Mary's travel stories, photos, videos, and tips.
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.
Along California’s Central Coast, in San Simeon you’ll find wildlife, waves, wilderness and wine. Soak up nature and Old California history.
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
When the hook clicks open, and the pilot catches the updraft, the cockpit goes silent.
For now, here are a few teasers in no particular order.
The Mendocino Coast has an abundance of camping experiences. Camp among redwood giants; on a river bank; a secluded Pacific beach; under a bridge, or glamp in style surrounded by forest and woodlands. Camp with your horse. Work on a coastal farm. Have a luxury trailer delivered to your camp.
Where do you start with over 250 bourbons to choose from?
Any day is a good day to shop; any night is a good night to party.
I’ve finished planning. I’ve finalized my packing list. Tickets, confirmations, and tech gear are sorted. I’m ready to go.
Details, details, details. 55-days until takeoff.
Newport’s Yaquina Bay Bridge is mesmerizing.
Baking soda is a traveler’s best friend. It can be used in a pinch to replace 100s of things.
How to pack baking soda for traveling.
Mary Charlebois – 30-days in England
The road trip to Point Arena gradually re-sets your pace. You slow down, unplug and occupy nature. Each turn in the road opens to a sweeping Pacific vista. Cliffs hang high above the ocean. Powerful surf is carried by the wind. Wild, remote, and stunning, the call of Nature is loud here. About 3-hours north… via…
Mary Charlebois product and clothing photo samples.
Cycling in Shropshire UK is elevated to an art form by Wheely Wonderful Cycling. Based in Ludlow, the gastronomic capital of England, Wheely curates food/cycle tours with stops to immerse in the best of traditional and modern eats, made with locally sourced food, beer, cider, and wine. All that, while pedaling through the Shropshire Hills,…
121-days till take off. I can almost feel the pull of that enormous Air Bus as we climb out of San Francisco. Eleven hours later, I’ll be in London. Yahoo! My itinerary is filling-up quickly. New adventures pop-up daily. I must admit, researching and planning are one of my favorite parts of any trip. New…
Water surrounds three sides of Jacksonville; ocean, river, and wetlands.
Five months from now, I’ll be in England Hopefully, my body clock will adjust quickly. I’ll fly 11-hours non-stop, to reach my destination which is five hours ahead by the clock. Hummmmmm? Is this what jet lag’s all about? Arriving in London August 2nd, I’ll spend a couple days and evenings looking for rooftop locations…
Visit the Mendocino Coast, take a hike on a land trust track. We’re saving it for you. Peregrine falcons, Point Arena mountain beaver, coastal prairie, dazzling white cliffs, wave watching, wildlife spotting, and spring flower bombs are just part of the wild, remote, and fragile Mendocino Coast and newly opened Pelican Bluffs Trail. Mendocino Land…
At last! In August 2018, I’ll fulfill my number one travel ambition; thirty days in England. My friends, family, and fellow journalist have heard lots about this trip. I’ve said many times, “This year I’m going to England for a month.”, only to be a ‘no-go’ for one reason or another. 2018 is the year…
…get your tickets today, they are going fast. OK, I admit it, I watched every minute (some more than once) of the most popular television drama in history. Everything about the series was “brilliant,” as the Brits would say. My favorite part are the costumes. The craftsmanship, fabrics, and fittings are excellent. The designs are romantic…
Prolific doesn’t say enough when it comes to my photography. I take 1000s of pics in a year. 2017 was photo-op filled from my travels around the country. California, Oregon, Florida, Washington DC (twice), Chicago, New York City, and all the states between Chicago and San Francisco filled my travel card in 2017. I traveled…
In 2018 I’ll begin featuring guest writers & photographers from time-to-time. My first guest writer is Mila Whitman, Editor of Travel Belles, mountain climber, trecker, and adventure traveler. Enjoy her article below, on choosing the right trek to Machu Picchu. Choose Your Route to Machu Picchu Towering over the Peruvian Andes since the 1450s, Machu…
What a year. 100s of photos, 1000s of words, 12,000 miles or more, and lots of adventure. 2017 has been my best journalist year, life-changing in fact. I didn’t see my work in any of my publishers 2017 top story lists. I decided to review my efforts for the year and name ten of my…
A Weekend in Daytona Beach… Since the 1920s, it’s been a vacation destination for folks escaping frigid northern winters. Today it hosts visitors year-round that come for sun, nature, and beach-life. Cars on the beach, NASCAR, amusement piers, buzzy bars, condos and hotels. That’s one side of Daytona Beach. Another is plantations, grand winter homes, empty……
I can hear the surf from my house. I can see it from my yard. But I don’t need to see the Pacific to know when the surf is big. I can hear it. It booms and roars. Have your own wavey day, enjoy the slideshow. –MaryGo All photos along the Mendocino Coast in northern California….
We love to share our coast, especially in Fort Bragg California. Come visit the Mendocino Coast. Thanks for stopping by, MaryGo
Tucked into a corner of a seven-acre, blimp-hanger, Steve Schramm’s lifetime collection of WWII battle scenes is the newest exhibit at Tillamook Air Museum. A 20’x80’ space with three levels, is home to Steve’s mesmerizing collection. Last spring, I spent five weeks in Oregon. I wandered, explored, photographed and tasted. I love Oregon and…
“The seafood is so fresh, some call it hook-to-mouth!” Oregon’s Pacific coast produces extraordinary food. Fish, meat, dairy, fruit and veg are plentiful. The Oregon Coast food world is tasty to explore. Tillamook Bay is celebrated for seafood. The region harvests oysters, crab, shrimp, salmon, albacore, halibut, steelhead, lingcod and more. These delights can be caught……
“We grow food for the community. We grow ourselves. We grow farmers.” My first instinct was to pick an apple from the fence where they were trained to grow. A thousand shades of green, an earthy sweet smell, the sound-track of birdsong echoing slightly in the woods; all were punctuated by saws sawing, hammers hammering…
…Tualatin Valley Oregon Mt. Hood peaks between the hills from time-to-time. Along two-lane backroads, you’re occasionally slowed by a tractor. Barns, livestock, orchards, farms, and vineyards dress the rolling hills. U-pick fields, farm stands, tasting rooms and cyclist pop-up along the way. You’ll easily forget a busy city is a few miles away. Less than…
…on St Augustine Beach Florida. White sand dunes and sea oats, sea turtle nest and gentle surf, afternoon clouds swelling across the Atlantic horizon. All are standard on NE Florida’s coast. The uncrowded beaches are just a bit quieter, especially in summer. I stayed in one of St Francis Inn’s secret beach houses. Located on a beach trail…