Laurie's light travel travel tips

By June of 2001, I'd lost my telecommuting reporting job because the company filed for bankruptcy. However, prior to then, I'd been groomed to advance with them and interview for a regular job. This was a New York-based "dot com" as they were called, and I was living in Ventura. After news of the bankruptcy late that March, I had the opportunity to change my plans and not visit New York. After all, there was no job to interview for, and I'd be better off staying put in my one bedroom just a mile from the beach. What wasn't to like? Tanned, relaxed, meeting deadlines remotely. Life was sweet. But I wanted more. "You should stay in California ," my producer Matt said. "It's a much easier lifestyle." Turns out, Matt was right. But I wouldn't change what happened in my life for anything in the world. And what happened was I left Ventura June 3, 2001, my cat Wendell and a Nissan Sentra's worth of possessions in tow. I honked and...

When I was 27 I shared a house in a town called Fairfax, California, tucked so far into the woods in Marin County that I never really even knew where it was till I went to look at it. I'd grown up in the Bay Area , but Fairfax had never been on my radar. Near this quaint, Goldilocksesque town is the bike-friendly San Anselmo. I'd ride my bike there at least each weekend to go have a latte and peruse adorable stores. Tucked in the heart of Marin, you're apt to find a celeb or two around here -- purportedly, the late Robin Williams would frequent a bike store in town -- as well as super toned and environmentally friendly upscale locals. Warning: this town is really white. The latest census shows that more than 90 percent of the town is Caucasian, but as long as you can hang with that, know that Californians are some of the most open-minded people in the U.S. Whether you're gay, Latino, bi, Thai, pierced, handicapped, or just socially awkward, never fear: roll on into Sa...

The following article was first published on Examiner.com Feb. 6, 2016. New Englanders looking for a sustainable travel destination should consider San Francisco. While yes, the carbon footprint of the flight is great, you can offset that; and if you're lucky, you'll fly the eco-friendly and fun Virgin America, the first domestic airline to offer such offsets. San Francisco: where does one begin? It's this examiner's hometown so there is bias, of course, but arguably, in a state known for its environmental awareness and activism, San Francisco sets the bar. But where do you stay? There are several options, but for anyone looking for the quintessential  San Francisco experience, only one hotel will do: Stanford Court. Nestled atop Nob Hill just steps from Union Square, the 393-room hotel is close to many modes of public transportation (BART, Super Shuttle, buses), and accessed by cab, Uber, or by, yes, cable car. Staying here you'll enjoy a charmed visit as y...

When I went back to San Francisco at Christmas, I was expecting a crush of techies jostling for cafe space or elbowing me out of the BART. I predicted one long gloomy trip as I struggled to relate to millennials or Gen Zers too focused on their smartphones to notice they were tripping over my Birkenstocks. Hey, I don't really wear Birkenstocks (not that there's anything wrong with that), and it was too cold and rainy in the Bay Area to have worn them anyway; but apart from that, I sensed that the Old Guard was still very much in the power position in my city. Take, for example, my cabbie in Pacific Heights. I'd just left a very classy hotel I'd reviewed , and after a bad experience on the trip was sharing my concerns with him. We ended up talking about the changing face of the newspaper business in the city, sharing names we both knew, and then laughing our way into the Richmond. I didn't have a ton of money for a tip, but clearly, this Old Guard San Franciscan w...

Hard to believe another year is upon us, but then, I am quite sure I said this Dec. 28, 2012 as well. This past year, the talk was full of Miley Cyrus, Edward Snowden, Obamacare, the Boston bombings, "BreakingBad" and a spate of states sanctioning gay marriage. Hopefully for you, it was also full of exciting and memorable travel; but if you are like many cash-strapped Americans, 2013 was a tight year. So let's look ahead to a more prosperous 2014. Grab your passport, suntan oil, GPS and favorite traveling companion and get your booking digits ready. Herewith, five of the top ten treks for 2014: For techies: While technology is being manufactured from Japan to Chicago, California's infamous Silicon Valley is still the gold standard when it comes to all things geeky. Whether you'd like to visit Google's headquarters in Mountain View or the Apple Campus in Cupertino, SV lives up to the hype. (Note: it's not really a valley.) For...