Mary's travel stories, photos, videos, and tips.
A Walk on Marsaskala Harbor in Malta led me to fisherman with awfully long poles, salt pans, a raided palace, street art, the ghost of Muammar Gaddafi, and a Bulgarian stalker.
It’s early morning. The sky is changing from deep indego to gold. The fishing boats of Marsaxlokk bob quietly in the harbor. Fisherman sit under a shelter drinking coffee and eating Maltese pastries. On a stripped bench, a deckhand catches a few winks. The conversations are mostly in Maltese, but I hear English, Italian, and a language I think might be an African dialect.
Avila Beach is a small but lively beach community on California’s Central Coast in San Luis Obispo County.
White sand dunes, sea oats, sea turtle nest, gentle surf, and clouds swelling on the Atlantic horizon. The uncrowded beach is quiet as the sun rises. It’s standard on St Augustine Beach Florida.
I explored several tropical microclimates – Project Eden, Trebah Gardens, and Tregothnan Estate.
Sofa Tour Two – Santa Rosa is a mélange of cultures, art, history, a vibrant foodie scene, classic and progressive wineries and breweries, one of the largest farmers markets in Northern California, and very friendly folks.
Sofa Tour One – Mendocino Coast.
Escape to wildlife, waves, wilderness, and wine.
POSTPONED TILL 2021
The 2020 Captain Jetson Airline and Travel News Journalist Awards go to our top-10 professionals whose articles consistently caught our eyes delivering riveting content in 2019. Captain Les, Publisher, Captain Jetson Thank you Captain Jetson for honoring me with your 2020 Captain Jetson Airline and Travel News Journalist Award .I’m very proud to be included in this…
Watching the sunrise from my back terrace, I thought, “Gozo, you are my forever home.”
Discovering Berkeley – It’s where to go for a weekend urban getaway.
My 5th day in Malta would be spent on the water. I’d cruise around the island aboard a sailing yacht.
The sun and salt-air gave my hair golden threads. My feet have tan lines from days of walking in my Teva sandals.
Things to do in Tri-Valley – Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin, and Danville California.
48-hours in Fort Bragg California on the wild and fragile Mendocino Coast.
The wildfires are contained. Santa Rosa and Sonoma County are open for business and ready to receive visitors.
I was already a fan of Virgin, both domestic and international, but this experience placed the airline at the top of my list.
I’m honored GoNOMAD choose this story for a newsletter video feature using my words and many of my photos.
I’m pleased to be included in Travel Awaits’ Travel Experts Reveal Their Favorite U.S. National Parks article. In this parks roundup, I talk-up Yosemite, a place I’ve visited many times over the years, in fact, as recently as August 2019.
Yes, I have become one of those people, … … you know, the type that photographs everything they eat and drink; but I have a good excuse, “it’s my job.” Being a freelance travel journalist and photographer is the best gig ever. It may not pay so well, but the perks are delightful. Enjoy these “my…
Grand American Adventures leads tours of authentic travel, shared experiences, and real adventure.
San Francisco Presidio, Best Basecamp for Weekend Getaway
Captain Jetson is the one-stop hub for aviation, travel, and flying news. The website and newsletter are expanding to include destination and general travel content.
Malta has no rivers, lakes, or reservoirs. Water comes from the ocean, rain, or limited groundwater. Most potable water is desalinated sea water.
It’s been almost a year since I went to England for 30-days in 2018. I’ve been lucky enough to have 20 articles published about my adventures.
The most challenging photo subjects for me are animals, birds, and insects.
July 19, 2019, Living Light International, will host and prepare a plant-based pop-up dinner in their event center and newly installed hot-kitchen.
On the Mendocino Coast, bathe among redwoods in Little River California A no-drive weekend.
Gozo is small, 26-square miles. I’m doing a 7-day walking tour this Mediterranean paradise in The Republic of Malta.
Paso Robles has the most extensive variety of distilled spirits in the state. Add wine, cider, and beer, and you have one of California’s most diverse libation producing regions.
The Maltese are great cooks and renowned chefs. In the center of the Mediterranean, the best ingredients in the world are at Malta’s doorstep. Seafood from the Mediterranean Sea, fruit, veg and spices from Morocco, Greece, Italy, Spain, France, and the Middle East.
Steam train service will offer vintage train journeys from London’s Waterloo Station to Windsor. While aboard indulge in a champagne brunch in elegant Pullman Style Dining carriages.
The Maltese Islands are known for their celebrations. There are numerous festivals throughout the year. Feast days, harvest festivals fireworks festivals, music festivals, art festivals, village festas, regattas, and many more.
On California’s Central Coast, the micro-town of San Simeon is the former home of publishing giant William Randolph Hearst; a marine sanctuary; Coastal Discovery Center, and the wild Pacific.
The April/May 2019 issue of Farm & Ranch Living published my photos of Deerhaven Ranch in Bodega CA
It’s official. I’m going to Malta six months from now. The Republic of Malta is an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea south of Sicily. That alone would make it splendid to visit. For me, the significant attraction is location, location, location. Malta is 50-miles south of Italy, 176-miles east of Tunisia, and 207-miles north…
Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad. Depart from the tiny yellow Garibaldi station. A ride behind a historic steam engine along Oregon’s Tillamook coast.
In March 2019, I will return as a regular contributor to the Fort Bragg-Mendocino Coast Packet and to the Independent Coast Observer. These Mendocino Coast newspapers, cover MendoNoma from Westport to Jenner.
“We published hundreds of stories….from all over…and your story rose to the top of the heap!”
–Max Hartshorne, Editor, GoNOMAD
I’ve traveled like a mad woman. I spent 30-days in England and 17-days in Central Coastal California. I’ve made short getaways to San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Gualala, Point Arena, and Bodega.
I took 7000 photos of England in August. Central Coastal California yielded 2000 in October. The rest of the year my hometown and region probably added another 2k.
England: The Tropics of Cornwall,
is in the running for GoNOMAD’s Top-10 Stories of 2018.
California is falling into the ocean and has been, for thousands of years. There is a remote and wild place where you can see every stage of the geologic process happening. It’s an area so dynamic, yet so fragile; it’s protected in perpetuity as a national monument.
The Travel 100 shares snippets of real-life travel experiences from around the globe.
I spent a week on the backroads in my rented car. I surveyed the desolate Bodmin Moor on the interior and fell in love with water worlds on both Cornish coasts.
My name has been added to GoNOMAD’s Regular Contributor page.
Here are a few photos for the tea lovers out there.
Wythall Estate and Vineyards: New Directions for an English Country Retreat
I stayed in twenty-two hotels, B and Bs, and cottages. Here are a few of my favorites.
When the hook clicks open, and the pilot catches the updraft, the cockpit goes silent.