Travel Stories, Cruise Reviews, and Cultural Adventures

Penelope Margaret and James Brian Ganner prepare their take off for a day of frolic at Legoland, north of San Diego. Ready for their...

Cookie's favorite royal, the late Queen Mum, sported a jaunty hat when she joined journalists and travel writers for her daughter's 1977...

Dublin's famous Temple Bar was a pub stop on a memorable tour of Ireland with Cookie's late mother, Ellen, who played piano there and...

The Louvre Museum stands proud into the centuries, photographed from the Seine on a recent trip. And don't  miss our favorite Musee d"orsay nearby.  Housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900, it houses many well known works of a more contemporary vein.  The Pont Alexandre is one of the world's most lavish bridges, and a much photographed Paris icon. MONUMENTS, MUSEUMS, MUSIC AND MEMORIES LURE LOVERS BACK TO THE LORE, ROMANCE,

Santorini's rugged hillsides are shaped by volcanic eruptions of more than 3,000 years ago. A tram offers a pleasant ride up. Close-up of...

San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge is known worldwide for its dramatic bridge towers.Since 1941, it has been featured  in a wide range of...

Snow coaches are the way to see Yellowstone Park in winter; Cookie prepares to board on a recent visit.  HEATED SNOW COACH PROVIDES...

Watching beautiful bears scamper, play and eat is a pleasure offered by West Yellowstone's Discovery Center. The animals within this...

The Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles is the perfect venue for a beautifully staged "Bright Star," with a bluegrass band on stage, and a full pit orchestra in the traditional place below.  The show is spectacularly staged. MUSICAL EARNS BRAVOS, STANDING OVATIONS IN ITS TOE-TAPPING REINCARNATION  Carmen Cusack's lovely leading lady role makes the audience laugh -- and cry -- in "Bright Star." The actress played the role of Alice on Broadway. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By B

Cookie is at her happiest playing piano.  Here, she entertains at a housewarming party. Cookie serenades at friend Corby Skinner's on the...

An Alexander Calder sculpture welcomes concert goers to an unforgettable experience merging art, music and nature. Tippet Rise, six years...

Big Sky Country on the Stillwater River -- looking from our friends' home, John and Laurie Beers, toward High Chaparral.   BIG SKY...

Yorkshire terrier Nick enjoys the sun on a late-summer hike with us near Coos Bay, Oregon, a splendid retreat. This quiet but active...

Outside the Allen Elizabethan Theater, people take the summer night's air between acts. Next door, the Bowmer Theater has a play...

Wading, not quite walking, on the water, sisters Cookie, left, and Olivia, make their way to the wedding on Beverly Beach. Behind them,...

What do a bell, a wheel and a pendulum have in common?  You'll find out at the Exploratorium. Sights and sounds merge and dance as Steve Ganner shares the wonders with his mesmerized daughter Penelope.  KIDS OF ALL AGES ENJOY EXPERIMENTATION, DISCOVERY AT UNIQUE INTERACTIVE MUSEUM ON SAN FRANCISCO'S WATERFRONT   James Brian Ganner and sister Penelope Margaret  have fun with a magical spinning cloud chamber. Bruce Keller has fun with invisible forces and spinning  effects in o

SeaWorld's new Orca Encounter is a more politically correct production which still captures the beauty, grace and power of the...

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER Editor's Note:   Two weeks ago, we described our journey up the transplant list at...

Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Cubby Broccoli and Princess Anne at the premiere of "The Spy Who Loved Me." STORY and PHOTOS By CHRISTENE...

Bruce William Keller and Christene Cosgriffe Meyers, with Yorkies Nick and Nora, put their beloved Montana on hold for this year, as they...