Nancy Monson

I’ve reached my goal of seeing every state in the US – here’s how you can do it, too
By Nancy Monson
I turned 65 this year (hello Medicare!) and this June I visited Oregon to achieve my goal of seeing all 50 states before year's end. According to a recent poll conducted by YouGov, fewer than 2% of Americans have visited every state plus Washington, D.C. Most have been to about 17 states, so I know I've achieved something special.
How did I get there? Back in my late 40s, I realized that I had...

Travel north and west — almost as far west as you can go — in New York State and you’ll reach a small town called Chautauqua. Perched on a gloriously shimmering lake, the town is home to Chautauqua Institution, a world-renowned organization that gently buzzes with activity for nine weeks each summer. Drawing upwards of 100,000 people annually, participants come to take part in literary, music and dance, re...

If you visit the South these days, you’ll inevitably see billboards for Buc-ee’s featuring a toothy beaver selling brisket, beef jerky, and gas. I never considered going near the place until a friend told me that Buc-ee’s brisket sandwich is amazing. Then, my nephew came back from a trip to visit a friend in Georgia, who immediately took him to neighboring Alabama to have lunch at Buc-ee’s. Lunch. At a gas station. Hmmm.
Intrigued, I made my first-ever stop at Buc-ee’s last year on a road tri...

Fried green tomatoes are a quintessential Southern appetizer. These brightly colored immature tomatoes are firm, tart and juicy, and are typically breaded and pan-fried. But there are so many variations that it’s hard to categorize them as just one thing. As a Northerner, I’d only ever heard of them in connection with the Fannie Flagg book and later the 1991 movie “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café.” And I’d never tasted them. But over the past few years, I’ve made a point to orde...

Last September, when Betsy Green walked into Karen's Quilting Corner in Williamstown, Massachusetts and proudly displayed her "All New England Quilt Shop Hop" magazine filled with stamps, I was gobsmacked.
In just two weeks, Green had visited 56 of the 58 quilt shops participating in the event and had the stamps to prove it. Only two more shops remained in her quest, and she completed those soon after we met.
She had traveled from her home base in Manchester, New Hampshire to all around the G...

An Ayurveda massage experience? Count me in! Amanda Clabaugh, Treatments Manager at The Lodge at Woodloch, has piqued my interest with their new massage menu.
Ms. Clabaugh notes that many clients are curious about Ayurveda experiences, which, by the way, are having a moment in the spa industry. “We felt confident we wanted to offer an Ayurveda experience,” she says. “But we try to be authentic with our offerings so we were waiting to hire the right person.”

Mary Engelbreit is one of the most successful and prolific illustrators in America. For over 40 years, she's put out a dizzying array of calendars, cards, books, wrapping paper, fabric, apparel, mugs, magnets and other types of merchandise featuring her whimsical drawings and inspirational quotes.

Fears about traveling can increase with age, complicating the desire to explore the world
By Nancy Monson
It's ironic: As a travel writer I've been to all 50 states and many countries, but I am getting more and more anxious about traveling as I get older. I recently went to Bali (lucky me!) and I was anxious about it for months beforehand.

I interviewed a travel expert for this article...
Deciding between a vacation-home rental and a hotel for your next vacation? Here are the pros and cons of each, from our travel expert Christopher Elliott…
What Is an Airbnb…or a VRBO?
The top vacation-home websites are Airbnb.com, which currently has nearly 8 million listings of homes, guest cottages, apartments and rooms in homes…and VRBO.com, which stands for “Vacation Rentals by Owner” but often is pronounced “VERB-OH,” and rents out only fully private accommodations. Vacation-home owners...

Online baking classes make it easy for you to roll up your sleeves and perfect a variety of baking recipes

Chase the most beautiful seasonal bloom in America.
Come spring, wildflowers start blooming like crazy, and gardens begin to open for the season in much of the northern tier of the United States.
This year, if you are taking a road trip from the south to the north, you can follow the Spacious Skies Campgrounds Spring Bloom Trail to experience wildflowers at their peaks of perfection. The 15-stop trail connects campgrounds between Georgia and Maine and has been tagged to coincide with the wild...

Living in a hot-weather climate can be wonderful in the winter. Northerners often envy Southerners and Arizonans basking in warm, sunny weather while they shiver in the cold and ice — and they may even flock to those states as snowbirds. But come summer, the two groups swap places, and those who live in southern states and Arizona typically yearn for cooler destinations.
"The heat and humidity in Texas in the summer are constant, and it doesn't cool down at night like it does in other places,...

Driving across America, you'll find buildings adorned with giant, colorful quilt blocks

By Nancy Monson

Cruising along a scenic rural road in the United States and Canada, you may increasingly find yourself passing buildings bearing colorful barn quilts — large wooden or aluminum painted quilt blocks (ranging from 4- to 8-feet square) mounted onto rustic structures like barns, chicken coops, sheds, fences and businesses.

Designs for these so-called barn quilts range from traditional geometric...

When you open your refrigerator, what catches your eye? Fresh, healthy foods…or highly processed, high-fat, high-sugar foods? Best: Front-load your refrigerator with easy-to-grab healthy foods and fresh ingredients that allow you to prepare nutritious meals. Here are some suggestions on what to keep and what to jettison from your fridge…

Searching for your roots to answer the ultimate questions about identity — who am I and where do I come from? — is a popular hobby. But it's easy to get stuck and discouraged in your search, even with the hints provided by Ancestry.com and other genealogy companies, or to discover that you've been led down the wrong path, which can be maddening considering how much time genealogy searches can take.
"Our librarians provide their services for free to all comers over the phone, via email and in ...