Travels with Valerie and Joe

Some quick snapshots from our January trip through Central America.

According to Down East Magazine, the term Down East “has its origins in the days of sail when ships, leaving Boston, sailed downwind to ports along the Maine coast and beyond. They sailed down wind to the east; hence the term down east. In days of yore Mainers were known as Downeasters the same way Indianans were known as Hoosiers and Oklahomans, Sooners.” This summer, our travels took us to Down East, a part of southeastern Maine that gives credence to Maine’s slogan, “America’s Vacationland”.

We made our Stonington Victorian our base for day trips around Down East. Stonington on Deer Isle has one of the largest fishing and lobster fleets in the area. Early in the morning, the lobster fleets go out for the day’s catch then return in the afternoon where you can see schooner and lobster boats in Stonington Harbor. Deer Isle is full of family fun and is a respite away from the city. In Stonington, you can visit the outer islands, take the daily mailboat for a trip to Isle au Haut, go hiking and kayaking, enjoy lobster or fresh home made ice cream and blueberries, and many, many other things.

Our Down East range included scenic Camden harbor to the west (technically, “mid-coast”) and Mount Desert Isle to the east. You can drive to either end within two hours of Stonington, so day tripping is very easy. In between are plenty of opportunities for additional site seeing, including stops at Bluehill and Bucksport.

While in Down East, Mount Desert Island, home to Acadia National Park, Cadillac Mountain, and Bar Harbor, is a must-visit.

Acadia was the first national park east of the Mississippi River. From there, you can see granite peaks, visit a swimming hole, see the expansive views atop Cadillac Mountain, hike or ride the historic carriage roads, or just relax and enjoy the view of the Bubbles while enjoying popovers and lobster chowder in front of Jordan Pond.

Orchids have always inspired fascination and awe. And so does The Orchid Show at The New York Botanical Garden. As visitors encounter thousands of these exotic plants, dripping from vines and filling formal garden beds, they understand why orchids are surrounded by romance and mystery.

We enjoyed the nation’s premier orchid show this February, which The Wall Street Journal has called “a tour de force that leaves most visitors gasping with amazement and delight.” Our orchid adventure began as we strolled through the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory while exploring a lush, tropical garden and other spectacular settings steeped in beauty and fragrance.

Note: all photographs were taken while an 8 pound baby was strapped to my chest along with a Tamron camera backpack on my back plus a 3 year old daughter dragging my leg around. Now that’s what I call an adhoc tripod.

You can view the full gallery of orchids at our photo gallery.

The name “Hong Kong”, literally meaning “fragrant harbor”, is derived from the area around present-day Aberdeen on Hong Kong Island, where fragrant wood products and fragrant incense were once traded. The narrow body of water separating Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula, Victoria Harbor, is one of the deepest natural maritime ports in the world (from Wikipedia).

Visitors to Hong Kong will find that it is a city of contrasts. You will find ultramodern skyscrapers and technology while at the same time be treated to much history and culture that dates back thousands of years. The world’s tallest Buddha status, Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau, is a subway ride away from the main island.

Fresh food is abound in local markets and restaurants. You can even point out and purchase seafood that was caught that day right off of the boat.


Advice: Never go in the summer! Its hot and very humid. Upon leaving our air conditioned hotel, the inside of my camera lens would immediately condense over taking quite a while to dry off for use.

This photograph has been resting in an old paper shoebox. I took it one wintry day, probably in 1984, from the campus of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. The cannon sits on Castle Point and overlooks the entrance to the Hudson River where Henry Hudson’s ship first came upon this part of the New World.

Its been 5 years since 9/11 and New York City has returned to a life of vibrancy and full of tourists and visitors. A large percentage of the tourists come from overseas to see the magnificant sights and also to take advantage of the very weak dollar that has resulted from the current stewardship of the US fiscal policy. If you’re planning a visit, be sure to check out the New Yorker’s Guide from our Fodor’s Travel Wire feed.

You can also visit the hip and sophisticated urban village of Hoboken to see the best panoramic postcard view of Manhattan while getting in some some antiquing, shopping, and a great meal! For more details about this historic town and information about walking tours, visit the Hoboken Historical Museum online or grab a copy of 100 Hoboken Firsts. They have some great exhibits and tours planned for the spring and summer, and free two hour parking validation when visiting the museum!

Researching ideas for a personal vacation or honeymoon destination? If you’ve ever wanted to enjoy the charm of Puerto Rico, but wasn’t sure that you wanted to spend more than a few days, check out our upcoming trip journal to this island of Enchantment! It’ll convince you that you want to enjoy the culture and friendly people here!

Puerto Rico was once Spain’s most important military outpost in the Caribbean but has blossomed into an exotic land spiced with beauty, romance, and adventure. Rent a car and sample the island’s three different kinds of weather, including the sunny beaches in the north and west; rainforests in the mountainous center; and the dry, arid heat along the south.

Many visitors arrive in Puerto Rico and never leave the beaches of San Juan, so they never get to experience anything more than suntans and rum drinks - a slightly more exotic version of staying home. They miss out on sampling some of the sights and sounds of Puerto Rico, including hiking the El Yunque rainforest, enjoying Ponce’s colonial “pearl of the south”, visiting an authentic coffee plantation in the mountains, savoring authentic local fare at a roadside lechoneras, soaking in the Coamo thermal springs, being awed by the Rio Camuy Cave Park with the most massive cave networks in the Western hemisphere, and seeing the huge Arecibo Ionospheric Observatory where Jodie Foster filmed the science fiction movie “Contact”. Venture off the beach and you’ll realize why Juan Ponce de Leon enthusiastically named the island Puerto Rico, meaning “rich port”.

We brought a few travel guides, including Lonely Planet Puerto Rico and Fodor’s Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico uses US currency and no visa is required for travelers from the US.

Faith, Fortitude and Fear : A Rational Approach to the Jewish History is now in print and available at Amazon.com. When Hooshang Meshkinpour, Professor Emeritus of Medicine at University of California, Irvine, needed a cover photo for his book on Jewish History, he contacted me for permission to use one of the photos that I had taken on a business trip to Israel. You can check out the original photograph of the Western Wall along with other picturesque images in our blog from what is one of my favorite travel destinations.