Loving the National Parks - A Book Review

When I travel around the world, I’m often asked what should a first-time visitor to the United States not miss. And I give the same answer to everyone: the national parks. I believe it’s these varied lands -- in about seven weeks the National Park System turns 100 years old -- that is one of the very best treasures in the country. So it was with great delight that I read Lassoing the Sun by Mark Woods. It’s his year-long journey visiting 15 parks -- I’ve traveled to 13 of them -- that’s an ode to these great places of beauty as well as an inquiry into whether and how they can be preserved for future generations. But it’s also a tale about family, since he spent many summers as a boy in the national parks, and intended to take his mother to one park she had never visited. But, everything changed when his mother became gravely ill, succumbing to cancer. The book is a reflection on how visiting the national parks boils down to a life of utter simplicity, providing a sense of comfort and a healing energy. While in the Grand Canyon, Woods daydreamed, “...something that came naturally when we were children...I watched the clouds and listened to the vast stillness. The great loneliness.” In our everyday lives where we are uniformly tied to our devices, this is almost an alien experience. And, yet, the national parks wait patiently for us to experience them, embracing us once we do. Woods contemplates their future and the many challenges the parks face. In his last chapter on Haleakala National Park -- and the book's title derives from a lovely Native American legend centering on Haleakala's home, Maui -- Woods reflects how he hardly saw many sunsets in a given year. But, his year in the national parks was different. “In this year, even when I wasn’t watching one, I was aware of the light changing and another day turning to night.” This is a book both for those who, like me, adore the outdoors, especially the national parks, and for those who rarely take their eyes off their iPhone. I’m hoping reading this book (on a device) will seduce those latter people to set foot in a national park where they’ll find their senses tingling with simple delight, as if they were a child again.

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Made in Brooklyn Walking Tours

Why would a native New Yorker like myself sign up for a walking tour in her home city? Because there's always a new discovery to be made in one of the five boroughs. Recently, I did a walking tour of Williamsburg  with Dom Gervasi of  Made in Brooklyn Tours. And over the course of three-some hours, Dom introduced our small group to what he called the "maker" movement: innovative locals crafting beer, chocolates, other food items, wooden furniture, textiles and much more.

Pudge Knuckles is definitely a name to remember. (In case you're wondering, the name comes from a moniker used by the owner's dad when he was a boy.) This light filled coffee shop sits oh, so close to the East River. So no surprise that from my table where I sit beside a small wood burning stove, I can crane my neck and gaze at the Empire State Building. The owner, Ivan Greene, is an avid rock climber who fell in love with coffee roasting and this neighborhood. Vegans and carnivores alike will find plenty appealing on the food menu, including a grilled sweet potato sandwich with vegan cheese, and a low-fat cheddar and roast turkey sandwich. Don't miss the pumpkin or caramelized apple pop tarts.

At the Brooklyn Art Library - it's an art house co-op - I found a unique collection of sketch books lining the walls and stacked on tables - there's some 22,000 of these created by individuals around the world. Yes, it's risky putting your vision out there for all to see. The way it works with this Sketchbook Project: You buy one of the blank books with a given theme, and then go all out expressing your self, as the author above did.

You could spend an hour or more exploring the myriad offerings in this shop that also stocks some unique published works: Geometry of Pasta, The Map as Art and Fill in the Blank. Everything in the inventory is vintage, do it yourself and old school inspiration. Such a welcome change from run-of-the-mill chain bookstores.

Of the four Brooklyn-based manufacturers making chocolate bars from the beans, Mast Brothers Chocolates is the largest. Owners Michael and Rick Mast are all about dispelling the mystery of chocolate. A chalk board displays the processing of chocolate from seed (yes, cacao is a seed not a bean) and you can watch chocolate production, including the use of the winnower machine. But most importantly, there's always chocolates to taste.

Set beside a blue stone sidewalk, Nightwood is a furniture and textile shop run by Nadia and Rye. These self-taught owners use mostly wool and cotton in their tapestries and are involved with upcycling (in this case using salvaged wood,including cedar from a water tower, from New Jersey) for the furnishings.

I've never found bagels to be all that surprising. That is, until I walked into The Bagel Store, considered to be the best in Brooklyn. French toast bagel. Bacon/egg/cheese where each is impregnated into the dough itself. Sundried tomato. And, I'm saving the most curious for last: Twinkie bagel. They are each served hot and, by far, the two that are my new faves are the sundried tomato and bacon, egg and cheese. The flavors were subtle but tempting.

Olive oil is not as simple as you might think. In fact, step into appropriately named Olive and you'll see that choosing the right olive oil is as complex as selecting a fine wine. Here I found 12 extra virgin oils, from mild to robust. Some are just weeks old -- you can't get any fresher than this. The owner carries oils from Chile, Australia, California and the Mediterranean countries. But not all at the same time of the year because he's following the crush. You can taste any of the oils which are each completely labeled with the polyphenol content (this reflects its antioxidant status) and crush date.

The Gourmet Guild Williamsburg carries a vast array of artisanal food (and some non-food) products, with 60% of what's lining the shelves made in Brooklyn. Smoked seafood jerky, push-up cake pops, savory cookies, empanadas, as well as gift items such as handmade candles - and this is just a small sampling of what you'll find here. If you're looking for authentic food or gift items, I would definitely make the trip to Brooklyn to check this place out.

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More Travel Tips E-Book Reviews

Do you want to know what people are saying about my new travel tips e-book?

Margaret Cowen offers authentic cooking experiences and wine tours all over Italy, from Venice to Sicily. She recently reviewed my e-book, The Travel Authority: Essential Tips for Hassle-Free Travel, in her food and travel blog.

Among the tips Margaret highlighted were my recommendations on purchasing pick-pocket-proof pants, and a scarf with hidden pockets. Find out more in her review here.

Another travel expert, Irene S. Levine is an award-winning journalist, author and blogger who also reviewed my e-book. In her review here, you'll find out when you should buy comprehensive trip insurance, why it's a smart idea to pay for your tour with a credit card, and more.

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Advise for E-Book Authors + More

What's the hardest thing about publishing an e-book? If you said writing it, you'd be wrong. It turns out that by far, after searching for a graphic designer to set the book into the different file formats for the various e-readers -- and I found her only after conducting dozens of interviews on Craig's List -- the most frustrating part of the entire process was submitting the book for sale on iTunes.

Top travel blogger Ellen Barone, no relation, interviewed me on this and many other things related to my new travel tips e-book, The Travel Authority: Essential Tips for Hassle-Free Travel. Read her interview with me here:

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Top Travel Tips-Downloadable E-Book

From reading my many posts, you've probably come away with some useful travel tips, including my secret packing tips, how to stay healthy on the road, and the best sites in my fave travel destinations. Since I'm on the road 90+ days a year, I've accumulated tips that help make my travels safe, healthy, efficient and worry-free. But now you can read travel tips from not just me but also over 150 other top travel bloggers? We've all contributed some of our top travel tips to a downloadable e-book. Aside from picking up a wealth of practical information, you'll be able to contribute to a charitable cause. That's because $1 from each sale goes to Charity: Water where as little as $20 is enough to help one person get clean drinking water for 20 years. Click on the Best Travel Tips icon on the right to download this e-book.

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