Men Who Like to Travel - David Latt

With Chesapeake Bay on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other, three states— Delaware, Maryland and Virginia--share the Delmarva Peninsula.  B arely nine miles across,  Virginia’s Eastern Shore occupies the narrowest, southern most portion of the peninsula. The area is easily accessible using major highways including I-95, Amtrak service to nearby Newport News and daily commuter flights to Norfolk, Virginia. To fully explore the peninsula, a car is a necessity. All major national rental car companies have outlets on the mainland. Insider’s Tip: check out Virginia’s Eastern Shore web site for an overview of the peninsula, including lists of seasonal events, park lands, recreational opportunities, accommodations and places to eat. Taking the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel-Bridge to reach the peninsula, you do so not because you expect to see great theater, visit world-class museums, walk busy streets and spend an afternoon in crowded cafes people watching. You drive across seventeen

At the conclusion of the Civil War, the Ocean House was one of half a dozen luxury hotels built in the resort community of Watch Hill, R.I.. The hotel sits commandingly on a bluff overlooking the waters of Block Island Sound, with the northern tip of Long Island only a few miles away. In time, the hotels fell into disrepair and were lost to the ravages of fire, weather, and residential development.  Declared unsafe, the Ocean House was slated to disappear along with her sisters. In 2005 the hotel was rescued from demolition with a commitment to restore the property by dismantling the structure, piece by piece, and reconditioning storm battered wood and eroded stone. Reopened in 2010, the interior rooms were modernized, with the lobby and dining areas redesigned to take advantage of the sweeping views of the water and private beach below the bluff. The room with the best view is Seasons, the main restaurant, with windows running along the ocean facing side of the hotel. S

Our traveling foodie, David Latt, recently spent time in Austin, Texas during the South by Southwest music, interactive and film festival. Besides watching movies and listening to music, he used his spare time to search out great places to eat. Austin has a lot going on. Besides being the state capital, the city has amazing music venues with a great collection of bars and a dynamic food scene. Austin has it all. Upscale, fine dining restaurants as well as affordable neighborhood hangouts specializing in Mexican, Asian, Indian, French, American cuisine and more barbecue and burger joints than you can shake a stick at.  One way to navigate the diverse food scene is to check out the food trucks. Encounter a food truck in most cities and they’re pretty utilitarian.  Usually the truck is a step van with a window cut along one side where customers order and pick up their food. To eat your meal, you stand on the sidewalk trying not to get food on your clothes. To