Visit Virginia | Shockoe Bottom, Richmond

Once the site of bondage and commerce, Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom is now home to high-end eats and shopping. Turn your back on the shiny high rises and gleaming white Capitol building in downtown Richmond. Head downhill instead, toward the river, toward a section of town with cobblestone streets, where enslaved people once trudged in coffles…

Read More

Visit Virginia | Roanoke, Star City of the South

Virginia’s largest city west of Richmond has grown into a destination for food, art and the outdoors. The man bellies up to the dimpled counter at Roanoke’s Texas Tavern, under a sign that reads, “We seat 1,000 people, 10 at a time,” and orders his meal in a code familiar to locals. “I’ll take a…

Read More

Distinction Travel: Washington D.C. more than the National Mall

Long the destination of school field trips and historic tours, D.C. is now a place of art, music, food and surprise. Photo credit: Mike Morgan WASHINGTON | There is no music, yet people are dancing, some in sync and others not, their headphones lit up red or purple, blue or yellow, as they tune in…

Read More

Distinction Travel: The two sides of Curaçao

curacao

For travelers seeking something a little different, this former Dutch colonial outpost offers culture and luxury. WILLEMSTAD, CURAÇAO | The drive into the capital of Curaçao, the Dutch Caribbean outpost that is the “C” in the ABC islands, allows you to pass by the usual colorful privation of the Caribbean, tiny houses of cracked cinderblocks…

Read More