America's Castle Article Published on ForbesTraveler.com

During my East Coast odyssey of '08, I spent a few weeks researching America's castles, many of which are located in the Northeast, particularly Newport, Rhode Island, and New York's Hudson River Valley and Long Island. The article is finally live on ForbesTraveler.com:
http://www.forbestraveler.com/luxury/americas-castles-story.html?partner=rss

While in Newport to dig a little deeper into the history of Belcourt Castle, I also happened to be on deadline for another assignment. Instead of rushing back to my hotel to use the lobby Wi-Fi, I was fortunate enough to hang out in the castle a little longer, flanked by two suits of armor. It was definitely one or my more unique writing locations.

I'd still love to visit Wing's Castle and Coral Castle, since they're both such oddballs, as well as check out OHEKA, which I'm sure has changed greatly since my sister got married there a thousand years ago.

Visited Cities 2008

Two Februarys ago, I picked up on a meme about cities visited in previous year. that I have no qualms about stealing lists from others' sites. I'm pretty certain I can add far more to this year's list, on account of my East Coast odyssey.

Here's a list of the cities I traveled to in 2008 (* indicates non-consecutive visits), in chronological order, to the best of my memory. This list does not include every city I traveled through on my two cross-country drives, just the bigger ones:

Long Beach, CA
San Geronimo, CA
Vieux-Fort, St. Lucia
Asbury Park, NJ
Lavallette, NJ
Lake Arrowhead, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Littlefield, AZ
Cedar City, UT
*Denver, CO
Columbia, MO
St. Louis, MO
Effingham, IL
Indianapolis, IN
Columbus, OH
Wheeling, WV
*Ephrata, PA (Lancaster County)
West Orange, NJ
New York, NY
Easton, CT
Philadelphia, PA
Baldwin, NY
Glen Cove, NY
Fire Island, NY
Brooklyn, NY
Beacon, NY
Arlington, VA
Charlottesville, VA
Barrie, ONT
Toronto, ONT
Montreal, QC
Newport, RI
Vancouver, BC
New Hope, PA
Cleveland, OH
Des Moines, IA
Lincoln, NE

Not too shabby. Let's just hope I get in some more time on foreign soil this year.

That Aussie Dream Job Is Mine, All Mine!

You know you're a perfect candidate for a job when not two, but five people send you a link to it within 24 hours. That's what happened this week when several of my friends forwarded me a link to the Best Job in the World, Caretaker of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef.

I've had an infatuation with Australia since I did a report on the country Down Under in sixth grade. During junior high, I had the Australian flag hanging in my locker and a map of the country on my bedroom wall, which I studied on a regular basis, memorizing the capitals, states and territories as if I would be quizzed.

Somehow, I've made it to every other inhabited continent on the planet but not Australia. This is a situation that needs to be rectified ASAP -- and this gig would be the perfect way to do it. Who else is better qualified to test dive gear, monitor aquatic life, blog about the reef's goings-on, and answer questions to incoming tourists?

I'm sending in my application this month. If anyone knows someone on the selection committee that I can bribe, please let me know.

New Column for Examiner.com

It's been a while since I've blogged -- on my own website, at least. I've been so busy ghostwriting, web consulting, writing Wikipedia entries, and teaching high school (yes, you read that correctly) that I've let my poor beloved blog sit idle for far too long.

However, should I once again begin to slack and the urge to read my prose become too strong, feel free to check out my new column on Examiner.com:
Southern California Travel Examiner

I only have a few posts up so far, but now that I'm getting my schedule under control, I'll be going to bed before 4AM and will have more time (and energy) to write here. I may even get another chapter of my book done before the end of the month. (Stop laughing.)