Alan Solomon –

The limited-access road to Kaena Point is a rugged one, and the 3
1/2-mile hike there is challenging. But the rawness of the trail and beach in Kaena Point State Park appeals to visitors who reject the beaten track.

Escaping the Hawaiian tourist track on the quieter side of Oahu

August 23, 2019 at 3:58 p.m.

So why not just stay in Honolulu/Waikiki? Well ... “It’s a tourist trap,” says Katy (last name withheld here to avoid having her pelted with poi balls), manager of an...

Passengers, many beach-bound and none discouraged by the cannon, disembark from Princess Cruises' Crown Princess, left. and Silversea's Silver Muse at Grand Turk, which was hit by hurricanes Irma and Maria last year.

Now is best time to take an eastern Caribbean cruise

August 23, 2019 at 3:54 p.m.

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, St. Thomas — Maybe, so soon after a deadly duo of hurricanes ravaged some of its islands, this isn’t the best time to take that Caribbean cruise. Or...

A tent in forest against stars on night sky in Maine's Acadia National Park.

National parks in autumn: When and where to spot the best scenery

August 23, 2019 at 3:28 p.m.

Fall color isn't always where you expect to find it. Quick story: The assignment from a wise assigner, years ago, was to do a story on fall color at Yosemite...

A youngster gets a surprise greeting from a polar bear at the Toledo Zoo & Aquarium, recognized as one of the nation's finest zoos.

Holy Toledo! Ohio’s ‘Glass City’ is worth a trip.

August 23, 2019 at 3:41 p.m.

Spain's Toledo, according to an unimpeachable source (Wikipedia), has been called "Imperial City" and "City of the Three Cultures" for good reasons, which we won't get into here. Ohio's Toledo...

A moose munches on a hearty salad of local greens in Forillon National Park.

Quebec’s Gaspe Peninsula is hard to get to, easy to love

August 23, 2019 at 3:24 p.m.

This was going to be a story about lighthouses ... until I met a peony named Elsie. And the world's ugliest fish. And winkles in garlic-butter sauce. And a dented...

The snow-frosted Canadian Rockies within Jasper National Park sparkle, as seen from a viewing platform on Whistlers Mountain reached via the Jasper SkyTram.

Canada’s Banff may be beautiful, but Jasper is bigger — and better

August 23, 2019 at 3:18 p.m.

About 25 years ago, when my hair was much darker and my wife's hair color had achieved a perfection that will never change, we took a trip to Banff National...

Sharon Wilensky, owner of Wilensky's Light Lunch, displays a freshly pressed Wilensky Special, the legendary sandwich created here in the 1930s by her father, Moe.

Time, immigrants made Montreal cuisine a delicious melting pot

August 23, 2019 at 3:17 p.m.

Ola Claesson sat comfortably for a chat off to the side of the busy main dining room at Auberge Saint-Gabriel. The inn — now just a restaurant — is 329...

Once found throughout Canada's prairie provinces but now vanishing, a traditional grain elevator (1922), in full working condition, towers over the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village.

Alberta keeps Ukrainian culture alive at heritage village

August 23, 2019 at 3:17 p.m.

The one-room house — zemlianka — is built into the side of a hill. Other walls are of logs and sod. It is a simple house. A woman is just...

The Nantucket Whaling Museum, with its harpoons, scrimshaw and 46-foot leviathan skeleton, fascinates all ages.

In Nantucket vs. Martha’s Vineyard, both islands are winners

August 23, 2019 at 3:12 p.m.

They're a natural extension of life if you grew up in Boston or wherever Red Sox caps are ubiquitous and if Cape Cod is too bourgeois. Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard....

Classic Haight-Ashbury still life: a snoozing lad, a bag and a guitar at the famous corner. Moments later, two policemen suggested he relocate.

San Francisco celebrates 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love

August 23, 2019 at 3:02 p.m.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Summer of Love. There will be many stories written and told about it. This almost certainly will be the only such...

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