Wine Dine & Travel Summer/Fall 2015 1

TASTING WASHINGTON STATEFLOATING THROUGH EUROPEA FRESH LOOK AT LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY ADVENTURE IN PERULIVERPOOL BEYOND THE BEATLESPOSTCARDS FROM YUCATAN

TRAVELSUMMER/FALL | 2015

WINE DINE&6 MAJOR AWARDS

BEST PHOTOGRAPHY

BEST DESIGN

SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS 2015

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NEXT EDITION | WINTER 2015

COVER PHOTO: Cover photo of a vineyard in Walla Walla, Washington, is provided cour-tesy of the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance and photographer Richard Duval. Photogra-pher, writer, musician, Richard Duval travels the Northwest capturing its unique blend of wine, scenic and landscape images. His pho-tographs can be found on note cards, in gal-leries, and bookstores as well as at various art fairs and shows, and several stock sites. He lives near Mill Creek, WA.

MARRAKESH EXPRESS

COVER PHOTO

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LOOKING FOR A GREAT DINING EXPERIENCE?

RON & MARY JAMES OFFER THEIR SELECTION OF MORE THAN A HUNDRED OF THE BEST EATERIES IN SAN DIEGO IN THE CURRENT FODOR’S TRAVEL GUIDE SAN DIEGO EDITION.

FREE ONLINE OR BUY IT IN PRINT ON AMAZON OR AT YOUR FAVORITE BOOKSTORE.

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Wine Dine & Travel Summer/Fall 2015 5

IT’S ALWAYS SOMETHING

A s you read the stories in WDT, you’ll discover certain common threads expressed by our writers. All have to do with a passion for living – a thirst for adventure, beauty, friendship and discovery. Travel takes us out of our comfort zone thrust-

ing us into strange and sometimes risky situations – situations that can be very uncom-fortable even painful at the time -- but once survived provide memories that put a smile on your face the rest of your life.

Travel can certainly be dangerous -- especially for thrill seekers who search out adren-alin-laden activities like cliff diving, rock climbing or running with bulls. But most folks who read this magazine like their adventures in less aggressive forms. But, regardless of how and where you travel, misadventures will occur - it’s a law of the travel universe.

Getting sick from food, drink or a fellow traveler is one of travel’s most common down-sides. We actually expect to get some kind of bug at least once on every long trip. It’s happened to us everywhere in the world. As much as we try to play it safe, we love to sample local cuisine and drink and that regularly chal-lenges of digestive systems with unfamiliar food and the bugs that sometimes tag along.

Some misadventures come out of nowhere. On a business trip to Fiji to cover a surfing tournament, Ron landed in the middle of a military coup. Things actually got worse, when he found himself wading a quarter mile through coral reefs crawling with poison-ous sea snakes.

And who can forget crazy taxi drivers encountered on every continent. In our experience speeding cabbies in New York can be just as reckless as India’s notorious tuk tuk drivers or China’s full-throttle fearless van operators.

No matter how adventure-proof you try to make a trip, the mundane can easily become a hair-raising experience, even on a luxury cruise liner in the Baltic or a private food tour in Istanbul. It’s this possibility of adventure, even if we’re not looking for it or frankly trying to avoid it - is, for us, one of the reasons that makes travel addicting.

In this issue, two of our writers come down with a bug that colors their journeys, making them more memorable than if they had stayed well. Maribeth Mellin shares the silver lining she found when got sick in Machu Picchu and Jody Jaffe, felled by a bug in the Yucatan, uses the day to luxuriate in a lovely inn. “If I had to be sick,” Jody said, “I can’t think of a better place.”

Since getting sick or hurt is sometimes part of travel, it pays to be prepared. Veteran trav-eler Amy Laughinghouse offers some funny, but sage advice about preparing for those moments in her “Disaster Planning” column in this issue.

So take heed and enjoy the adventure. It’s why you left home in the first place.

Wishing you safe and exciting travels. ~ Ron & Mary James

Mary Hellman James is an award-winning San Diego journalist and editor. After a 29-year-ca-reer with the San Diego Union-Tribune, she currently is a freelance garden writer and a columnist for San Diego Home-Garden/Life-styles magazine. Mary and her husband, Ron James, travel extensively. Upcoming next month is a six week journey beginning in Israel and cruising to Turkey, Malta, Greece, Italy, France, Spain, the Canary Islands and across the Atlantic.

MARY JAMES

RON JAMES

Ron James is the "wine, food and travel guy." He is a nationally award-winning print and online journalist, graphic designer., television producer and radio personality. The native Californian's na-tionally syndicated wine and food columns have appeared in newspapers and magazines around the world. He is passionate about great wine and food and enthusiastically enjoys them every day!

publisher/executive editor

publisher/editor

EDITOR’S NOTE

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REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS

Carl H. LarsenCarl H. Larsen is a veteran journalist based in San Diego. He now focuses on travel writing, and is summoned to pull out his notebook whenever there’s the plaintive cry of a steam locomotive nearby. In San Diego, he is a college-extension instructor who has led courses on the Titanic and the popular TV series “Downton Abbey.”

Sharon Whitley LarsenSharon Whitley Larsen’s work has appeared in numerous publications, including Los Angeles Times Magazine, U-T San Diego, Reader’s Digest (and 19 international editions), Creators Syndicate, and several “Chicken Soup for the Soul” editions. Although she enjoys writing essays, op-ed, and people features, her favorite topic is travel (favorite destination London). She’s been lucky to attend a private evening champagne reception in Buckingham Palace to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, to dine with best-selling author Diana Gabaldon in the Scottish Highlands, and hike with a barefoot Aborigine in the Australian Outback. Exploring sites from exotic travels in the Arctic Circle to ritzy Rio, with passport in hand, she’s always ready for the next adventure!

Alison DaRosaAlison DaRosa is a six-time winner of the Lowell Thomas Gold Award for travel writing, the most prestigious prize in travel journalism. She served 15 years as Travel Editor of the San Diego Union-Tribune and was the award-winning editor of the San Diego News Network Travel Page. She created San Diego Essential Guide, a highly rated travel app for mobile devices. Alison writes a monthly Travel Deals column for the San Diego Union-Tribune and is a regular freelance contributor to the travel sections of the Los Angeles Times, USA Today and AOL Travel.

Susan McBethSusan McBeth is the founder and owner of Adventures by the Book ( www.adventuresbythebook.com ) which brings literature to life for readers through events and travels with authors. She is the founder of the SoCal Author Academy, providing workshops and training to help authors better connect with readers. She is a current member of the One Book One San Diego committee, and a former board member with the Southern California Booksellers Association.

Priscilla ListerPriscilla Lister is a longtime journalist in her native San Diego. She has covered a many subjects over the years, but travel is her favorite. Her work, including photography, has appeared in the U-T San Diego, Los Angeles Times, Alaska Airlines magazine and numerous other publications throughout the U.S. and Canada. She currently writes a weekly hiking column for the U-T, photographing every trail and its many wonders. But when the distant road beckons, she can’t wait to pack her bags.

Robert WhitleyRobert Whitley writes the syndicated “Wine Talk” column for Creators Syndicate and is publisher of the online wine magazine, Wine Review Online. Whitley frequently serves as a judge at wine competitions around the world, in-cluding Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, Sunset Magazine International and the Dallas Morning News TexSom wine competitions. Robert also operates four major international wine competitions in San Diego: Critics Challenge, Winemaker Challenge, Sommelier Challenge and the San Diego International.

Maribeth MellinMaribeth Mellin is an award-winning journalist whose travel articles have appeared in Endless Vacation Magazine, U-T San Diego and Dallas Morning News among others. She also travels and writes for several websites including CNN Travel, Concierge.com and Zagat, and has authored travel books on Peru, Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico, Hawaii and California. Though known as a Mexico pro, Maribeth has written about every continent and was espe-cially thrilled by the ice, air and penguins in Antarctica.

Jody and John are the co-authors of the novels, “Thief of Words,” and “Shenandoah Summer,” published by Warner Books. John was feature editor of the San Diego Union-Tribune, arts editor of The Baltimore Sun and writer-editor-col-umnist for the travel department of The Los Angeles Times. His travel articles have been published in many major news-papers; he's a Lowell Thomas award-winner. Jody is the author of "Horse of a Different Killer,"'Chestnut Mare, Beware," and "In Colt Blood,” As a journalist at the Charlotte Observer, she was on a team that won the Pulitzer Prize. Her articles have been published in many newspapers and magazines including The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times. They live on a farm in Lexington, Va., with eleven horses, three cats and an explosion of stink bugs.

Jody Jaffe & John Muncie