Four Seasons Seattle photo by Steve Sanacore It seems that I’ve spent much of my time in Seattle serving as a de facto ambassador for the city to people back East. Yes, it rains – a lot, especially in November. And gray cool days can take place almost any day of the year. But when the sun...

Photo by Ed Yourdon, Flickr Creative Commons I’m attending BlogWorld Expo for the first time this year. I’m a little nervous about it, honestly, and to make matters worse, I’m speaking. At a session called “Going Pro.” Yeah, no pressure or anything. The reality is that I’m...

 My biggest challenge on my InnerSea Discoveries expedition cruise in Alaska wasn’t the extensive kayaking or glacier hiking or even fishing (which I did for the first time in Wrangell). No, I knew I’d have the most trouble with unplugging, in what was about to become a weeklong digital...

This post previously appeared on Frommers.com The LivingSocial Escapes (http://livingsocial.com) deal that appeared in my e-mail inbox sounded appealing: A two-night stay for two people at Crystal Lodge in Whistler Village, Vancouver, for $299. The coupon included a three-course dinner and two gondola...

This post previously appeared on Frommers.com Back in 2007, I planned my three-week honeymoon to Southeast Asia relying solely on information I found on online travel forums. The detailed tips I received from mostly anonymous members proved to be invaluable: Advice on the best rooms at the Bangkok Shangri-La,...

This post previously appeared on Frommers.com Talk about bargain shopping: Scanning her Twitter stream last fall, Vancouverite Diane Button discovered an Expedia.ca promo code tweeted by @YVRdeals that offered $300 off flight and hotel packages to several cities in the United States, including Las...

This post previously appeared on Frommers.com When foursquare (www.foursquare.com) — a GPS-based mobile app that pinpoints and shares your location — first hit the social media scene, Marla Cimini wasn’t a fan. “I didn’t want people to know where I was,” said the...

Attention travel bloggers: Looking to inject a little activism into your routine? Then Passports With Purpose, an annual fundraiser organized and promoted by a diverse group of travel bloggers, is looking for you! Last year, the group – led by Debbie Dubrow of Delicious Baby, Beth Whitman of Wanderlust...

On the long plane ride from Seattle into New York for TBEX, I grabbed a book that I had been meaning to read for years: Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky. Turns out I couldn’t have made a better choice. The Travel Blog Exchange conference, now in its second year, personifies Shirky’s theory...

I spoke at PRSA Travel & Tourism conference in Aspen last week, as part of a panel entitled “Reaching Key Influencers Where They Live (Online).” I felt lucky to be included in that definition. Of those of us on the panel, which included Kara S. Williams of The Vacation Gals, Johnny Jet...