On February 4, 1777, General George Washington penned a letter to New York merchant Nathaniel Sackett. This post contains affiliate links.  For more information, click here. Writing from Morristown, New Jersey, the General gave the merchant a daunting task: Employ “those you may find necessary” to obtain “the earliest and best Intelligence of the designs of the enemy”. In other words:  Set up a spy ring to help me defeat the most powerful empire in the world. Unfortunately, Sackett didn’t work out well.  The next year, Washington replaced him with Major Benjamin Tallmadge a ..read more

My travel companion and I looked down from the floor-to-ceiling windows of our hotel suite.  The Fountains of Bellagio shimmied and swayed in front of MGM’s premier property on the Las Vegas Strip. After several delays and even a major hack, MGM Resorts International and Marriott International finally launched their oft-teased new partnership last month. The hotel companies have joined to create the MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy, which encompasses 16 MGM properties in Las Vegas and other cities across the United States.  Bonvoy is Marriott’s frequent-travel program. What this m ..read more

Sometimes, the things you’re the least interested in can turn out to be among the most intriguing. This post contains affiliate links.  For more information, click here. The International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., recently opened “Bond in Motion“, a special exhibition of 17 vehicles featured in James Bond films.  There are also props and scale models, and movie clips play alongside their featured vehicles. I am not a car person.  I rarely drive, unless I’m on a road trip, and my own car is a 13-year-old sedan.  I’m also not a James Bond person; my espionage inter ..read more

As the song goes, “There’s such a lot of world to see.” If your destination of choice is “everywhere”, I can relate. The annual Travel & Adventure Show can help you narrow that down and decide where to visit over the next year.  It’s a big exposition that gives you the opportunity to connect with representatives of places and providers around your region and across the globe to find what intrigues you most. The Travel & Adventure Show takes place during January-March in or near nine cities: Atlanta Chicago Dallas Denver Los Angeles New York Phoenix San Francisco Washington, D.C ..read more

Forbes recently added the Waldorf Astoria and the Pendry hotels and their spas in Washington, D.C., to its Star Awards list. The two luxury hotels are very different, and one or the other should satisfy most premium travellers. Both have good locations for enjoying many of Washington’s significant sites. Forbes Travel Guide recently released its 66th annual Star Awards list of the world’s most outstanding hotels, restaurants, spas, and ocean liners. Two Washington, D.C., hotels and their spas joined the list this year: This post contains affiliate links.  For more information, click ..read more

Princess Diana & the Royals:  the Exhibition displays more than 700 artifacts related to the life and legacy of the late Princess of Wales. The on-going Exhibition is located at the Shops at Crystals, an upscale mall connected to the ARIA Resort in Las Vegas. This post gives you the practical details you need to know before you go to the Exhibition, provides backstory to help you get the most out of it, and tells you what to expect when you’re there.   This post contains affiliate links.  For more information, click here. Before dawn on July 29, 1981, my mother and ..read more

Bilt Dining has come to Las Vegas, Nevada. The innovative program allows you to earn rewards points for eating out. There are 11 participating restaurants in Las Vegas. This post contains affiliate links.  For more information, click here. Las Vegas, Nevada, is more than the casino capital of the world.  It’s also a great place for foodies — with restaurant options ranging from celebrity-chef show-stoppers to fast-food outlets.  Having visited the Neon City many times since I first road-tripped from Newport Beach decades ago, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to enjoy many ..read more

A recent study finds that the six best U.S. cities for keeping New Year’s resolutions are: Seattle, Washington San Francisco, California Scottsdale, Arizona Irvine, California San Diego, California Orlando, Florida This post contains affiliate links.  For more information, click here. The personal-finance Web site WalletHub recently ranked 182 American cities on their conduciveness to self-improvement. Researchers looked at 57 metrics across five categories:  Health, Finances, Relationships, Bad Habits, and School and Work.  Metrics included things like Share of Adults ..read more

A recent study of all 50 states and the District of Columbia finds that the healthiest locations for food and fitness are: Washington, D.C. Vermont California Rhode Island Massachusetts Colorado New Mexico West Virginia Washington state Minnesota New Hampshire Delaware Connecticut   The personal-finance Web site WalletHub recently ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia on the healthiness of their approaches to food and fitness.  Researchers looked at metrics ranging from “Fitness Centers per Capita” to “Share of Adults Eating Less than 1 Serving of Fruits/Vegetables p ..read more

A recent study ranks Orlando, Florida, as the best U.S. city for foodies. Orlando topped several measures, including most Restaurants per Capita. The Orlando area boasts 46 Michelin restaurants. The personal-finance site WalletHub recently released a study evaluating 182 U.S. cities on their foodie-friendliness. And the winner is:  Orlando, Florida. This post contains affiliate links.  For more information, click here. I have visited Orlando many times — from my first visit to Walt Disney World as a little girl to a fabulous food-travel bloggers’ conference before lockdown ..read more