Back in grad school, I was teaching assistant for a course called History of the American Environmental Movement. Each semester, I would grade perhaps 70 to 80 essays, including a section on John Muir, an advocate of preserving nature for nature’s sake, and Gifford Pinchot, who advocated responsible conservation of resources for human use. While […]
travel
Our first and hopefully not final Frontier flight
The price was shocking: $285 for two round-trip tickets from Long Island to Orlando, Florida for Christmas. At this late date, every other airline was nearly $400 or more for one ticket! The last straw was when I realized that United, the cheapest “normal” option, was now charging for carry-on bags in Economy. There’s always […]
Transcending time in a New York cab
It’s 4:20 in the morning and I can see the stars. This is a bit glamorous, I think as I flag down a taxi on a nearly deserted Third Avenue below our apartment. I have had plenty of early morning flights, but this will be my first pre-dawn departure since moving to Manhattan over three […]
Visiting Casa Herradura, Birthplace of Tequila
This past Christmas break we went to Guadalajara and during our time there couldn’t miss out on a trip to the area around the town of Tequila to learn more about Mexico’s national drink. That’s how we found ourselves at Casa Herradura in the town of Amatitán, a functioning hacienda that claims to be the […]
Hopping cheaply across Europe by air and rail
Here’s some good news about your dream trip across Europe. With a little advanced planning, and carry-on luggage, you can get there and get around fairly affordably. After months of planning and procrastination, our full Europe itinerary is now booked. Here are the details of our grand tour with some super secret discount tips at the […]
Bucket List: Jazz Train from New York to Montreal
Featured image by Bublegun (Own work) [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons New York, en wagon piano bar! Imagine some of the nicest scenery in the East flashing by the window as you’re serenaded by live music and wined and dined. I first heard about this unique year-round service from a post on And North.The […]
How I got 21% back towards travel (Really)
I signed up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred (referral link) card this past year to take advantage of the 50,000-point sign-up bonus, plus an additional 5,000 for adding an authorized user ($1155 at 2.1 cents per point !). It’s a good card that I use on a daily basis for most purchases, and it gives […]
Amtrak Guest Rewards, Best Deal in Travel, Gets Better (for Most)
Photo: Amtrak’s California Zephyr (Source: Ebgundy – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0) Time for some train travel talk. Dollar-for-dollar, Amtrak’s Guest Rewards (AGR) program remains one of the best redemption deals in travel rewards. AGR has undergone some changes recently that have shifted, and in most cases improved its value for those looking to redeem. At 2.9 cents of […]
Experiments in Extreme Weekend Travel
We just returned from a weekend getaway to Barbados, and I wanted to share impressions on what I’ll term our first experiment in “extreme weekend travel”. To fit nearly a week of travel time into one weekend, all you need are the following: two vacation days that connect to the weekend or a three-day weekend […]
January’s 10 Best Stories in Travel
Photo: January at Labrador Mountain, Truxton, NY I’m here to share with you my favorite stories of the month from around the web. All have an international flavor, many explore the unseen side of the places we hear about in the news. If you’re wary of traveling there, at least you’ll be able to visit […]