Whimsical Wednesday: How Did This Travel Thing Happen Anyway?

Wow. I can't believe three weeks have transpired since my last post. Boy, when a once dedicated blogger falls, she really falls. Sadly, my only excuse is work... of the travel variety, of course. Over the past few weeks, I've finally finished my Moon Florida Keys travel guidebook, signed a contract for the latest edition of Moon Michigan, discovered that some of my travel secrets were included in a cool collaborative project intended to benefit a global clean water initiative, compiled a list of America's top 15 budget-friendly destinations, and participated in a 20-station satellite radio tour about said budget-friendly destinations. During this curious radio tour, several hosts asked me how I ended up in my present travel-writing career. Without hesitation, I blamed – I mean, thanked – my mom for my current endeavors. It was she, after all, who took me on my most memorable road trips as a kid – to places as far afield as San Antonio, the Rocky Mountains, Washington, D.C., even Canada. No wonder I do what I do for a living – albeit, a meager one. If only I could make room for some time to finish my novel – and check in with my ol' blogosphere pals. 'Cause, boy, do I miss keeping up with their thoughts and adventures.

So, that said, I'm just curious... what have y'all been up to lately?

Tuesday Travels: More Trouble for the Gulf Coast

While Dan and I enjoy moving around the country as we do, there's a danger that we'll sometimes long for a place we've just vacated or, in the case of New Orleans this spring, skipped altogether. Although northern Michigan is absolutely beautiful right now, we can't help but long for southern Louisiana, where we'd normally be right now, wandering the historic streets of the French Quarter, munching on raw oysters, visiting with my mom and grandma in Baton Rouge, or fishing with my dad in the waters south of New Orleans. Of course, with the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, fishing might not be a possibility for a while anyway – not that that's much consolation. I'd much rather be missing a good fishing season right now than wondering about the negative effects that this spill is bound to have on Louisiana's fisheries and tourism industry – only four and a half years after Hurricane Katrina and the Army Corps of Engineers caused their own share of problems.

Tuesday Travels: Snow in April?!

Normally, Dan and I wouldn't be in northern Michigan at this time of year. During the month of April, we're usually in the Big Easy, roaming through the French Quarter, noshing on raw oysters and muffulettas and shrimp po-boys, and listening to live music at annual events like the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. But, alas, we decided, for a variety of reasons, to head up north a little earlier than usual. And, wouldn't you know that, while the weather is perfect in New Orleans, it's a bit chilly in northern Michigan, so chilly in fact that it actually snowed this past weekend?!

I woke up on Saturday morning to the sight of snow on the rooftops...







...and snow on the steps...











...and snow on the ever-present Christmas tree in the yard! While I was tickled to death, running around the yard, taking photographs, Dan was inside, fuming. As he said, instead of snowflakes falling to the ground, he wished “they were little bits of 80-degree sunshine.” Well, honey, it'll be summer soon enough. In the meantime, I aim to enjoy the cool weather while it lasts.

Tuesday Travels: Back in Michigan... At Last!

I know I've been absent from the blogosphere in, well, forever, but I just have to say... I'm so eager to be back in northern Michigan again. True, I'm still hard at work, trying to wrap up my Moon Florida Keys guide and wondering what a good night's sleep used to feel like, but it's still awesome to be on Big Bear Lake again, surrounded by trees and enjoying the relative solitude.

While I admit that the trees look even better during the autumn months, I'll take what I can get, scraggly, post-winter trees and all.

Monday Munchies: Thanks, Honey!

Every year, around this time, Dan and I find ourselves in the City of Angels. Ostensibly, we're here to produce our annual cinematic event, the Beverly Hills Shorts Festival. But, while in town, we also look forward to seeing our old pals – friends that we've known for several years, since the days of our full-time residency in Southern California or, in some cases, since my days as a Northwestern University undergrad. Admittedly, I haven't seen much of them this year – due, in large part, to our frequent bouts with the flu as well as my insane work schedule (Have I mentioned that I'm writing a travel guide to the Florida Keys? Haha!). One event, though, that we always make time for is our annual food-and-wine bacchanal – a multi-hour evening of gourmet cuisine, engrossing conversation, and, uh, several bottles of wine with three of my old college pals: Cat, Halle, and Erik.

Well, despite my insane work schedule, we gathered this past Saturday at Cat's house for our annual diet-busting extravaganza – for which Dan, naturally, always cooks. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring a camera with me (I blame my fuzzy, guide-obsessed head), so I wasn't able to record the wonderful dishes for posterity, but suffice it to say, it was scrumptious as always. The menu – if the six bottles of wine we shared haven't dulled my memory – included bruschetta, bread with olive tapenade, creamy avocado-cucumber gazpacho, soy-glazed grilled shrimp, mint-goat cheese salad, and crab-stuffed manicotti with Creole cream sauce. Ooh-la-la!

So, I just wanted to take a quick break from writing and say... THANKS, HONEY! It was a delicious feast, as always, and I really appreciated the respite from my crazy remind-me-what-sleep-is-again schedule. I love you, Danny, for many, many reasons – and your mad cooking skills are definitely at the top of the list.

Oh, and, of course, I owe some gratitude to Halle and Erik, for bringing the wine, and to Cat, for making some killer Irish-style cupcakes, made with chocolate, whiskey, Guinness beer, and Bailey's Irish cream (some of my favorite ingredients in all the world) and a perfect way to punctuate Dan's mouth-watering meal. Thanks, guys!

So, what yummy things have you eaten lately?

Tuesday Travels: Film Fests and Lighthouses

This past weekend, I had to put my Florida Keys travel guide aside and focus on one of my other ongoing projects: the Beverly Hills Shorts Festival, a small independent film festival that my husband and I began five years ago. For this year's fest, the opening night party took place at Hollywood Billiards, while the actual films were screened at Raleigh Studios on Melrose Avenue. It was inevitable that filmmakers would ask about the origin of our name – given that the entire event took place in Hollywood, not Beverly Hills – but a change of venue was unfortunately required this year. Hey, better to have taken place in the wrong neighborhood than not at all, right?

Anyway, despite the fact that I'm stressed out from my never-ending travel guide work and still recovering from a head cold, I enjoyed plenty of moments from this weekend's event. The party on Thursday night was, of course, a highlight – as were all the informative, funny, and often poignant behind-the-scenes tales revealed during the post-screening Q&As. One particularly touching moment occurred after the first drama program on Friday night, when Pauley Perrette (zany Abby Sciuto on NCIS) revealed her own personal connections to To Comfort You, the short drama in which she stars as a dying young woman.

The rest of the festival was just as memorable. Although our attendance was lower than in previous years, those festival-goers that did attend seemed pleased with the film selections – which always makes me and Dan feel proud. So, despite snafus like having the wrong HD deck on Friday and fighting L.A. Marathon traffic on Sunday, it went fairly smoothly.

And, as always, we couldn't have done it without our awesome volunteers, especially Jen, Angel, and Doug (thanks, guys!).

But, of course, now that the weekend is over, I've had to double my efforts with the travel guide to make up for lost time. Although I was able to get a little bit done in the projection booth – including a post about other film festivals – there's a lot left to be done before I can put the Florida Keys behind me for a little while. Of course, it doesn't help that Dan and I will be in Michigan in roughly two weeks – a fact that has already conjured up visions of lighthouses and tall trees and places that are a world away from southern Florida. I swear, the life of a nomad sure takes some getting used to – for one thing, it's hard to leave our friends and family behind in each port of call – but at least the scenery changes a lot.

Whimsical Wednesday: Happy St. Patty's Day!

Though I'm still hard at work on my Florida Keys guide – and gearing up for the fifth annual Beverly Hills Shorts Festival this weekend – yikes! – I just wanted to take a minute to wish you all a Happy St. Patrick's Day. If you have a minute, check out my top picks for Irish pubs in America – and join the shamrock fun over at Come In Character. In the meantime, have a wonderful holiday – and don't forget to wear a little green – or you're liable to get pinched.