Travel Stories, Cruise Reviews, and Cultural Adventures

CRUISE JUNKIES OFFER WAYS TO NARROW THE FIELD FOR THE FIRST-TIME OR INFREQUENT CRUISER Bird's eye view for cruisers: A circle of yachts, large cruise ships and pleasure boats at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Crystal's Serenity remains our favorite of 102 cruises on many lines. STORY BY CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER I'VE NEVER MET a cruise ship I didn't like. But there's a world of difference between the small, intimate vessels and the huge "city on water" mega-shi

Sacramento's Old Town offers fun, frolic, history, horses, railroad and food food

RIGHTLY PROUD of its critters and birds, Guatemala hosts more than 10 per cent of all registered species on planet Earth. Handsome people, gorgeous lakes and forests and extraordinary handicrafts complement swimming, hiking and delightful cuisine -- fish, lobster and tasty spiced veggies -- make it appealing to tourists. Well heeled Americans and Europeans mix with yuppies from the British Isles and South America to ride horseback, frolic on the beaches, and enjoy spelu

Cabrillo Monument is a lovely day trip. CABRILLO DISCOVERED LAND WHERE TIDE POOLS NOW ATTRACT VISITORS Cabrillo National Monument and its...

Carnival worldwide -- Rio to New Orleans

Trio of venues about relationships offers home run for buffs of the boards San Diego's gorgeous location between sea and mountains is fertile ground for cutting edge theater. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER SAN DIEGO THEATER's March offerings are as fresh, varied and welcome as our recent weather. Translate coastal sun, imposing skyline and rejuvenating breezes to the stage. You have a hint of the pleasures awaiting theater buffs. Our theaters deliver -- f

Beautifully crafted metal sculptures including elephants, eagles and even a desert jeep with passengers are positioned to suggest roaming the deserts of San Diego County, near our home here in southern California. Outside of the town of Borrego Springs lies Galleta Meadows, inspiration of the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Dennis Avery.

The Pyramids of Guimar convinced famous Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl of a connection between Tenerife's ancient Guanche people and the civilizations in Central America and Egypt. PYRAMIDS OF GUIMAR INTRIGUE -- ARE THEY CONNECTED TO OTHER IN DISTANT LANDS? STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER The grounds of the Casa Charcona Museum contain nautical lore, sculpture, pottery copies, mummies and much more, as Cookie discovers. This inhabitant of Tenerife i

The colorful Lyceum Theatre houses San Diego Rep in Horton Plaza. A PLAY-LOVER'S BRAVO! SALUTING FOUR RRIFIC SAN DIEGO COMPANIES STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS ART By BRUCE KELLER & THEATER COMPANIES SAN DIEGO'S year-round growing season produces more than lush landscaping. Our city offers a lively and varied theater crop. San Diego theater can't be beat for quality and diversity. I spend time in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Cleveland, Atlanta, St. Louis, San Francisc

BEAUTIFUL 'BUTTERFLIES' prompts look at what makes great theater Fabulous acting, subtle direction and a wonderfully rich story make "In the Time of the Butterflies" a class act. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS FILE PHOTO and BRUCE KELLER PHOTO IF YOU'VE seen a play that moved you to tears, a play that you couldn't stop thinking about, you've been "socked in the kisser by art." The San Diego Repertory Theater is producing a fabulous play, "In the Time of the Butterflies," a lyrica

NEW 'PRE-CHECK' OPTION LETS YOU THROUGH WITHOUT REMOVING SHOES! STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER "The Carpe Diem Kids" Options DID YOU know that you can greatly simplify your transit through the airport TSA by purchasing a pre-check screening option? It costs $85 but lasts several years and is worth its weight in platinum. NEARLY 100 airports participate in this expedited arrangement. We found out about this by chance, when we were randomly selected to t

Take a walk in a garden to cure what ails you Dahlias recall the photographer's childhood with his mother painting and arranging flowers and his dad growing them. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER "The Carpe Diem Kids" Apples and sunflowers glisten in September sun. MY PARTNER and the photographer for our essays has a soft spot in his heart for flowers. No surprise. His mother, Jean, painted them -- lilies, tulips, chrysanthemums, daisies, the exotic orange

Catalina Island

Throughout Egypt, handsome and friendly children greeted American visitors who wonder if they are safe now. Friendship with brilliant guide, encounters with children, foster worry for their safety Adept as a guide and translator, Amr took the photographer and writer through Egypt, proudly sharing his country's wonders. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER AS NEWS of bloodshed in Cairo commands our attention this week, we wonder about our friend Amr. We met this

Split between Montana’s wide-open landscapes and California’s coastal beauty, we’ve discovered that “home” isn’t tied to one place, it’s rooted in nature. From mountain air to ocean breezes, the natural world connects our lives across distance, grounding us in a shared sense of comfort, belonging, and peace.

This birthday, Keller takes Cookie sailing off La Jolla Shores. Ringing in another year brings time for reflection, joy, humor and appreciation "...all the gardens of spring and summer were blooming in the tall tales Beyond the border and under the lark full cloud. There could I marvel my birthday...." --Dylan Thomas STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER "The Carpe Diem Kids" AS I MARK my birthday tomorrow, I am thankful that I, too have "lark full cloud" and a

We've borrowed many terms from life aboard ships; whether you "know the ropes" or not, come have fun If you "know the ropes" you have proficiency in your task, a term which comes straight from sailing. STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER "The Carpe Diem Kids" AHOY , avast and shiver your timbers! Much of our language comes from the sea, from the early Phoenician and Greek cultures, on up through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when British naval vessels

GLIDING BUFFS are fit, trim and healthy looking. And if you're looking for a romantic adventure with your sweetheart, you can fly tandem. What a thought! Keller could nudge me to consciousness if I fainted from terror.

HORSE HAS BEEN AROUND LONGER THAN WE THOUGHT STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER and JANE MILDER This scene, of horses in pasture framed by the Crazy Mountains, epitomizes the grandeur of Big Sky Country to many Montanans. No horsing around. The horse goes back farther than we imagined. So an homage seems in order. With Fourth of July parades and the horse the star of the rodeo, we have new scientific information about his history. But first, allow me so

Jazzercise was born in California. This group works out in San Diego. That's Debbie Walters in the center, one of Cookie's Jazzercise coaches