Hasta La Vista, 2009

I have mixed feelings about 2009, which is probably why I haven't blogged here since the beginning of last year. From most perspectives, 2009 was far better than 2008, the most reviled year I've experienced since the debacle that was 2001, and it brought some surprises I couldn't have anticipated. I halted my fledgling consulting business to take a full-time job, even after I'd vowed never return to the corporate world. But I'm enjoying my new role far more than I could have anticipated, and not just because it has allowed me to travel to Fiji and even take on philanthropic projects, such as brainstorming for NPR and working on a Habitat for Humanity project.

I didn't get to check off as many cities on my to-do list this year as I did in 2008, but, considering I now have to actually show up at an office rather than work from truck stops across the nation, I still managed pretty well. (See below.) I also rode in a Zeppelin (and met Buzz Aldrin at the same time), sailed in a glider plane, participated in a Fijian kava ceremony, survived a trip to Martha's Vineyard as the sole chaperone of four niblings, and somehow inherited a few more nibling-esque family members that have come to visit me.

All in all, a good year. I'm just hoping 2010 is going to be even better.

Warner Springs, CA
Easton, CT
Boulder City, NV/Willow Beach, AZ
Newport, RI

Martha's Vineyard, MA
Las Vegas, NV
San Geronimo, CA
San Francisco, CA
Suva, Fiji
Paso Robles, CA
San Simeon, CA
Monterey, CA
Albany, NY
San Diego, CA

America's Castle Article Published on ForbesTraveler.com

During my East Coast odyssey of '08, I spent a few weeks researching America's castles, many of which are located in the Northeast, particularly Newport, Rhode Island, and New York's Hudson River Valley and Long Island. The article is finally live on ForbesTraveler.com:
http://www.forbestraveler.com/luxury/americas-castles-story.html?partner=rss

While in Newport to dig a little deeper into the history of Belcourt Castle, I also happened to be on deadline for another assignment. Instead of rushing back to my hotel to use the lobby Wi-Fi, I was fortunate enough to hang out in the castle a little longer, flanked by two suits of armor. It was definitely one or my more unique writing locations.

I'd still love to visit Wing's Castle and Coral Castle, since they're both such oddballs, as well as check out OHEKA, which I'm sure has changed greatly since my sister got married there a thousand years ago.

Visited Cities 2008

Two Februarys ago, I picked up on a meme about cities visited in previous year. that I have no qualms about stealing lists from others' sites. I'm pretty certain I can add far more to this year's list, on account of my East Coast odyssey.

Here's a list of the cities I traveled to in 2008 (* indicates non-consecutive visits), in chronological order, to the best of my memory. This list does not include every city I traveled through on my two cross-country drives, just the bigger ones:

Long Beach, CA
San Geronimo, CA
Vieux-Fort, St. Lucia
Asbury Park, NJ
Lavallette, NJ
Lake Arrowhead, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Littlefield, AZ
Cedar City, UT
*Denver, CO
Columbia, MO
St. Louis, MO
Effingham, IL
Indianapolis, IN
Columbus, OH
Wheeling, WV
*Ephrata, PA (Lancaster County)
West Orange, NJ
New York, NY
Easton, CT
Philadelphia, PA
Baldwin, NY
Glen Cove, NY
Fire Island, NY
Brooklyn, NY
Beacon, NY
Arlington, VA
Charlottesville, VA
Barrie, ONT
Toronto, ONT
Montreal, QC
Newport, RI
Vancouver, BC
New Hope, PA
Cleveland, OH
Des Moines, IA
Lincoln, NE

Not too shabby. Let's just hope I get in some more time on foreign soil this year.

That Aussie Dream Job Is Mine, All Mine!

You know you're a perfect candidate for a job when not two, but five people send you a link to it within 24 hours. That's what happened this week when several of my friends forwarded me a link to the Best Job in the World, Caretaker of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef.

I've had an infatuation with Australia since I did a report on the country Down Under in sixth grade. During junior high, I had the Australian flag hanging in my locker and a map of the country on my bedroom wall, which I studied on a regular basis, memorizing the capitals, states and territories as if I would be quizzed.

Somehow, I've made it to every other inhabited continent on the planet but not Australia. This is a situation that needs to be rectified ASAP -- and this gig would be the perfect way to do it. Who else is better qualified to test dive gear, monitor aquatic life, blog about the reef's goings-on, and answer questions to incoming tourists?

I'm sending in my application this month. If anyone knows someone on the selection committee that I can bribe, please let me know.

New Column for Examiner.com

It's been a while since I've blogged -- on my own website, at least. I've been so busy ghostwriting, web consulting, writing Wikipedia entries, and teaching high school (yes, you read that correctly) that I've let my poor beloved blog sit idle for far too long.

However, should I once again begin to slack and the urge to read my prose become too strong, feel free to check out my new column on Examiner.com:
Southern California Travel Examiner

I only have a few posts up so far, but now that I'm getting my schedule under control, I'll be going to bed before 4AM and will have more time (and energy) to write here. I may even get another chapter of my book done before the end of the month. (Stop laughing.)

Facebook Groups vs. Pages

I've had this question pop up several times from clients in the last few weeks: Which should I create, a Facebook Group or Page? Here are the pros and cons I've dug up on each. I'd love to hear if anyone has others to add to the list.

Pros of Pages:

• More functionality, such as the ever popular "apps," which aid greatly in viral marketing, including RSS feeds. (Groups do not currently have apps.)
  
• Metrics tracking (pageviews, etc.).
  
• Ability to send updates to Fans.
  
• More than one admin can be assigned to a page; however, there can be only one "official" owner: "Every admin has equal access to and the same abilities as the other admins for a Page, however the original creator of the Page may never be removed by other Page admins." This rule seems to be the same for Groups as well.
  
• Users are listed as "Fans" of your Page on their profile. Becoming a Fan is shown in their feed.

Pros of Groups:

• Privacy. Do you want non-members seeing your info?
  
• More popular and prevalent than pages, because they've been around longer, which means people are more likely to happen upon a Group than a Page via search.
  
• Groups are displayed on a user's profile, if they choose.

Drug Lords Ruined My Weekend Haven

I've been hearing tidbits from friends about how Rosarito, the beach town 30 minutes south of Tijuana, has been a hot bed of violence over the last few months. I initially chalked up the heightened tales to paranoia and over-caution, but then I began hearing about it more frequently, most recently from this story in the LA Times.

It's a shame, really. Rosarito was just getting on its feet and making a name for itself, what with the influx of more upscale restaurants and Donald Trump moving into the nabe with his spa tower and high-class cuisine. When I first started visiting Baja just over a decade ago, Rosarito was little more than a street full of rival frat parties, most notably at such mega-bars as Papas & Beer.

Then, just a couple of years back, I began to notice a change, and not just the number of new concrete settlements being hastily constructed along the "Scenic" Route 1. Rosarito now had a jazz bar. And French food. And high-end spas. An Italian restaurant with creative Mexican infusions sported a cavernous underground dining room that hosted murder-mystery dinners. Heck, the area was even beginning to make a name for itself with its wineries, with trendsetters such as San Diego's legendary Hotel del Coronado importing local vintages for their cutting-edge restaurants.

Yes, the rowdy college crowd persisted in taking its parties to the streets, and friends still returned with tales of corrupt police extracting exorbitant bribes for offenses as minor as jaywalking. But Baja was still a great weekend bargain, especially for stocking up on custom furniture and wrought-iron works.

I was planning to spend another New Year's in Mexico, but the recent stories have made me rethink those plans, which is a shame. I was looking forward to introducing my friends to such favorite spots as Chipotle (not the chain, a family-owned establishment with delish breakfast dishes), the naked lady house outside Puerto Nuevo (pictured, from two New Years ago), and Fox Studios Baja, a pseudo-theme park that your insurance company would rather you never heard of. But I guess those moments will have to wait. C'mon, drug lords, can't you take your shenanigans elsewhere? Leave Rosarito to us turistas.