Travel Writers

WOMEN Presentation Contributors Bridget Crocker, Sarah Katin, Kimberley Lovato and Mary Jo McConahay, featured in "The Best Women's Travel Writing, Volume 8," will discuss their travel tales. When, where: 7:30 p.m. Monday at Distant Lands, 20 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. Admission, info: Free. RSVP to (626) 449-3220. HIKING Slide show Peter Potterfield will present images from his just-released book, "Classic Hikes of North America," featuring 25 backpacking trips in the U.S. and Canada, followed by a Q&A period.

They're tourists, bloggers, travel writers and newspaper pundits - an opinionated crowd with one thing in common: They're Vegas haters. And, oh, do they have their reasons, their ammunition. They abhor what they see as the mindless Mardi Gras of the Strip and arrogant hand-in-your-pocket connivances of the casino bosses. They criticize such Las Vegas entertainment mainstays as the comedian Carrot Top and the sickening largesse of those all-you-can-eat buffets, not to mention the scruffy characters who shove tacky girlie-show cards into the hands of passing tourists.

Robert S. Kane, 72, travel writer who created two series of guidebooks. Using his firsthand observations, Kane wrote "Africa A to Z: A Guide for Travelers--Armchair and Actual" in 1961, launching the A to Z series. He was one of the first travel writers to concentrate on sub-Saharan Africa after the overthrow of European rule. When his A to Z series was taken over by Rand McNally in 1980, Kane began a new series, "World at Its Best," with a handbook on Germany.

Safari, anyone? Here's your online marketplace to research and book your dream African safari. Name: SafariBookings.com What it does: Features 181 safari tours in parks and preserves in eight countries, from 89 tour operators. Consider it a CliffsNotes to African safari tours. What's hot: The parks and countries are reviewed by experts - travel writers who live and breathe Africa and have written for well-known guidebooks such as Lonely Planet, Rough Guide and more.

I often receive letters asking how to break in to travel writing. "I love to travel," they generally begin, "and want to share my experiences.... " There's no easy way to answer the question or to clearly describe this profession. What little has been written about practitioners of the craft is decidedly uncomplimentary. "What's Become of Waring?"

They're tourists, bloggers, travel writers and newspaper pundits - an opinionated crowd with one thing in common: They're Vegas haters. And, oh, do they have their reasons, their ammunition. They abhor what they see as the mindless Mardi Gras of the Strip and arrogant hand-in-your-pocket connivances of the casino bosses. They criticize such Las Vegas entertainment mainstays as the comedian Carrot Top and the sickening largesse of those all-you-can-eat buffets, not to mention the scruffy characters who shove tacky girlie-show cards into the hands of passing tourists.

I'm so tired of travel writers who bemoan their favorite spots being "discovered." Specifically, Judith Fein in her story "180 Degrees From Cancun," Nov. 4. If you don't want it to be discovered, don't write about it. Or write about it but don't complain. Flo Selfman Los Angeles

Peter Greenberg is to be congratulated on his July 14 article relating to the old Sundancer. Most travel writers do little, if any, research and only emphasize the positive aspects of a ship or resort. The article was well-researched and accurate. Best wishes. CHARLES L. KENDRICK San Diego

Congratulations on your Traveling in Style magazine. The article on "Voluptuous Venice" by Ali MacGraw was a real gem and Jerry Hulse's "Around the World in 100 Ways" disclosed some extraordinary experiences. Hulse is truly one of the most talented and outstanding travel writers of our time. RUTH and GEORGE RUDERMAN North Hollywood

As disguises go, a newsletter over the face isn't a particularly convincing one (see attached photo). But it's enough for the man who isn't Andrew Harper. Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report has been praising and detailing luxurious, exclusive travel for more than three decades. The report recently released its Grand Awards 2012, a list that picked a newcomer to the Southern California resort world as one of the best grand resorts. (You may download the list with  free registration, but subscriptions for print and online editions of the Hideaway Report will set you back $195 to $350 a year.)

Andrew McCarthy first won fame as an actor 20 years ago, but in recent years he has made a new name for himself as a travel writer. Speaking at the Los Angeles Times Travel Show on Sunday afternoon, McCarthy explained that travel had fueled his personal growth, taming fears he never knew he had. Among McCarthy's observations: "I've never met anybody who took a solo trip who didn't come back changed. " "Fear is a cunning opponent. It comes back all the time. " "If we traveled more, we'd be a less fearful country.

Every time I come to Santa Barbara, I find something new to like. Not exactly secrets, just favorite things, and I'm not talking about raindrops on roses, though they probably have those too in that golden town 90 miles up the coast from L.A. Here are some of my choices: A night on the town The popular, long-running UC Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures series ([805] 893-3535, http://www.artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.edu ) gets star billing on the town's cultural calendar, bringing Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the Geneva Ballet, new documentary films and talks by authors, journalists, actors and directors.

WOMEN Presentation Contributors Bridget Crocker, Sarah Katin, Kimberley Lovato and Mary Jo McConahay, featured in "The Best Women's Travel Writing, Volume 8," will discuss their travel tales. When, where: 7:30 p.m. Monday at Distant Lands, 20 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. Admission, info: Free. RSVP to (626) 449-3220. HIKING Slide show Peter Potterfield will present images from his just-released book, "Classic Hikes of North America," featuring 25 backpacking trips in the U.S. and Canada, followed by a Q&A period.

Furniture and artwork and china and silver. Just as your home speaks volumes about you, the show houses of America — open to the public for tours — share the secrets, sometimes unwittingly, of their owners, designers and hometowns. They may reveal personal quirks or preferences, design or otherwise, that tell a story that goes well beyond bricks and mortar. Visitors to these show homes are legal voyeurs, peeking in on a past that may be fraught with drama or intrigue or genius. Here are seven to peruse, chosen by travel writers across the country.

As disguises go, a newsletter over the face isn't a particularly convincing one (see attached photo). But it's enough for the man who isn't Andrew Harper. Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report has been praising and detailing luxurious, exclusive travel for more than three decades. The report recently released its Grand Awards 2012, a list that picked a newcomer to the Southern California resort world as one of the best grand resorts. (You may download the list with  free registration, but subscriptions for print and online editions of the Hideaway Report will set you back $195 to $350 a year.)

1. Japan Zensuke Suzuki, the chief official at the Japan Tourism Agency, has put in long hours since the March 11 magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan, leaving 24,000 dead or missing and prompting worries about the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. "Basically, what we're seeing is travelers worried about visiting Japan because they don't think it's safe," Suzuki said. As a result, Japan has been reeling from a huge drop in tourists.

When we moved to Orcas in 1980 and I told my friends that we were moving to the San Juan Islands, they thought we were going to the Caribbean. When we arrived it was as you described it in Jerry Hulse's charming article, "Personal Bests" (April 8). Today, not so. The travel writers discovered us. Clippings from our local weeklies illustrate the conditions that you travel writers have helped to create with your articles raving over the beauties of our islands. Of course I'm being a bit facetious, but I'm sure I speak for more than half of the population of San Juan county when I say please do us a favor--for Pete's sake shut up about our islands.

Now that the furor over the BP oil spill has abated (or at least receded from the national spotlight), there’s more cleanup to do. But this tidying has to do with image. Check out L.A. Times reporter Julie Cart’s Greenspace post on BP’s hosting of travel writers. It is The Times’ policy not to accept these kinds of hosted trips.  

Barry Zwick, a longtime editor at The Times who also wrote regularly for the paper's Travel section, died Sunday of diabetes-related cardiac arrest at his home in Encino, his family said. He was 68. Zwick spent 37 years at The Times, joining the paper as a national copy editor in 1967. He was an editor on the national and foreign desks and managed the L.A. Times/Washington Post News Service for seven years. He also worked as a news editor and assistant readers' representative and taught editing for three years at USC. He continued to write travel stories for The Times and other publications after retiring from the paper in 2004.

Now that the furor over the BP oil spill has abated (or at least receded from the national spotlight), there’s more cleanup to do. But this tidying has to do with image. Check out L.A. Times reporter Julie Cart’s Greenspace post on BP’s hosting of travel writers. It is The Times’ policy not to accept these kinds of hosted trips.