From the category archives:

Water

Into The Blue: 7 Of The World’s Most Unique & Unforgettable Diving Adventures

by Alan Rider

If you’re a scuba diver, it’s a pretty safe bet that you spend a fair amount of time dreaming of new underwater worlds to explore.  The problem, of course, is that with so many spectacular dive sites around the world, you may have a hard time deciding where you want to go next.
Fortunately, there are a handful of dive trips that qualify as truly extraordinary experiences. The kind of once-in-a-lifetime aquatic adventures you’ll be talking about to anyone who’ll listen for many years to come.
So to give a little focus to your wetsuit wanderlust, I’ve pulled together this list of what many dive travel experts believe to be the world’s [...]

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A Real Wild Time—Part 1

by Alan Rider

A lot of folks mistakenly assume that having a truly extraordinary experience means spending a ton of dough or traveling to exotic locales.  Today’s post, the first in a two-part series, proves that ain’t necessarily so.

Considering I’m all about hunting down remarkable adventures, it’s probably not all that surprising that I generally tend to shy away from theme parks and similar attractions that cater to the masses. But my recent trip to San Diego reminded me that sometimes, with a little digging, it’s possible to turn up some downright extraordinary experiences even in the most touristy places you can imagine.

Case in point: SeaWorld’s [...]

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Shark Season

by Alan Rider

Remember the scene in the movie Jaws where beachgoers ran screaming from the water’s edge when someone spotted the movie’s toothy star (no, not Roy Scheider) in the waters off the fictional Amity Island?  Well, call me crazy, but I had exactly the opposite reaction last week when I heard several great white sharks had been seen cruising the waters around Cape Cod.
You see, I’m one of those people who’d go way out of my way to see a great white in the wild.  If you’re similarly inclined, you might want to check out the one-day shark diving trips to California’s Farallon Islands or five-day [...]

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Don't Be A Crab!

by Alan Rider

Don’t be a crab fisherman in Alaska, that is.  If you’re wondering why, just watch a couple of these clips (especially #10 Weather) from Discovery Channel’s hit reality series Deadliest Catch and, trust me, you’ll understand.
The show, which follows a handful of Alaskan crab fishing boats on the storm-tossed Bering Sea, has developed a surprisingly sizeable following over the past five seasons.  And now fans can get an up-close-and-personal look at these commercial fishermen’s world without having to brave the monster waves and brutal cold that go with the job.
Since one of our guiding principles states that “Reality kicks virtual reality’s butt every time,” we’ll only mention the Deadliest Catch: [...]

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The Great Explorers

by Alan Rider

I know traditional cruises aboard humongous ocean liners are wildly popular but, honestly, their formal dress code, glitzy stage shows, and endless buffets really aren’t my thing.  I much prefer smaller ships that are able to go all sorts of places those floating cities can’t, while offering a much friendlier atmosphere and a more adventurous feel.
Which explains why this new around-the-world cruise aboard the 120-passenger Spirit of Oceanus caught my eye.  The folks at CruiseWest have come up with a 335-day itinerary they’re calling The Voyages of the Great Explorers that will follow the travels of Marco Polo, Odysseus, Leif Eriksson, Christopher Columbus, James Cook, and Magellan.  A fleet of [...]

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Hugs & Kisses

by Alan Rider

Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to have had several truly remarkable wildlife encounters with everything from a 400-pound Alaskan grizzly to a 24-ounce Harris hawk.  And now I can add another extraordinary experience to that list thanks to folks at Hawks Cay Resort in the Florida Keys.
Hawks Cay, which is located on Duck Key about 90 minutes south of Miami, has all the things you’d expect at an upscale resort, including a wide array of watersports activities (Hot Tip: Check out their jet ski tours where we saw both dolphins and sea turtles in their natural environment).  But the hotel also has something you’re not likely to find [...]

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Giggles Per Greenback

by Alan Rider

Look, I watch the nonstop gloom-and-doom festival they call the nightly news and I know that times are tough all over.  But I also know that, if ever there was a time when we could all use to blow off a little steam and have a few laughs, well, this is it.
Which is why I’ve created  a thoroughly unscientific list of extraordinary experiences that I feel are outstanding values.  We’re talking about maximum yucks for minimum bucks. 
All will set you back less than $500.  Which seems like a small price to pay for an adventure guaranteed to make you forget all those news reports that had you feeling so freaky-freaky in [...]

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