Talking Travel: Must-See Destinations In The US And Canada

Our next yes has written a 1000 places to see before you die. Europe listed the new little-known places on the big places like the Everglades and the US capital. What is your criteria for a must-see destinations. That is a great question because I almost don't have a stock answer. And that when you see a place or an experience or by chance find yourself in front of it or in the middle of it simply is something -- someplace or thing or destination that has you stop and has that wow factor kind of pinched me oh my gosh I did not know so there is no set answer and it ranges from that small hamlet from one stoplight addressed the main Street with one of those 1950 silver combiners that has homemade pie sign in the window. Or a lot of the greater better-known places that simply were on the radar. It is a massive continent because this includes Canada our neighbor to the north which is very little tourism from America it always astounded me. You could travel back and forth I have done many of those cross-country trips and you could do them up 1000 times and always StumbleUpon something new. 1000 places is in our -- is a lot of traveling. Having personally visited every location? I would say about 80%. I don't have a set number but my gut feeling is that so many of them over time if not in the last year or three or five then at some point in my life and it has been sometime I vetted them and researched them to make sure they were as wonderful as I recall them to be. We should mention you also wrote 1000 places to see before you die around the world. Why the focus on US and Canada this time. And practical financial and professional terms the first book was such an incredible meteoric success. My publisher and I are still kind of scratching our heads why. It is not like it was the only book of its kind ever. But it was natural to do a follow-up title and the standing joke at the publisher is that after you do the world what do you do. Intergalactic travel. Shirley McClain after you die kind of trouble. So it was a natural motion to do a 180 and turn around and see what we have right here. There is simply no other destination and no other continent that is so jampacked with possibilities. Rethinking of 1000 places in Europe and we were thinking really you could do 1000 places a note -- New York City if he wanted to go microscopic that it seemed natural because it is my home turf and I do have a profound and lifelong love and patriotic sense of no place like America and because it is so easy for us to just jump in the car and visit Canada it was a no-brainer to include Canada as well are great wonderful neighbor to the north. And you have not forgotten San Diego in this book have you? How could I. I have friends and relatives here and is in East Coast or. It is always our dream place to live not just retire but to live because also I think California fascinates everybody on the east coast. Kind of our pipe dream to move here. The weather and the diversity and there is so much from south to north. It is astonishing and you are quite lucky to be endowed with so much in terms of natural beauty and great cities and coastline. I know you picked Balboa Park San Diego zoo and [Indiscernible] is places people should visit in San Diego. The people always hesitate saying I can't afford it or why a hotel. I love collecting hotels especially when they are historically having their own story. If they have their own magic just to go and stay the beach and architecture and the Hollywood stories behind it to go for dinner and to go for tea. They have a wonderful brunch and I think it is a very big part of how I see San Diego to be as a package. I love the great hotels of America our of the world. I collect them like some people? Was will sticks. In my mind I collect those experiences. Can you give us an example of a place that may have surprised you by what it had to offer. Yes. Like everything in the book. Even if it is well-known you go with certain perceptions. Those places that are written off because they are too well-known like fisherman's wharf in San Francisco or the national Mall in Washington DC or the Statue of Liberty there are signs of the first time I go to and why has it been hyped to death. Being part of the bustle and the standing in line and the anticipation is part of the excitement. To mix them in with all of the lesser-known places that you stumble on on your way there I think it's really the big package. It is the big experience that is your take away at the end of it all. What ultimately do you want readers to get out of this? To get off the couch. There is adventure out there. It does not need to be expensive or extravagant if you're afraid of flying or do not have the budget or if the kids are too young do not wait. Do it now. If he started today may be the best time to have started to travel and ask her was when you were 18 and carefree and the next best time is now because there are no guarantees and life is short. Sometimes I guess take away. Or and easy flight away not everybody has the time to drive to the East Coast you just have to. It is part of our privilege of living in the country. Patricia will be talking about her but 1000 places to see in the U.S. and Canada before you die at Carlsbad library tonight at 6:30 and an adventure by the book top at the tears at the seven day Adventist church Thursday also at 6:30. Thank you so much. Thank you.