My young daughters had never backpacked before this summer, and they were so excited when we got them real backpacks at REI. Our first test trip covered a mile and a half and climbed about 400 feet in Point Reyes National Seashore to Sky Camp. It wasn’t easy for my 8-year-old but she managed. Next […]
Author Archive | Larry Habegger
Amtrak San Francisco to Seattle
At the end of July my family and I took Amtrak to Seattle for the thrill of an overnight train ride. We were on our way to visit friends in Leavenworth, Washington, a faux Bavarian tourist town that happens to be in an extraordinarily beautiful setting. I’ve put some thoughts down about the trip here.
Manhattan’s Bryant Park is the place to be
Several years ago I discovered Bryant Park just off Times Square and made a point of visiting whenever I was in New York. One visit I got caught in quite a thunderstorm. And just today I saw this story in The New York Times about the park being threatened by its success. Get there early […]
Speaking Spanish
“Perrrrrrrrrrrrrrrro,” I stuttered, failing completely to roll the r’s as my seven-year-old daughter laughed with glee. “No, it’s perro,” she said in a perfect Spanish accent. “Like this.” She twittered like a bird demonstrating how to do it. “You need to practice.” “Do you think I can learn?” “Yes. Practice all the way home.” So […]
Writers’ Workshop Sailing off the Turkish Coast
Learn How to Craft a Travel Article, Write a Memoir and Publish Your Book I’ll be leading a seven-day writers workshop on the personal travel narrative aboard a traditional 82-foot gulet (a Turkish yacht) September 20-27, 2008. Come join me! On this seven-day intensive workshop sailing on the Aegean Sea you’ll learn the ins and […]
Travelers’ Tales Wins Lowell Thomas Awards
Two Travelers’ Tales books won honors in the prestigious Lowell Thomas Awards sponsored by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation. 100 Places Every Woman Should Go by Stephanie Elizondo Griest took the Gold Award for Best Travel Book of the Year. The Best Travel Writing 2007 edited by James and Sean O’Reilly and me […]
Who’s Aging?
It seemed like just a short time ago that I threw a surprise 50th birthday party for a close friend. He wasn’t impressed because he never liked to celebrate birthdays, and turning 50 was more than he wanted to face. But he played along, a good sport, and when it was over got back to […]
What Are the Chances?
A friend flew from San Francisco to Panama last week and reported that his flight arrived late in LA, causing him to rush through the terminal and out to the shuttle at LAX worried he’d miss his connection. The shuttle bus took forever to circle the grounds and delivered him to the terminal for his […]
A Thought for Christmas
A few years ago I was in Australia in the weeks before Christmas and found myself in Adelaide. I didn’t know much about the city, but what I discovered there prompted a simple story I call “Christmas Carols in Adelaide.” Here it is, below. Christmas Carols in Adelaide I didn’t have high hopes for Adelaide. […]
Motionsickness Interview
Larry Habegger, executive editor of Travelers’ Tales Books, publisher of the popular line of travel narrative collections, answered email questions from Motionsickness editor Steve Wilson. Motionsickness: Whose idea was it to go into the travel publishing business and why did you decide to publish collections of narratives instead of say, guidebooks? Larry: The idea really […]