The recently opened Virgin Hotel New Orleans, located in the Warehouse District, is ready to be explored and enjoyed by visitors and locals alike. Just a two-block stroll away from Lafayette Square, and one block off of Poydras, this Virgin Hotel aims to offer the perfect launching point for travelers to explore the Big Easy, as well as a convenient meeting space for New Orleanians to brunch, lunch and mingle.
Located in the Eagle River Valley, Avon, Colorado, is a small town nestled at the base of Beaver Creek Ski Resort and just eight or so miles from better known Vail. Avon is also home to the Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa — one of the poshest resorts in the area. The award-winning resort has onsite dining and a bar, both with incredible views, as well as a spa, athletic club, a Starbucks, a heated outdoor pool and three infinity hot tubs. An added bonus to staying at the Westin is that one of the two gondolas, the Riverfront Express, runs skiers and snowboarders from the property straight to Beaver Creek Ski Resort.
With film and culture at the core of Francis Ford Coppola’s being, perhaps no one better understands the power of an ideal setting. In the early 1980s, Francis Ford Coppola visited Belize, immediately fell in love with the location, and impulsively purchased the abandoned Blancaneaux Lodge.
Sophisticated wine lovers, rejoice! A new paradise designed to enhance your tasting of some of Napa Valley’s finest wines has recently opened in Rutherford, California. Not every wine tasting experience is worth traveling for, but this one belongs on your bucket list. Inglenook Vineyards’ chateau was first built in 1887 and later beautifully restored in 1997. Francis Ford Coppola, proprietor of Inglenook, recently undertook a major renovation of the chateau’s Grand Salon in order to welcome visitors to special tasting experiences with warmth and hospitality.
Sandra Lopez Booher is a go-getter. She went from working for an accounting department at a law firm to the oilfield. From there, she met her lifetime partner, Joseph Marquardt, and the two formed an internet-based company. The business became extremely successful, allowing the couple to buy a 5,600-square-foot home in Youngsville.
So let me get this straight: You’re taking a bus from Houston to Austin — and this isn’t some winery tour bus or something?” inquired my friend, Lana Stack. A flight attendant for United Airlines, Lana was mostly amused about my mode of travel for this trip because, as her friend, I benefit from free standby tickets through United’s Buddy Pass program. Why, then, would I opt to take a bus as opposed to booking a free ticket for what’s essentially an hour-long flight?
After a 40-year career in broadcasting in Acadiana, well-known and much-loved 99.9 KTDY morning show co-host Debbie Ray retired from the air in 2018. Soon after, she made a cross-country move to Homer, Alaska. Debbie had been carefully planning this move for several years prior, as she and her husband fell in love with Alaska in 2002, when they traveled to Anchorage so Debbie could participate in an Arthritis Foundation fundraising run. “We explored over 1,100 miles on that trip and fell in love with the Kenai Peninsula, Homer in particular,” she explains.