Planning for Serendipity

Hawai’i- Six Islands of Paradise: An Introduction
If you are like most who have never been to Hawaii, the state’s islands blend into a mass of unpronounceable vowels and indistinct images of a tropical paradise. The geography of the islands is not difficult, however, and all it takes is one trip to make visitors long to become…
Halloween Around the World
Americans mark autumn with two major holidays: Thanksgiving in late November, and Halloween on Oct. 31. The latter is a personal favorite:
Ever since I watched It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! as a child, Halloween has been one of my anchor points for the fall season. Halloween as we…
Ireland’s Puck Fair- No Kidding, the Goat is King
For three days each year in August, more than 20,000 people converge on Killorglin in Kerry in Southwest Ireland for the coronation of a goat. But not just any goat. No sir. That is King Puck on the stage in the center of town overlooking the river Laune. It is…
Exploring Celtic Heritage and Genealogy Through Travel

Aloha Families!
There may be no more diverse destination on the planet than Hawaii. Not only is the terrain amazingly varied – deserts, beaches and lush rainforests, mountains and oceans, deep valleys and soaring volcanoes – but the climates there range from sub-arctic to tropical. The available activities are almost without end.…
Under the Sea – Planning a Dive Vacation
Scuba diving offers travelers seeking an active vacation the opportunity to view parts of our world seen by very few. Divers are part of an exclusive club, sharing experiences normally reserved for marine life. Like few other activities, diving provides an unparalleled reason to travel and one that will leave…
Roving Iceland’s Golden Circle
It’s just after midnight, June 21, 2016, and I’m standing on the street outside the Reykjavik pub from which I have just emerged. The sky above is clear and bright. Perhaps not as bright as when I went into the pub three hours ago but, then again, neither am I.…
Turkey – Tea with the Locals
Yes, the British and the Japanese have their tea customs and rituals, and I wouldn’t want to take away from the special nature of either of those cultures. But if I had to choose where I would most like to have a cup of tea with the locals, it would…
Tanzania – The Camp Elephant
My teenage son and I arrived at the Tarangire Treetops Safari Camp in the late afternoon. A day of safari through the Tarangire National Park had put us face to face with lions, elephants, baboons and a number of gazellelike creatures of varying types. It had been a terrific first…
The Ups and Downs of Accessible Travel
Travel is about access to new and different possibilities. To those individuals with physical or medical disabilities, however, the word “access” takes on an a multi-dimensional meaning. Accessible travel is a goal, an adventure, a state of mind. Increasingly, accessible travel is a concern for the tens of thousands of…
Ireland Off-Season

Why travel agents are back in vogue
Here’s a fact seldom discussed when the topic of travel agents arises. When the airlines began cutting commissions to travel agents in the mid-90′s, the real problem wasn’t commissions. No, the airlines had another reason for wanting travel agents out of the picture. Travel agents told clients how to obtain…
Why Travel Agents Are Back in Vogue
Here’s a fact seldom discussed when the topic of travel agents arises. When the airlines began cutting commissions to travel agents in the mid-90′s, the real problem wasn’t commissions. No, the airlines had another reason for wanting travel agents out of the picture. Travel agents told clients how to obtain…