6 Feb 2012, 4:43pm
Podcasts Romance & Relationships Travel Writing & Books:
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Dr. Pepper Schwartz on Sex, Travel and Fun

Dr. Pepper Schwartz

I interviewed Dr. Pepper Schwartz on my Travel Fun radio show a few years ago. In honor of Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d post this program here as a podcast, especially since most people I know are still looking for ways to spice up their lives at home and while traveling. As the co-author of “The Great Sex Weekend” and a nationally-recognized authority on sexuality, Dr. Pepper Schwartz knows how to speak intelligently about finding a healthy combination of sex, travel and fun. And if you tune in to our interview below, you’ll learn that romance plays a big role in a couple’s connection as well. (Did you hear that guys?)

“Every couple needs to get away to refocus on each other,” Dr. Schwartz emphasizes. “It’s important to remember they’re lovers and that they can surprise and delight each other,” she continues. If you go away, it’s a way of saying you’re going to focus on each other, Dr. Schwartz explains.

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5 Feb 2012, 1:52pm
Colorado Denver Hotels & Lodging Travel:
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Denver Airport Marriott at Gateway Park: A Refuge in the Storm

Radiant Warmth at the Denver Airport Marriott at Gateway Park

Talk about walloped. Wow, Denver was hit hard with this last snowstorm that pummeled Colorado. Here in the mountains, most of us were lucky to eek out a few inches from this major dump. But Denver and the outlying region was buried in up to two feet of snow in some areas.

I can’t imagine the mayhem at Denver International Airport (DIA) where over six hundred flights were cancelled. And just because it’s Colorado, don’t think they’re any better equipped to deal with such a storm than other major airports. I’m sure people were holed up in airport hotels for days. That’s if they could find a room in the first place!

It’s in anticipation of these circumstances and others that I’m forever recommending people spend a night or two in Denver, or at DIA, when traveling to Colorado, especially in the winter. Why stress out? Also, I think it helps a lot to stay in the mile-high city—or at DIA—one night before reaching elevations of over 7,500 feet in the mountains. If you’re on your way home, it’s nice just to relax and catch your breath before flying out, particularly if you have an early morning departure.

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14 Dec 2011, 5:14pm
Colorado Food & Wine Shopping The Rockies Travel:
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More Lovely Wines for Making Merry

Colorado Warmth: Talon’s Aquila Dessert Wine

I had so much interest in my Favorite Reasonably-Priced Wines for the Holidays story that I decided to post another piece about newly-discovered sips. I’m savoring a delicious Merlot Port from St. Kathryn Cellars and an Aquila Dessert wine from Talon Winery with a creamy Stilton as I write this. I’m fearful this combo will turn into my latest après-ski or after dinner nibble during these cold Colorado days and evenings. (Oh dear, that Dukan Diet is already looming. Thankfully I’ll be out on the slopes on a regular basis from now on.)

These truly delicious nectars also make great gifts. Order them by calling 877-858-6330. They’re Colorado wines, from Palisade, so they’ll ship anywhere within the state and also to seventeen other states around the U.S. Note that the Talon Aquila Dessert wine resembles Port, sweet with a nice spice. The St. Kathryn Merlot Port, also delightfully cloying and mellow, tastes more fruit forward. Yum, I’m licking my lips as I write this—I just might bypass eggnog entirely this year.

Unexpected Goodness with Un4seen

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13 Dec 2011, 7:43pm
Colorado Cycling Podcasts Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride The Rockies Travel:
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Telluride, Colorado: A Real Winter Wonderland

Main Street, Telluride

It’s that time of year again, the frosty season when you stand on main street in Telluride, Colorado and feel like you can reach out and touch the massive, snowy peaks in front of you. Sure, this view is nothing short of spectacular all year long yet in winter, the light and the snow render these looming monoliths even more awe-inspiring. Add to that old Western and Victorian buildings blanketed in snow, folks trudging through the streets with ski gear in tow, puppies and people practically skipping down the street—and suddently you realize it’s a Norman Rockwell scene like none you’ve ever taken in before.

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Reflecting Upon Two Hundred Blog Posts

Clara, My Editorial Assistant

I happened to notice a few weeks ago that I was nearing two hundred blog posts. Jeez, I thought, I’d like to commemorate this momentous occasion! Two hundred stories in just over three years. I’d be kidding you if I said I never thought I’d have so much to write about. I was a chatty child and am an equally loquacious adult. This propensity for telling tales, recounting experiences and sharing information has hopefully translated well into my writing. It’s my wish that you find my stories fun, entertaining and informative.

It has been quite the journey. It seemed to take me forever to get Bonjour Colorado off the ground but once I did, I feel that as hard as it sometimes is to find time to “feed the blog,” I am hooked.

Initially, I felt a lot of inertia around the whole editing process—or lack thereof—with my blog. I authored four books with a major U.S. publisher where every word was viewed and reviewed by many sets of eyes. How could I publish something—albeit blog posts on the Internet—without it passing through a stringent editing process? Well, I do. And even though I go over every word I write countless times, it still takes a lot of letting go. I often remind myself that a friend once told me that the Navajos deliberately weave a flaw into their rugs, a concrete reminder that there’s no such thing as perfection, nor is it something we should strive for.

The whole tech aspect of creating a blog also held me back. Most of it I now manage pretty well; other aspects boggle me beyond belief. I’m an eighteenth century person living in the twenty-first century. Recently, however, I learned how to post podcasts of my Travel Fun radio show myself, so hooray for progress.

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23 Nov 2011, 6:54pm
Food & Wine Podcasts Travel:
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Benito’s Wine Reviews: A Great Resource for Food, Wine and Fun

Benito’s Thanksgiving Feast

Aside from dining with the late, great Julia Child, I can think of one other person’s table I’d like to be at this Thanksgiving if I wasn’t here in Telluride. I’d have to travel all the way across the country to Memphis where I’d happily find myself in the company of Ben Carter AKA Benito. This guy sounds like so much fun! And even better, he knows how to impart his enthusiasm and vast knowledge of food, wine, spirits and much more in his highly successful blog, Benito’s Wine Reviews. He’s passionate and from what I know about him, I’d describe Ben as a good ‘ole American bon vivant.

Ben Carter AKA Benito

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James Kaiser on Acadia, Joshua Tree, Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Parks

Yosemite Valley

How many of America’s national parks have you been to? I’ve only visited a handful even though I  love the great outdoors, wide open spaces and awe-inspiring scenery. It’s so  beautiful here in Telluride that I often feel like I’m living in a national park. But still. There are so many out there to discover; the question is where to begin.

Here’s a great start:  let James Kaiser, award-winning travel writer, photographer and expert guide you. Listen to my Travel Fun interview below and hear what James has to say about some of America’s greatest treasures. Like me, he agrees that most Americans are missing out on what’s in their own backyard. “Fifty percent of the people you see in America’s national parks are foreigners,” James says. “They travel halfway around the world to visit our national parks,” he continues. And while you’re listening to our interview, I suggest you check out his site, JamesKaiser.com, where you can see and shop for some of his spectacular national park photos.

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Touring the Southwest with My Parents

A Great Facebook Profile Picture: Dad at the Grand Canyon

Are you familiar with those digital photo frames that display a continuous stream of select images? Well, I was back east in October visiting my parents and brought one of those frames to them as a gift. We had to enlist outside help (thanks Brian) to transfer my images onto the frame (I’m so eighteenth century), but once it started to flash our faces across the screen, we all beamed. My father especially glowed since he was finally able to see himself backdropped by a parade of images from the Grand Canyon and other notable sites in the Southwest. It was like bringing him back to the South Rim of the Canyon to gaze over the vastness and grandeur of what is most certainly our country’s greatest treasure.

We embarked on our two-week Western Jamboree just about a year ago. Fall and even winter are two fantastic seasons for visiting many of our National Parks, especially the Grand Canyon. During these times the wondrous play of light combined with a lack of crowds make these sites even more enchanting. The focal point of our trip was to be the Grand Canyon, a place my father always dreamed of seeing. At the age of eighty-four, we were ready to grant him his wish.

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    This blog is a personal blog written and edited by Maribeth Clemente. This blog sometimes accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content. The owner of this blog is sometimes compensated to provide opinion on products, services, Web sites and various other topics. Even though the owner of this blog receives compensation for certain posts or advertisements, she always gives her honest opinions, findings, beliefs or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blogger's own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.
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