Why Ecuador? Of all the places I researched when thinking about making a change in my life, this is the country that appealed to me the most.

I was already familiar with Spanish-language countries; I had lived a happy, interesting, and contented life in Mexico since I was 40 years old. However, after 25 years as a single female expat, it was time to move on. As more and more baby boomers looked to Mexico as their retirement haven, too many gringos moved in on my little pueblo on Lake Chapala. Finally, we even got a Walmart in town, and a casino.

While obtaining a “retirement” visa was easier in Mexico, it had to be renewed on an annual basis with an annual fee. In Ecuador, the “pensioner” visa is a one-time proposition. I had to prove sufficient income once and only once, and now it seems I’ll be welcome here in the town of Cuenca forever.

Single life in Cuenca is an easy transition. Since most expats have not been here for long, they seem open and friendly and welcoming of new arrivals. There are many other aspects of life here that I consider good and valid reasons to choose Ecuador as a good place to relocate. I find a lower cost-of-living than in Mexico and certainly in the U.S. It’s lower for everything from utilities, groceries, nightlife, cultural events, and local transportation. I don’t even own a car anymore, so I have no auto maintenance headaches, gasoline costs, nor license and insurance expenses.

Medical costs are lower too. I have already had an experience with a porcelain crown at a cost of $400 and a gall bladder sonogram for $35. A visit and follow-up care with an opthamologist was $25, and the cost of prescriptions is lower than even Mexico.

Of course there are pros and cons to living in any foreign country. In my case, I find airfare back to the U.S. is costly, as are imported food, and health and beauty items. I am learning to substitute more affordable local products.

Weather is a big factor of living in Ecuador. Some may not like the cooler temperatures at higher elevations. We have sunny days but cool nights in Cuenca. The coastal areas on the Pacific Ocean may appeal more to those who don’t like the sound of that.

While Ecuador may not have the infrastructure and services of the better-known retirement destination of Mexico, it offers me some of the greatest natural gems in the world including the Amazon, the Andes, the Galapagos Islands, cloud forests, volcanoes, and more than 600 species of birds. Since the country is about as large as the state of Nevada, it’s possible and affordable to travel and get to know all parts of the nation. The biodiversity is as staggering as the scenery.

I never lack for interesting options for sightseeing, either: colonial cities, lakes, ruins, hot springs, waterfalls, national parks, cobblestone streets, town squares, handicrafts, and traditional celebrations. All in all, my move to Ecuador and my new life here among approximately 500 expatriate residents was the best decision for me.

You might be interested in the video I worked on that was shot in Cuenca this year by Michael Karsh. The subject is what life is really like for expats who live here. There is no advertising, real estate promotion, nor financial advice, just plenty of practical information, plus interviews with expats like me.

Photo by AP.

A growing number of snowbirds heading south in search of warmer weather during the winter are Baby Boomers — outwardly mobile retirees and vacationers who are traveling in motor homes or campers or cars or planes to escape the cold.

An Associated Press story reports:

“This annual migration of the AARP set is worth millions to the coastal economy and typically serves a financial bridge for tourist-dependent condominiums, restaurants and stores between the holidays and the start of spring break season, when business picks up again.”

This year, snowbirds are critical for the companies and property owners who have suffered for months because of the BP oil spill. Without the snowbirds, some businesses teetering on the edge of solvency may not make it until the weather warms up again.

“You take that away when they didn’t have anything to start with and you start a whole new tier of desperation,” said Tony Kennon, mayor of this beach town on the Alabama-Florida state line.

The local tourism agency is advertising in the Midwest, inviting snowbirds to return to the coast. Winter rates always are far less than summer prices, with many condominium owners renting out their units to Northern visitors for months at a time. Some condominiums and motels are offering even lower prices than normal this year, with prices reduced by two-thirds at a few.

Click here for the full story from AP.

The call of the road seems ingrained in Americans’ DNA. We have a lot to see. We have the roads to get us there. We have the motivation of “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac or “Travels with Charlie” by John Steinbeck or, for a real twisted take on the theme, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” by Hunter S. Thompson. They all traveled in funky ways. Steinbeck drove around in a battered pickup truck with a cover.

Paul Brian of The Examiner.com writes about his own experiences. Read about it here.

My wife and I have gotten to the stage and age in our baby boomer lives when we find ourselves discussing not retirement but what new adventure might be ahead for us. We keep returning to the idea of possibly living somewhere in Europe.

We are not sure where in Europe because there are so many appealing places. What appeals is the idea of a culture that seems more grounded, more purposeful, more respectful.

Munich had never crossed our minds until a recent visit with friends who live near the city. Aside from my being German language-challenged, this Bavarian city within sight of the Alps seems to have it all -– music (including an outstanding opera), quaint neighborhoods, many beautiful parks and town squares, countless cafés, and people who seem to be pretty easy going even though they live in a major metropolis.

One day during our visit, while having lunch at a terrific outdoor French café, we looked at each other and had the same idea: who would have believed Munich might be a cool city to live? Now, I need to add quickly that it is out of the question for us for a couple of reasons. One is that while I can struggle with French, I find that for me, learning to function in German is impossible. My aging brain just is not wired for either the German language or the society’s propensity for strict obedience to order.

Nonetheless, Munich is a neat city for baby boomers, especially if you like surfing.

Yes, surfing! As we walked the city, our friend suggested that we visit the English Gardens in Munich to watch the surfers. I really didn’t know what to expect. Heck, only a few weeks earlier I was in Santa Cruz, America’s Surf City, and got all excited.

There’s no wide sandy beach in Munich. But there seems to be pretty good surfing.

At the mouth of the artificial stream to Munich’s 200-year-old English Gardens is a surging, standing wave. It is created as water is channeled into a more narrow tree-lined stream, creating enough pressure at times for local surfers to don wetsuits and take turns. It’s like a 200-year-old wave machine!

The area is posted with signs warning people not to get into the water and certainly avoid getting near the wave. No one pays any attention. It’s too much fun.

Meantime, spectators line a bridge over the stream to enjoy the surfing skills up close and snap pictures.
There seems to be a protocol among surfers. No one hogs the wave for long. After a couple of minutes, they wipe-out and someone else jumps into the constant surf.

We all stood there, sort of spellbound by the scene of serious-minded surfers riding the waves… just a few feet from a busy street in downtown Munich.

All we needed were some songs by the Beach Boys or Randy Newman blaring from out of the overhanging trees.

Rock on…

Amid all the diverse art and culture in California are its murals … large murals created over the last several decades, and located mostly in smaller towns. San Francisco-born art historian Kevin Bruce has traveled the state to write about its murals for a new book, “Large Art in Small Places: Discovering the California Mural Towns.”

Over the past two or three decades, the growth of murals in small-town California has been especially phenomenal. There are a few essential reasons for the strong appeal of public murals in small towns. Lacking big-city sensory overload, small towns have fewer elements that compete for aesthetic attention, and a large-scale mural becomes a focal point of the community.

The keen interest in murals has also been bred by the necessity of survival. Small towns are hubs of economic activity, but in some cases, the main sources of economic wealth have diminished drastically. A primary cause is often the failure of a core industry. Logging operations cease, mines peter out, or key industries relocate. In response, some towns have created mural programs as a means of attracting visitors and revitalizing the economy through tourism.
An added bonus is a reinvigoration of civic pride. Many murals offer wonderful lessons about a town’s past. Each town has a unique history, with heroes (and, for honesty’s sake, a few villains), triumphs, and tragedies. What better way to share, and to learn about, small-town life than through the visual history lessons on the walls.

Whatever the reasons a small community initiates a mural program, the community finds that the rewards are numerous and more far-reaching than merely beautification or tourism. Muralist Don Gray comments on this aspect:

Many of the mural projects that spring up all over are in small towns that find themselves faced with lethargic economies. A mural program is proposed as a way to bring visitors (and their money) to town. A core group of energetic folks gets the ball rolling. Then an interesting thing happens. Friendships flourish as activists rub shoulders to choose mural themes, meet artists, hold fundraisers, prepare walls for painting, and attend to the countless details that arise.

The enthusiasm is contagious. More and more volunteers jump in. Suddenly, all this shared energy blossoms into a renewed sense of community pride that can’t be measured simply in economic terms. They are revitalized in spirit as well.

Many observers consider the small town of Chemainus in British Columbia, Canada, to be the birthplace of what is called the mural town and Dr. Karl Schutz to be the chief architect. The Chemainus mural program began in 1982, and now this historic lumber-mill town boasts more than thirty large-scale murals. As a measure of the economic potential of a mural program, this town of three thousand residents attracts more than four hundred thousand visitors each year.

Schutz’s credo is “Never let those who say it can’t be done stand in the way of those who are doing it.” Acting as a consultant to small-town mural programs, he has been instrumental in spreading the concept of the mural town, especially to receptive places in California.

California has its own strong mural tradition that began in the 1920s and ’30s. It was spearheaded by los Tres Grandes (the Three Greats): Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Their influence led to flourishing mural programs in large California cities, especially those with a sizable Hispanic population. They were closely followed by the Great Depression–era WPA murals in public buildings, and the tradition flourished through the social-action murals of the 1960s and ’70s to a wide variety of mural projects being carried out today.

This is especially true in the small mural towns of California, where there has been an explosion of mural projects in the last ten years. Mural towns grow in many ways. Some small-town mural projects are the efforts of eager and prolific local mural artists. Although they become the core contributors, a project may expand by inviting out-of-town muralists to participate. Some mural towns begin as the work of a dedicated and inspired mural society, which raises money and commissions murals.

However the mural program begins, it invariably incites community involvement and pride. One event designed to include the community in a hands-on manner is called mural-in-a-day. A master muralist is selected and given a theme, then researches the subject matter, designs a mural, creates a sketch on a prepared wall, and mixes the paint. Early on the appointed day, volunteers execute the mural in a paint-by-numbers fashion. At the end of the day, sometimes after sundown, the scaffolds are dismantled, the mural is signed by the participating painters, and the dedication is made.

Photos are taken, T-shirts and certificates are handed out, and everyone celebrates a job well done. This collaborative process not only reduces the cost of the mural through the use of volunteer efforts, but also fosters enthusiasm for the mural project within the community. Trompe l’oeil muralist John Pugh has firm ideas on the effect of public murals on small-town communities:

Murals help to create a sense of community pride and enthusiasm. Murals also help to establish a community identity. They unite people . . . bring people together. Public art can provide a sense of common history, common culture, and heritage. People underestimate the power of public art. It is an art that people can participate in and interact with.

The growth of small-town mural projects is not limited to California. An increasing number of towns in the United States and Canada have embraced the mural town concept, and flourishing mural towns are found around the world, from Prestongrange, Scotland, to Sterling, Tasmania.

As this book defines a mural town, it is a place where the town intends the murals be all, or part, of a plan to attract tourism. Therefore, the murals are an economic drawing card as well as an aesthetic novelty. Several “mural towns” have only one or two murals. These are budding mural towns in the first stages of their growth. They have mural societies in place and are planning to build mural collections as an integral part of their tourism appeal. They may not merit a special trip but are certainly worth a look if you happen to be nearby.

In selecting murals for the book, I have chosen murals by both amateur and professional artists and works offering a wide range of artistic appeal, from skillful narratives to expressions of pure whimsy. Masterworks of the genre include the trompe l’oeil narrative illusions of John Pugh, the larger-than-life epics of Wei Luan, the expressive portraits of Don Gray, and the dramatic historic tableaus of Art Mortimer. Countless murals by other artists add local flavor, unique perspectives, and individual styles.

The captions are meant to give not only information about the mural, artist, and location but also a sense of the significance of each mural—what it contributes to the town and what makes it special. The standard medium for outdoor murals is acrylic paint, as it is the most durable and weatherproof medium. It is also less expensive and quicker to dry than oil-based paints. By their very nature, murals, placed on the sides of buildings, are generally large, some over one hundred feet in length. Whatever the medium, size, and inspiration, one thing is certain: these muralists have truly taken the museum to the streets.

Your Guide to Artful Adventure

The mural towns of California offer a treasure trove of history and art. If you find art and history both enlightening and entertaining, this combination travel guide, art reference, and history book is the perfect resource—whether you make a weekend tour to several mural towns or visit just one mural town en route from one place to another.

Descriptions of each town and its attractions will help you plan your trip, but be sure to contact the local chamber of commerce (using the addresses, phone numbers, and websites provided) for current maps, calendars of events, restaurant and accommodation listings, and other information. The chambers can also provide you with additional background on the artists. Individual muralists’ websites are another good source of information.

This book encourages travel at a slower pace. Mural towns are places where you can take your time and recharge your batteries. You will meet new people and enjoy leisurely small-town life out of the fast lane, and you will find much to learn.

Kevin Bruce’s new book -Large Art in Small Places: Discovering the California Mural Towns
- is available at Amazon.com

Learn about the life of watermen and the seafood industry of yesteryear in the Bay Experience Center that is housed within the area’s last remaining oyster packing plant, McNasby’s. Board a boat and take a 1.5 mile trip out to the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse. Tour the last remaining screw-pile lighthouse in its original location on the Chesapeake Bay. 723 Second Street, Eastport, Annapolis, MD 21403; 410-295-0104. www.annapolismaritimemuseum.org.

Click here to read more.

With the full spectrum of winter weather about to be history for another year, I cannot help but look forward to summertime bliss and start making plans for my next getaway. Having recently moved from sunny Southern California back to the wintry chill of Washington DC, the doldrums of those dark months just past have beckoned me to seek sand, surf, and water. I know I’ll want to escape to a tropical paradise.

Not that I am high-maintenance (though my wife may suggest otherwise), but I want a vacation that reflects my tastes for the best of everything, yet does not require a second vacation to recover from the first one. In other words … I want it all. After speaking with some friends and researching online, I’ve found it close to home, no passport required, in Palm Beach, Florida. I’ll share with you what I’ve learned and what I’ve got planned.

For us, it’s as simple as flying from BWI — Baltimore airport — directly to PBI — Palm Beach — on a Saturday. We’ll take a week and stay at the most famous resort in Palm Beach, The Breakers. It is the classic classy retreat: it has a 20,000 square foot spa and a luxury shopping concourse (for my “low maintenance” wife), and is situated right on the beach with restaurants, bars, and most importantly, a seaside golf course for me. It’s important for me to have everything I want right there at the resort itself (including an aquarium bar that’s world famous), but there’s also a lot for us to do in the surrounding community.

After playing golf by the seaside at The Breakers, I’ll take my sticks out on The Links at Boynton Beach, which Golf Digest rated as one of the best places to play. Palm Beach is home to more than a hundred courses, so I am looking forward to spending time working on my short game.

We plan to visit the cultural venues in Palm Beach: the award-winning Norton Museum of Art’s exhibits of Georgia O’Keefe and Ansel Adams, the Kravis Center for a ballet performance, and the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. We even heard that a fairly new upstart theater company called Palm Beach Dreamworks has some fantastic local actors.

On Sunday of the week we’re there, we already plan on taking a lazy afternoon sightseeing drive in our rental convertible. We plan to drive south on the coastside highway A1A, singing “Margaritaville” from Palm Beach’s own Jimmy Buffet, and enjoy the saltwater pines and ocean breeze. Then, we’re thinking of heading inland to see Palm Beach’s other coast on the 700-plus acre Lake Okeechobee.

For dining away from the resort, we’ve heard about Worth Avenue — it’s the Rodeo Drive of the East Coast — where we’ll probably grab a bite to eat (a friend told me about a Cuban restaurant to die for) and my wife will probably grab some gifts for friends. We’ve also heard there is always something going on in CityPlace and that if we haven’t had a full Cuban meal, we have to catch a Cuban sandwich at Havana Restaurant and a bagel at Flakowitz Bagel Inn.

Leaving behind my memories of Winter in Washington, I want to spend as much time outside as we can. Besides golf, beach, and sightseeing in the convertible, I want a little adventure. There’s a huge park where my wife can take Yoga classes on Thursday morning, while I can kayak the estuaries to see the tropical habitats of native wildlife. Later that same day, we plan on going deep sea fishing on the Sea Mist III, which leaves from Boynton Beach. On another day, I can’t wait to go out into the Everglades and see alligators in one of those airboats they use on the Loxahatchee Everglades Tour.

I found all of this information through a new web site called Beach Vacation Fun . That’s where I found my perfect match, and some valuable free offers and information.

As you can see, I’ve come to the conclusion that Palm Beach has some of the best beach vacation activities anywhere, and that’s what I’m looking for: fine dining, spa, golf, a historic elegant resort, shopping, and adventure for a connoisseur like me, who wants the best of everything. I am excited. Come Winter 2009-10, I know that I’ll be climbing the walls to feel the warmth of the sun, the gentle ocean breeze, and the smells of nature’s rebirth. At least I’ll have my pictures. And my memories. And whatever we bring home from Worth Avenue.

Despite some overcast skies, wind and rain this year, the blossoms are radiant. Here’s a slideshow of the blossoms at their peak, with images taken Thursday, April 2, 2009:

Click here for Diana’s full story.

We boomers are supposed to travel, right? Well, my wife and I love to, and when we can work it into our jobs, we do. And that’s how we got to a wonderful place called Český Krumlov. It is like a gothic village with a castle out of a Disney fairytale. But it is real, and it is ancient. We spent just a few hours walking through the village late on a cold winter’s evening, after a conference nearby. But even then, bundled against the frost and weary from the work, there was a sort of magic about Krumlov.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Český Krumlov is famous for its Old Town, with 300 protected medieval buildings, and its castle complex that dates back almost a thousand years, to the mid-1200s. Surrounded by rolling hills and the Vltava (or Moldau, in German) River, Krumlov’s cobblestone streets wind past centuries-old houses, inns, shops, and cafés. This scenic village is in the southwest part of the Czech Republic, about two hours south of Prague and not far from Vienna, Austria.

You will find me returning to Krumlov one day… hopefully a warmer day. It is one of those rare medieval gems that reflects Old Europe, too much of which has disappeared. Ideally, Krumlov never will.