Carol Stigger

That last winter in Chicago was as nasty as a cantankerous hornet. It was time to live my dream: a warm beach on the Atlantic Ocean. Researching properties, I was convinced coastal real estate in the United States was too expensive. But I could teach at an international school in Panama and live in a cottage on the ocean. I sold my house and dusted off my teaching certificate. Then someone suggested Myrtle Beach. I was decades beyond a spring break lifestyle but curious enough to research. Su...

North Myrtle Beach has the beautiful beaches, splendid sunrises, and dawn-catch seafood with one delightful difference. The Spring Break crowd doesn’t party here. This is just how the locals and discerning visitors like it. Think fine wines not beer kegs.

Many retired people live in North Myrtle Beach; Northerners winter here. Residents and visitors alike are here for world-class golfing...

Utah’s Arches National Park was closed because of traffic gridlock on Memorial Day. Being awed by Yellowstone’s Old Faithful is challenging with parade-size crowds jostling for the same experience. While I patriotically appreciate the beauty and history of America, I also abhor crowds. I found the natural beauty and fascinating museums I was seeking plus the space to appreciate them around Quebec’s Saguenay Fjord and Lac Saint Jean.
After an hour flight from Montreal, my 13-year-old grandson ...

Like the water rat in the children’s classic “Wind in the Willows,” I believe there is nothing half as much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Circumstances change, but not the spirit. Long gone are the battered canoes of my youth. Now, I mess about in cruise ships.
Recently, I shanghaied my sister into joining me on an eight-day Viking Rhine River Cruise. The river carried us through an enchanting journey of castles and cuckoo clocks, medieval villages and oompah bands, legends an...

Praise the Lord and Pass the Curry – but not on the church bus!

Church picnic! Can you taste the fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, homemade ice cream, and cherry pie? If that’s what you want, call Martha Stewart.

This church picnic was in India, two hours away by church bus. The rusty rattletrap was packed full; the Let’s Praise the Lord Band and their instruments perched on the front seats. And off we went, loudly praising, then loudly singing hit Hindu songs. Men did traditional dances...

Ama Waterways is the only river cruise line invited to join La Chaines des Rotisseurs, one of the world’s most prestigious culinary organizations.

More is changing than the leaves at Starved Rock State Park just a 90 minute drive from the suburbs. It was once a favorite family get away because of its proximity and natural wonders. A recent visit convinced me that it is not my father's state park any more. He was an avid bird watcher, my mother a reluctant hiker, and we kids played getting lost in the wilderness. In bad weather we watched our parents set off in boots and rain gear and hid away with books if we were fighting or board game...

Rebel Yell bourbon’s middle name should be “Earl” after my father, a Kentucky gentleman uprooted from Louisville to the Windy City. After the car and moving van were unpacked and the kids settled in with Campbell’s soup and comic books, my dad set off to stock the liquor cabinet. Brandy for medical emergencies, white wine for my mother, and Rebel Yell for him and the friends he expected to make. He returned home disgruntled with a poor substitute for bourbon, appalled that the largest liquor ...

Budapest is a popular docking point for luxury riverboats, and it’s no wonder given that the mighty Danube runs right through the city, Hungary’s capital. From our luxury Viking riverboat we could see Buda and Pest as we faced the Chain Bridge—the earliest bridge to join the two cities.
Viking boats were in the majority, so we knew we would be in good company as we explored historical Budapest, often called the Pearl of the Danube and one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.
Heart-stirring Memo...

Budapest is a popular docking point for luxury riverboats, and here, it seems, the Danube has a beach of boats. And no wonder. From our luxury Viking riverboat, we could see Buda and Pest, and we faced the Chain Bridge, the earliest bridge to join the two cities. Viking boats were in the majority, so we knew we would be in good company as we explored the city.
Our first sight was on the riverbank promenade, a touching and humble memorial to Jewish people killed by the Hungarian Arrow Cross Mi...

On a pristine, Jamaican beach, tourists recline on padded chairs and leave their worries to Clive. Need a dry towel? Clive will provide. A frosty drink? It's in your hand. Too hot? Clive muscles your chair under a leafy canopy. When his is not directly serving guests, he is picking up litter and raking the sand.
With an easy, plesant smile, he handed me a fruit punch and leaned over my chair. "Hello, I'm Clive Simpson, the beach boy." he is one of 100,000 Jamaicans who earn their daily bread,...

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