WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER FALL 2015 HD.pdf

EDITOR’S NOTE
RON JAMES
publisher/executive editor
IT’S ALWAYS SOMETHING
As you read the stories in WDT, you’ll discover certain common threads expressed
by our writers. All have to do with a passion for living – a thirst for adventure,
beauty, friendship and discovery. Travel takes us out of our comfort zone thrusting
us into strange and sometimes risky situations – situations that can be very uncomfortable
even painful at the time -- but once survived provide memories that put a smile
on your face the rest of your life.
Travel can certainly be dangerous -- especially for thrill seekers who search out adrenalin-laden
activities like cliff diving, rock climbing or running with bulls. But most folks
who read this magazine like their adventures in less aggressive forms. But, regardless of
how and where you travel, misadventures will occur - it’s a law of the travel universe.
Ron James is the "wine, food and travel guy." He
is a nationally award-winning print and online
journalist, graphic designer., television producer
and radio personality. The native Californian's nationally
syndicated wine and food columns have
appeared in newspapers and magazines around
the world. He is passionate about great wine and
food and enthusiastically enjoys them every day!
MARY JAMES
publisher/editor
Getting sick from food, drink
or a fellow traveler is one of
travel’s most common downsides.
We actually expect to
get some kind of bug at least
once on every long trip. It’s
happened to us everywhere
in the world. As much as we
try to play it safe, we love
to sample local cuisine and
drink and that regularly challenges
of digestive systems
with unfamiliar food and the
bugs that sometimes tag
along.
Some misadventures come out of nowhere. On a business trip to Fiji to cover a surfing
tournament, Ron landed in the middle of a military coup. Things actually got worse,
when he found himself wading a quarter mile through coral reefs crawling with poisonous
sea snakes.
And who can forget crazy taxi drivers encountered on every continent. In our experience
speeding cabbies in New York can be just as reckless as India’s notorious tuk tuk drivers
or China’s full-throttle fearless van operators.
No matter how adventure-proof you try to make a trip, the mundane can easily become
a hair-raising experience, even on a luxury cruise liner in the Baltic or a private food tour
in Istanbul. It’s this possibility of adventure, even if we’re not looking for it or frankly
trying to avoid it - is, for us, one of the reasons that makes travel addicting.
Mary Hellman James is an award-winning San
Diego journalist and editor. After a 29-year-career
with the San Diego Union-Tribune, she
currently is a freelance garden writer and a
columnist for San Diego Home-Garden/Lifestyles
magazine. Mary and her husband, Ron
James, travel extensively. Upcoming next
month is a six week journey beginning in
Israel and cruising to Turkey, Malta, Greece,
Italy, France, Spain, the Canary Islands
and across the Atlantic.
In this issue, two of our writers come down with a bug that colors their journeys, making
them more memorable than if they had stayed well. Maribeth Mellin shares the silver
lining she found when got sick in Machu Picchu and Jody Jaffe, felled by a bug in the
Yucatan, uses the day to luxuriate in a lovely inn. “If I had to be sick,” Jody said, “I can’t
think of a better place.”
Since getting sick or hurt is sometimes part of travel, it pays to be prepared. Veteran traveler
Amy Laughinghouse offers some funny, but sage advice about preparing for those
moments in her “Disaster Planning” column in this issue.
So take heed and enjoy the adventure. It’s why you left home in the first place.
Wishing you safe and exciting travels. ~ Ron & Mary James
Wine Dine & Travel Summer/Fall 2015 5