Happily Unwired
In spite of being enamored with my new rustic memory stick 
(it arrived yesterday and is true perfection!), I told a friend earlier this week that I felt like there will be a backlash sooner rather than later of people becoming exhausted with the expectation (their own or others) that they will be connected 24/7. Apparently I was more prescient than I realized.
In today's USA Today, Janet Kornblum writes about a small but defiant community of "tech-no's" who are perfectly pleased with not being so easily accessible to others.
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lake house in Ithaca, New York a few summers ago, he 
Always dreamed of living in the country, among rolling pastures lazily populated with barnyard animals? But a little intimidated at the thought of living amongst and caring for full-size horses, cows and pigs? 
Now, after a recently completed multi-million dollar renovation to the Mediterranean structure, the resort entices more than ever.
I have rhapsodized on Back Roads, Charming Towns about the increasing desire of Americans to buy vacation or retirement homes in college towns, small towns, on farms and prairie land. .jpg)
another sector of the relaxation set.
to his first-choice university for the fall of 2007 (Roll Tide!), so naturally we wanted to head to one of his favorite spots. In this case, the Minute Man Restaurant on Highway 202 in Bernardsville, NJ filled the bill.
NJ: An electrical outage along the rails this morning meant that I was detoured on my way into the B.C. It wasn't an unpleasant experience, providing an excuse to take the walk I am usually too rushed to enjoy from the station to the office. The weather today was beautiful and the atmosphere was brisk. 
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NJ: Even on an overcast day, there is a glow permeating Wightman’s Farms in Harding. 
to earn a previously elusive undergraduate diploma, to expand knowledge and marketability with a graduate degree or to take courses for pleasure or a change in professional focus. 
The twirling and swaying are the first things you see. The palpitating energy is the only thing you feel. Asheville’s legendary Drum Circle (shown at right. Photography offered by BRCTraveller Alex Grodner) is an experience not to be missed if you happen to be in Western North Carolina on any given Friday night when the weather is warm and the spirit is willing. 
equipment, antiques, light fixtures – you know this must be a unique place. And you would be right. 
NY: We had been gone all weekend and I just wanted to go home. But my dad and my brother had other ideas. They wanted to go play at Taughannock Falls, a waterfall outside of Ithaca, New York, and the waters surrounding it. In spite of my weariness, I certainly wasn’t going to let them have fun without me!.jpg)
near Hershey, an unusual sign catches your eye around the borough of Shartlesville. “Roadside America Exit Here” it quietly beckons. Always a glutton for “out-of-the-ordinary” attractions, I found the allure too much to resist – I had to explore further. Pulling into the driveway and crossing the attraction's threshold, I had some initial reservations. After all, this was about as 1950s, .jpg)
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would expect to find for sale along a small-town stretch of highway in central Tennessee. But then the Highway 127 Corridor Sale is unlike most any event you could possible imagine. .jpg)
After the circuitous ride down a makeshift road kicking up dust on bald fields, the first thing you notice in climbing off the bus is the smell. It is not an offensive or over powering scent, just one that is clearly present. But after all, this is the Gilroy Garlic Festival..jpg)
pointing you towards the Hawthorn Gallery and Red Barn Antiques. But don't make that mistake -- this is one place you won't want to miss.