A visit to Peru, told in tantalizing snapshots of a culture where money is paramount and the contrast between new-seeming values and old-seeming customs give narrator Adam Jeffries Schwartz a lot to think about and convey.

A salt flat the size of Holland, flamingos with a tobacco habit, and a narrator who is over 120 years old — some of these things are probably true, and some of them a flight of fancy, but they blend together in this offbeat story of a package tour and its surprises, from Adam Jeffries Schwartz.

Frank Joussen tells of a night in a small fishing-town in Portugal, where a loving married couple on vacation gets lost, and found, and reminded of the exhilaration of love again.

With a determination to avoid the disappointment of a “gonna” that turned into a “never-gotten-around-to,” Joanna Faries and her family make a pilgrimage on behalf of her mother.

Sometimes the smallest things on a trip loom large — in this case, you’ll never guess what writer Melissa Bartell had to size up.

Bitsy Parker’s story of a mother-daughter trip to a TV sound stage takes a stomach-churning twist at a place you wouldn’t expect!

When bad luck dogs you on a cross-country drive, it never hurts to be kind to strangers. Read Roger Dean Kiser’s interesting tale of Good Samaritan-ism and its heartwarming results.

A holiday through the splendors of central Europe rekindles the horrors of World War II while it humbles and educates a group of American tourists. Miriam Walker recounts what she learned.

On a volunteer journey to Thailand to help with an irrigation project, Judy Evans and her husband experience life in a small village where hunting rat for supper is only one of many eye openers.

A desire for exercise and an ambition for adventure led Mary McIntosh and her husband to climb Mt. Fuji. It was a trip that continues to pay dividends!

Becky Lower, an Editor’s Choice finalist in our first writing contest, weighs in again with a trip to the Maryland countryside for some genealogical research.

Michael Finlay takes a journey to his past on a trip to Great Britain.

Chandra Ghosh Jain takes us on a tourist stop to Liberty Island and a chance encounter with Lady Liberty, still standing after all these years.

Anastasia Powers on a journey to Alaska takes a side trip to the bitter end.

During a trip to Alaska, Lori Strongin faces off with a moose mama and her newborn calf.