MissionAccomplished
Ihavebeen fortunateenough to travelat
leastonceamonth todifferentstates this
yearasaCatholicmissionary.Theprecari-
ousnessofbeingamissionaryparallels that
ofanadventurer, goingwherever thewind
blowsandmeetingnewpeoplewithevery
journey.While traveling in itself isadream
come true, Imustpraise thework thatyou
andyour teamdo.Thearticleshaveadded
more thanone item tomybucket list.
KevinSison
Miami
Editorial InternAmandaOgleResponds:
Kevin,
it’s always great to learn that the places wewrite
about inspire others to have their own adventures,
andwhat an adventure youmust be having as
amissionary.One of the greatest pleasures of
AIRMAIL
editon theflight, Iflip through thepagesof
AmericanWay
.Your teamalwaysdelivers.
Nomatter thecity,before landing, Iknow
where tofind thesteakhouses,poolside
drinksandgood living.Thankyouall!
RyanSmall
Houston
A.P.Responds:
Thank you, Ryan.We loveour
Texas filmmakers.
16
DECEMBER2015
AMERICANWAY
InourOctober issue,
AmericanWay
Senior
EditorEricCelestewroteanarticleabout his
recent visit toVancouver.His storygot a lot of
positive feedback.
WordsFromaWriter
I wanted to congratulateEricCelesteon an
excellent article aboutVancouver. I got a real
feel for theplace, and although I amnot an
outdoorsy type— so I wouldn’t necessarilybe
interested ingoing therebasedon the article— I
thought it was among thebest travel writing I
have read.And that’s from a fellow travel writer.
Good job!
MichaelWald,
Dallas
EricCelesteResponds:
Thanks,Michael.
The funny thing is, I’mnot theoutdoorsy type
either. Two things getmeoutdoors, though: 1.
Mygirlfriend, who is theoutdoorsy type, telling
me “get off your lazybutt and let’s get out of
here.”That always seems towork. 2.A city that is
built for people rather than cars.When you can
just walkoutside andgo, itmakes enjoying the
natural amenities of a city thatmucheasier. True,
beautiful weather helps, but you canovercome
day-to-dayweather concernswith cities that are
well planned.
TravelTips
Dear Eric: I enjoyed your articleonVancouver
and found it very entertaining.Nicework.As
an architect, I countVancouver as oneofmy
favorite cities, and as a traveler, I find it especially
friendly. I would also recommendhungry visitors
go to aCactusClub. There are several, all
foundedbyCanada’s first IronChef, but theone
just southof StanleyPark is also theonly restau-
rant onEnglishBayBeach and ideal for sunsets.
Most importantly, however, readers shouldnote
that all travel toCanada is an incrediblebargain
right now, whetherWestCoastVancouver or
EastCoastQuebec.With the current exchange
rate,American visitorswill enjoy ahighly
discounted trip toCanada (30percent less)
compared toeven just oneor two years ago, and
it is abeautiful countryworthexploring. Enjoy
your travels, everyone!
KenDowning,
LosAngeles
E.C.Responds:
Iwent to theCactusClubyou’re
talkingabout,Ken!Mygirlfriendwas shopping, and
Iwent to thebar inside foranadultbeverageand
someappsand toldher, “I’llbeherewhenyou’re
done.”Loved it.And, trustme, theexchange rate
made the trip lesspainful than itcouldhavebeen
when thecreditcard statementcame.
HowWeStackUp
Throughout themany years I havebeen flying,
reading the airlinemagazine has typically been
a two-minutedrill. I used to leaf through the
pages looking for anythingof interest, and
moreoften thannot, I wouldquickly return the
magazine to the seat pocket.Once in awhile, I
would tear out a pageor two for further reading.
If it weremore than a fewpages, I would take
the entiremagazinewithme to casually peruse
later. Last week, I foundmyself taking the entire
October issueof
AmericanWay
withme. To
my surprise, when I finishedgoing through and
collecting thepages that interestedme, that
stack of pages I hadmarked as interestingwas
thicker than the stackwith thepages withwhich
I was already familiar or didnot findof further
interest.My,my! Twoofmy favorites: First,
“TheCityDifferent,” which is about oneofmy
favorite cities, SantaFe. As oftenhappens when
one has theopportunity to visit several times a
month, I hadgrown to takingmany of its plea-
sures for granted rather than fully appreciating
what is “inmy backyard.”Another favoritewas
“City ofGlass,” aboutVancouver, whichmywife
and I have had thepleasureof visiting a couple
of times. After readingmore about it, we are
already planning another return trip. Thanks to
the
AmericanWay
staff for remarkably including
features whichdelightfully enhance the topic.
FilChavez
RioRancho,NewMexico
E.C.Responds:
Asyouknow,Fil, Ihadagreat
time inVancouver, and the fact that I could inspire
you to takeanother trip theremakesmevery
happy. I also recentlyvisitedSantaFeand found
itdelightful.Asyou suggest, it isoneof those
vacationdestinationswhere, ifyou seekout the
localsandheed theiradvice, youcanalways find
spotsbeyond the typical tourist stops.By theway:
Youcanalways take theentire issuewithyou ifyou
want to readmore!
CELESTIALPRAISE
