By Craig Davis, craigslegztravels.com
As the calendar turns to 2025, Craigslegz Travels blog is ten years old and ready to roll toward future destinations.
I started this journey because, well, I like to travel and write about interesting places and people encountered along the way.
More than 140 stories into the odyssey, the passion remains. Still looking for new adventures, with an emphasis on venturing away from well-worn paths.
The Soller railway connects the town of Soller to Palma de Mallorca. (Craig Davis, Craigslegztravels.com)Such as the spur-of-the-moment side trip to the charming town of Soller in an isolated mountain valley of the island of Mallorca in the western Mediterranean.
A fellow cruise passenger told us about a vintage train ride that sounded like more fun than poking around in the tourist shopping district in the sprawling port of Palma. Who knew it would lead to an unexpected encounter with Picasso and his art buddy Joan Miró?
The Soller train station features a free museum with two rooms displaying works of Picasso and Miró. The two Spanish artists were long-time friends, and several photos in the station provide a glimpse of their shared visits to Soller in the late 1960s.
The ride back to Palma on a train that has operated continuously since 1912 capped a memorable outing to a place I hadn’t heard of until that day. Here’s a link to the story from 2015.
Sometimes out-of-the-way or little-known places can be found in popular destinations. It’s challenging but rewarding when you come across one like the Love Stories Museum in Dubrovnik, which is one of the most overrun tourist spots in Europe.
Memorable moments on the sporting trail
Some stories from the first few years of Craigslegz Travels blog were the result of working assignments as a sports writer covering the Miami Marlins on baseball road trips and the Florida Panthers on hockey forays to the often frozen North.
I launched the website the first week of January 2015. The first story I was inspired to write was about the Canalside District in Buffalo, N.Y., where the Panthers had a game against the Sabres. The historic area at the terminus of the Erie Canal was undergoing a renaissance into a revitalized entertainment district.
The rink at Canalside is like a day at the beach on a sunny day in Buffalo. Skaters were undeterred by the long line or the chilly windy. (Craig Davis, craigslegztravels.com)Just outside my hotel was an outdoor ice rink that was bustling with skaters on a crisp but clear weekend afternoon. I was introduced to the recently opened HarborCenter skating complex that would soon become a mecca for international hockey and ice sports. There was also a Tim Horton’s Doughnut Shop, always a welcome sight in a hockey town.
Other working trips would lead to stories about the first MLB game played on a U.S. military base at Fort Bragg, N.C., in 2016; the NHL’s notorious coldest intersection at Portage and Main in Winnipeg where I was introduced to minus-30 degrees; the funky 4th Base sports bar in Milwaukee with a former Major League Baseball manager’s wooden leg hanging above the bar; Tony Packo’s famous Pickles, Peppers and Hungarian Hot Dogs restaurant in Toledo, Ohio, that Jamie Farr’s Cpl. Max Klinger touted on M-A-S-H, and more.
There was a morning on a Marlins trip when my flight from Phoenix to San Diego was canceled and the only option was to rent a car and make the 360-mile drive. That prompted an “Unexpected journey through alien territory” including a brief stop at the quirky Space Age Lodge in remote Gila Bend, Ariz.
For a look at sporting venues visited throughout North America, check out the Stadium Scenes photo page.
The 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade stages helicopter flyover at Fort Bragg Field before the game between the Braves and Marlins in July 2016. (Craig Davis, Craigslegztravels.com)Tripping back in time with vintage tales
There are a number of stories on Craigslegz Travels about trips that predate the website. One of the most popular tales on the site is about sailing in a crew with singer Jimmy Buffett in the 1980 Fort Lauderdale to Key West race aboard the famous 72-foot ketch Ticonderoga.
Check out the story and photos on Classic sailing with Jimmy Buffett on fast track to Key West.
Other vintage tales include fishing for swordfish in the Florida Keys; the art and artists of northern New Mexico including a stop at Georgia O’Keeffe’s former home at the Ghost Ranch; and a tour of sites in Dallas related to the assassination of President Kennedy while doing research for my novel “Tail of the Lizard.”
Jimmy Buffett at the wheel of Ticonderoga in the 1980 Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race. (Craig Davis, Craigslegztravels.com)Ski Sojourns: Fun on the slopes
I have skied at more than 30 mountain resorts in the western United States and Canada. Several stories about those experiences can be found under Ski Sojourns.
The shrine to Hunter Thompson is hidden among the pines off Gunner’s View run on Snowmass Mountain near Aspen, Colorado. (Craig Davis, craigslegztravels.com)My favorite is from a 2006 trip to Aspen, Colorado, “Chasing Hunter’s ghost on Aspen powder and through the woods,” highlighted by a futile search for a shrine to the memory of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson that was created by skiers in the woods near a popular ski run at Snowmass Mountain.
Retrospective on 10 years of Craigslegz Travels blog
Before embarking on new adventures in 2025, here is a look back at favorite tales from each of the first ten years of Craigslegz Travels.
2024: Italy, Croatia, Turkey, Greece
Santorini was one of three stops in the Greek Isles during a 2024 cruise on the NCL Viva. (Craigslegztravels.com)This journey took us as far east as Istanbul , Fran’s first visit to the city where her father was born. It ended in Athens with a dinner view of the Greek Parthenon.
See European cruise a movable feast of culture, history, cuisine
Check out the other stories in the series:
Italy: Trieste a delight as cruise port alternative to Venice
Cruising Europe: Crowds a reality, but we enjoyed Dubrovnik, Santorini, Mykonos in spite of them
2023: On the Blue Cruise
Justin Hayward and his band perform during On The Blue Cruise 2023 on the Norwegian Pearl. (Craig Davis, craigslegztravels.com)Music cruises are the Woodstock of the 21st century. We’ve taken two so far. On the Blue Cruise 2023, one of the most popular on the sold-out Norwegian Pearl, featured 27 acts headlined by rock legends Justin Hayward, Dave Mason, Al Stewart, Alan Parsons, the Zombies and more artists from the ’60s and ’70s during five days in the Caribbean.
See: Heart of rock and roll still beating passionately at sea
Also check out our first music cruise from 2022, the inaugural Beach Boys Good Vibrations Cruise, which also featured the Temptations and Micky Dolenz.
2022: Running with the tide in New Brunswick
Fishing boat grounded at its mooring during low tide in the Bay of Fundy, St. Martins. (Craig Davis, craigslegztravels.com)An excursion on a cruise stop at Saint John, New Brunswick, provided much more than a chance to witness the extreme tidal change in the Bay of Fundy.
Guide Steve Stein turns touring into a performing art. Learn how at Colorful guide creates fun day at Bay of Fundy
This autumn cruise on the Norwegian Breakaway also produced the most viewed story on Craigslegz Travels, about the ship’s classic rock and roll venue Syd Norman’s Pour House.
See: Syd Norman’s band keeps classic rock fresh, fun on Norwegian Breakaway
Also check out the 2024 follow up: Legend of Syd Norman’s Pour House alive and rockin’ the NCL Viva
2021: Florida Keys artist turns fish into art
Islamorada artist Lisa Lee turns imprints of game fish into art by the traditional Japanese process of Gyotaku. (Craig Davis, craigslegztravels.com)A year with travel at a virtual standstill due to the COVID pandemic did produce another story that has received widespread interest. It is about Lisa Lee, an artist in the Florida Keys who practices Gyotaku, a traditional Japanese process of making prints off fish as an art form.
See Get your fish printed as art and eat it too in the Florida Keys
2020: Isolated on cruise ship during the COVID pandemic
Michael and Cher Woywod aboard the MSC Magnifica in Sydney Harbor, where the planned part of the world cruise abruptly ended.Michael and Cher Woywod, an American couple, were on an around-the-world cruise when the COVID-19 pandemic spread quickly. While the rest of the world shut down, they were among nearly 2,000 passengers and more than 900 crew aboard the MSC Magnifica who spent the final 40 days of an unlikely odyssey in blissful isolation at sea.
See MSC world cruise dodges coronavirus thanks to captain’s wise decision
2019: Summer excursion in the Canadian Rockies
More than 800,000 travelers from many countries visit the Athabasca Glacier each summer on the Columbia Icefield Adventure. (Craig Davis, craigslegztravels.com)An excursion to the Athabasca Glacier along the Icefields Parkway in the Canadian Rockies provides an opportunity to walk on one of the largest non-polar ice fields in the world.
It is also offers a closeup look at an alarming display of the effects of climate change.
See why Columbia Icefield glacier adventure a chilling, fun side trip
Check out the other stories in our series on the Canadian Rockies:
Icefields Parkway— World-class sightseeing in western Canada
Canadian Rockies — Banff is just the beginning
2018: Scenic wonders in Utah’s national parks
The 900-foot high Checkerboard Mesa is a famous landmark on the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway. (Craig Davis, Craigslegztravels.com)Of all the geological wonders in Utah, the cone-shaped mountain known as the Checkerboard Mesa stands out as the most memorable, a throwback to prehistoric times.
See Zion National Park shows other-worldly face on Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway
check out the rest of our Utah series:
Tour of Utah’s national parks highlights nature’s colorful palette
Arches only part of allure of Arches National Park
Bryce Canyon’s unique wonders stir visitors’ imagination
2017: Tailing humpbacks off Provincetown
A humpback making a fluke-up dive is a common sight on Dolphin Fleet whale watch excursions near Provincetown, Mass. (Craig Davis, craigslegztravels.com)Provincetown, at the tip of Cape Cod, offer easy access for whale watching on the East Coast, and a calm, mild day in May didn’t disappoint.
See why Provincetown is prime spot for whale watch adventures on East Coast
Also check out Chatham endures as popular Cape Cod cornerstone
2016: Vermont celebrates its scenery and quirky outlook
Quechee Gorge offers breathtaking views from the U.S. Route 4 near Woodstock, Vermont. (Craig Davis, craigslegztravels.com)Vermont has more to offer than stunning foliage in the fall. Unexpected encounters, art and pleasantly quirky treasures make this nonconformist state worth visiting any time.
See why Weird is wonderful in many-splendored Vermont
2015: In love with spectacular Amalfi Coast
Every turn on the Italy’s Amalfi Coast offers another spectacular view of the sea and quaint towns clinging to steep cliffs. (Craig Davis, craigslegztravels.com)The most memorable travel day of the past ten years was a small-group guided tour on Italy’s Amalfi Coast. From picturesque Positano to lunch on a patio 1,000 feet above the Mediterranean Sea, it was a smorgasbord of stunning scenery.
See why It’s amore at first sight on scenic Italy’s Amalfi Coast
Where in the world is the Craigslegz Travel Alien?
Bebop, the Craigslegz Travel Alien, outside the Erechtheion Temple at the Acropolis in Athens. (Craig Davis, craigslegztravels.com)The Craigslegz Travels answer to the Travelocity gnome is one of the three-eyed aliens that appeared in the Toy Story films. We call him Bebop, and he is a fixture on our travels.
Check out our Travel Alien page to see where in the world Bebop has been.
The Fort Lauderdale Winterfest Boat Parade has been a well attended holiday event in South Florida since 1971. (Craig Davis, craigslegztravels.com.
Seasons’ greetings from South Florida
Many of the stories on Craigslegz Travels are about Florida, which happens to be home. Living in a tourist destination is a major advantage as a travel writer.
As Craigslegz Travels begins its second decade, there are more adventures on the horizon, close to home and abroad. Looking forward to reporting on a 14-day odyssey around western Europe from Belgium to Barcelona in March.
Fiction by Craig Davis
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