Everyone who logs onto Google today will be charmed by a sweet illustration by the master illustrator himself, Norman Rockwell. A quick sweep of the cursor across the illustration reveals that today is Norman Rockwell’s birthday. For most people, I guess that would give pause to think about the wonderful moments of Americana frozen in time by Rockwell’s incredible illustrations which memorialized vignettes of history, personal stories that were filled with emotion, lifestyle moments, and captured an entire story within the bounds of a picture frame. For many, Rockwell’s name brings back to mind magazine covers from Boy’s Life, published by Boy Scouts of America, which featured Rockwell’s works as well as the covers of the monthly editions of Saturday Evening Post.
Like the scene illustrated at Google.com today, most pieces reflect moments of fun, tranquility, interpersonal relationships, and scenes from life’s experiences, during good times and challenging times, of ordinary people.

But for me, today’s Google homepage offering is just more proof that all roads lead to two places in the world: either Ireland or Berkshire County in the northwestern corner of Massachusetts, just 2 hours west of Boston and 2 ½ hours north of New York City. The connection here is to Berkshire County to the town of Stockbridge which has been immortalized by so many, not the least of which is Norman Rockwell.

If you are charmed by the Rockwell piece shown in part at Google’s site today, you’ll want to make the journey to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. There you will find the original paintings done by Rockwell which were then photographed to become magazine covers as well as magazine ads. You’ll also find framed covers of the Saturday Evening Post spanning Rockwell’s tenure there and a gift shop that is unique in the world in that lithographs, prints, and other memorabilia of Rockwell’s works are available there. And when you walk on the beautiful grounds around the museum, in addition to the sculptures of Norman Rockwell’s son, Peter Rockwell, you’ll find, surrounded by the mountain in a gorgeous landscape, Norman Rockwell’s studio. There you’ll see Rockwell’s workshop studio complete with the fireman’s helmet atop his easel and his paint bucket beside his chair which is illustrated in Rockwell’s triple-self-portrait in which he is looking in the mirror at a much older man’s reflection and painting a canvas of himself at least half his current age.

Now that you’ve had the hors d’oeuvre nibble at Google, let this be your personal invitation from a world jetsetter and travel expert who has chosen Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts as my home with good reason, to come and explore what this spectacular region has to offer the traveler and direct you to the Norman Rockwell Museum as your first step in visiting the wonderful museum homes and the charming historic towns of Berkshire County. Get yourself a piece of chocolate cake and a candle to celebrate Norman Rockwell’s birthday today. And when you blow out the candle, make a wish to come and visit his museum and studio in Stockbridge, MA. Then make the wish come true! And if you visit in July or August, follow your museum visit with a classical concert or a romp with the Boston Pops at Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. No wonder I live in Berkshire County! The place is a happening!

I lead a karma-filled cosmically-ruled life where it’s become something of a joke that all roads for me lead either to Ireland or Berkshire County. Now you just read my previous blog about Captain Eddie Cooney from Athlone, County West Meath, whose brother lives in Glasson, Ireland and who knows Tom and Breda Reid, good friends of mine and Skalleagues from the Lakelands SKAL chapter of Ireland. But I’ve left St. Lucia and I’m now in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands where we are broadcasting Travelers411 and Travel WITH Stephanie Abrams live from the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas, a fabulous resort in the Red Hook area of St. Thomas which is nestled far from the bustling shopping area that cruise ship passengers rarely wander away from.

The General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas is a Frenchman named Marc Langevin. What a surprise it was to learn that Marc Langevin’s wife is the former Pamela Cooke from Pittsfield and that Marc and his wife visited Berkshire County last summer. They dined at Jae’s Spice Restaurant in Pittsfield and went to Tanglewood. Stranger than that is that they were at the annual performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, which we attended with our guests, Sister Camille D’Arienzo , Sister Kathleen Quinn, both members of the Mid-Atlantic Community of the Sisters of Mercy, and Sister Stella from the Sisters of St. Joseph.  It’s a shame that I wasn’t aware of his Pittsfield connection because this would have been a wonderful time to meet him!

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This gorgeous yacht, the Grace E, was docked at the Marigot Bay Marina which borders the beautiful estate of the Marigot Bay Resort in St. Lucia while I was there last week. This sheltered harbor attracts the most incredible yachts from all over the world. I asked Bob Hathaway, the manager of Marigot Bay Marina, where all the boats came from and he mentioned that the Grace E had an Irish connection in that its captain, Eddie Cooney, was from Ireland. You know I had to seek him out.

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I had the pleasure of visiting the St. Lucia Distillers location  here in the Caribbean’s British West Indies where they have been producing rum for hundreds of years.  I’ve been to the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin where they explain the production ale, Bushmills in Northern Ireland where they distill Irish Whisky, Aberlour Distilleries in Scotland on the Single Malt Whiskey Trail where they manufacture Chivas Regal among their brands, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain where all the sherry in the world comes from; I’ve taken the Tequila Express train from Guadalajara, Mexico to Amatitan to visit Casa Herradura, manufacturer of tequila and I’ve visited vineyards along the Napa and Sonoma Rivers, Schloss Wackerbarth, the state owned winery of Saxony,Germany, and vineyards in Burgundy, France. But none of these places touched me in the way that the history-laden St. Lucia Distillers did on my visit there yesterday.

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 How many weeks have I been telling you that I’ll be broadcasting live this weekend from Tortola in the British Virgin Islands? It must be at least over the last two months or more.  But while I was at the Caribbean Hotel Association and Tourism Association Marketplace in San Juan, Puerto Rico, circumstances changed on a dime! I’ll be blogging and sharing with you on the air the ins and outs of exactly what transpired but the end result is that I made the decision to take our act elsewhere!

With the wonderful team effort of the well-oiled tourism machine comprised of fantastic tourism professionals from St. Lucia, in less than 24 hours from the time I made the decision that Tortola was not in the cards on this trip, new airline reservations were made for us by Jackie at St. Lucia’s Travel Concepts, Senator the Honourable Allen Chastanet, Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation for the beautiful island nation of St. Lucia, BWI, gave the orders to make our itinerary work, Dominik Ruhl, General Manager of the gorgeous Marigot Bay Hotel & Marina invited us to learn all about his fantastic and unique resort property and to broadcast our weekend of programming from his resort, and Nerdin St. Rose from St. Lucia Tourism had put together the most complete and exciting itinerary for us to visit geographically gorgeous sites in St. Lucia, a visit to the drive-thru volcano, the rain forest, a sunset cruise and more! 

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It’s exactly two years since we broadcast Travel WITH Stephanie Abrams and Traveling Feet, now called Travelers411, from Bolongo Bay Resort in St.Thomas in the US Virgin Islands.  We had the pleasure of getting to know the family that runs this beachcomber’s paradise where the focus is on all of the pleasures of Caribbean living and where the beachside casual dining draws residents and visitors alike who can count on excellent cuisine in a lively atmosphere.  So it was with great joy that I celebrated the announcement of the well-kept secret that  Richard Doumeng, son of the founder of Bolongo Bay Resort, was being honored last night at the Opening Ceremonies for the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association with the award of Hotelier of the Year for his accomplishments related to his contribution to the quality of visitors’ experience and all of the factors related to quality management and environmental concerns.

The event was held at the Puerto Rico Convention Center which is a state-of-the art new facility and the kind of place that makes a meeting-planners mind race with all the possibilities for creative and memorable events. And the best part is that a  leisurely walk of about 300 feet across a cul-de-sac brings you to the entrance to the spanking new Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention Center Hotel & Casino. . . a lot of words that don’t come close to describing this trendy, chic, happening hotel that couldn’t be more convenient for visiting the Convention Center but is also just minutes away from San Juan Airport, from Condado, Old San Juan, and from the cruise ship port.  It’s the perfect spot for a pre-or-post cruise stay or for that stay in Puerto Rico before connecting to a flight elsewhere. And for the guest who has visited one exhibit booth too many at a convention, this Sheraton perks up the mind, body, and spirit with its 57,000 square foot pool terrace and bar area, its huge and lively casino, and its Zen Spa Retreat. And you’ll note that the bar areas each have a personality of its own.

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If you’re facing the challenges of finding an affordable, easy to reach destination for your organization’s next group meeting or convention where your members who are US citizens won’t need a passport, where the US dollar is worth a dollar and doesn’t diminsh in a currency exchange, where expenses related to your business event meet tax rules for allowable deductions, this weekend you’ll learn all about a place that meets all of that criteria: the brand new Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino within a few hundred feet of the front doors of the Puerto Rico Convention Center where  we’ll be broadcasting Travelers411 and Travel WITH Stephanie Abrams LIVE this weekend!

I’ll also be attending the Caribbean Hotel Association Marketplace at the Puerto Rico Convention Center so I’ll have a chance to personally test out all the advantages of staying at the most conveniently located hotel for convention goers as I walk with so many others staying at this spanking new, chic and trendy, excitingly decorated Sheraton  to the Puerto Rico Convention Center. What a joy not to have to take shuttle buses or taxis to get to the convention and back to your hotel room and to be able to walk back to your room at any time and still be able to return to the convention without wasting incredible amounts of time, and eliminating the cost of taxis in the process. And when the end of the day comes, there’s the Sheraton waiting for you with its multiple bars and a casino!

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For those in a position to fly in private jets, your time may be here. And on that note, I wonder why Ivana Trump subjected herself to flying in a commercial aircraft. Although she was in the First Class cabin,  Ivana has learned that, at least in the US, there are no First Class passengers. Everyone is on some kind of promotional upgrade, frequent flier deal or upgradeable full economy fare that puts the passenger into first class.  In the US, what used to be an elegant experience exists no longer. Most passengers in the front of the plane, whether it’s called Business Class or First Class, are interested in a wider seat and free drinks and couldn’t care less about the quality of the service. And when you expect nothing and demand nothing, that’s what you get.

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I am knocked out by how we are exiting 2009 by moving in a direction that has even me considering whether I want to go to an airport again! Of course, I’m already ticketed for my January travels and my concerns have NOTHING to do with my sense of safety in the air! My concern is focused on being harassed at airports and punished in-flight with irrational rules growing out of the embarrassment of those on the ground who allowed a terrorist to slide through several different security red-flag opportunities.  The new rules being bantered around for air passengers to live with remind me of elementary school when the whole class missed recess for a week because two classroom jokers behaved badly one day.  I haven’t done anything I need to be punished for! Why would I be denied a blanket, use of the lavatory and expected to have nothing in my lap in the last hour of the flight.  Do we need to be treated like terrorists in flight as a means to move the focus from of the errors of security and ‘intelligence’ on the ground? 

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Firstly, BRAVO to the passengers aboard the Amsterdam-Detroit flight today who took control of a clearly dangerous situation and created a positive outcome!  Bless you one and all!

I have been planning to post this Airport Security Survey for months but I was pushed over the edge today when the code share KLM/Northwest flight, which originated in Amsterdam transporing a connecting passenger whose trip originated in Lagos and connected in Amsterdam on his way to Detroit, became international breaking news when the man apparently created a dangerous situation on board.  I don’t know any more than you do but according to the news reports, the young man mixed liquids and/or powders together which resulted in a loud popping sound, smoke and flames.

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