike at Port Mayaca, easternmost point of the lake. Locks control releases from the lake into the St. Lucie canal, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean.

The next day, having finished my business on the east coast, I headed back home, determined to delve further into the mystery of the missing body of water. Lake Okeechobee emerged approximately 6,000 years ago when receding seas revealed the Florida peninsula and the shallow depression that became the lake. Since that time, Okeechobee has been the liquid heart of south Florida. Although shallow (its average depth is nine feet), the lake holds enormous amounts of water. Each year it captures billions of gallons of rainwater during the summer rainy season. With no natural outlets, Okeechobee historically overflowed its southern rim, sending a miles-wide sheet of fresh water south and helping to create the Everglades.

There is evidence that Native American tribes settled close to the lake some 4,000 years ago; in fact, the word Okeechobee is the Seminole word for “Big Water.” For centuries, Native Americans coexisted with Read the rest of this entry »

After dinner, I stopped in the lobby to arrange for a 7:30 a.m wake up call the following morning.

“We’ll be happy to do that, Ms. Weibel, and would you like a follow-up call 15 minutes later?” asked the woman behind the front desk.

My jaw dropped open. I have always wondered why hotels don’t offer this service. Turns out I was just staying at the wrong hotels; at the Ritz-Carlton in Palm Beach Florida, multiple wake-up calls are standard operating procedure.

Oceanfront pool at the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach

I had been invited to stay at the Ritz in preparation for writing a review about the property. Because the resort has earned the prestigious AAA Five Diamond and Mobil Five Star awards, I knew I was in for a treat. But I was also apprehensive. When I abandoned my corporate life three years ago, I traded my stressed-out life of luxury for a happier, albeit poorer existence. My wardrobe these days consists mostly of khakis and, since a laptop is an absolute necessity, I carry a backpack rather than a purse. My only other stay at a Ritz-Carlton had occurred some 15 years earlier, at a property with an extremely formal atmosphere where dressing for dinner was a requirement. I worried about being under-dressed, unaccepted, and judged this time around. Read the rest of this entry »

EarthTV.com, which broadcasts live video from more than 70 worldwide camera locations on six continents, has announced a contest that offers entrants a chance to win new Vivitar underwater digital cameras. Entrants need only register on earthTV and earn “miles” (i.e. points) by clicking on various worldwide camera shots; every click gets you closer to a prize. The armchair traveler who has collected the most miles by October 16 will be declared the winner. Random winners (regardless of miles) will also be picked to win prizes. Read about the details on the EarthTV.com contest page. Read more about the prizes here.

Win one of these cameras simply by watching travel videos at earthTV.com

From New York to Hong Kong, from Paris to Sydney, earthTV.com broadcasts live video from more than 70 worldwide camera locations on six continents. The launch of earthTV.com in North America followed the worldwide success of earthTV Network, which reaches more than 2 billion television viewers globally by providing live programming to over 50 TV networks in over 200 countries, including The Weather Channel, NHK and Sky TV. earthTV.com is a fascinating site for travelers, technologists, or anyone who wants to see the rest of the world from their computer.

It’s that time again! Time for the weekly Blogging Boomers Carnival, where you can read summaries of a dozen different posts discussing a dozen varied subjects of interest to us midlife folks! See one you like? Just click through to read the full article. Check out this week’s carnival at So Baby Boomer.

Moon Tahiti by David Stanley

Several months ago, author David Stanley offered to send me a copy of his guide book “Moon Fiji,” for which I wrote a glowing review. Since I was so impressed, Stanley offered to send me Moon Tahiti for review as well.

Travel guides, while unquestionably useful, are hardly the kind of books one chooses for an afternoon of leisurely reading. Usually, when heading for a new destination, I throw a guide in my pack and never even crack it until I arrive. Upon arrival I use my guide to identify budget accommodations, vegetarian restaurants, and attractions worth seeing. But I never actually read them and, because they are heavy, almost always leave them behind at the conclusion of my trip.

Stanley’s guides are different. He has traveled the South Pacific so extensively that they beg to be read from cover to cover, and Moon Tahiti is no exception. Tahiti is just one of 118 islands in French Polynesia, a nation that encompasses a vast ocean area 18 times the size of California; any traveler who had not previously visited the area would be hard pressed to determine which islands are most worth a visit. As with his last guide, my favorite part of Moon Tahiti is in the very front of the book, where Stanley outlines seven, ten, and 14 day suggested itineraries that have been designed to coordinate with the schedules of local airlines and boats, many of which serve the outlying islands only once or twice a week. These itineraries alone, which could save hours or even weeks of research and planning, make Moon Tahiti well worth its modest price of $13.57 at Amazon.com.

Those on a budget will find this guide to be an especially valuable resource. Tahiti is a fairly expensive destination, thus Stanley’s thorough inventory of Read the rest of this entry »

You want to take a vacation and you’re looking for inspiration. Or maybe you know generally where you want to go, but you need guidance on the best things to see and do when you get there.

The newest travel site in town, Ruba.com, is a visual guide and tour review site that helps travelers discover their next perfect trip. Need to know the most spectacular ruins in Rome? The best beaches in Thailand? Looking for a boutique hotel in Egypt? Or the best way travel to Dublin with kids? You can find it all at Ruba. Unlike many other travel sites where you consume reviews of individual hotels, restaurants, and sights, and THEN have to put it all together into a travel itinerary, on Ruba you can explore comprehensive photo-filled guides written by Ruba experts, fellow travelers, and tour companies anxious to share their experience and knowledge about specific destinations across the globe.

On the other hand, if you’re an expert on a particular city, country, or activity, you may want to create a an expert guide to share with others. Ruba makes that process a breeze, right down to providing pictures (of course, you can use your own photos, if you prefer). To see how simple it is, watch the brief video below, then cruise over to Ruba and start planning your next vacation.

I’ve lived in downtown Sarasota for nearly three years and thought I’d seen everything the city center had to offer until the other day, when I took a walk along Sarasota Bay. Just two blocks from the heart of downtown I discovered an arched entryway leading to Bayfront Park, a half-mile long peninsula jutting into the bay. Intrigued, I stepped through the archway and into an alternate reality of grass-roofed shacks, brightly colored water sport equipment, tiki bars, multi-million dollar yachts at anchor, outdoor sculpture, elaborate playground equipment, and a circular recessed fountain where children romped in columns of water burbling from the ground.

Gateway to Sarasota's Bayfront Park

Rent paddle boats, kayaks, and jet skis at the little grass shack

Read the rest of this entry »