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Words form the thread upon which we string our experiences. – Aldous Huxley
Browsing All Posts filed under »Interests«
Joan Larsen on the Trail of Mexico’s Hidden Secrets: Swimming With Whale Sharks
By Joan Larsen Excitement reigned as our small plane seemed to skim the clear waters of the almost unknown islet off Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula — called Isla Holbox (pronounced Hol-Bosh). A bit of paradise, I thought, . . . and when the pilot further whetted our appetites by saying that the blue waters below were […]
Joan Larsen’s Hidden Wonders: The “Must-See” French Gardens of Marqueyssac
July 19, 2017
by Joan Larsen The French are good at keeping secrets. . . and it has taken me years to discover France’s southwest region of Dordogne with its spectacular panoramas in every direction. But it is here that one of the most beautiful and romantic gardens of France is located. Sitting high above the Dordogne […]
Joan Larsen’s Travel: The World’s Most Spectacular Road – America’s Big Sur, Up Close and Personal
July 5, 2017
By Joan Larsen We needed to have our breath taken away by an array of magnificent scenery, of stunning beauty that cannot be equaled – anywhere. We all seem to need beautiful “getaways” from the world we live in now. And so, with a truly wonderful lifetime of adventures ‘round the world, again we searched […]
Joan Larsen in Wildest Africa: Climbing the Dune
June 28, 2017
By Joan Larsen As a child, I whirled the big round globe that graced our living room, with a single finger choosing the countries I would go to when I grew up. For so many of us, the pictures in National Geographic fed our dreams… dreams that danced in our heads, refusing to go away. […]
Please, No More Tourism to Cultlike, Repressive Dictatorships Like North Korea
June 26, 2017
We originally published this article on 2 January 2015. At that moment, there were no Americans in North Korean custody, thanks to an embarrassing and expensive mission by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to retrieve the last two American prisoners in late 2014. Thus, we implored the American traveling public to adopt a New […]
Can We Just Get Back to Smiling Normally for Pictures?
June 12, 2017
Is personal dignity in photographs mortally wounded? First it was the weird fake gang-like hand signs (or signs that have crass sexual meanings); then it was the ridiculous kissy-face expression which has spawned numerous references to “whores of the Internet,” or “duckfaces.” It seems that this pose is widely mocked and reviled, but that hasn’t […]
Joan Larsen’s Travel: The Midwest’s Wondrous Hidden Getaway – The American Club
June 7, 2017
By Joan Larsen More often than we might admit, we find we need a change from the “every day” that has felt – well, often mundane. A “jump-start” is truly what we need… and perhaps, just a little time “away” would do a world of good. A special hand-picked getaway, one not too long […]
Swim Season Safety: Know What A Drowning Person Really Looks Like
May 29, 2017
More than half of Americans cannot swim adequately, and most of us can’t recognize a drowning person right in front of us. Ah, yes. The pools and beaches are open again. For the past couple of seasons around this time of year, I have vainly attempted to educate the public about the horrors of the […]
The Unsanitary Swim Diaper: Not in My Pool, Please!
May 22, 2017
Time for Lila’s annual public safety and health announcement: even the manufacturers don’t claim that “swim diapers” will contain a mess. Memorial Day is fast approaching, and that means the neighborhood pools will soon be opening for business. As we wrote last year, the whole concept of a diapered child in a communal swimming area […]
Joan Larsen’s Favorite Travel Moments Above San Francisco: Communing With Giants — A Most Magical Day Spent in California’s Muir Woods
May 10, 2017
By Joan Larsen 2017 . . . and, with it, still another return journey to the West in early spring – to The City By The Bay, San Francisco. Once again the city has exceeded my expectations. It always does. That city pulls out all stops – and then continually adds some more – – […]
Dear H.B. Reese, What the Hell Happened to Your Peanut Butter Cups?
May 8, 2017
Has anyone else out there noticed that Reese’s Cups – formerly one of the most perfect foods ever to grace the planet – have gone somewhat downhill over the past few years? Specifically, I have my doubts on just how much “peanut” is in these things lately. Peanut butter, in its purest form, is just […]
Jeanne Henriques: Lounging on a Private Longboat – A Woman’s Extraordinary Photo Journey In Gorgeous Laos
May 3, 2017
A most special treat this week for all of us . . . and the warmest of introductions to our guest blogger, Jeanne Henriques – someone I call a very dear friend from afar, writer and photographer extraordinaire. Jeanne not only writes like a dream, but leads and writes about the most extraordinary life I have […]
Vitas, the Man With the Five-Octave Voice
May 1, 2017
His name is Vitaliy Vladasovich Grachyov, but you can call him Vitas. He was born in Latvia, raised in Ukraine, sings in Russian, and is wildly popular in China. When I say “wildly popular,” I mean, he draws crowds of fainting girls worthy of the Beatles’ heyday. Here is a video of crowd reactions, shot […]
Joan Larsen in Canada’s Wildest Places: Very Close Encounters With the Rutting Elk
April 26, 2017
By Joan Larsen The shriek started off like the creak of a rusty hinge and shifted to a cross between a whistle and a screaming jazz horn – with the volume set on 11. A group of geese hurried into the air, scared skyward. We almost levitated, too, the first time we heard it. It […]
Joan Larsen’s Travel: Taking the Scenic Route – Pure Unspoiled New Zealand
April 5, 2017
By Joan Larsen How can I tell you about this place – this beyond special island country of New Zealand – a country that never fails to sweep me away with its charm, its wonderful people, and the enchantment that I never fail to feel on each return visit? I am swept into the very […]
Joan Larsen’s Travel: Here Comes the Sun… Living a Charmed Life on Marlon Brando’s Private Island
March 29, 2017
By Joan Larsen A lifetime ago . . . or so it seems . . . romance was said to begin and end in the paradise of French Polynesia. And so, with the help and encouragement of then famed author James Michener – a friend who made us believers, my love and I found ourselves […]
Joan Larsen’s Travel: Living in the Clouds – Reaching Guoliang, China on One of the World’s Scariest Roads
March 22, 2017
By Joan Larsen Before the road was built in the mid-1970s, the only access to the village of Guoliang – high in the Taihang Mountains of China – was a very precarious path called “The Sky Ladder” – 720 mountain steps cut into a very steep cliff. It definitely kept visitors out. In fact, […]
Joan Larsen’s High Adventures: Deep In Australia’s Jungles – Learning to Love a Frilled Dragon
March 15, 2017
By Joan Larsen Still young and very adventurous on our first month-long journey to Australia – travelling on unpaved dusty roads to be one of the first to discover the wild places of the country’s Top End – had been dreamed about for years. It was a bit more rugged than we had been told […]
Joan Larsen Remembers: Leaving a Piece of My Heart in Patagonia
March 8, 2017
By Joan Larsen I am so sure that I speak for all of us when I say that we come to a point when we need a change of scene… and we need it now. “Please,” I will say, “let the world go away!” Whether we go far or near, we need time and we […]
Joan Larsen’s Secret Wonders – In Photos: Africa’s Mighty Victoria Falls, One of the Seven Wonders
March 1, 2017
By Joan Larsen Sometime in your life, you should stay at a grand British colonial hotel befitting of the grand old days. And sometime, too, you should see one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World, the stunning Victoria Falls in southern Africa. Tranquil, shaded, with a chorus of frogs in the courtyards, with […]
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