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Sarah Hartshorne on assignment in Louisiana
If you've noticed how often the names Hartshorne and St. John seem to crop up on GoNOMAD, it probably won't surprise you to learn that the site is very much a family affair.
Senior Travel Editor Kent St. John, his wife Lisa and his son Chance are all contributors. Owner and Editor Max Hartshorne, his daughter Kate, his son Sam and his sister Jenny are all GoNOMAD writers, and his cousin, Associate Editor Stephen Hartshorne, his daughter Sarah, his brother Shady and his sister-in-law Laurie are too.
But there's no nepotism here. Family members are subject to the same strict editorial standards as everyone else, if not more so.
This month we're featuring stories by Kent (Le Marche, Italy), Lisa (Calgary Stampede), Max (Normandy, Martha's Vineyard), Stephen (Houston, Texas), Sarah (Lousiana music festivals) and Shady and Laurie (Huntsville and Montgomery, Alabama).
And we have lots more talented travel writers, too: Esha Samajpati takes a walking tour of Boston's waterfront, Ann Banks visits Chefcahouen, a "magical blue dreamscape" in Morocco, Kelly Westhoff gets pampered at the spas of Las Vegas, and Meredith Bower enjoys a "cheap and cheerful" holiday in a yurt on the Isle of Wight.
Liisa Ecola meets a pregnant goat named Doublewide, Cathie Arquilla finds family fun in Toronto, and Anna Laird Barto travels back in time at the Mayan ruins in Yaxchilan, Mexico.
All in all it's just another month of top-notch travel writing on GoNOMAD.
New stories recently published on GoNOMAD:
A Return to Le Marche: Palaces, Painters and Pilgrims Urbino was once one of Europe’s most important cities and the home of one of Europe’s most illustrious courts headed by Duke Federico da Montefeltro and a gathering of the greatest painters, poets and scholars of that time. His ducal palace still today anchors the city and is now filled with works by native son Raphael. To explore Urbino today takes stamina as its narrow streets wind up and down the hills, but the rewards are great...
The Calgary Stampede: The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth Alberta has it all, and once a year, for ten days, it explodes into a culturally Canadian masterpiece of contrary collage… The Calgary Stampede. I have never felt such power and raw energy; these magnificent horses are bred specifically for bronco riding These glorious creatures are treated like the golden gods they are. Watching the cowboys prepare was a real treat; you can feel the energy emanate from the other side of the chute...
Visiting the D-Day Sites in Normandy, France After my trip to Normandy I left full of new information, especially after my visit to the Caen Memorial. Built in 1988, this expansive display explains the reasons, events and consequences of the Second World War. The museum's eventual goal is to chronicle more history up to the Cold War. The museum does this by providing a walking, speaking, illustrated history of the year by year events that lead to the conflict...
Houston, Texas: A Great Place to Be Yourself
Named for the wily Cherokee war chief who won independence for Texas -- that would be Sam Houston -- this place has character. Some say it's the western part of the South, and some say it's the southern part of the West. Actually, like the rest of the Texas Gulf Coast, it has a character all its own. You don't find a lot of Texans here boasting about how everything's bigger and better than everywhere else. Most of the people are from somewhere else...
Lafayette, Baton Rouge and New Orleans: Great Art, Great Food, Great Music
Lafayette is a small, Southern city with an internationally renowned music festival, great food and all kinds of cultural activities. Arnaudville is a sleepy little hidden gem of a town with a diverse artists’ community. Baton Rouge is known for its music and art, but it was the history that stood out to me. And, while New Orleans could hardly be considered a hidden gem, there is so much more to it than Bourbon Street and Mardi Gras...
Huntsville, Alabama: The Rocket City
We started our road trip in Huntsville, the Rocket City. It got that name when German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun moved there in 1950 to work on the American space program. He eventually created the Saturn V rocket that took Americans to the moon, and Huntsville has been a central part of NASA’s space exploration ever since. Many defense and aerospace technology companies have offices here...
Birmingham, Alabama: A Visit to The Magic City
If you want to learn about Fred Shuttlesworth and other “foot soldiers” in the American Civil Rights movement, visit Birmingham’s Civil Rights District, which consists of the Civil Rights Institute, the16th Street Baptist Church, the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and Kelly Ingram Park. These memorials show the world that the people of Birmingham are shining a bright light on those events to let the world see exactly what happened...
Las Vegas Spas: Why Gamble When You Can Relax?
Las Vegas in the business of promising pleasure, so I wasn’t surprised that its biggest hotels all have spas built right into them, nor was I surprised that all of these spas offer foot rubs, scalp massages and steaming, aromatic baths. I was surprised, though, by just how many spa experiences I had to choose from. For example, upon checking in to my suite at the Palazzo, I found a 30-page spa menu waiting for me in my room...
Chefchaouen, Morocco: A Magical Blue Dreamscape
Chefchaouen is a magical dreamscape of a place, occupying the saddle between two peaks in the Rif Mountains of northern Morocco. Houses, stone walls, alcoves, arches, streets, are all covered in whitewash tinted a shimmering iceberg blue. Doors, sashes, ornate iron balconies and window grilles are painted in shades from cobalt to aquamarine. This creates an underwater feeling -- as if a Greek village had been relocated to the bottom of the sea...
Erik Gauger Takes His Notes From the Road
For me, the process of travel writing is dependent on a very simple thing. If all sorts of things happen to me when I'm on the road, and I meet some interesting people who tell me amazing things, I find that writing is easy. The narrative comes to me in my head and I can put it together without effort. Alternatively, I can travel to a faraway place and find that, in the end, I haven't a single thing to write about...
Cruising the Massachusetts Coast
My grandmother used to belong to the Chappaquiddick Beach Club, where I used to sit on the dock for hours watching with envy the Boston Whalers and other small motorcraft that zipped in and out, piloted by grinning young men or bikini-clad teen girls. Oh how I wanted to be in that driver’s seat. When my pal Jack asked me if I wanted to spend a few days cruising the coast of Chappaquiddick, it didn’t take me a second to say yes...
Micro-Lending Programs Help the Forgotten Women of Laos
Look past the incredible scenery and hospitality, stumble slightly from the tourist trail, and another picture of Laos emerges: a picture of poverty. Little known Laos is one of the poorest and least developed nations in South East Asia; while the world knows of the tragic, and at times horrific, histories of bordering countries like Cambodia and Vietnam, Laos remains forgotten. A staggering 74% of the population live on less than $2 day...
Living Like Royalty at Chateau le Val, Brix, Normandy
One interesting building just in front of the chateau is a dove covey, a round building which was once filled with doves, each in their own little nest in wall-mounted cubbies. A thousand doves once called the cute round building their home. Festive country weddings are held at the Chateau, the friendly couple have a collection of knight gear like swords, shields and maces that add to the authenticity of the place...
A Yurt Holiday on the Isle of Wight: Cheap and Cheerful
Yurts are traditional tent-like shelters used for centuries by Central Asian nomads. Today they are popping up as an easy, environmentally friendly vacation accommodation. Sturdier and larger than most traditional camping tents, the circular, canvas structures are erected on platforms, using tension and compression. They offer plenty of headroom and are usually furnished with beds, tables, chairs, rugs and a wood burning stove...
Mexico's Yaxchilán Ruins: Portal to a Lost Civilization
Deep in the jungle of Chiapas, where monkeys still outnumber tourists, slumbers the ancient city of Yaxchilán (Maya for “Place of Green Stones”) which flourished from AD 300 to 800. The ruins are so remote that the only way to reach them is by boat along the Usumacinta River, which forms the natural border between Mexico and Guatemala. Yet Yaxchilán is still a surprisingly easy side trip from the tourist mecca of Palenque...
A Walking Tour of Boston's Waterfront
Walking past delightful sidewalk cafes filled with people laughing and eating, we stopped to take in the luxury yachts, cruise boats and commuter boats dotting the calm cool waters of the Boston Inner Harbor.
Time flies in Boston and, sure enough, it was nearly 5 p.m. so we headed back into State Street and got ourselves chocolate ice-creams from Emack & Bolio’s. They have recently been voted the best by Zagat...
Toronto: Fun for Kids and Parents Alike
My son, James, and I spent about four days in Toronto sampling a typical family vacation. We were shown a variety of family friendly attractions that were interesting and fun for both of us. James is an athletic, fidgety boy with a quick mind, a short attention span and a funny sense of humor who wants a vacation that comes up and hits him in the face. I’m his mother and I like to experience art, culture, and learn tidbits of compelling information about a destination...
Kidding Season: Three Days on a Massachusetts Goat Farm
When I heard about Overlook Farm in Rutland, Massachusetts, and the chance to spend three days there during goat kidding season, when the female goats give birth, I thought it would be a great chance to see if I really liked goats, up close and personal. Overlook Farm is operated by the charity Heifer International to provide educational opportunities to learn about world poverty, hunger, and sustainable agriculture...
