Lyn Fuchs's Blog, page 30
June 15, 2012
Road Babe Dispatch From Zihuatenejo Mexico
The town of Zihuatenejo, lovingly called Zihua by many residents, is often overshadowed by the opulence of Ixtapa. If Disneyland is what you’re looking for, then Ixtapa is your place. Every square inch is covered in fancy condos, where well-dressed people lick gold flake popsicles and wave their hands at waiters from cushioned beach chairs. Ixtapa was created by the Mexican tourism board, like Cancun, to bring in the dough - and that it does.
Zihuatenejo, on the other hand, is my kind of parad...
June 12, 2012
Primal Wilderness Rambling From Temescal Canyon
I used to live in Venice. No, not the grand Venice of Italy. The little Venice of southern California, a beach town in Los Angeles where developer and conservationist Abbott Kinney once envisioned creating an exact replica of the Italian city. Yet, this article isn't about Venice. It's about the time I decided to run in the Santa Monica Mountains on the summer solstice. Since that day is again rapidly approaching, I thought my cautionary tale about over-estimating daylight would be appropriat...
June 8, 2012
Smooth Getaway Postcard From Nashville
Looking for a fun-filled vacation? Don't forget all the United States has to offer. Why not take a trip to the hub of country music and country cuisine in Nashville, Tennessee. Remember, you need an ESTA US Visa before you book a flight to the United States. Here are some of Nashville's attractions:
The Ryman AuditoriumNashville is known as “Music City” and Ryman Auditorium is known as the “Mother Church of Country Music.” The best way to enjoy the Ryman is to attend a perf...
June 5, 2012
Meet The Desertly Dunebillies
Come listen to a story about a man named Jed, a poor mountaineer barely kept his family fed, then one day he was shooting at some food, and up through the ground came a bubbling crude.Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea.
These lyrics aren't just the banjo-smokin' theme song from an old TV show The Beverly Hillbillies. They're also the story of what happened in Arabia in the 1930's. Unfortunately, the Desertly Dunebillies didn't make corn whisky or kiss scantily-clad, mightily-endowed cousins. S...
June 1, 2012
How to Improve Travel Writing Skills
Traveling to experience new scenery and cultures always gets my blood boiling. I want to dash - nay, have to dash - and find a way to put this new experience into words, so others can also enjoy it. Then, I hammer out a rough draft and come back to it a few days later merely to be underwhelmed. Not only does it not feel like seeing the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok for the first time, it's sentimental and (cough, cough) boring. All travel writers know this feeling. Yet, that's part of the char...
May 29, 2012
Twisted Vagabondage Tale From An Airplane
All Aboard If You're ComingYou’re pissed off, I can tell. But then you’re always tense when we travel. I don’t know why—I do most of the work. (I suspect fear of flying, though I know better than to ever suggest that.) You’re normally so easy-going, but as soon as you get on an airplane, every little thing sets you off. No business class upgrades are available. Our seats are too close to the video screen. You’ve already seen both of the movies. Someone did half t...
May 26, 2012
How To Write Better Travel Stories
A lot of readers have been checking out our submission guidelines lately. That's cool and we look forward to reading your stuff. Here are three tips to help your work not just fit the specs but rock the site.
1. Write quality not quantity. Whenever a famous author dies, people race to be first in uttering the phrase "He was a prolific writer!" That just means he produced a ton of words. Yet, when you ask what book was his masterpiece, so you can actually sample his art without devoting your li...
1. Write quality not quantity. Whenever a famous author dies, people race to be first in uttering the phrase "He was a prolific writer!" That just means he produced a ton of words. Yet, when you ask what book was his masterpiece, so you can actually sample his art without devoting your li...
May 22, 2012
Road Babe Dispatch From The Aegean
Outside, the wind is the only cold part. The air itself is tepid, like warm water surrounding our skin. People congregate on the upper deck above us, where a covered bar and benches provide a blockade from the breeze. I love the isolation of the lower deck, especially on the narrow side where we are alone.The lights of Iraklion twinkle like grounded stars, inviting us to recreate the local myths. We are travelers and passengers in a deep moving gulf that opens into the Mediterranean sea. I ca...
May 18, 2012
Primal Wilderness Rambling From Fundy Bay
It’s not all that often that I get to watch a force of nature in action, but there's one in particular I’ve seen and relished twice.The Bay of Fundy is out on the Atlantic Coast, nestled between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It has the greatest tidal range in the world. At times, the difference between low and high tide can be over fifty feet. Twice a day, billions of tonnes of water flow in and out of the bay. The topography of the ocean floor, the shape...
May 15, 2012
Wherever You Go, There You'll Be
Setting off on a big international trip, I asked an eighty-year-old man with the reputation of being a wise counselor for his input on my destination options. I was obsessing over this decision. He responded, "The place doesn't matter, because wherever you go, there you'll be. He was hinting at the annoying truth that my character, not places or circumstances, was hindering my spiritual journey. He was absolutely right.
Paul Theroux wrote a classic book on heading for parts remote with sp...
