If you’ve read my blogs regularly, you know that I have met a lot of celebrities. It has been a hobby of mine for a long time, and I always incorporate it into my work when the opportunity is there.

Over the last couple years, I have started asking more travel-related questions. Not only are the questions relevant to Global Traveler, but I have found that the questions sometimes open the conversations quite well. I think the stars view travel questions as a refreshing change of pace over the usual stuff.

One of the most interesting conversations was with Jon Miller, award-winning announcer for the San Francisco Giants and ESPN. I asked Miller about his favorite city to visit. He gave me a lengthy, thoughtful answer.

Miller loves Bora-Bora, calling it “the most incredible spot ever,” although he doubted there would ever be a baseball club there. I knew the interview was going to be fun at that point.

He then talked about the beauty and culture of Paris. Bringing it to the United States, he cited Seattle (especially in the summer) for the waterfront and Chicago for the shopping, food and theater. Crossing the northern border, Miller raved about Toronto’s transit system and their underrated theater scene. Miller brought us back to the U.S. by talking about San Diego and the wonderful downtown and waterfront area around PetCo Park. I really think Miller could have spent the whole afternoon discussing travel, but his duties called him away.

Miller did not name any specific hotels. Most celebrities don’t, for whatever reasons. Maybe they just don’t want to sound like an endorsement.

Hall of Fame broadcaster (and former ESPN workmate of Miller’s) Peter Gammons was an exception to that general rule. Gammons named San Francisco as his favorite city to visit. Gammons talked about the famous bridge as well as the joy in simply walking around the city. Then he mentioned the Mandarin Oriental as his favorite hotel, citing the elegance, comfort and fabulous views.

Of course, everyone isn’t as willing to discuss travel. Joe Morgan, Hall of Fame player and current broadcaster for ESPN, said he didn’t have a favorite city because he likes them all. That was disappointing. Morgan played in the ’60s through the mid-’80s and in many cities. I am sure he could have added some interesting insight.

I have a lot more stories. Perhaps I will sprinkle them in here if the response is good.

– John Wroblewski, distribution specialist

Aside from baseball season, we are currently in the midst of my other favorite sports season of the year — March Madness. I hail from an alma mater pretty well recognized for its basketball program, Syracuse University. My freshman year in college was the year of Carmelo Anthony as he led the Syracuse Orange (then Orangemen) to its first NCAA Championship. Talk about exciting!

I still follow the basketball team fairly closely now, and this was a great season to be a fan. SU finished the season ranked No. 3 in the nation with a 28-3 record. At one point, we were tops in the nation. Our home game against Villanova was the highest-attended college basketball game in history. Yesterday was disheartening. After a double bye in the Big East tournament, we lost to Georgetown yesterday and had a scare when mainstay Arinze Onuaku left the game due to a knee injury. Luckily, it looks rest will do the trick and Onuaku should be back in the game for the NCAA tournament.

So, now I look forward to Selection Sunday. Go Orange!

– Kim Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive

Are you an adventure traveler? I saw a piece of news on the TV about a new adventure idea called skyaking. It’s jumping out of a plane in a kayak. While the visuals looked awesome on TV, I am not jumping out of my desk chair to try this one. So perhaps I am not an adventure traveler.

However, I believe adventure travel can be defined in many ways. Each month GT features an “Adventure Add-on” destination article, ranging from eco-tours to trekking the mountain peaks of the Andes. Personally, I think the pictures accompanying the article are stunning. But I’m quite happy reading about and looking at them from the pages of GT.

On the other hand, I am one to get on a plane and go anywhere off the beaten path. I believe it’s just as adventurous to go to a politically unstable environment as it is to jump out of a plane. One opportunity involving sport and travel that I would take advantage of, if it came my way, is heliskiing. Jumping out of a helicopter is a little more manageable for me than an airplane, especially since there are fresh tracks to be skied that have yet to be touched by another person.

What’s your idea of adventure travel? Don’t forget to take a look at GT’s auction to see what prize suits your adventure needs!

– Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher

I’ve been looking forward to this weekend for quite a while. Not because we had any big plans or were going anywhere special. I just was anticipating a leisurely three-day weekend (more for my husband than for me, since working from home means my work days can often be indistinguishable from weekends and holidays), with Valentine’s Day and the start of the Winter Olympics adding fun and excitement to the mix.

This year we decided to forego a nice dinner out at one of our favorite places and instead create a nice dinner in for Valentine’s Day. I think I’ve mentioned before that Harry is some mean cook, so I’m anticipating a meal of coconut shrimp, wild rice and asparagus with Hollandaise sauce and, of course, a bottle of wine or two. I’ll be contributing a yummy chocolate dessert — can’t have Valentine’s Day without chocolate! We’ll also take in a couple of movies this weekend (we each choose one, so there’s a nice balance) and just enjoy a few unhurried days together.

The weekend began with watching the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Games in Vancouver. Well, I will admit that I was reading a magazine and doing a few chores at the same time, as all of the coverage did not require my undivided attention all of the time. I did enjoy much of the visual spectacle, though. And, with the games being held here in the Pacific Northwest, we have an added interest in them. Having lived in the Seattle area and Washington state for two decades, we’ve visited Vancouver a number of times. It is definitely one of my favorite cities for it’s stunning setting, cosmopolitan atmosphere and cultural diversity. After observing all of the preparations over the last several years for this big event, it’s exciting to now see it all coming to fruition and to see the rest of the world’s reaction to this beautiful place.

I’ve always enjoyed both the summer and winter Olympics. I have very little athletic talent myself, but I really get drawn in to the various competitions and can’t help but admire and respect all the effort and sacrifice the athletes put forth to achieve their goals. A few peeves about the coverage, though. This one applies not just to the Olympics, but any sporting event: Please, do away with the pre- and post-event interviews with the athletes. The same old cliched questions are asked, and the same old cliched responses will be given. I like the pretaped background stories on the athletes’ lives, but not those stale bits that reveal absolutely nothing new.

I’d also like to to see the events in real time, not tape-delayed and broadcast during prime time (admitting that there may be options via satellite and such). For those of us living in the same time zone as the Games are being held, it would mean we don’t have to stay up ’til midnight to catch the finals of big events. I appreciate the editing which compresses time between preliminaries and individual performances, but too much manipulation takes some of the spontaneity and anticipation out of the viewing.

Finally, I just don’t like the participation of professional athletes, especially in the team events like hockey, basketball and baseball. I know all of the history, the political and economic reasons behind the change in the rules. I know that there are the Shaun Whites and Apolo Ohnos who have made a lot of money in their sports, too — more than most professional athletes in team sports. Still, especially in those team events, I think it makes for especially uneven “competition.” And who believes the 1980 Miracle on Ice victory would have been as sweet if the U.S. team had been loaded with pros? 

Ah, but enough of that. I’m just going to sit back and enjoy the rest of my weekend, and may you do the same.

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

I recently stayed at the Pineapple Hill Inn Bed and Breakfast in New Hope, PA. I have previously stayed there a few times while in town for Global Traveler business. While I always enjoy my stay at the Pineapple Hill Inn, I would like to offer a suggestion for B&Bs nationwide.

B&Bs usually have some sort of historic theme, and I can find no real reason for this. I would like to see a B&B break format and go with a different theme. I think the historic decor could be dropped in favor of a sports motif. The quaintness wouldn’t have to be lost either. For instance, in the Boston Celtics room, there could be some old black-and-white photos, some hand-stitched likenesses of famous Celtics and a green and white Celtics color scheme. Men would love this (or at least like it more than the usual historic stuff).

I’m not suggesting having old game films available to watch (although that would be cool). There are plenty of nice sports items which could fill a room nicely.

If you think sports would be too much, maybe you’d like a vacation decor. There could be rooms dedicated to Paris, Rome, New York and maybe even Las Vegas. The rooms could be filled with tasteful souvenirs and lovely artwork from each city.

Other possible themes could be classic TV, the Golden Age of cinema or music. The possibilities are endless. If you’re still stuck on history, you could do rooms in 20th-century decades, filled with things from the specific decade.

The intimacy and romanticism never has to be lost, no matter the decor. What makes history intimate or romantic anyway? Any theme could be utilized, while still maintaining the “feel” of the historic B&B if it is done properly.

Hotels are always trying new things to set themselves apart and ahead. Why must B&Bs be forever stuck in history?

– John Wroblewski, distribution specialist