January 2012

Graduate from Southwest’s “Boarding School”

My wife just returned from a trip to Southern California, flying on Southwest Airlines. Before she left home, she “graduated” from Southwest’s “Boarding School” after learning how passengers check-in for and board the airline’s flights. Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 Dick Jordan

Faking It in France

Saturday night I attended the “Ooh, La La, Lucie!” birthday party for a French-Canadian friend, formerly of Montreal, who flew back to California from Paris last Wednesday after spending three weeks in France. Lucie, of course, speaks French fluently. And English. And Italian. But you say to me: “What about you, mon petit cheri? How [...]

Enter The (Year of the) Dragon

Destination Updates

The Chinese Year of the Dragon kicked off on January 23rd, 2012. Here’s how began in Beijing: Can’t make it to Mainland China? Not a problem. In this MSNBC.com story, travel writer Harriet Baskas covers the fifteen-day Chinese New Year celebrations in these U.S. cities: Las Vegas New York San Francisco Seattle Washington, D.C. [...]

Travel Photo Thursday: My National Geographic Cover

Travel Photo Thursday

So what’s the ultimate shot any amateur photographer could take? One that was featured in a National Geographic publication, of course. An impossible goal? Not so. I achieved it with the photo that launched my career as a travel writer. Yes, you’ve seen that photo of Margerie Glacier before on the pages and photo albums [...]

Barbie, Barbie, Where Art Thou?

Thumbnail image for Barbie, Barbie, Where Art Thou?

Not a Play on Words No, theatrical historians have not just uncovered a heretofore unpublished Shakespeare play where instead of “Romeo,” the title character’s name is “Barbie,” and she and Juliet become united in death because their parents and the authorities do not approve of same-sex marriage. Ban“The Bomb,” Not “The Doll” But what the [...]

Priceline: No Bidding Needed

Travel News Updates

Priceline.com, which gained fame in the world of travel by letting you “Name Your Own Price” and bid on travel services, has sent William Shatner “over the edge” in this new video promoting it’s alternative “no-need-to-bid” conventional booking method. My only question: Will we now see Shatner as “The Negotiator” only in re-runs, just as [...]

Shooting “Academy Award Winning” Travel Videos

Next Tuesday, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will announce the nominees for the 2012 Oscars. I hate to say it, but you know those videos you shot during your travels in 2011? Well, they haven’t got a prayer of landing you one of these nifty little golden statuettes to place on the [...]

Travel Photo Thursday: “Photoshopping” History

Travel Photo Thursday

“I’ll bet that’s been photoshopped.” You’ve probably said that to yourself when you’ve seen a photo that looks other-worldly or in which something seems out of place. That’s because Adobe’s top-selling photo editing program has not only become a verb, but one that is part of today’s mainstream lexicon. Sometimes the “photoshopping” of an image [...]

Remembering MLK: Riding to Freedom

“White Only.” “Colored.” What did these signs above the restrooms in the train station in the Deep South say to me? And what did they say to America? Separate, but equal? Fifty years later I revisited those questions.

Banging Out a Story

Last April, I heard that the world’s last typewriter factory had been shuttered. A part of my past closed along with it.

Travel Photo Thursday: The Elephant Parade

When I visited Amsterdam, elephants were parading all over town. But no one carrying a push broom or shovel was following behind these pachyderms to clean up behind them because they were sculptures, not live critters.

Save Money While You “Dine About Town” in San Francisco

Destination Updates

Whether you are a “local” or visitor to San Francisco, a “foodie” or just a hungry diner, you can eat for less in The City By The Bay during the last half of January. Dining Out For Less Dollars “Dine About Town San Francisco” lets you satisfy your palate for about twenty-five percent less than [...]

Becoming a Space Cadet

Thumbnail image for Becoming a Space Cadet

In the 1950′s I watched Tom Corbett, Space Cadet and Space Patrol on TV. And when I gazed up at Sputnik winking its way across the heavens in the dark October skies over Seattle two weeks before my eleventh birthday, I had no doubt that I, too, would soon be rocketing to the stars on [...]

Be A “Radio Star” with Rick Steves

From Tuesday, January 10th through Wednesday, the 18th, European travel guru, Rick Steves, will be recording new shows for his radio program, “Travel With Rick Steves.” (Click here for details for these recording sessions). You can participate as a “caller” on these shows, or just listen in as they are recorded “live” for later broadcast.

Taking the (i)Plunge with Your Smartphone

If Santa left you a toilet plunger under the Christmas tree you’d probably surmise that you’d been a very naughty child. That’s unless it was the iPlunge stand designed to prop your iPhone up on a table top to make viewing movies, videos, and photo slideshows hands-free. Thanks to my sister-in-law, Pam, playing Santa Claus, [...]

Travel Photo Thursday: You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide

Travel Photo Thursday

Blending into the crowd is a good plan if you are in danger of being nabbed. But sometimes that’s just impossible. “Spot The Wonder Sheep” thought that he could save his coat from being sheared off if he stood in the center of his wooly brethren penned up and waiting for their annual haircuts. What [...]

Where’s My Bag? (There’s An App for That)

Airline

You check in for your flight at the airport ticket counter and trustingly hand over your luggage to an airline employee. Then your bags disappear from sight. Hopefully, you’ll see them riding around a luggage carousel after you arrive at your destination airport. But where dos your bags travel during your journey? And how can [...]

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Raves and Praises

Your writing is amazing! — Travis Katz, CEO & Co-Founder, Gogobot
...highly ethical, very intelligent, and has the most delightful wit... love reading his travel advice and posts on Tales Told From the Road. — Kristine Carber, Director, 53 Media
...I really enjoy Dick's writing style... I would recommend Dick to editors looking for a highly dedicated and motivated freelance travel writer or photographer. — Alex Leviton, Editorial Director, Gogobot
Through his writings and photography, Dick takes you on amazing journeys at home and around the globe... — Cheryl McLaughlin, Founder, The Buzz Professor
...my go-to guy for expertise in travel writing. — Elisabeth Ptak, Professional Writer and Editor
Dick Jordan has a knack for seeking out unusual books about place - or in which place is a central character... — Michael Shapiro, author of "A Sense of Place: Great Travel Writers Talk About Their Craft, Lives and Inspiration"
...an entertaining and prolific writer. — Marc Longwood, Marc Longwood Photography
...an enthusiastic traveler who enjoys sharing his experiences with others through his writing...a good ally on the journey through life — Inga Aksamit, Freelance Travel Writer
Dick is quick ... a step ahead whether it's travel or tech. — Linda Watanabe McFerrin, poet, travel writer, and novelist, author of "Dead Love"
Your blog is fun. I enjoy your posts. — Linda Ballou, author of "Lost Angel Walkabout: One Traveler's Tales"
...creative, adept at expressing himself in writing...easy to work with and always flexible... — Spud Hilton, Travel Editor, San Francisco Chronicle
...a hard working, diligent, detail oriented travel writer... a great communicator and interesting writer. — John Montgomery, Montgomery Photographic
...Dick is one of the few people I know who make their blog sing...and he’s always on the cutting edge of new technologies... — Erin Van Rheenen, author of "Living Abroad in Costa Rica"
His blog is excellent, and his travel writing is powerful and quite clever. — Sandy Sims, Freelance Travel Writer
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- Meandering In Marin
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Where I’ve Been

I've been to 167 cities in 11 countries

Caribbean

British Virgin Islands: Road Town

Europe

Austria: Reutte

Austria: Salzburg

Austria: Vienna

Czech Republic: Prague

France: Bayeux

France: Beaune

France: Chartres

France: Chenonceaux

France: Paris

France: Ribeauville

Germany: Baden-Baden

Germany: Berlin

Germany: Dresden

Germany: Munich

Italy: Assisi

Italy: Florence

Italy: Milano

Italy: Orvieto

Italy: Panzano

Italy: Poggibonsi

Italy: Radda in Chianti

Italy: Rome

Italy: San Donato in Poggio

Italy: San Gimignano

Italy: Siena

Italy: Venice

Italy: Vernazza

Netherlands: Amsterdam

Switzerland: Luzern

United Kingdom: London

North America

Canada: Montebello

Canada: Montreal

Canada: Quebec

Canada: Vancouver

Canada: Victoria

United States: Ajo

United States: Alamogordo

United States: Albuquerque

United States: Alturas

United States: Anaheim

United States: Ashland

United States: Astoria

United States: Atlanta

United States: Aztec

United States: Bakersfield

United States: Bend

United States: Bishop

United States: Boise

United States: Boston

United States: Bozeman

United States: Bryce Canyon

United States: Burney

United States: Burns

United States: Carlsbad

United States: Carmel-by-the-Sea

United States: Charleston

United States: Chicago

United States: Chinle

United States: Clarkston

United States: Coeur d'Alene

United States: Coloma

United States: Coos Bay

United States: Cortez

United States: Corvallis

United States: Davis

United States: Durango

United States: Eureka

United States: Everglades City

United States: Ferndale

United States: Ferndale

United States: Flagstaff

United States: Florence

United States: Fresno

United States: Friday Harbor

United States: Gallup

United States: Grand Canyon

United States: Grand Junction

United States: Great Falls

United States: Hilo

United States: Honoka'a

United States: Honolulu

United States: Jackson

United States: Jamestown

United States: John Day

United States: Kahului

United States: Kayenta

United States: Klamath Falls

United States: Kīhei

United States: Lakeview

United States: Las Vegas

United States: Lee Vining

United States: Lewiston

United States: Lihue

United States: Lone Pine

United States: Los Angeles

United States: Madera Canyon

United States: Makawao

United States: Mammoth Lakes

United States: Marysville

United States: McCloud

United States: Medford

United States: Merced

United States: Miami

United States: Mileses

United States: Moab

United States: Monterey

United States: Monticello

United States: Moscow

United States: Mount Shasta

United States: Mystic

United States: Oakland

United States: Ojai

United States: Oroville

United States: Pacific Grove

United States: Paia

United States: Palm Desert

United States: Paso Robles

United States: Petaluma

United States: Phoenix

United States: Placerville

United States: Port Townsend

United States: Portland

United States: Prescott

United States: Quinault

United States: Quincy

United States: Redding

United States: Redmond

United States: Reno

United States: Sacramento

United States: San Diego

United States: San Francisco

United States: San Mateo

United States: Sandpoint

United States: Santa Barbara

United States: Santa Cruz

United States: Savannah

United States: Seattle

United States: Sebastopol

United States: Sedona

United States: Sierra Vista

United States: Sonoma

United States: Sonora

United States: South Lake Tahoe

United States: Spokane

United States: Stockton

United States: Summer Lake

United States: Surprise

United States: Tacoma

United States: Taos

United States: Telluride

United States: Three Forks

United States: Torrey

United States: Truckee

United States: Tubac

United States: Tucson

United States: Tulelake

United States: Twentynine Palms

United States: Ukiah

United States: Vallejo

United States: Waimea

United States: Washington

United States: Willcox

United States: Willow Springs

United States: Yachats

United States: Yreka

United States: Zion Lodge

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