Camel Trophy Patagonia Part III: WWW
The Grand Finale
The last leg of the craziest road trip on earth, the Camel Trophy, which takes competing teams through the wilds of South America for three weeks.
Salon | September 1, 1998
Camel Trophy Patagonia Part II: WWW
Sex, Death and Beauty in South America
Near-sex and near-death experiences on Week Two of the craziest road trip on the planet: the Camel Trophy in South America.
Salon | August 24, 1998
Camel Trophy Patagonia Part I: WWW
The Mother of all Road Trips
U.S. team members bounce, ski, climb and kayak through South America on a bid to win the Camel Trophy.
Salon | August 18, 1998
Iron Maiden: In Charlottesville, Blacksmithing WWW | PDF
Class Leaves One Woman A Bit Overwrought
Sometime between the first thrill at holding a piece of glowing, raspberry-colored metal in tongs and the near-weeping state of exhaustion at day’s end, I decided I will never, ever become a blacksmith.
The Washington Post | May 10, 2006
In Elkins, W.Va., Stage Is Set for a Revival WWW | PDF
When you watch Kenny Sexton on-stage singing a song that’s three-quarters staccato laughter, it’s hard not to laugh with him. It’s also hard to imagine a time when he earned his living as an accountant. Today, he’s one of the headliners of the American Mountain Theater in Elkins, W.Va.
The Washington Post | May 21, 2008
Va.’s Bay Crossing: Hardly a Bridge to Nowhere WWW | PDF
The traffic was behind us, and we rejoiced by opening the windows and sniffing/inhaling (respectively) the ocean air. Seat belts fastened, arms and floppy ears secured in the vehicle, we began the mother of all East Coast rides — across the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.
The Washington Post | November 16, 2008
With Dog As My Co-Pilot: A Cross-Country WWW | PDF
Drive Seems Like a Walk in the Park
On a cold December morning hours before sunrise, I stood in the doorway to my bedroom, where my beagle, Darwin, was curled up on a pillow. “Want to go for a ride?” I asked. She tilted her head, and her ears flexed out like an elephant’s. “By the way,” I added, “we’re going to California.”
The Washington Post | March 15, 2009
Play me That Mountain Music WWW | PDF
I arrive at the Marathon gas station in Stuart, Va., just above the North Carolina border, to find a man eating beans out of a can and a collection of animal heads peering down at an understocked convenience store. I am at my first stop on the Crooked Road: Virginia’s Music Heritage Trail — and I don’t see anything that resembles the jam session I expected.
The Washington Post | October 4, 2009
Dry Times (sort of) in This N.J. Town WWW | PDF
There is one bar in Haddonfield, N.J. It looks like a wooden ticket booth, and if you peer through the window, you see barrels for storing alcohol and pewter mugs of various sizes for measuring it. A menu lists drink prices: a “gill of brandy,” 6 pence; a “quart of egg punch,” 8 pence; and a “quart of cyder royal,” 1 shiling.
The Washington Post | November 4, 2009
Tilghman Island: In Search of Doing Nothing WWW | PDF
Several times a year, I grab an overnight bag, a book and an eager beagle and head east to Tilghman Island, Md., nestled between the Chesapeake Bay and the Choptank River. In every other season, I look forward to kayaking, biking and eating crabs. In the winter, I fantasize about doing absolutely nothing.
The Washington Post | January 15, 2010
She’s Hooked On . . . Taxidermy? WWW | PDF
I angled the scalpel and scraped the last bits of paint off my rainbow trout’s glass eye, took a step back and gasped. The shiny eye made all the difference. Gary Bruch, my taxidermy sensei for the weekend in Duncannon, Pa., nodded in agreement. He was surprised that a taxidermy novice had done so well. Then again, Bruch had surprised me, too.
The Washington Post | January 9, 2008
Afterlifers: In a Former Prison, Ghost-Hunters Want to WWW | PDF
Show You How Long-Dead Inmates are Still Doing Time
Before the maximum-security facility closed in 1995, it recorded 85 hangings and nine electrocutions. Add suicides, stabbings and other deaths, and the toll is 998, which means lots of potential paranormal activity.
The Washington Post | May 31, 2006
Queasy Rider: At a Harley Clinic, a Self-Proclaimed WWW | PDF
Good Girl Nervously Takes the Hog by the Horns
Motorcyclists are fond of saying there are two kinds of riders: those who have crashed and those who are going to crash. So when I found myself kissing the asphalt one hot Saturday in July, I was thankful to have gotten that out of the way.
The Washington Post | August 31, 2005
Easton, Md.: Growing Music Scene Livens WWW | PDF
up the Once-Sleepy Eastern Shore Town
When a friend suggested that I check out the music scene in Easton, Md., I had reservations. And not of the lodging variety. But if taking a risk with Easton meant suffering through two great concerts, this was a hardship I was willing to endure.
The Washington Post | July 16, 2010
Stand-up Paddling: A Different Way to see Annapolis WWW | PDF
After 15 years of ballet and five of Pilates, I figured I might have the balance to keep myself upright on a board that's a longer, wider, thicker surfboard. So when I heard about a stand-up paddle clinic on the Potomac River in Washington a few months ago, I decided my time had come.
The Washington Post | October 1, 2010
Woods Hole: The Science of Vacation WWW | PDF
In another life, I used to vacation on Martha’s Vineyard. My guy and I would fill the car with bags and beagle, and we’d drive to Woods Hole— singularly focused on catching our ferry to the Vineyard. But today, I forgo the ferry and enjoy the port town I once bypassed. .
The Washington Post | September 9, 2011
A Little Llama Love in Lexington, Va. WWW | PDF
Spunky’s face was about level with mine, and he moved in so close that I could feel his breath on my cheek. I seemed to pass muster, because after some intense sniffing, he let me lead him into the field, and with that, our trek began.
The Washington Post | December 30, 2011
Philadelphia in Midweek is Such a Deal WWW | PDF
In summer, the lines between weekdays and -ends become blurry, and we have a pass for making any day of the week a play day. It was with this in mind that I decided to do something wacky: I planned a weekend getaway to Philadelphia smack in the middle of the week.
The Washington Post | August 19, 2012
Shopping with the Local Currency in Ithaca, N.Y. WWW | PDF
It’s only fitting that this town — as dense with brainpower as it is with composting bins — would have a quirky alternative currency system. I took my notes adorned with images of dead presidents, replaced them with playful bills with pictures of salamanders, and I went shopping.
The Washington Post | September 23, 2012 | Also featured in The Week
Step Right Up: Boot-Scootin‘ Boogie WWW | PDF
Nights in the Dance Halls of Texas
When it comes to the act of facing a partner and stepping in unison — which Texans do so well—the venue, the music and the atmosphere are all secondary. In this state, people just dance.
The Washington Post | March 10, 2013
A Spine-Tingling School in Virginia WWW | PDF
Karma works in funny ways. Last week in Winchester, at Cat Tail Run School for Bookbinding Arts, I discovered that it wasn’t the jocks or the skateboarders or the punk rockers who grew up to have the coolest workspaces. Hands down, it was the bookworms.
The Washington Post | June 30, 2013
Pumped up About Mt. Biking in N.C. WWW | PDF
I’ve probably been on a mountain bike a couple of times in my life, but I’ve certainly never biked any mountains, and my only bike-related bragging rights involve a recent 50 miles on the C&O Canal towpath — arguably as flat as they come. But I was overdue for a visit to one of my favorite Carolina towns, so I packed my car and headed to the Blue RidgeMountains.
The Washington Post | October 6, 2013 | Also featured in The Week
Happy Trails! Adventures WWW | PDF
in RV Shopping
I was considering travel plans for the coming year, and the notion of having my own portable dwelling somehow wormed its way into my mind. But other than the appeal of driving off into the sunset with a home on my tail, I didn’t know much about RVs.
The Washington Post | January 13, 2013
In Buffalo, a new Vitality Gives WWW | PDF
the Once-Gritty City Wings
Last month, I shuffled up to the city that brought us hydraulic power, the grain elevator and spicy wings. And over four days in this Great Lakes city, only once did I hear someone mention the body part that chickens use for flapping, that beloved spicy bar food the city loves to claim.
The Washington Post | July 27, 2014 | Also featured in Buffalo News and on WIVB
At first blush, it’s understandable that you might gravitate toward the sparkly, colorful side of the desert--the music festival, 24-hour casinos, golf courses nad mid-century modern architecture. After all, those of us from the East tend to associate green with life. Brown is easy to dismiss. But you’d be forgiven.
The Washington Post | January 18, 2015 | Also featured in TheWeek
Riding an Amtrak Train Cross-Country: WWW | PDF
A Unique View of America
In the last five years, I had crossed the country four times by car with my beagle, Darwin. But as I approached the one-year anniversary of her death, I sought a new mode of transportation and adventure.
The Washington Post | March 4, 2012
Try 120 Square Feet of Living Space WWW | PDF
on for Size at a Tiny House Hotel
The lure of the tiny house is huge. These small homes, less than 200 square feet and often on wheels, appeal to the minimalist, the environmentalist and the frugalist. Plenty of people offer tiny houses as vacation rentals, but leave it to progressive Portland to introduce the first tiny-house hotel, Caravan.
The Washington Post | November 1, 2015
At Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park in WWW | PDF
Florida, Alligators Come with the Territory
Gainesville is perhaps best known for the University of Florida Gators. I don’t generally make detours for mascots, but nose-to-snout encounters with wildlife? Sign me up.
The Washington Post | February 22, 2015 | Also featured in TheWeek
Biking Across Philly: Independence WWW | PDF
From the Trodden Path
The week before I arrived in Philadelphia, the city launched its new bike-share. I thought this would be a groovy way to check out a few new city parks and public spaces along the Delaware River to the est, the Schuylkill River to the west and the 30-block Center City in between.
The Washington Post | June 14, 2015
D.C. by Wheelchair: Putting ADA to the Test WWW | PDF
Anne Thomas has been in a wheelchair since 1976. Since it’s the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, she suggested we play tourists for a couple days in Washington, where the law was enacted. What’s it like today for a tourist in a wheelchair in the nation’s capital?
USA Today | July 31, 2015
Test Drive: Airstream’s New Model for Millennials WWW
When I first told friends this summer that I was headed to Seattle to test out a new Airstream trailer, the most common reply was, “They still make those?”
USA Today | October 9, 2015
At Fargo’s Hotel Donaldson, an WWW | PDF
Intro to the City’s Artistic Side
Some people say Fargo is in the middle of nowhere. Like that’s a bad thing. The city, which sits on North Dakota’s eastern border, shone like a beacon on my GPS this past summer as I drove west from the East Coast. Fargo may be out of the way, but I’d argue that remoteness is one of its charms.
The Washington Post | January 17, 2016
Among the musicians who have found inspiration at Joshua Tree National Park, it is Gram Parsons whose connection to the park is possibly the most legendary. Curious about his short life, his time in in the park and his death at the Joshua Tree Inn, I drove across the country to explore.
National Parks | Summer 2016
At L.L. Bean’s Flagship Store, Learn to Snow- WWW | PDF
shoe Against the Backdrop of a Maine Winter
I forgot about the metal contraptions and concentrated on my breath. I thought about how easy it had been to get out in the snow. No lift lines, no crazy gear, no adrenaline junkies, just me and nature, quiet and white.
The Washington Post | Febrruary 1, 2017
What Road Trip Movies Tell Us WWW | PDF
About Travel -- and Ourselves
This winter, homebound with writing deadlines, I devoured more than 30 road films. Somewhere during my binge, I realized that the on-screen dramas enhanced my own relationship with the open road. I saw parts of myself in the characters, and the pictures whet my appetite for the next journey.
The Washington Post | March 2, 2017
The day I set out to climb the tallest sand dune in North America began with a gift from above. As I slithered from my warm sleeping bag before daybreak, a light suddenly shone onto my tent. The heavy clouds had shifted to reveal a brilliant crescent moon. A faraway owl cried, “Hoo-hoo!” Outside, the dark dunes stretched out, inviting me closer. The moon lit my path. It was going to be a good day.
National Parks | Spring 2017
