Author: bootleggerbay

I have lived with sadness for far too long. I refuse to let sadness be my constant companion, yet sadness sneaks in when I least expect it. I want to break up with sad. I want to kick sad to the curb, stomp on sad and throw sad over a cliff. Only I can make…

  In honor of National Dive Bar Day (yes, there is such a thing!) sponsored by Seagrams 7, who proudly support the National Trust for Historic Preservation, valiantly helping to preserve dive bars, we take a pub crawl in Waikiki, on the not quite so beaten paths. Frivolity; it’s a good word. Perhaps not practiced…

Gail let out a little yelp as we stand ankle deep in crystal clear South Pacific water on Drawaqa Island. We look down and a frisky sand colored starfish has scooted over her right foot and tickled her. Kathy and I also get kissed by these fast moving little beauties. We are equally greeted with…

What seems like a millennium ago, a young backpacker from Ramona found herself hitchhiking the wilds of Southern Africa. Her backpack carried few items, yet each was integral and multipurpose or it simply didn’t get to join the party. Flash forward to modern gear, and oh how things have lightened up! This same wandering gal…

The full moon shimmered through my balcony, gently waking me as she beckoned me. I stepped outside to greet the Southern Cross and Venus, my dear companions. This month’s full moon coincided with the vernal equinox, only too happy to celebrate spring, even in the equatorial region where it’s pleasant year round. The moon shifted…

I’m drawn to Iceland’s extreme raw nature and the unpredictability of not only the ever changing weather but the knowledge that a volcanic eruption could occur at any given moment. Crawling through an ice cave inside a glacier on an active volcano feels slightly less risky than being hurtled down a dark, unplowed, curvy motorway,…

The daughter of a rancher has never owned a pair of cowgirl boots. Well, things are about to change. What better place for a western wear shopping expedition than the bustling pueblo of Scottsdale, Arizona. Sauntering into Saba’s, family owned since 1927, I’m cheerily greeted by Candy, who is helping a gentleman from New York…

Jennie Butchart had a vision. Faced with a former limestone quarry as her backyard, in 1904 she started a transformation with a few sweet pea seeds and one rose bush. Today, over a million visitors a year enjoy the tranquility and beauty of Jennie’s work. A Canadian National Historic Site, Butchart Gardens is open year…

The appropriately named Baja Ha Ha is a fun filled sailing rally, designed to transport your vessel to the sunny shores of Mexico in company with like-minded ocean explorers. While some mariners choose solitude at sea, many, including this sailor, enjoy the camaraderie provided by a pod of southbound sun seekers. In fact, this event…

What does a girl have to do for a little adventure? Volunteer on a Sea Shepherd vessel of course! Fulfilling a long time goal, a few months ago I found myself barreling through the Mexican outback on a bus from San Diego to San Felipe, a frequent destination of mischievousness in my younger days with…