On 7/7, it’s only appropriate that I take part in the 7 Links meme that’s floating around the travel blogosphere (#My7Links). Spearheaded by Tripbase, the exercise is meant to resurrect old posts that may have fallen deep into your archives, and expose some of your best work to new  audiences. One...

I’m not a video game person. But the new XBox 360 and Kinect game system – which lets you play without hands – looks so cool that even I want one (and I’m not just saying that because MS pays my bills). Now you have a chance to get a XBox 360/Kinect system of your own –...

I’m trying to play things cool today. But inside I’m jumping up and down like a kid. I won, I won, I won! (a silver Lowell Thomas award for best travel blog) The Lowell Thomas travel writing awards, sponsored by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation, are the main writing awards...

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...

Tomorrow night I head out on a red-eye flight to attend the second TBEX conference in New York City. TBEX is short for the Travel Blog Exchange, an online gathering of travel bloggers big and small. I’m excited to attend, even though I’ll miss out on the Friday night socializing. I remember...

I’m packing, again. No news there. In the past six months since I’ve left USA TODAY, I flung myself full force into the out-of-a-suitcase life of a travel writer. And hell yeah, it’s been fun. I went on two small ship sailing cruises throughout the Caribbean, dined at four-star Michelin...