Hole In The Donut Travels

I’ve been anxiously awaiting the release of Apple’s new iPad because I was absolutely convinced it would be a “must have” product for me. As I watched the Keynote event where Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad this past Wednesday, I was initially very impressed.
The sleek design and giant touchpad screen had me salivating. Since I’m [...]

Since we’re all driving more and flying less, I want to pass along two very interesting safe driving tips that were emailed to me yesterday.
WEAR YOUR SUNGLASSES WHEN DRIVING IN A HEAVY RAIN:
During a heavy downpour, visibility is bad, even with the wipers on high. Wearing your sunglasses will vastly improve visibility, even at night. [...]

Don’t look now but the open road is calling. Faced with onerous security regulations, endless add-on fees, and uncomfortable planes that squeeze customers in like sardines, more and more travelers are opting for the highways rather than the skyways. Americans are rediscovering the joy of driving cross-country with the wind in their hair, the music [...]

After a few housebound weeks in Illinois’ sub-freezing winter weather, a thirty-six degree day felt positively balmy. Although the weatherman called for yet another dreary, overcast day, no snow or freezing rain was forecast, so I seized the opportunity to visit the Morton Arboretum, a 1,700-acre park in the Chicago’s western suburbs.
The Arboretum was established [...]

car ni val (kar nuh vuhl)
noun

a season or festival of merrymaking before Lent
an instance of merrymaking, feasting, or masquerading
an instance of riotous excess
a traveling enterprise offering amusement
an organized program of entertainment or exhibition, as in a festival, traveling amusement show, rides, a program of sports, any merrymaking or revelry, etc.

How appropriate. I’m hosting this week’s [...]

Travel Insights 100, a panel of travel experts selected by UpTake.com (the travel search engine that helps travelers decide where to go, where to stay, or what to do) were recently asked to name the dumbest moments in travel during 2009.
The experts ranked the airlines as the dumbest industry, citing events such as ramping-up of [...]

They say all things come full circle. In September of 1969, I hopped aboard the Red Line of the EL and rode down the Dan Ryan Expressway for my first day at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The neighborhood around Roosevelt and Halstead Streets was not safe in those days. One block south was [...]

By now you have probably all seen this, especially since the artist has been on the talk show circuit, but on the off chance that you’ve been living in a cave, I offer the following video, produced by musician Dave Carroll.
While sitting on a United plane awaiting takeoff, Carroll saw luggage handlers tossing his guitar [...]

Some of my most enduring travel memories are inextricably linked with music. As I trekked a jungle trail connecting temples at the Angkor Wat complex in Cambodia, I happened upon a group of musicians performing traditional Khmer wedding songs. They sat or squatted on a crude raised wooden platform in front of exotic instruments, producing [...]

The Midlife Crisis Queen, aka Laura Lee Carter, is our exuberant host for this week’s Blogging Boomers Carnival. Cruise over to MidlifeCrisisQueen.com, check out her brief summaries of what the boomers are discussing this week, then follow the links to read the full versions.