ArcaMax

In spring, Washington, D.C., dazzles. That's when more than 2,500 cherry trees pop into bloom at the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. The flowers frame the Jefferson Memorial, fringing the artificial reservoir with a lush ribbon of pink and white that's subtly reflected in the water. The famous site is bucket-list beautiful. Plus, the National ...Read more

If any city gives meaning to the word "eclectic," it is Baltimore, Maryland. Are you interested in American history? Do you enjoy visiting museums? Does a wonderful waterfront setting have appeal? Baltimore has you covered.

Over the years, it has been known by a variety of nicknames, all of which are applicable. They include the Monumental City...Read more

When I heard that you could spend from dawn to dusk on the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and never get bored, I decided to take the challenge. It turns out they were right: The Malecon is a 1-mile delight in so many different ways as to make any number of hours pass quickly.

Morning begins at the Hotel Rosita, built in 1948 and the oldest...Read more

I grew up as an avid atlas and encyclopedia reader, poring over the pages during those pre-digital days, immersed in the mapped landscapes of distant lands from my tiny village in England, daydreaming of future globetrotting adventures and eager to educate myself about colorful foreign cultures.

When the pandemic made my world feel small, ...Read more

When the guide stopped our teak wagon to pull a ripe cacao fruit from its branch and break it open against a palm tree for us to taste, I knew Belize was my new favorite escape from our icy Midwest home. Juice of a sweet passion fruit dribbled down my chin, and the lingering tingle of green peppercorns I'd nibbled right off the branch still ...Read more

rom the top of El Castillo, the tallest Mayan ruin at Xunantunich and second-largest man-made structure in Belize, I could see forever, and it took my breath away. Our guide called out to my husband, who was waiting in the plaza far below with a voice that bounced and echoed off the other buildings around us. We had clambered up the ruin, using ...Read more

I was delighted when my husband and I received Betty's invitation for a picnic lunch at the Sunset in the Palms Resort in Negril, Jamaica. The setting was lush, the food and wine enticing. Conversation, though, was a tad strained. Betty was there with her kids, and it was hard for her to attend to them and focus on her guests at the same time. ...Read more

This time of the year is the perfect time to visit San Diego -- and not just for the sublime weather, beaches, award-winning craft breweries (there are more than 150) and world-class attractions that include the San Diego Zoo. Winter is also a perfect time to browse through the city's many museums.

While I'm here for the mainstay museums of ...Read more

By Victor Block

Talk about hometown pride! When I asked a grizzled waterman who lives on Smith Island, Maryland, if he would like to accompany me to one of the other nearby villages, he replied, "Nope, I've been there."

While the twinkle in his eyes suggested he wasn't serious about the reason for his decision, the fact is that ...Read more

By Victor Block

Trains chug through a town where children are enjoying swings and seesaws in a playground, musicians in a bandstand are playing their instruments and a dog chases a mailman who is making his rounds. Other workers are sawing logs, a fire truck is responding to a call for assistance and hot-air balloons are hovering over ...Read more

Tucked along Florida’s northeastern coast, St. Augustine is often overshadowed by the state’s bigger tourist hubs. Yet, with its centuries-old Spanish architecture, cobblestone streets and coastal charm, America’s oldest city offers a one-of-a-kind travel experience.

Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, St. ...Read more

By Victor Block

Not hungry enough for a sit-down breakfast, I munched on momos (Tibetan dumplings) purchased from a snack truck decorated with a sign that touted "Himalayan Fresh Food." Lunch was a hurried affair at a five-table eatery where the menu special is yak meat washed down by salty yak milk tea.

For dinner, I chose a small ...Read more

By Bonnie and Bill Neely

The new year began with us heading toward the strange place we had heard lots about from other RVers who live in the North most of the year. Winter is the peak time for human snowbirds to migrate to the warm desert at Quartzsite, Arizona. This is a little town of about 500 people, but somehow they cope with about...Read more

By Victor Block

One morning I take a sightseeing drive through a neighborhood of palatial mansions with three- and four-car garages that house Cadillacs, Mercedes and other top-of-the-line automobiles. That afternoon I enjoy a thrilling airboat ride through mangrove swamps, where I spot alligators and an aviary-worth variety of birds, ...Read more

By Victor Block

"The Little Rascals" was a series of movie shorts that ran from 1922 to 1938, then was repackaged as a television show. When a casual eatery named Spanky's, which echoed the "speakeasy" days of Prohibition (1920-13), opened in Naples, Florida, in 1984, "Spanky" McFarland -- one of the Little Rascals -- sued for unapproved...Read more

By Victor Block

In 1693 the king of Spain issued a decree stating that anyone who moved from a Protestant colony in the New World to a Catholic settlement must be accepted and protected. At the time, the population of St. Augustine, Florida, included about 100 Black people who enjoyed rights equal to their European neighbors.

Men from ...Read more

By Victor Block

A new exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science is attracting both city residents and visitors interested in seeing one of the most exciting paleontologists' finds in recent years. This is the partial skeleton of a juvenile Tyrannosaurus Rex, a dinosaur which experts tell us lived about 67 million years ago and ...Read more

By Victor Block

Erik and Ingrid Olson were excited to be exploring their family's Norwegian heritage. They were visiting a late-19th-century village and checking out log homes, a Lutheran church, a one-room schoolhouse and other traditional structures. A museum added to their immersion in local lore with collections of documents, history...Read more

By Bonnie and Bill Neely

On a recent trip to the Kennedy Space Center we arrived just after sunrise even though the park wouldn't open until 9. We wanted to make sure we could get it all in by closing time at 5 p.m., and there was already a long line. We picked up a daily schedule as we passed through the entrance, which enabled us to ...Read more

By Victor Block

It had been two decades since my wife, Fyllis, and I visited the British Virgin Islands. On that visit we checked out the inviting beaches, visited historic and nature-made sites, and oohed and aahed at the magnificent scenery.

During our recent return trip there, we relived those experiences. We also enjoyed others that...Read more