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 […]
Journey to Turkey
Situated in one of the world’s most important migratory bird flyways, some of Turkey’s wildest places face threats from massive construction projects. Trying to provide a better way, one visionary biologist aims to put his country on the birder map. Originally published in Audubon Magazine. “THIS IS THE END OF THE WORLD,” field biologist Yakup […]
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 […]
The Overlooked Island
Watching the scarlet ibises roost and the leatherbacks lay, it’s easy to forget you’re on the Caribbean’s most industrialized island. Originally published in US Airways Magazine. OUR GREEN WOODEN PIROGUE pulls up to the bank of Caroni Swamp, just a few miles south of Port of Spain. The boatman cuts the motor. It is nearing sunset, and […]
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 […]
International, Timeless Lisbon
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Biking The Netherlands’ Hothouses
The Wadden Islands are environmental jewels—and easy to pedal. Originally published in Attaché. FROM WHERE I SIT ON MY BICYCLE, the dunes of Terschelling Island look less like sand structures and more like well-decorated woolly mammoths. Covered in luxurious marram grass, adorned with the orange berries of the rowan tree, and layered in the subtle purple of […]
