ShareHistoric Town Offers Much More Than Its Annual Decoy Festival
By Lester Picker
[This article originally appeared in The Baltimore Sun. I updated it for use in 2010.]
Walking the tree-lined streets of historic Havre de Grace, Maryland is like stepping back in time. Leave the hustle and bustle of the city behind, skip the mad rush of suburban shopping malls, and spend an enjoyable weekend in this quaint town, tucked into the northeastern-most corner of Harford County.
Ideally located at the confluence of the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay, Havre de Grace …

SharePhoto Homework
Here’s an idea for those of you wanting to increase your photography skills. Assign yourself some homework! Like in grade school penmanship lessons, I guarantee that with practice your skills will improve markedly.
Every so often, usually when I feel too long has gone by between photo shoots or assignments, I will give myself a photography assignment. I’ll pick a topic and force myself to shoot only on that topic for however long I feel like being out (or even inside).
So I thought I would regularly put an assignment in …

ShareBritish Virgin Islands Vacation
by Lester Picker
[This article originally appeared in The Baltimore Sun Travel section. Some information may be dated, so please check beforehand.]
The epiphany arrived for me without fanfare somewhere around midnight the second day. Here I was, on my back, hands under my head, looking up at the night sky over the British Virgin Islands. The Milky Way clouds stood out almost as clearly as the stars and galaxies around it. A shooting star punctuated the scene every few minutes.
Two things made this scene stand out from any …

ShareThe Galapagos: Enchanted Islands
by Lester Picker
[This article originally appeared in The Baltimore Sun Travel section. Some information may be dated, so always check beforehand.]
Magical is the most overused word when writing about the Galapagos, those magical islands off the coast of Ecuador. Oops! Sorry, but there really is something about these islands that gets under your skin. One visit and you’re hooked. Two visits morphs you into a passionate advocate.
On my last visit I tried to figure out just what is so alluring about the Galapagos. Compared to the lush …

ShareWinter Fun in Boulder, Colorado
by Lester Picker
[This article originally appeared in Better Homes & Gardens. Some material may be dated. Please check beforehand.]
“This valley is so beautiful that people seeing it will never be happy anywhere else and will always return.”
- Arapaho Chief Niwot’s ‘curse’
Sitting at the foot of Colorado’s imposing Front Range mountains, the scenery around Boulder is nothing less than spectacular.  Streets radiate from the town center and quickly turn into valleys, gorges and peaks of incredible beauty.  From any point in town you can see the Flatiron …

ShareSun City, South Africa
by Lester Picker
[This article originally appeared in The Baltimore Sun Travel section. Some information may be dated, so always check beforehand.]
Huddling against the cold in the June pre-dawn darkness in Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa, nothing could have prepared me for the sights and sounds that were ever so slowly, magically inching their way over the horizon.
As our hot air balloon filled in noisy bursts, we could see the faint outline of a herd of wildebeests grazing unperturbed all around us. Our guide, Andrew, kept us herded …

ShareThe Inns of Boulder and Colorado Springs
by Lester Picker
[Please note: This article originally appeared in a consumer magazine. Information in this article may be dated. Always check before making reservations or traveling.]
Boulder
The Alps Boulder Canyon Inn
From the quaint painted porch of The Alps Boulder Canyon Inn, comfortably nestled in the midst of majestic Boulder Canyon in Colorado’s scenic Front Range mountains, one can be excused for smiling at Chief Niwot’s ‘curse.’ Sipping fresh-squeezed lemonade, prepared each quiet summer’s afternoon by innkeepers Jeanine and John Vanderhart, while resting peacefully on cushioned …

Share[This article originally appeared in Interval International Magazine. Please confirm details.]
Maui
by Lester Picker
I love Hawaii. Few destinations in the world offer as much variety, as much depth and breadth of experience, as much visual pleasure, as do the Hawaiian islands. Born of cataclysm in the middle of the Pacific Ocean a million or so years ago, the islands today offer so many options, I always threaten to stay. When my vacations there wind down, I find my To-Do list already growing for the next visit. There are the hikes near …

Share[This article originally appeared as a travel feature in The Baltimore Sun.]
The Outer Banks
By Lester Picker
With more than 300 miles of coastline, the Outer Banks has stretches of sand that are consistently rated among the top beaches in the world. Whether you crave an active water vacation or a spiritually recharging barefoot walk along empty beaches, the Outer Banks has it all.
The Outer Banks is just a 6- or 7-hour drive from Baltimore. The sense of place can change markedly from one milepost to another. For a family with school-age …

Share[This article originally appeared in Better Homes & Gardens. I've deleted all pricing information. Please use the contact information to confirm details.]

“I am convinced that there is no air in the world like the air of Maine.”
- Mrs. John D. Rockefeller writing from Bar Harbor in 1944
Bar Harbor by Lester Picker
Bar Harbor, the hub of Mount Desert Island, is a sleepy island community in Frenchman’s Bay for 8 months of the year, with a population of just 2,600.  But, from June through September, the island is host to some 4 …