The Great Ocean Drive
There are just a handful of iconic scenic drives in this world. One, of course, is Highway 1 along California’s northern coast. Others include Ocean Drive in Acadia National Park, and the spectacular Road to Hana on the island of Maui. Add to that Australia’s Great Ocean Road, a jaw-dropping drive starting southwest of Melbourne and continuing west to Port Campbell and beyond.
As part of my current photo adventure (future photo travel workshop anyone?), I got to spend several days along Australia’s Great Ocean Road. It’s …

Soul of the Desert
by Lester Picker
[This article originally appeared in The Baltimore Sun Travel section.]
The ringing in my ears has finally stopped. Only now, for the first time since I arrived 36 hours ago, can I hear the true sound of The Great Sakhara, Egypt’s Eastern Desert. Silence. Utter, absolute, total quiet. A silence far, far deeper than even Thoreau’s New England forest solitude.
In the desolate landscape of The Great Sakhara there are no tree leaves to rustle in the wind. In fact, other than for a short time in …

British 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 …

[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 …

[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 …