Travel Writing

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

—Dr. Seuss

I never set out to be a travel writer. I was just a lucky woman with free flight bennies as an airline employee, a lot of curiosity, an open mind and a journal. When the editor of a small magazine on a far-flung Pacific island bought my first story about Micronesia, I was hooked. In the past 20-some years, I have written over 200 travel articles and almost never met a place I didn't like.

Travel Anthology

• Petticoat Juncture published in Traveler's Tales: 30 Days in the South Pacific (December 2005) - "I had a poster of this Tahitian girl hanging over my bed all through college," Drew said. He described her in detail: she's coming out of the ocean, topless, of course, wearing a bright sarong wrapped lazy and low around her hips." Read the Story

Washington Tasting Room - the magazine for people who love wine tasting

• Northwest Urban Escape (Winter 2009/2010) - "Where can we put our bikes?" I ask as Sandy and I check into the Willows Lodge. Operating under the accepted theory that vigorous exercise burns excess calories... Read the Story
• Metropolitan Vibes (Spring 2010) - Washington's second largest city has morphed into wine central with eight downtown tasting rooms, a European style wine bar and an impressively stocked wine shop. Read the Story
• A Sense of Place (Fall 2009) - I'm not sure whether to lick my arm or just let the wine soak into my pores. This is vinotherapy at its best...at the Spa at SageCliffe at Cave B Inn and Estate Winery. Read the Story

American Profile - national newspaper insert

• The Mother of Father's Day (Jun 2010) - Though he's a father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Jerry Numbers did not appreciate the significance of the home that he and his wife, Bev, purchased in 1972 until learning later that its original owner helped found Father's Day in 1910. Read the Story

Bay Area Family Travel - bayareafamilytravel.com

• Safe in God's Pocket (June 2010) - Sometimes you have to get your teenagers off-the-grid to see them become kids again. Read the Story

Coastal Living - national travel and lifestyle magazine

• Storybook Hilo (Jul 2008) - You might expect crowds in Hawaii's second-largest city, but Hilo doesn't often top a tourist's must-see list. Too bad... Read the Story
• Turtle Power (Oct 2008) - Dark gray baby sea turtles not much bigger than silver dollars claw at the sides of plastic bins, scrambling over each other like hungry puppies. Read the Story
• Calming Camano (Oct 2007) I am hunkered down at the Camano Island Inn enjoying a hot tub on my deck and a view of Puget Sound. Read the Story
• Artful Escape (May 2007) I came to Edmonds to see the flowers, but it was the baby sea lion that stopped me in my tracks. I rounded a bend and there he was...Read the Story
• Far Flung Adventure (March 2006) - Dungeness Spit curls is beaches and tidal flats into the Strait of Juan de Fuca for five-and-a-half miles....Read the Story
• Victorian Secret (November 2005) - Beautiful and welcoming, Victoria sparkles with Christmas color and spirit.Read the Story
• Velkommen to Little Norway (Oct 2005) - The sign outside Marina Market on Front Street entices the curious and the hungry to "See our Lutefisk TV Dinners" ...Read the Story
• The Quiet Season (March 2005) - Manzanita offers a lot of "no's." No beach buggy or scooter rentals, no fine-art galleries or noisy arcades...Read the Story
• Shoreline of the Spirit (May 2004) - We're standing on a cedar platform at the edge of the continent. Or so it seems. Read the Story
• Beach Rockin' (September 2004) - With one solid stroke, Guy DiTorrice cracks open a baseball-size rock. Read the Story
• Newport Belle (September 2004) - Let's see, breakfast on the bow as the morning sun warms the deck? Or cocktails on the stern as sunset turns Yaquina Bay Bridge into a glowing silhouette?

Sunset - national travel and lifestyle magazine

• Davenport District - Spokane Day Trip (Feb 2009) - The Davenport District's galleries and restored art deco gems have made Spokane a wonderful indoor town. Read the Story
• Top 10 Lakeside Resorts (Aug 2007) - Find a driftwood log, settle into the sun-warmed sand, and watch the Selkirk Mountains take on a rosy glow.
• Welcome Our Newest Wine Country (Sep 2007) - Watch out, Walla Walla: Idaho's wine country has arrived. The Snake River Valley -- home to high elevations, extra-long sunny days, and cool nights -- received AVA designation in April. Read the Story
• Idaho's Iditarod (Feb 2008), Priest Lake, ID - Stand within yards of yipping, tugging, hysterically happy sled dogs and cheer on your favorite team at the U.S. Pacific Coast Championship Sled Dog Races. Read the Story
• Enjoy Organic Eats (Mar 2008) - In the past century, the East End has morphed from a rip-roaring red-light district into a green scene.
• A Country Meal Done Right (Aug 2007) - On a soft summer evening, my friend and I are lounging on the wide wooden veranda of Lovitt Restaurant overlooking Colville Valley after driving 65 miles for nothing more than a good meal. Read the Story
• Make way for ducklings (April 2007) - Grab a bag of dried bread or wild birdseed, head for the steps leading to the edge of the Spokane River, and be entertained by mallard ducklings. Read the Story
• Big Rides and Wet Slides (August 2006) - Drive north on Idaho's Highway 95 from Coeur d'Alene and civilization quickly gives way to hiking, fishing, biking territory. Then - whomp - a giant wooden roller coaster breaks the horizon.
• Golden Stroll (September 2006) - Step onto South Manito Boulevard on a fall day and the world turns golden.
• 3 New Ways to Catch Fall Colors (October 2006) - Bask in the sunlight of an open meadow on a horse-drawn wagon ride at the 1,000-plus-acre Rider Ranch.

Alaska/Horizon magazines - In-flight publications

• Naturally Wonderful (Feb 2010) - Four-hundred-and-fifty feet below Arbor Crest Wine Cellars' Cliff House lies a tapestry of Spokane Valley farms, businesses, homes and parks. Read the Story
• Spokane Alfresco (June 2009) - Twenty-five miles east of Spokane, the Spokane River begins its 111-mile westward journey from Lake Coeur d'Alene to the Columbia River. Read the Story
• Gourmet Getaway (Mar 2008) - The early-summer sun drapes my bistro table on the deck of Bitner Vineyards' new tasting room... Read the Story
• Winning Combination (Feb 2008) - In a decade of working and playing in downtown Spokane I've always admired the magnificent brick and terra cota buildings, been intrigued by the spooky gargoyles on the Chronicle Building... Read the Story
• Measuring Success (Jan 2008) - Let's imagine you've just completed what might be the best meeting you've ever organized. Read the Story
• Play List (Feb 2007) My mother, who is afraid of heights, was not buying my claim that a gondola ride 50 to 70 feet above the Spokane River is a must for every Spokane visitor. Read the Story
• Snow Patrol (Nov 2006) - Fancy architectural drawings and deep-pocketed investors were nowhere to be found 69 years ago when Don Adams and Bruce Kehr got a Forest Service permit to open a ski run... Read the Story

Northwest Meetings & Events - Professional journal for meeting planners

• Waiting to Exhale (Spring 2010) If your notion of Idaho involves potatoes, it's time to recalibrate and hone in on the Idaho Panhandle. Read the Story
• Show Me the ROI (Summer 2009) "Great meeting!" used to be enough of an accolade to convince planners, stakeholders, clients and attendees that the event was a success, but in today's climate of dwindling budgets... Read the Story
• Casting A Wider Net (Summer 2009) In the past two years, improved high-speed internet capability and steaming technology has catapulted webcasting to the forefront of the meeting industry. Read the Story
• Volunteering ROI (Spring 2009) President John F. Kennedy's famous quote, "Ask not what your country can do for you" could be tweaked to apply to membership in professional organizations. Read the Story
• Waste Not (Spring 2009) Paper plates, disposable cups, excess food, multiple handouts, elaborate centerpieces - it all amounts to a heap of trash. Read the Story
• Event-Friendly Wineries (Summer 2008) Here's a surprising factoid: the first state to produce wine in the Northwest was Idaho. Read the Story
• Thinkin' About Tomorrow (Spring 2008) Ask meeting planners what trends they see coming, and they're apt to open their day planner or Blackberry, point to weeks that are chock-a-block with appointments and reply, "The future? I'm just trying to keep up with today." Read the Story
• I Now Pronounce You (Winter 2008) Meeting planners and suppliers sometimes compare their relationship to marriage. Read the Story
• A Sweet Deal (Winter 2007) The World Potato Congress had an unusual requirement: a 35-acre chunk of prime agricultural land for a demonstration farm.... Read the Story
• Near Nature, Near Perfect (Fall 2006) Not all tourism slogans get it right. By their very nature, tag lines aimed at attracting visitors make over-the-top proclamations. Not this one...
• Full Speed Ahead (Fall 2006) The angular, glass-encased lobby of the expanded Spokane Convention center juts toward the city like the prow of an ocean liner.

Trailer Life - Good Sam publication

• Sisters on the Fly (March 2006) - "No boys allowed," says Becky Clarke, "the whole dynamic changes when the husbands are around." Ferne Krumm chimes in: "They're too bossy...When they drive all the stuff in the trailers ends up on the floor...No, no—we're not about male bashing. It's a sisterhood thing...Hell, we don't' even talk about our husbands. "Read the Story

SkyWest/United Express - In-flight magazine, Delta and United

• Artist Haven: Sandpoint, Idaho "I came across that bridge 15 years ago and it was magic......" Read the Story

Generations Hawaii - Lifestyle magazine

• Bangkok - Sojourn in the Land of Smiles (May 2007) The term sweatshop takes on a whole new meaning in the airless alleys of Bangkok's Chatuchak Market. Read the Story

La Vie Claire - national lifestyle and travel magazine

• An Orchid Obsession (Spring 2007) - With colors as flamboyant as magenta and chartreuse and shapes as exotic and voluptuous as the images in a Georgia O'Keeffe painting, orchids are all about being noticed. Read the Story
• Island Spirit (Summer 2005) - Aunty Bella is wearing a straw hat rimmed in bright blooms, an equally lively muumuu, and a shell lei. She looks every bit the traditional lei maker. Read the Story
• The Allure of Lavender (Winter 2005) - Five women are laughing and teasing as they position themselves around and on a weathered stepladder. These visitors from Seattle seem to be having a grand, uproarious time - like a Red Hat Society in purple - at the annual Sequim Lavender Festival. Read the Story

Honolulu Star Bulletin - Hawaii newspaper

• Meeting the Wild with Teen Spirit (August 2005) - We have paddled our kayaks to Little Kaikash Beach on Vancouver Island and are sitting on the rocks eating lunch when one of the guides shouts: "Orcas!" Read the Story

And more, but I'll bet you stopped reading a long time ago! ~ LHM