Los Angeles Times writer Terry Gardner did a roundup piece about California apps titled “Phone Apps for Exploring California” on March 21, 2011, and apps by some BATW member were included. Lee Foster’s San Francisco Travel Photo Guide and Suzie Rodriguez and Laurie McAndish King‘s...

Jacqueline Harmon Butler writes: “At the time in my life when I thought my love life was over, I traveled to Italy and was seduced by a younger man. What should only have been a one-night-stand continues much to the indignation of my grown children and friends.  From Lucca to San Francisco and...

Susan Cohn reports that her short piece about the Best Western El Rancho Inn & Suites Park and Fly Package appeared in the March 12 San Mateo Daily Journal — in print, online and on Facebook.  The Best Western El Ranch Inn & Suites hosted the January BATW monthly meeting.

Congrats go to Chris Baker and Lee Foster, who have been contracted to write and photograph most of a lavish new book titled Back Roads California.  The book is in the Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Guide series, which now has a Backroads sub-series, with the most popular books so far being Great Britain...

Ginny Prior wrote a review of Lee Foster’s travel app Berkeley Essential Guide in her “Happy Wanderer” column on the Bay Area Media News Group website.  

Here’s news from Lisa Alpine: Lisa’s story, “The Chilean Cliff Carver,” has been selected for Travelers’ Tales Best Travel Writing 2011 anthology. Also this month: Lisa is featured in Be Inkandescent magazine’s feature “Truly Amazing Women Who Are Changing...

George Medovoy reports that he spent March in Paris, and he’s hoping to write stories about hoping to do a story about the pastry shop which won an award for the best baguette in Paris and also a story about “Jewish Paris.”

Walking Among Giants: BATW members’ private tour of Olmec Art at the de Young by Sandy Sims Colossal Olmec Head 5, 1200–900 BC. Museo de Antropologia de Xalapa, Universidad Veracruzana It seems no art exhibit is too rare, too distant or too colossal for San Francisco’s de Young Museum. In a little...

Susan Alcorn‘s latest Examiner.com article is about the upcoming “Run for the Seals” fund-raiser for the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito: http://www.examiner.com/hiking-in-san-francisco/run-for-the-seals-event-for-walkers-race-walkers-and-runners-1    

“From Sensory to Senses: BATW February, 2011, Meeting” by Elisa Southard Laura Fraser (photos © John Montgomery) Recently, a friend told me that in his youth, an adult wrapped his fingers around a musical instrument. He related, “They channeled all the kids in my group that way, but I...