Clips

Here is a selection of my favourite clips. Most are recent, but I’ve also included a few old favourites.

Travel

More than BBQ and Beer: The Fine Foods and Eateries of West Texas

Everything Zoomer, September 2023

Sure, the barbecue and beer in West Texas are tasty. However, it was the avocado tostada at Taconeta in El Paso (see photo) that I remembered long after I returned home. The posh small-plates dinner at Cochineal in Marfa was pretty memorable, too…as were many of my other stops along the way to tiny DB’s Rustic Iron BBQ in Terlingua.

Book It: A Journey of Literary Wales

Everything Zoomer, August 2023

Dylan Thomas’s home in Laugharne is now a museum.

From a library you can sleep in to the village that (perhaps) inspired Dylan Thomas to write Under Milkwood, I crisscrossed Wales to find some of its most fascinating literary sites and festivals. I even popped into the seaside resort where the cult TV classic The Prisoner was filmed.

Matilda Joslyn Gage: The Suffragist Who Defied the US Government

BBC Travel, July 2023

Gage’s long-time home in Fayetteville, New York, is now a museum and educational centre.

Long before Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, Matilda Joslyn Gage was such a women’s rights radical that she even alienated Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Becoming Bilingual in Bogotá (and Boosting Brain Health at the Same Time)

Everything Zoomer, July 2023

With my classmates from the Nueva Lengua language school in Bogotá.

When I spent a week at a Spanish-immersion school in Colombia, I learned much more than verb tenses. For instance, drinking beer while playing a sport that involves gunpowder may not be wise.

(Re)learning to Ski at 57, at Quebec’s Mont Tremblant

Everything Zoomer, February 2023

That’s me in the foreground, looking daring.

Think you’re too old to try skiing one more time? I hadn’t been on skis since high school, but I gave it another shot at Tremblant…and I didn’t die.

The Perfect Weekend Getaway to Ottawa, Canada

Afar.com, May 2022

Moo Shu Ice Cream owner Liz Mok.

Here are my tips for first-time visitors to Canada’s capital—everything from sampling small-batch ice cream to taking a sightseeing flight in a 1930s biplane.

Trans Canada Trail Celebrates 30 Years of Connecting Canadians

Canadian Geographic, March 2022

Stretching from coast to coast to coast, the 24,000-kilometre Trans Canada Trail is one of the longest trail networks in the world. Getting it built was no small feat, and exploring ALL of it is daunting. Here, I look into the trail’s history and chat with several people who have tackled huge chunks of it.

Zip Line Over the Ottawa River a Thrilling Ride with a Spectacular View

Ottawa Magazine, June 2021

Photo (not of me) courtesy of Interzip Rogers.

When I had the chance to hop onto the world’s first interprovincial zip line, stretching 366 metres across the Ottawa River, of course I said yes. I had a blast and it must have been evident, because this piece picked up the Ottawa Tourism Travel Writing Award. Alas, the magazine has folded, so the story is no longer available online.

Eight Heritage Gems Close to Home

Historic Places Days website, June 2021

In this unbylined article, I point you to eight cool national historic sites across Canada, including a hotel that was once home to a foul-mouthed, whiskey-drinking, opera-singing parrot. Who says history is dull?

Ottawa (Time Out)

Delta SKY, March 2020

The Carbide Willson Ruins are one of my favourite spots in Gatineau Park.

If you only have 24 hours to spend in Canada’s capital, I have suggestions for everything from where to get a great craft cocktail to where to hike to the ruins of a century-old mill.

Beguiling Anguilla

DreamScapes, Spring 2019

Sailing is a great way to explore the waters around Anguilla.

Want to really get away from it all? It’s hard to do better than Anguilla, a tiny Caribbean island where the most pressing decision you may face all day is whether to go for a sunset sail on a chartered boat or get a grapefruit-and-rosemary massage.

Naturally Charming Barbados

DreamScapes, Winter 2018/19

When you’re planning a trip to this Caribbean island, you’ll naturally be thinking of beaches, palm trees and tropical cocktails. But I have two more words to keep in mind, if you’re renting a car: “tire insurance.”

Ottawa Wine Tour Company, La Vida Local, Visits Local Vineyards

Ottawa Magazine, August 27, 2018

Eastern Ontario might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of “wine country”—but think again.

The Weekend Escape: Prince Edward County and the Thousand Islands

Trivago Magazine, August 13, 2018

Gananoque Boat Line boat near Boldt Castle.

Diving, theatre, scones, antique boats, Napoleon and a rich man’s castle—what’s not to like?

Sleep in an Irish Castle With a Rock Star Connection

GettingOnTravel.com, August 7, 2018

Barberstown Castle

Want to stay in a medieval castle half an hour from Dublin where Eric Clapton once entertained rock royalty? You can do all of that—and get a marvellous cup of tea into the bargain. (This is another site that has folded, sadly, so the article is no longer online.)

The Weekend Escape: Ottawa Valley

Trivago Magazine, April 1, 2018

Because I’ve been writing about day trips and weekend getaways from Ottawa for the past 15 years or so, this guide to the Ottawa Valley—a sweeping, largely rural region west of the city—was right up my alley.

Montréal Celebrates Winter

DreamScapes, Winter 2017/18

If you have to live through winter, you might as well do it in a city where you can enjoy an all-night art party and go ice canoeing the next day.

Orlando Hitmakers

DreamScapes, Spring/Summer 2017

Disney was my daughter’s idea of the perfect vacation. I warmed up to the idea…eventually.

Daytripping to Prince Edward County

The Ottawa Citizen, April 18, 2016

Three sisters. One cottage. Several wineries. A great cooking class. And a lot of cheese.

Walk Down the Isle

The Toronto Star, October 31, 2015

Want to get married in a tropical paradise? If St. Lucia was romantic enough for The Bachelor, it might be romantic enough for you.

Did This N.Y. Town Inspire a Christmas Classic?

The Globe and Mail, December 16, 2013

Every time a bell rings, I think of Seneca Falls—and wonder whether Frank Capra came here before making It’s a Wonderful Life. The locals believe.

Mellow Montserrat: Sleepy Doesn’t Begin to Describe This Idyllic Island

Ottawa Citizen, September 9, 2006

With, two gas stations, one main road, no traffic lights and countless chickens, Montserrat is the Caribbean island for people who wouldn’t be caught dead in a casino or on a Segway. This story earned me writing awards from the Travel Media Association of Canada and the North American Travel Journalists Association.

Other

Where to Live Now: A Data-Driven Look at Ottawa Neighbourhoods

Ottawa Magazine, summer 2020

For this annual real estate story, the editor of Ottawa Magazine and I took a different tack than usual. We crunched statistics galore to assess which Ottawa neighbourhoods were best placed to provide that most undefinable of things: a sense of community. (No longer available online.)

California Requirement Spotlights Business and PR Reasons for Director Diversity

Advancing Women, June 2020

For this article for a U.S. credit union management magazine, I spoke with a state senator and business leaders about new California legislation requiring certain publicly traded companies to include a certain number of women on their boards of directors.

Celebrating 25 Years of the Canadian Geographic Challenge with Alex Trebek

CanadianGeographic.ca, October 7, 2019

What former Jeopardy! contestant could resist the opportunity to interview Alex Trebek about his decades-long association with the Royal Canadian Geographic Society?

Coming Soon…Robots and Savvy Technology Steal the Show at Age-Well’s Ottawa Event

YouAreUNLTD.com, May 2018

I covered an event on Parliament Hill in Ottawa that focused on new technologies to help older Canadians, including robots, websites and smartphone apps.

Life on Track: How the LRT Will Change Ottawa

Ottawa Magazine, May 2017

Photo courtesy of OC Transpo.

I’m fascinated by trains, so I jumped at the chance to write this cover story for Ottawa Magazine about the city’s new light-rail system and its effect on urban growth. (No longer available online.)

For $1,000, Laura, Who Represented Ottawa on Jeopardy!?

Ottawa City Magazine, June/July 2004

Your reward for scrolling all the way to the end of this page is the chance to read about my ignominious performance on Jeopardy! in 2004.