Farsighted Fly Girl

I mentioned that I had completed writing my book a couple of months ago and it will soon be published on April 8! Exploring Chicago Blues; Inside The Scene Past And Present,  is an accessible guide to Chicago blues history, with suggestions on where to go, who to see and where to eat for an authentic blues experience. I've researched and experienced the varying aspects of Chicago blues culture for several decades, first as part of my heritage and then as a fan and finally as a columnist;I write a monthly blues column called Sweet Home for the Illinois Entertainer . With this book, I take travelers and music fans on a trip to one of my favorite places and cultures. It guides you inside the local blues clubs, helping readers savor the experience of listening to artists like Peaches Staten, above, belt out soulful blues accompanied by her frottoir , or washboard, inside the friendly walls of Rosa's Blues Lounge. I guide travelers through the best soul food spots to sampl...

I love the sun. It's no coincidence that much of my traveling takes place in climates where the sun blazes nonstop. Nothing encourages exploration and adventure quite like a sunny day, as long as you're equipped to handle it. Besides sunscreen and sun glasses, I always pack sun hats for any tropical escapade. And by sun hats, I don't mean the geeky safari or outback variety. You can have sun protection and style all in one hat and I have a carefully curated arsenal to prove it. The only problem is that not all fashionable sun hats are crushable and easy to pack so I'm always on the lookout for more.  So when I received a  review sample of  the La Scala Collezione sun hat with SPF 50 sun protection, I was a little excited.  I wasn't a lot excited because I was skeptical of the claim that this hat would block 97.5 percent of the sun's ultraviolet rays. With a cute ric-rac design, cotton and polyester fabric and a bendable four-inch brim, this little chapea...

I've seen a lot of things during my travels but I've never seen a fountain like this.  It stands in a sunny corner of historic Fernandina Beach and it looks like a creative art installation. I stared at it for a long time, trying to discover exactly what its for. Washing dishes?  Splash ing nearby plants?  Look closely.  There's a tiny fountain at the bottom, a huge fountain at the right and a normal sized fountain on the left.  What in the world do you do with all of them?  Turns out that this is the  Duryee Fo untain , built in  the 1870s, by the wife of an army officer.  She loved animals, perhaps a little bit more than humans so she commissioned this fountain to give water to horses, cats and dogs and humans! Now what did you think it was for?

While you're at Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort in St. Thomas, there's one comment that you're bound to hear. It's not, "what stunning views this mountain top hotel has!" Or " that beach really has a lot of fish." No. What you will hear in the lobby, in the restaurants or at the pool is "I can't believe you have to walk up all those steps just to get to the pool!"  This irritated me to no end because it seems to me that if you're going to loll around the pool all day, a little step climbing isn't going to kill you. Granted, as you can see from these pix, that staircase wasn't some little 10-12 step number. This is a real, winding, staircase with 99 steps and you will work your thigh muscles climbing it. But if you're not elderly or disabled, I don't see what the fuss is about. After all, just a few minutes clopping downs those stairs will get you This.                    ...

It's the middle of the holiday season and after four straight days ( Christmas Eve, Christmas, birthday, Kwanzaa)  of celebrating, I'm finally relaxing. For me, that means a book, music and a cup of tea.  My relaxation ritual made me remember how I observed the locals unwinding on Eleuthera and Harbour Island. Despite the popularity and common association with tourists, I never saw a native Bahamian touch a Bahama Mama  or Yellow Bird cocktail. Instead, I saw them relaxing at cafes, eating conch fritters and drinking tea, coconut water or Goombay Punch.  Forget Coke or Pepsi, the go to soda in the Bahamas is the  sweet, bubbly, red, Goombay Punch. I've heard the taste described as a pineapple Life Saver and that pretty much sums it up except I think its a lot more refreshing. Another alternative for a quick break is Goombay Fruit Champagne. It's less sweet than the punch and tastes like cream soda. I saw school children drin...

I was shocked to hear about the plight of the six Brooklyn tourists in Antigua who have been detained and charged with the assault and battery of several police officers. My shock involved many levels of disbelief. Number one, Antigua a tiny 14-mile-long island, with a relatively stable economy and government, isn't the sort of place where brawls and fights thrive. Number two, who goes to another country and fights the law enforcement? But there it was, all over the national and international news. USA Today reported here that the six tourists blamed the undercover police officers for not identifying themselves and starting the brawl. Local Antigua newspapers say that the tourists used indecent language, were rowdy and generally disrespectful. The crux of the situation is that the young tourists left their Carnival cruise ship and hired a taxi driver to take them on a beach excursion, agreeing to pay $50. The driver insists that it was $50 each way and when he demanded $100, the t...

So I'm back after the wildly fun and intriguing Blogher and TBEX conferences. Fun because I got to meet all my travel tweeps in person and intriguing because the ideas and discussions flowed non-stop. One of my fave discussions was with Heather of Gadling's Galley Gossip and her Laviators mile high headshots club. You see, lots of activities take place in airplane bathrooms than just mile high club activities. Heather believes that I'll soon be joining her exclusive group but it's just not happening cause the fly in fly girl doesn't stand for sky trippin' bathroom antics. But when I spied the Poo-Pourri personal wipes (fresh and clean for in between!) pictured above in our TBEX swag, I figured that bathroom banter might make a helpful travel tip post. Because I'm surrounded by a crazy amount of anal virgo friends, I know that there are lots of travelers that dread strange public toilets, nasty sinkholes passing for restrooms and the hellish scene of port...