Travel Stories, Cruise Reviews, and Cultural Adventures

Behind bars: Keller tours prison. Story By CHRISTENE MEYERS Photos By BRUCE KELLER Who knew that Burt Lancaster's "Bird Man" character...

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER Last Saturday's "starter kit" talked prices and posed questions to ask yourself when planning a cruise. Cruising offers value, variety, safety and more... you pack and unpack  once!  Recapping: *Are the ship and amenities more important than ports? Prefer to sail the Norwegian Fjords or wander the streets of a Sicilian village? *Must you have an ocean view or balcony? Happy with a cheaper, inside cabin? What's your budget?

Trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos plays magnificently as "La Trompeta" and band leader . -- Production photos by Daren Scott  By CHRISTENE...

Cruise ships and private yachts make a pretty sight in picturesque St. Thomas. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER There...

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER It's all in the family at Arslan's Gyros in Pacific Beach. In the European tradition,...

This publicity photo shows Vereen's joy in life and his engaging personality. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER Ben...

Actor Ben Vereen is touring a fast-paced one man show which may appear in an expanded version down the road. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS...

The lovely arrangement, above, is both simple and striking. It graces the men's bathroom at the popular La Jolla Shores Hotel.  Below,...

A walk through a vineyard always surprises and delights. Both European and American grape growers frame vines with roses. STORY By...

POEM by CHRISTENE MEYERS      PHOTOS by BRUCE KELLER            This week, twin dreams came down to us      with travel forecasts bold....

Pansies are perennial favorites in Ashland, Oregon, and this one was part of a shop windowbox display.    STORY by Christene Meyers    ...

The Colosseum remains one of tourism's most visited sites.       Story by Christene Meyers      Photos by Bruce Keller      "Rome...

A flurry of birds is caught in motion at a feeder at High Chaparral on the West Fork of the Stillwater River in Montana .       Story by Christene Meyers      Photos by Bruce Keller       AS LONG  as I can recall, birds have flitted around me, delighting and entrancing. In the mountains of Montana, the countryside of Tuscany, hiking trails in Ireland and Scotland, desert treks in Arizona, rain forests in Costa Rica, Peru and Brazil, I've always stopped to look, admire and a

Queen Califia's Magical Circle offers a colorful escape.            Story by Christene Meyers Photos by Bruce Keller      Days ago, we...

Story by Christene Meyers Photos by Bruce Keller       Cookie and Keller  enjoy sunset.       IF THE  airlines awarded miles for doggie travel, Nick and Nora would have logged over 50,000 miles each in their action-packed seven years. Mostly, they go where we go, by plane or car. They're happy little road-trippers. So we've started keeping track of the best of the "dog friendly" hotels we've visited recently.     We estimate that Nick and Nora have bedded down with us in