A while back, I wrote about my niece Sam’s search for the right college. By “right,” I was assuming she meant the right place to go for a winter break. Or the right place to go for great college sports. Or the right place to go for a new destination. I gave her my advice. Iowa, Texas, Wisconsin, Louisville, UCLA, Colorado and Kentucky would have worked, just to name a few.

Last week, she made her decision. She chose Southern Illinois University, home of the Salukis.

I admit SIU would not be my choice . . . I mean for her, of course. However, I know Sam (and her parents) put a lot of thought and research into the decision. I also know that Carbondale is just 342 miles (give or take) away, which translates to a 5.5 hour trip. Not too bad.

I also know that the Salukis have made six NCAA tournament appearances since 2002. Not too bad, either (and better than my DePaul Blue Demons).

I also know that Carbondale is generally several degrees warmer than Chicago. It might not sound like much, but a few degrees is always welcome in the middle of a Chicago winter.

I learned that SIU has a teaching museum (the University Museum) on campus, which houses 60,000 artifacts and hosts traveling shows from artists. SIU also has one of the largest student unions in the country and a huge Student Center, along with a Rec Center and Health Center. There are also a number of popular food franchises on campus, including Chick-fil-A (one of Sam’s favorites).

SIU’s notable alumni include Jim Hart (former star NFL quarterback), Walt Frazier (NBA Hall of Famer), Dennis Franz (actor) and Scott Olofsson (a longtime Global Traveler fan). Unfortunately, Jim Belushi is also an alum, but I digress.

The city of Carbondale also has a lot to offer. The Shawnee National Forest, the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge and Giant City State Park are all in the Carbondale area. For the golf enthusiasts (aka our publisher, Fran Gallagher), Golf Digest awarded Hickory Ridge Golf Course a 4-star rating for the past six years.

Reviewing these facts (and Sam’s wishes, of course), I will become a proud supporter (and hopefully occasional visitor) of SIU. Go Salukis!

– John Wroblewski, distribution specialist

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 attended the Villa Joseph Marie High School annual charity auction on Saturday night, and it reminded me of the great values on offer in Global Traveler’s online auction to benefit the Mentor Foundation. At the Villa auction, GT donated a trip to China, which was a big hit, as were other travel-related vacations.

Global Traveler’s auction benefits a great cause that helps children around the world avoid getting involved with drugs and alcohol, which is one of the largest issues facing our children. While your bids will help children, you and your company will benefit from great deals and offers. Some of the selected items for bid include:

- Two business-class tickets on American Airlines

- Two business-class tickets on Asiana Airlines

- Two business-class tickets on Singapore Airlines

- Four business-class tickets on British Airways

- Two business-class tickets on  Emirates

So get online and bid, take a fabulous trip and help Mentor!

– Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO

Yesterday we headed down the road about 30 miles to Ashland, Oregon, home to the highly regarded Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Southern Oregon University and, this weekend, the 6th Annual Oregon Chocolate Festival. Because I am one of those people who believes that chocolate should be a separate (essential) food group, you can be sure that I was not going to miss this event.

More than 30 vendors offered tastes and sale of their products at the lovely and historic Ashland Springs Hotel (formerly known as the Mark Antony), just steps away from the OSF theaters. The entire town was focused on the chocolate event this weekend: Friday night the monthly First Friday Art Walk included chocolate goodies in many of the galleries, and all weekend theater-goers could enjoy 50 percent off their evening show tickets by mentioning “chocolate” at the ticket windows. (We weren’t able to take in a show this year but will have to keep that in mind next spring!) Able to devote just a few hours on Saturday, we nonetheless made good use of our time and had our fill of all manner of chocolate and chocolate-related goodies.

Four local wineries offered tastes of red wine varietals and blends as well as sweet dessert wines that paired nicely with the baked goods and truffles on hand. Rogue Ales offered samples of their Chocolate Stout, and Organic Nation Spirits provided sips of organically produced vodka and gin — distilled right in Ashland. All of the companies represented at the festival are genuinely Oregon-based, and many hail from the southwest region; a heartening thought: I don’t have to travel far to get a chocolate fix or something delectable to go with my favorite vice!

I noted a couple of interesting variations on your typical chocolate decadence. Two vendors offered raw chocolate confections: no sugar at all, but sometimes flavors such as ginger or chiles were added. The idea, I guess, is to get the nutritional benefits of chocolate without those added, processed calories. And Missionary Chocolates out of Portland creates dairy- and gluten-free truffles; their creations are a feast for the eyes and the palate!

Several local restaurants participated in a Chocolate Dessert Competition, and this presented a nice opportunity to the crowd of sweet-lovers. Plates of the contested items were available at a silent auction, with proceeds to benefit a local food bank. Although we didn’t place a winning bid, it was great to see some truly extravagant presentations and make a note of a place or two where we might drop in for a special dessert some evening in the future.

Once we’d had our fill of chocolate (hard to imagine, I know, but it is possible) and the crowds, we took advantage of the sunny, warm, early spring afternoon and strolled Main Street for a bit of window shopping. Ashland is a charming town with plenty of fascinating shops which appeal to its flood of play-going visitors, and we’ve barely begun to plumb what it has to offer. I’m sure we’ll be back over and over again — especially if the chocolate is out!

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

I always look forward to the Academy Awards. Yes, some years the show itself is mostly a yawn fest, but usually there are enough good films, songs and performances nominated (and I always have an opinion about costumes, directing and cinematography, too) that I am very much interested in learning the outcome of the voting. During the years that Billy Crystal hosted, one could be assured that at least the first five minutes would be entertaining, and yes, I must ‘fess up to enjoying making catty comments about some of the “fashion” on display as well.

This year, as everyone who has even a passing interest in film knows, the Oscars offer some added interest. For the first time in decades, 10 films are vying for Best Picture, instead of the usual five. And not since the late ’80s has there been more than one host (although, don’t you find that after the opening monologue/production number, that job usually fades into the woodwork?), with Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin doing the honors this year. What’s really got me anticipating the show, however, is the array of really great films and roles nominated this year. Admit it, some years the pickin’s are pretty slim and it isn’t hard to figure who the winners will be. Happily for those who look forward to entertaining, enlightening, thought-provoking cinema, there’s been a lot of that to choose from this past season.

While between the two of us Harry and I have seen seven of the 10 Best Picture nominees (I haven’t seen Avatar yet, and he doubts he’ll see Precious), we are still frustrated that the movies and performances we most want to see haven’t appeared at our local multiplexes and aren’t likely to, either. We have to drive at least 30 miles to find the one small movie house that will regularly schedule smaller, independent films, and if we can’t get there within a week or two, those are often gone before we can take them in.

It is certainly one of the things one must accept in living in a smaller city, but it can be especially annoying when there are so many good films that just don’t get here. I’ve been eager to see The Hurt Locker, An Education, A Serious Man and A Single Man; and don’t even get me started on the documentaries and foreign films (those are nearly always a wait-’til-it’s-available-through-Netflix situation). I guess I just have to remember to budget some time when I’m in the Big City to zip in to a nearby theater and catch a movie I can be pretty sure won’t make it to my town (if it isn’t distributed by a big studio and it doesn’t have a doomsday scenario, lots of horny and/or murdered teenagers, supernatural creatures, fast cars or lots of explosions, it’s a candidate).

Anyway, here’s to an entertaining awards show tomorrow night; I hope your favorite wins!

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader