Welcome to OurTravelCafe.Com
I’m a tireless traveler, an avid bicycle rider, dedicated restaurant patron and over-qualified eater. I’m a French
Cajun by birth, a Parrothead by choice, and a Southerner by the grace of God. I’m also a semi-retired Baby Boomer determined to defy physical age by remaining in constant motion and living a full life. Sharing experiences is my avocation, and that’s the spirit in which OurTravelCafe.Com was conceived.
The travel bug started with my parents, who once-a-year packed the kids into a car for a driving vacation somewhere in the Deep South or surrounding states. Wanderlust was fed by my career, as for the past 25+ years I’ve traveled frequently and distantly, literally around-the-world on one particular trip, and by miles many times over according to my airline records. By current count, I’ve been to 29 countries and 47 US states on business or vacations, and eager to travel further and farther in the future.
My parents also inspired my love of dining out, and that grew as I pursued a professional career which largely (and accidentally) has been dedicated to marketing for restaurant equipment companies. Many of the world’s largest — and quite a few of the world’s finest — restaurants were among the customers I worked with daily. At one point, I had a large group of demonstration chefs reporting to me, and thus was a fortunate participant in a number global culinary exhibitions.
The fusion of those two passions are the inspiration of OurTravelCafe.Com. My hope is to share a menu of travel experiences that reflect my personal journeys. As I’m fortunate to have a global network of friends in the communications, restaurant and travel industries, I’m hopeful they will contribute as “guest chefs” to this travel and culinary gumbo.
Perspective and Point of View
OurTravelCafe.Com generally is written from my personal perspective — that of a very-recently 60-something, upper-middle-class Southern American Baby Boomer traveling for work and fun. These days, my best trips include my wife and our adopted teenage son, and occasionally our grown children, their families and our grand children. My wife and I enjoy active travel, so you can expect lots of references to hiking, biking, walking explorations of historical and natural sites and similar activities. We also like to cruise, and we prefer plan-our-own port activities rather than taking the standard cruise line offered excursions. When we travel on our own, we enjoy walking tours of city centers and driving excursions through the countryside, always keeping an eye open for local markets featuring local cuisine, merchants and goods.
We’re not budget travelers though we do enjoy a good bargain — especially my wife. Neither are we high-end, luxury aficionados. So while you may find some attention devoted to luxury or an occasional tip on travel bargains and deals, usually I’ll focus on the destinations and activities rather than cost.
Site Organization
The site is organized around the concept of a restaurant menu, and we hope you find that convenient. Our menu includes:
- Georgia Small Plates. We’ve lived outside the perimeter (OTP) of Atlanta since 2015, and love the Northwest Atlanta area in the foothills of the Great Smokey Mountains. We write about all things Georgia here. Because this is our current home turf, you’ll find more information on day trips, local attractions and regional food here.
- Southern Deep Fried. If it’s east of Texas and touches the Gulf of Mexico, we consider it the Deep Fried South. Because we like them, we’ll throw Tennessee and the Carolinas into this travel and culinary low-country boil. (FYI, we cover Texas as part of the US, though many in the Lone Star State might prefer to be considered their own country.)
- US Roadhouse Fare. Take out our Southern Deep Fried states, and everything else in the good old United States is covered here. Against our better judgement, that also includes Alaska, Hawaii and US territories around the world. Just to mess with the geographically-challenged, we cross-reference remote US territories in the international section, too.
- International Sampler. If it ain’t in the US, it’s international to us. Yes, that includes Canada, which actually is a different country and not a 51st state, and we absolutely love traveling there. At current count, we’ve visited 22 countries, and we’re hoping to double that in the next few years.
- Airport Bites. No one likes spending time in airports, but if you travel, it’s inevitable. Here we present guides, tips and insights about some of the airports frequented by OurTravelCafe and our traveling friends.
- Off the Menu. Sometimes, we just can’t fit things into a geographic category. So, when we write something like packing or photo tips, or general stories, you’ll find them here. If this feels like a catch-all section, we’re doing it as envisioned.
Future Sections
- Guest Chefs. We think this will be our absolute favorite part of the menu. Over a long career in newspapers, corporate communications and marketing, with an active engagement in global organizations, I’ve been fortunate to connect with talented colleagues and friends who share a passion for travel, writing and sharing. So this is where we will invite our colleagues and friends to share their best stories, tips, advice and insights. We’ll always list our guest chefs here, and we will cross-reference their submissions in other sections when it’s sensible to do so.
- Kids Menu. Since we’re often traveling with kids and grandkids, we’ll include some special offers for the wee and not-so-wee ones. Ideally, we’re hoping to get our 12-year-old to contribute his own items here, but then, he’s a 12-year-old so there are no guarantees.
Physical Activities
As more of us aging baby boomers are focused on activities, exercise and health, I’ll also include some general fitness observations or health details in my posts where they relate to highlighted experiences. I am a devoted user of Garmin’s VivoActive HR fitness watch and tracker. I try to ride 50 miles per week on a bicycle or the equivalent of that at my local gym on exercise bikes. My outdoors riding speed on flat ground is 17-20 mph, and I’ll average 23 mph on the LifeCycle upright bike at my local gym set on a random program at level 11. So, if I do something more on the strenuous side, I’ll likely include some of the data and readings provided to help readers evaluate how certain activities might affect them.
Rather than going on here, please look around and sample from the menu. We would also love your feedback on the articles, topics, style and anything else. We hope you enjoy OurTravelCafe.com, and that you will come back frequently to check out our ever-changing menu of travel experiences.
