By Marilyn Jones I am often asked what I liked best about a trip when I return home. Invariably I say the people. Most of the world’s population has the same priorities as I do: taking care of their families, cultivating friendships and their faith. Human differences are usually superfluous, proving to me we are all more alike than different,
Try Cruising on Your Next Family Vacation
By Marilyn Jones “Dr. Seuss is on the loose!”, children, their parents and at least one grandmother (me) shout as we parade with the Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 and Thing 2, and Sam I Am from one end of Carnival Fantasy to the other. With provided noise makers and banners, we march past shops, the casino, a café, and passengers
Texas “dinosaur museum” is a big hit with children
My four-year-old granddaughter Ainsley loves fish, sea turtles, sharks and dinosaurs. Although when she started to talk she stumbled over certain words, she quickly learned the names of many dinosaurs – Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus Rex and Brachiosaurus. Naranjo Museum of Natural History in Lufkin, Texas is an excellent place to visit for a little girl interested in all things prehistoric. This
January Brings Big New Year Savings for Adventurous Travelers
The gifts of the holidays continue at G Adventures this month, with savings on more than 300 of its guided, multi-day trips around the world during a January “Must Go Sale” designed to spark 2019 travel planning. Running now through January 31, discounts will offer travelers savings of up to 25 percent. I first experienced G Adventures when I visited
Louisiana fort opens the door on history
I am in luck. Well, sort of. It’s raining and not just a little. It’s pouring and there is no way I can tour Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site in the drenching rain especially without waterproof boots. I love history and the Natchitoches, Louisiana attraction is one I really want to explore. I look at the exhibits in
The Christmas Market Tradition
Northern European Christmas markets have been around since the fourteenth century originating in the German-speaking part of Europe. Although they have been popular with world travelers for a long time, the river cruise industry has shown a new spotlight on the fun, holiday shopping experience. When I sailed with Viking River Cruises, I visited markets in Nuremberg, Kelheim, Regensburg and
In central Turkey’s Cappadocia, a landscape of fairy chimneys and cave dwellings
By Marilyn Jones In the predawn hours, an employee from Voyager Balloons meets me at my hotel and drives to a large facility where dozens of other would-be flyers wait. Each of us is assigned a number, and we are soon directed to corresponding vans. Our driver weaves along a bumpy dirt road lined with hot-air balloons in various stages of
Exploring Canada by Rail
I want to again visit Canada in the New Year. I’ve read about and spoken to friends about taking the train to tour this country as well as researched sailing its waters. I came across Vacations By Rail offering dozens of rail options in Canada as well as the rest of the world. The company uses rail travel as all
Traces of Hollywood in North Carolina
By Marilyn Jones I’m greeted by a middle-age man draped in Mardi Gras beads and sporting a megaphone, waiting for others to join his Hollywood Location Walk in Wilmington, N.C. Spiel Stevenberg (Mike Hartle) thrusts a scrapbook at me of author Nicholas Sparks’ movies filmed in the area, including A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, and Nights in Rodanthe. He also shows me
Ho Ho Holidays at Walt Disney World
“Want to go see Santa Claus?” I ask my 3-year-old granddaughter Ainsley as we wait for her parents and uncle to ride Twilight Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. She enthusiastically agrees this is a great idea, so we queue up with other preschoolers this balmy December day to meet the jolly old elf. You might not