Rebecca Bruns, a inspiration to many BATW members Rebecca Bruns, a founding member of BATW and one of our shining stars, had her trajectory cut tragically short by illness in 1994, at the age of 44. That she remains a muse to many of us is a testament to both her brilliance and her generosity of spirit. Rebecca...

This is a very exciting time for BATW: transitions into fresh ideas and technology, top quality professionals joining our organization from around the country, an energetic and creative Board of Directors with several superb new members, and a terrific menu of upcoming events for 2009.

Georgia Hesse speaks to BATW members (photos by John Montgomery) The witty, earnest, funny, practical, inspiring and petite, Georgia Hesse gave a talk at our BATW meeting Jan.17. Georgia was one of the original journalists to give birth to newspaper and magazine travel writing. Those were the “Glory...

Howard Muntz, historian of the St. Francis Hotel (photos by John Montgomery) The Westin St. Francis, the grand dame of San Francisco hotels, hosted our January meeting with Georgia Hesse. We gathered in a large, wood-paneled room, one of the parlors of the hotel’s former (and highly sought after)...

Ginny Prior‘s syndicated adventure sports radio show, Out and About, has been picked up by local 50,000 watt radio station KTRB 680 AM in San Francisco. It airs at 4 pm on Saturdays as part of the Sports Byline Radio Network. Out and About and Sports Byline air on

Romantic Napa Valley by Autumn Millhouse Napa native and new BATW member, Autumn Millhouse has combined her love of Wine Country with her passion for travel to compile an indispensable guide to the most enchanting wineries, mouth-watering restaurants and romantic accommodations in Napa Valley. Romantic...

We have “green tourism”, “blue tourism” and now there is “red tourism”.  We know that green tourism refers to eco-tourism and that blue tourism refers to water-based tourism such as cruising.  But what is red tourism? 

The other day I was startled to realize that I’ve supported myself for nearly three decades as a writer (and occasional editor). In that time I’ve written everything from a scholarly, footnote-laden, 400-page biography, to an award-winning software manual, to a few really trashy romance stories for...

[originally published in the Montclarion newspaper on Jan. 9, 2009] It’s the dead of winter. What else is there to say? There’s nothing exciting on the horizon, unless you’re a groundhog. But perhaps we should look to the woodchuck for tips on handling post-holiday blues. Perhaps, like our furry...

“The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.” – Gilbert K. Chesterson Several years ago, while riding on a cross-country bus in Costa Rica, I was seated next to a stranger from the States.  We start talking, and he soon figured out I was a travel journalist.  “I...