Who’d have guessed a place like this could be the result of a fortune made in toilets and other plumbing fixtures? Say hello (or perhaps cheerio) to Castle Hill on the Crane Estate, a stellar Trustees of Reservation property located right on the Atlantic Coast in Ipwich, Massachusetts. Castle Hill in Ipswich is one of the…

My husband and I have jobs that keep us separated by a cool couple hundred miles during the week. I’m in upstate New York, and until recently, he was living out on the North Shore of Massachusetts, an area I happen to love. When his company announced they were picking up stakes and moving to…

For nearly a year, I’ve been working on a project with Columbia Economic Development Corp. (CEDC) that has taken me all around Columbia County in upstate New York, to write travelogues about each of the county’s often-underrated towns. Because I’ve been spending so much time getting to know Columbia County, I haven’t given my own…

Out and about isn’t a phrase I’m using much these days, as we complete our second full week of near-lockdown during the COVID-19 outbreak in New York State—unless I’m referring to taking a walk around my neighborhood or on my town’s rail trail. Like many avid travelers, I’m feeling the strain of being, well, constrained,…

  For the past six years, I’ve submitted speaking proposals to a small group of hand-picked conferences—ones I know will not only provide good exposure, but will also allow me to network with professionals in my field and learn something new and valuable. As I’ve discovered where my time and effort (and travel dollars) are…

  The Hudson Valley has had a long, some might say checkered, history with alcohol. Almost as soon as farming began, farmers distilled their grains and fruits—partly to prevent spoilage during the long winter months, and partly create alternative sources of revenue. By the mid-1800s, there were about 1,000 small distilleries dotting the New York…

Shopping is one of those activities that roughly half the population loves, and does partly for the sheer fun of browsing or bargain hunting. The other half won’t step foot in a store until they’re down to the last smear of peanut butter in the jar or are desperate for socks that don’t have built-in…

  Shari Peltier has heard all the myths and stereotypes about veganism and vegan food. When asked to recount some of them, she settles back in the vinyl-upholstered booth of Thrive Vegan Diner, her new Pittsfield restaurant. “It’s tasteless. It doesn’t contain enough nutrition or protein,” she says, ticking off each point on her fingers….

  I feel for folks who don’t live in proximity to world-class museums—I really do. Even in my remote little neck of the woods, I’m 40 minutes or less from a few biggies, including MASS MoCA in North Adams. Since I have a strong preference for contemporary art—generally, the more offbeat and provocative, the better—I…

  What are you doing next May? If you’re a travel writer, a blogger (especially of the travel variety), or you want to be part of the travel industry, I’ve got your answer: going to the 2019 Women in Travel Summit, aka WITS19, in Portland, Maine, May 3 through 5. Hands-down, WITS is the best…