Wine and Spirits Travel

One good thing came out of my fall last year. It certainly wasn’t the broken (in two places) humerus or the nerve damage in my arm. It was finding a wonderful surgeon at Tufts University and giving me lots of opportunities to explore Boston. I had spent a lot of time in Boston as a child. It wasn’t far from my New York home and my parents loved showing us the history of the city. I went a few more times in adulthood but had not been in many years. I decided to take advantage of my trips to the Massachusetts city by revisiting the city I had seen in the past and learning about what was new. What was definitely new about going to Boston this time around is that I am now in a wheelchair. I would be looking at everything from a different position and my arrangements needed to be much more carefully planned. I asked for help from the Meet Boston tourism board, and they were extremely helpful in planning what would be the first of many trips to the city, each focusing on a different area. ...

After all the problems with hotels the day before, we were settled into the Tru Hilton in Louisville and getting ready for a busy day at Bourbon & Beyond. I had made appointments between all the music. I was looking forward to it all. My brother, Mark, suggested lunch at Waffle House. He said it was on his bucket list. I hadn’t been in years and I’m never one to turn down waffles. It was actually very good, with big portions and reasonable prices.   We had no problem parking in the handicapped area and made it onto the grounds in time to pick up coffee in the press tent and watch Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, followed by Bruce Hornsby. It was a good way to start this bright day. We then headed to the Big Bourbon Tent. We arrived a little early for our appointment with Tyler Rothenberg of Chicken Cock Bourbon and enjoyed the bluegrass while we waited. Tyler set us up with the two cocktails made especially for Bourbon & Beyond :    Wildflower in Paris - C...

The first year of Bourbon & Beyond  in Louisville, Kentucky, had been wonderful, albeit ridiculously hot. The music, food, and bourbon were fantastic, and I was able to do many interviews for stories. When I left Bourbon & Beyond the second year, it was in a muddy mess. The torrential rains in the hours before the end of day three left the long trip to the parking lot in my walker extremely difficult. Had I been in a wheelchair then, I would have been one of the people stuck for hours in the mud. With the memories of 2018, followed by the event being skipped because of COVID, I didn’t think I’d return. Then my brother, Mark, brought it up.   Mark lives in California and we don’t get a lot of time together so it gave me a pause. Then, there was a lineup filled with performers I really wanted to see, such as Sting, Dave Matthews, Beck, Melissa Etheridge, and Larkin Poe , whom I had interviewed at the first Bourbon & Beyond. My first step was to contact the media ...

  I’ve done a CI Living TV segment , three stories, and nine blogs on my Princess cruise and there are a few more articles to come, but I wanted to put together a summary for all of those thinking about going on a cruise to Alaska. Here’s a breakdown of my opinions: The Ship I have always preferred small ships and my previous two cruises on American Cruise Lines and Seabourn were just that. Alaska didn’t work out with those, and I was anxious to give Princess a try. A mega ship was out of the question, but the Royal Princess, a mid-sized ship with about 3,500 guests, seemed doable. It turned out to be just that. The ship was spread out enough that I never felt crowded, and we didn’t really wait for much (except at the Gelato Shop where there was always a big line). The only times I wished I was on a smaller boat was when we were waiting a long time for an elevator. The embarkation and debarkation went better than any of the other large ships I have been on. The Cabin We had c...