By Eric Vengroff

The overnight rain on Saturday had just let up by morning and the streets of Harrisonburg, Virginia were drying out. The skies were still quite overcast and threatened more rain. We all decided to sleep in until about 9:00, just this one time.

By Jayne MacAulay

The news Sunday morning that a ship carrying tourists had run aground Friday evening (August 30 2010) in the high Arctic near Kugluktuk, Nunavut, was startling. Matthew Swan, president of Adventure Canada, spoke via satellite phone to say that passengers aboard the Clipper Adventurer were awaiting the arrival of the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Amundsen.

MV Clipper Adventurer

Margaret Atwood was a part of a group of travellers stuck in Yellowknife while waiting to sail the Northwest Passage this weekend. She was scheduled to be a lecturer on the Clipper Adventurer for Adventure Canada. Atwood tweeted, “Back in T.O. with stranded New Zealander…was not on it, just waiting to be!”

photo credit: Eric Vengroff

By Eric Vengroff

As a motorcycle enthusiast, I’ve often wondered what it would be like to live near a place like Daytona Beach, with two weeks a year devoted to motorcycles or Sturgis, South Dakota with one. It would sure be convenient fun, while leaving the locals with the noise, the crowds and the cleanup. Fortunately for those like me living in Toronto we have Americade, just eight hours away in Lake George, NY. Not right around the corner perhaps, but not transcontinental either.

Agora Open Air Theatre. Photo credit: Paul Allen

By Joanne Shurvell

The southern French city of Montpellier is not as obvious a destination as Cannes or St Tropez but it has much to recommend it with its excellent food, art, music and lovely beaches. A good time to visit is mid-late July during Le Festival de Radio France et Montpellier, an excellent annual international music event. The festival, now in its 25th year, provides an eclectic mix of classical, jazz, world and electronic music, with over 100 free world-class concerts in open-air theatres, squares, cathedrals and festival halls.

photo credit: Eric Vengroff

By Eric Vengroff

Day 2
State College, Pennsylvania, home of Penn State University, is a school town quite obviously. Founded in 1855, the school has a population of 80,000 at its 23 campuses around the state. As you can imagine has every conceivable variety of student food in the burger and pizza joints scattered across town. It also has many fine restaurants. We didn’t go to any. Instead we chose the Olive Garden across from our hotel.