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vonne
looks
at
travel
writing
through
a
wide
lens.
Through
the
years,
her
interests
have
expanded
and
evolved
into
very
loose
categories—for
use
of
a
better
word,
“specialties”—that
include
food and wine (see www.wineryweddingguide.com) ,
gardens (see www.travelelwiththegardener.com),
golf,
mild
adventure,
people
profiles
and
oral
histories,
Sonoma
County,
unusual
cruises,
walking
treks,
cities and places of the world.
To
read
the
entirety
of
any
of
the
samples
below,
or
to
inquire
about
reprint
rights
and
rates,
please
contact
her
by
e-mail
at yhorn@sonic.net.
Unless
otherwise
noted,
all
of
the
photos
below
were
shot
by
Yvonne.
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Cities
and Places of the World
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It was the end of a long flight, so my eyes rested on the screen to see how much farther we had to go. As the little drawing of our plane inched toward Tehran, something appeared in a corner of the route map: "Mecca 1926 km," with an arrow indicating direction.
While I was surprised to see it on my screen, the directional underscored what I already knew: I was on my way to a country where, to the majority of those living there, knowing the direction to Mecca is of great importance.
So in my carry-on was a little something to slip on as we neared Tehran, a brown, coatlike affair (jjilaabah) that would cover me neck to knees, shoulders to wrists, along with a scarf to insure that not a bit of hair would show. .......
"My Polka-dot Jilaabah Not a Hit in Tehran"
San Francisco Chronicle
More
Cities and Places of the World
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Food
Say New England cuisine and I'm immediately transported
to a shoreline shack glorying in the incredible edible delight
of succulent pink and white lobster meat dribbled with drawn
butter and stuffed into a butter-grilled hot dog bun. No recipe
needed; as with so many of the foods of New England, sublimity
lies in simplicity. Some toss the lobster in mayonnaise before
stuffing it into the grilled bun. That's alright with me. But
don't even think about adding such artsy ingredients as jalapeno
peppers or lemon grass, as some are wont to do - culinary fussing
around adds up to lobster roll ruined.
Down to earth, straightforward - words that describe New England's
cuisine also describe well the character of New Englanders
themselves......
"A Taste of New England"
World of Cruising
More
Food |
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Gardens
Peter Buckland and I are wandering the five-acre garden whose care
he has inherited. Giant rhododendrons stretch around gnarled fruit
trees; roses roam willy-nilly over gates, garden sheds and fences.
Azalea, mock orange, weigela, daphne, beds of hosta, alstremeria, iris
and daylily fight to hold their ground against encroaching mosses grown
so dense that they've turned into trampolines. Colors and textures tumble
and creep around a network of meandering paths. And all around,
pushing in on the garden's tenuous margins, is some of the most dense
rainforest this remote and rugged western edge of British Columbia's
Vancouver Island has to offer......
"Gardening in the Wilderness"
San Francisco Chronicle
Silver SATW Western Chapter Writing Awards 2007
For more gardens, see Travel with the Gardener.com
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Golf
When skiers who make Vail their winter playground step off the gondolas in May,
they make way for an increasing number of golfers who come to the area
for top courses, top resorts and great values. Days are warm, between 65
and 85 degrees, and humidity is nonexistent. Many courses, including one
of the best municipal tracks in the country, are ready in mid-May, with
those in higher altitudes in full swing by Memorial Day......
“The
Vail Trail”
Golf for Women |
 Mild
Adventure
When the heat of Yellowstone National Park's geysers meets winter's cold - voilá! An ice-encased wonderland appears, filled with frost flowers, frozen waterfalls, and icy geyser cones. Through the mist and steam, trees encased in rime ice look like otherworldly giants until the sun dresses them in spangles.
The summer visitors are gone. In winter, Yellowstone belongs to the animals: herds of elk, lone coyote, pine martin, and the winter-white weasel known as the ermine. Bison move like frost-covered plows, pushing aside the snow in search of grass, the long hair and ice hanging from their undersides tinkling like wine chimes.
"Yellowstone in Winter"
AAA Home & Away/Hoosier
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People
Profiles
Those stopping by Apple Cobbler on Sebastopol’s Main
Street should not expect to have new heels put on their loafers.
Inside the unpretentious shop, Michael Anthony Carnacchi
creates custom-made, Western-style boots for those with the
wherewithal to pamper their elite feet.
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A Michael Anthony, as he
calls his label, is more suitable for those punching the pedals on
a private jet than those accustomed to kicking cow pies. “Unfortunately,” he
said, “most
cowboys can’t afford my boots.” ......
“Sebastopol Cobbler’s Boots Are Made for Gawking”
San Francisco Chronicle |
Sonoma County
......In Sonoma County, however, Mother Nature was not content with but one
perfect thumbprint, she used her entire hand.
Sonoma County boasts a series of idyllic valleys. Some are edged with craggy
mountains, others by softly rolling hills. Rivers and streams meander through,
creating pathways for the Pacific Ocean’s maritime breezes and morning
fogs to follow on their way to keeping summer mornings cool. Settlers arriving
from Europe immediately recognized that here was a perfect place for the growing
of grapes and the making of wines. So it has been for over 150 years......
Sonoma: The Simple Beauty of Wine Country
AAA World
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Unusual Cruises
The winged lion of Venice, sculpted in stone, stood high above us just beneath the tip-top bronze bell of St. Mark's Torre dell'Orologio, looking down on the populace as if it owned the world.
My grown daughter, Joanne, and I had come to venice to board Windstar Cruises' Wind Star - an appropriate starting place, as our week-long voyage would trace a long stretch of Adriatic coastline systematically conquered by the Venetian Republic during its reign of supremacy. From the beginning of the 13th century until Napoleon Bonaparte came marching in, Venice marked its path with the republic's signature logo, St. Mark's winged lion ......
"In the Wake of the Winged Lion"
International Travel News
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Walking Treks
There is something ever so satisfying in walking the entirety of a designated
trail. Hadrian's Wall Path - at No. 13, England's newest long-distance
National Trail - rates high in that sort of trekking satisfaction as it winds
its way across northern England, east to west, sea to sea.
Diversity
of landscape adds to the sense of odyssey experienced by those walking the
path's 84-mile distance - wild and beautiful in some portions, serenely
pastoral in others; a bustling city, Newcastle upon Tyne, at its start;
a lonely shore with the cries of gulls and the gentle lap of the tide
marking its end at Solway Firth. Added
to that is the opportunity to tread an amazing chunk of history......
"Roaming with the Romans"
British Heritage
Silver, SATW Western Chapter
Writing Awards 2006
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Wine
A birthday cake seemingly the size of a football field presented a bit of
a challenge when it came to the blowing out of sixty-seven candles. That
done, a cinematically worthy moment parted the single cake into two,
symbolizing that Coppola's viticultural empire was now officially divided
between his Rutheford property in Napa County, Niebaum-Coppola, and the
Geyserville yet-to-be named property in Sonoma County......
"Francis Ford Coppola Presents: Sonoma County" Quarterly Review of Wine
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