May 21, 2013 by Laura Bly

“Chasing wind” on a storm tour of Tornado Alley

For many, this week’s Texas and Oklahoma twisters and their destructive aftermaths evoked childhood nightmares from The Wizard of Oz – and a conviction to stay as far from Tornado Alley as possible. But for travelers like me drawn to displays of nature’s power, those shaky, through-the-windshield scenes of bruised skies are as tantalizing as […]

May 12, 2013 by Laura Bly

A new view of Orlando

I’ve never been an Orlando kind of gal. With no children of my own and an aversion to both steamy weather and manufactured fun, I’ve been happy to let other travel writers cover the commercialized kingdoms of Mickey, Shamu, Harry Potter and their ilk. But during a layover at the Orlando airport the day before […]

May 8, 2013 by Laura Bly

Into the Unknown

For more than three decades, my journalism career as a professional voyager and voyeur has taken me to places I’d never imagined and people I’ll never forget. I’ve slurped scum-covered pond water during a week-long survival course in Utah and shared a bottle of rose with Peter Mayle in Provence; run a 15-foot gauntlet of […]