A few weeks back I did a piece on Planning a Trip to Hawaii and in it, I highly endorsed Robin Norell, an Accredited Cruise Counselor and Certified Travel Associate. She is extremely professional and thorough.  When you travel on a Robin-designed tour, it’s like having her in the suitcase. She handles every detail. But I think I put the wrong contact information in the article. She is … [Read more...]

  Nancy wanted to go to the State Fair and I had run out of excuses. The last time we went, it was at the old fairgrounds. We had to wait an hour in bumper-to-bumper traffic to negotiate the last mile. By the time we parked, I was ready to go home. Now, the State Fair is held at its new location at Doswell, but I feared the worst. As it turns out, I was pleasantly surprised. Whoever is … [Read more...]

  Every spring, thousands of golfers from Virginia emerge from hibernation and head for Myrtle Beach, which boasts much warmer weather and wall-to-wall golf courses. But there is one problem. You can’t get there from here, at least by normal means of transportation. If you go to Virginia Beach, it’s Interstate all the way. If you go to Nags Head, you go on four-lane highways. If you … [Read more...]

  All the votes have been counted and it’s official. Scoot’s BBQ in Gloucester Point has been named the best BBQ Restaurant in Virginia in a contest sponsored by Virginia Living Magazine. Andy Reams, a fellow BBQ Aficionado, said that Scoot’s must be pretty darned good to edge out King’s BBQ in Petersburg, Andy’s choice as “the best.” I have to confess that as much as I like BBQ, I … [Read more...]

  In my travels to Atlanta last week, I counted 6 vineyards and wineries before I got to Amherst, and I may have missed one or two. Seemingly, no matter which road you get on in Virginia, there will be a vineyard every 20 miles. At last count, there were over 250 registered vineyards and wineries in our Commonwealth. “They” say that Virginia produces good wines, “They” being the ones … [Read more...]

  Anytime I pass through McGaheysville on Rt. 33 heading to Harrisonburg, I stop by Gayle’s Market. Last week after we played Heritage Oaks Golf Course and were heading back to Charlottesville, I convinced my golf buddies to pull over and check out the country ham sandwiches at Gayle’s. The small rural store keeps them stacked high in a small refrigerator beside the counter, and we quickly … [Read more...]

Nags Head is a family-type place with many terrific oceanside and soundside cottages for rent. The prices, naturally, go up in July, the heart of the tourist season, but they are most affordable in spring and fall and rates in late June weren’t that bad. We often rent a cottage on the sound, but you generally have to stay a week in order to make advance reservations, so that was out for us this … [Read more...]

By Sherman Shifflett   For those who have not been, put this at the top of your bucket list. Consider flying to Vancouver, B.C. and taking the Rocky Mountaineer train thru the Canadian Rockies to Banff, about 2 days. Banff is a beautiful town surrounded by snow-capped peaks. It is located within the Banff National Park. Wildlife is everywhere. It is also a snow-ski mecca. Banff Avenue … [Read more...]

We were at Lake Norman near Charlotte this past weekend and Nancy got the sniffles. “Ahh tink ahm ketchin a code!” she said. I looked out at Lake Norman, saw a bunch of yellow pollen on the lake and diagnosed her with an allergy. She took a couple of antihistamine tablets and squirted Flonase, but she still had a “code.” On the way home, I saw why. We were driving up I-85 near Durham … [Read more...]

  For our 50thwedding anniversary on March 3 last year, Nancy and I went on a cruise to Hawaii. It was magnificent. This year, we stayed a little closer to home since we only had two days to get away. Nancy said, “Surprise me.” It had to be near water, since we are both enchanted with those water views. We love Nags Head, the Eastern Shore and anyplace with the smell of salt water in … [Read more...]