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Tucson, Arizona may sometimes get overlooked as visitors fly into and out of Phoenix, but Arizona’s second city is anything but second-rate. Savor a chile pepper–infused breakfast, then walk it off as you contemplate Tucson’s archaeology, botany, and multicultural shopping. Catch a legendary sunset from Tucson’s desert edges, then end the day with a farm-to-table dinner to get a real taste of this part of Arizona.

The Flying Biscuit, owned by waitress and chef Delia Champion and Indigo Girls member Emily Saliers, opened in 1993 and since then has expanded its original Candler Park location and franchised all around town. At least 5,000 of their famous biscuits are made every day at each location. As you can tell, those biscuits are the main attraction. They’re sweeter than the standard biscuit and are served with cranberry apple butter. Also recommended: an omelet with a side of their “creamy dreamy” grits or the Eggstra-Ordinary Breakfast, pictured here.

Whether you’re an urban explorer or more of a beach bum, there’s a hotel in the Philippines for your type of trip. While business travelers tend to stay near Manila, many will fly through the hub to hit the famous beaches of the Philippine islands, where there are five-star resorts and plenty of sunshine. Here’s where to find everything from a historic hotel with views of Manila Bay and a luxury property near Makati’s best shopping to a private island resort surrounded by coral reefs.

At Salt Water Farm, students return to the land—and the sea—to learn forage, fillet, and feast.

Poke (pronounced POH-kay) is not only a staple of Hawaiian cuisine, it’s also a favorite of diners needing a meal on the run. These bite-sized chunks of raw fish are seasoned with everything from soy sauce to seaweed, and you won’t find a luau or community potluck that doesn’t have at least one type on the table. For those craving poke on the West Side of Maui, Foodland Farms supermarket is consistently voted as the best place for poke in the islands. At a small deli counter in the back of the store, you can choose from a selection of more than a dozen different varieties which boast seasonings from spicy to savory. The fish of choice is yellowfin tuna (ahi), and one variety—the “Flyin’ Hawaiian"—is part of a charity set up by Shane Victorino, a professional baseball player who was raised on the island. While the poke itself can fluctuate somewhere between $12-$15 a pound, budget diners can enjoy a “poke bowl” in which a third pound of fish is served over rice for a wallet-friendly $7. Can’t decide? Try the ahi avocado poke bowl served over a bed of brown rice. Want to blend in? Eat it with chopsticks.

Inside a Northwest-style longhouse, built by owner and First Nations tribe member Roy Henry Vickers to resemble the traditional dwellings once used by indigenous people, visitors can sift through Vickers’s limited-edition prints, carved cedar panels, and baskets with designs of eagles, ravens, orcas, and totem poles. Eagle Aerie Gallery also features the work of other local artists. 350 Campbell St., (250) 725-3235. Image: TSalon/Flickr.com

Eagle View’s nine tented suites opened a year ago on a ridge that overlooks a broad swath of savannah in the Mara Naboisho Conservancy. The camp pays a guaranteed income to each of the approximately 500 families who own the conservancy.

Masai guides lead guests on night drives or walks and use animal-friendly spotlights to illuminate nocturnal creatures.

Suites overlook a salt lick that attracts one of the highest densities of lions in Africa. On occasion, guests may find a lion’s kill in the morning.


This appeared in the August/September 2013 issue. Image courtesy of Basecamp’s Eagle View

A journey into Morocco’s Berber territory, where tradition and modern life meet.

In 2011, one of Chicago’s most popular restaurants, Longman & Eagle, expanded into an inn with the creation of six rooms. The owners, two of whom run the music venue Empty Bottle, built and outfitted the whole place. Each of the rooms is different, but all are stylishly simple and feature details such as wood floors, exposed brick, original art work and site-specific installations by local artists, cassette players with mix tapes, well-curated minibars, and Aesop toiletries. For the noise averse, the hotel reminds potential guests that the rooms are located above “an occasionally raucous, whisky-fueled tavern.”

The Northern Jacana, the elusive Sungrebe and the Yellow-Headed Parrot are all easily found within the boundaries of the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary’s 16,400 acres. It is a birding destination, and considered to be a globally significant wetland. Belize has the largest nesting population for the Jabiru Stork and Crooked Tree is an excellent place to spy on the famous resident. The surrounding communities play host each year to celebrations that are part of World Wetlands Day. A bus can bring you to Crooked Tree from Belize City every day except Sunday and the sanctuary is located three miles off the Northern Highway, about 30 miles from Belize City or Orange Walk. The sanctuary is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and offers horseback riding, boat tours and hiking for those not strictly interested in bird watching.

Get up, up, and away with Lake Tahoe Balloons. The company launches its colorful hot air balloons not from land but from the surface of the lake via the Tahoe Flyer, the world’s only certified balloon launch-and-recovery boat. Trips begin with a 5:30 a.m. boat ride to the mid-lake launch site. Once the balloon is in the air, passengers and pilot float up to 3,000 feet above the water’s surface for bird’s-eye views of the entire Tahoe basin. On the clearest days, views extend southward all the way to Yosemite National Park. After the flight, everybody celebrates with a champagne toast—then heads back to their hotel for a nap.

“I am a song, I live to be sung, I sing with all my heart!” Pay your respects to the man who penned “Rocky Mountain High” and spent a lot of time in Colorado. The John Denver Sanctuary is a quiet cluster of carved boulders and monuments, located along the Roaring Fork River, near the Aspen Art Museum. Many of the singer’s famous lyrics are carved into the stone, which you can read as you listen to the creak rush by. Fans gather at the sanctuary every year on October 12, the anniversary of Denver’s death (Denver died in 1997, in a plane crash off the coast of California).

How do you make sense of diverse, dizzying São Paolo? Talk to the people who make the sushi, spray the graffiti, and build the giant watermelons.

The two women behind the Sanctuary are truly a dynamic duo. Specializing in skin care, they go above and beyond to ensure that everyone who walks through their doors is well looked after. After a quick chat, each facial is customized to ensure the best treatment possible. They use their own line of products, containing carefully sourced ingredients from around the world, and have given all their staff extensive training so rest assured, you’re in good hands here. *Picture courtesy of The Santuary

A purveyor of luxurious aromatherapy spa products and natural skincare, Thann is recognised as a global leader in its field. Set up in 2002, it is the most famous of the Thai spa brands; their sleek-looking candles, diffusion oils and naturally perfumed skin care products gracing spas around the world. With collections that are usually inspired by Asia, the brand is known for its seductively scented showrooms, dotted around Bangkok. For a special shopping experience combine some retail therapy with a spa treatment at the brand’s Thann Sanctuary spa at CentralWorld.