Tropical Travel Girl
Anne McAlpin, nationally known packing expert and author of Pack it Up: Travel Smart, Pack Light, travels more than 100 days a year and averages 12 flights each month. She has visited 78 countries on six continents, including lots of tropical islands. In a recent interview she shared specific tips on what to pack for …
I have strolled through many museums, admiring artwork and sculptures from renowned artists, but my visit to an underwater museum, outfitted in SCUBA gear, was a first for me. Last July, my husband and I visited Grenada’s Underwater Sculpture Park during our stay at the all-inclusive, Sandals LaSource Grenada and found it to be a …
Swimming with whale sharks, the largest fish in the sea, had been on my bucket list for years. On August 18, 2015, my dream was fulfilled, just a few days after my birthday. It was a belated birthday gift worth waiting for, but it didn’t come easily, as you’ll read in my article, published in …
While Sanibel Island, Florida, is perhaps best known for its world-class shelling, it is also the location of the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge Complex — the largest undeveloped mangrove ecosystem in the U.S. Covering over 6,400 acres, it attracts over 245 bird species and is famous worldwide for its spectacular migratory bird populations. …
It’s not every day that you get to walk the beach with a “shellebrity.” Pam Rambo, shelling expert extraordinaire, based on Sanibel Island, Florida, graciously agreed to meet up with me, along with my husband, Stephen, when we were on vacation in Sanibel in early January.
An old friend paid me a visit at my Paradise Beach Nevis villa on my first full day in Nevis, June 8. Pas Turner and I go way back—to ’98 or ’99—when I had my first mango daiquiri at Cla-Cha-Del, the restaurant he then operated along with his mom, Claudina.
If you’re a certified scuba diver and a lobster lover, boy, do I have an experience for you! On a recent trip to Nevis, while staying at the Four Seasons resort, I accompanied Executive Chef Jason Adams, on a quest to lasso a lobster.
The travel bug bit Anne McAlpin at age 16, when she spent six weeks cycling through Europe. It was her first experience with overpacking, as she and…
“What is your favorite island?” Because of my experience in traveling to tropical locations, this is a question I’m often asked.
Others are: “I want to go somewhere…
I’ll admit it. History and geography weren’t my favorite subjects in school. Memorizing dry, historical facts and trying to make sense of places on a one-dimensional map…
It’s the most photographed islet in the South Pacific—Motu Tapu—just a five-minute boat ride from the Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort. It was the private beach of…
I chose this day, March 30th, as the official launch day for my website, not at random, but because it is my dad’s birthday. William R. (Bill)…
Now that you’ve found your way here, I’d like to help you navigate the site and know what’s here.
To learn about me and how I came to…
Do you ever dream about a good meal you had while visiting a faraway destination? Do you ever wish you could return to that restaurant and experience…
Petunias and geraniums are about as exotic as it gets in Indiana, except for the occasional “hot house” orchid we can buy but must keep indoors so…
Beachcombing is one of my favorite beach activities. Since childhood vacations in Florida with my family, I have been fascinated with shells. Not long ago, I removed…
Since the Florida vacations of my childhood, I’ve loved going to the beach. In my younger life, that meant sunbathing, walking up and down the beach, and…