Who owns America’s coastlines? How much access does the public deserve? Communities from California to Maine are struggling with these issues, which are rooted in almost 1,500 years of legal history. Originally published in Saturday Evening Post. BEN ADAIR PARKS ON THE NARROW shoulder of a residential street in Malibu, California. We get out of […]
Amigos gracias al mar
Publicado originalmente en inglés en Coastal Living. ERAN LAS 4 DE LA MAÑANA CUANDO LLEGAMOS a Campo del Sur, la carretera que sigue la línea de costa en el Casco Antiguo de Cádiz, España. Después de ocho visitas, todavía me alegra llegar a esta esquina. Las calles estrechas de la Casco Antiguo explotan en una vista […]
Friends by the Sea
How one moment during Carnaval in Spain turned into a lifetime of friendship. Originally published in Coastal Living. Click here for Spanish translation. IT WAS 4 IN THE MORNING WHEN WE REACHED Campo del Sur, the road hugging the coastline in the ancient center of Cádiz, Spain. Even after eight visits, I still swoon when […]
The Art of Sand Castles
They call themselves sand sculptors—artists who build massive structures on the beach for fun and profit, only to watch their work disappear overnight. Originally published in Coastal Living. THE LATE 1990S CLOBBERED KIRK RADEMAKER. He was in his mid-40s, a trained carpenter with an fine-art degree, stuck in a stressful job: project manager for a large […]
Here’s Lookin’ at You, Kid
When an American ex-diplomat decided to re-create an icon from Casablanca in Morocco, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. A different version of this story was published in American Way. THE EVENING I LANDED IN CASABLANCA, Morocco, I decided to lose myself in the Ancienne Médina, the old walled quartier that butts up […]
108 countries or bust
A bold travel challenge is Helen Ebersole’s dying gift to her granddaughter. Originally published in University of Northern Iowa Today. IN NOVEMBER 2004, HELEN EBERSOLE issued a challenge to her granddaughter, Lindsey Alena Schill. Ebersole, who was then 87, belonged to the Travelers’ Century Club, an organization whose members have visited 100 or more countries during their […]
A Nutty Adventure
Sometimes the best way to discover the charms of a city—even one with as glorious a history as Athens—is to avoid the obvious and start with something much smaller in mind. Originally published in US Airways Magazine. THE FRUIT VENDORS ARE ENTICING US with a singsong pitch: “Parte ta kalitera kerassia!” (“Get the best cherries!”) Sausage salesmen hand out […]
Traveling Thoreau’s Cape Cod
As the writer noted over a century ago, the best time to visit New England’s storied coastline is the off-season. Originally published in US Airways Magazine. THE YOUNG TRAVELER WAS QUICK-WITTED, ACERBIC, and a bit cranky about having to venture so far from home. Arriving at Cape Cod for the first time, he was not […]
Insider’s Guide to the Stockholm Archipelago
The islands dotting the Baltic waters around Sweden’s capital are fertile grounds for exploration and discovery. Originally published in US Airways Magazine. WHEN HE WAS 12 YEARS OLD, BERTIL ROSQVIST bought a 20-foot sailboat with three other friends and spent his summers navigating the waterways of the Stockholm Archipelago, the island chain that fans out from the […]
In Search of Catalan Culture
A wander through the barris, or neighborhoods, of Barcelona. Originally published in US Airways Magazine. AN INDIGO DUSK IS DESCENDING on Plaça Rius i Taulet, the most atmospheric square. I am sitting under a plane tree, watching a busy Thursday evening unfold. Cafe waiters bring glasses of beer with lemon to the residents gathering at metal tables […]
