A verdant sea of feathery green surrounds me in the magnificently restored Victorian Fernery at Benmore Royal Botanic Garden in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Warm, moist air that frizzes my naturally curly hair and dampens my skin envelops me. IRead more
Our friends Jan and Art are already seated at a high-top table and sipping citrusy Sauvignon Blanc in the modern barn-style tasting room of Goosecross Cellars when my husband, Bill, and I enter. We’re in Yountville, tucked away on StateRead more
Standing on a broad, tree-lined pedestrian promenade in Lucca, Italy, we’re stories high atop 40-feet-tall red brick walls. Centuries old and remarkably intact, they measure an incredible 2.5 miles long and 100 feet wide at the base. These massive walls,Read more
I’m perched 100-feet high atop an eroding and landslide-prone sandstone bluff in Santa Monica, CA. As I begin my fitness walk on this late summer morning, I’m less concerned about the possibility of the ground collapsing and sending me tumblingRead more
I’m flying, silently and leisurely at 11 mph, about 1,000 feet above the Yadkin Valley near East Bend, NC. Standing in a large rattan basket, I’m fully aware that the only thing keeping me aloft above terra firma is theRead more
Although it’s summer 2018, I’m thinking about my trip to Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, as if it’s Christmas Eve 1895. On that date, George Washington Vanderbilt welcomed family and friends for the opening of his new 175,000-square-foot country homeRead more
The sound system in the kitchen at Barrington’s restaurant in Charlotte, NC, plays “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” as I observe owner and executive chef Bruce Moffett wield a hefty knife and trim excess fat and other unwantedRead more
I’m standing on a precipice of my own choosing. The spot isn’t a vertiginous one of height and altitude from atop a mountain, but rather an oceanic one of depth and darkness along Maho Beach on the island of St.Read more
Visualize the life of Candace Rose Rardon: Visiting and living in 50 countries, 19 of them in one year alone. Hiking solo on a 220-mile pilgrimage through rural Turkey. Driving an auto-rickshaw 2,000 miles across India. Bathing an elephant inRead more
Singer Tony Bennett left his heart in San Francisco. I’m leaving my sweat. It’s high noon, fog-free, and an unseasonably warm 83 degrees near the intersection of Hayes and Octavia Streets in the City by the Bay. I’m lying inRead more