Erik Trinidad

Having been to almost every state in the USA – I’ll get to you one day, North Dakota – it dawned on me that I’d never been to Hawaii. Pop culture had conditioned me to think of the 50th state as a paradise where women wore hula skirts, men wore Hawaiian shirts, and tourists wore leis. Of course, you can’t believe everything you see on TV. And so, I set out to visit Hawaii to discover it was everything I’d thought it would be – and more...

Did you know there’s a lively surf scene on Long Beach, Long Island, where pro surfer Balaram Stack honed his aerial skills before becoming a champion? Or that Long Beach waves were worthy enough to host the 2011 QuikSilver Pro world tour and the 2019 World Surf League Longboard Classic?

A trip through the country reveals there's more to its food than a sea of cheese-filled bread boats...

I’ve always loved fresh seafood since I was a kid, when my father brought me on charter fishing boats to catch porgies on the Long Island Sound. Over the years, my penchant for fish evolved into a full-blown love affair with all types of seafood, from grilled octopus to oysters on the half shell. So when I heard about Freeport, the Long Island port town where fishing boats haul in fresh seafood to serve in the local restaurants, I knew I had to visit...

Summer is upon us, the season synonymous with vacations and good times in the great outdoors. If you really want to experience nature, the best way is to be fully immersed in it with a camping trip..

Ever since photographer and road-tripper Foster Huntington unknowingly spearheaded the "van life" movement in 2011 by living out of an '87 Volkswagen Syncro, many restless travelers have been inspired to follow in his footsteps. Foster's Instagram hashtag #vanlife, which has now been used over 8.5 million times, has fueled this idealistic outdoor lifestyle of freedom on the open road. And this was all before COVID-19's travel restrictions inspired 2020's year of the road trip.
Like other city...

From lobster gelato to lobster beer, Nova Scotia has come up with delicious and unique ways to tempt the crustacean lover in all of us.

Hungry to encounter more of Spain’s culture and cuisine, I decided to take a road trip to the often overlooked region of Castilla y León. One of the nation’s 17 autonomous communities, it’s located north and west of the central capital region. Away from crowds of tourists, a fascinating (and very filling) road trip lay ahead...

When you pick up a bottle of Maker’s Mark bourbon, the first thing you notice is probably the red wax that drips down the neck of the bottle. It’s a result of hand-dipping each bottle upside down into a pot of hot crimson goo. While this is a nice custom touch, it’s not technically the “mark” of Maker’s Mark. The true calling card of the iconic whiskey is a very small symbol on the label, one that’s often ignored, but actually carries a lot of significance...

When I signed up for a day excursion that included a visit to a farm in the tropical countryside of Thailand’s Chiang Mai province, I knew our midday meal would be a true farm-to-table experience — a trend already popular in eateries outside farmland. However, when Nu Hanupongsamartsim and his young daughters Nadia and Jija met me and my friends on the side of the road...

Many first-time visitors to New York feel like they’ve already been there before, gathering that familiarity through TV shows and films set against a backdrop of the city’s most famous attractions. However, there are plenty of places to see in this world-famous metropolis beyond its iconic Times Square, esteemed museums, and Brooklyn Bridge...

Challenge Fiji. Demand more than pristine beaches and high-class resorts. Search for more than a "tropical paradise" and sun-drenched lazy days. Look for outdoor adventures of the Class IV variety or in the murky waters where eels hide. Put the Pacific Island to the test and find out (rather quickly) it's ready for it. Here's a list of some off-beach activities to get your blood flowing. But don’t fret, the beach will still be there when you return...

Centuries ago, before Old World Europeans knew of civilization across the Atlantic Ocean, the Canary Islands were considered the “edge of the world.” This volcanically-formed archipelago, now one of the autonomous regions of Spain, has a unique geography, geology, history and, above all, culture — especially in its food. It’s a hodgepodge of heritages, fusing Spanish, North African Berber and, surprisingly, Cuban and Venezuelan, now that the New World has been “discovered”...

Once considered the edge of the world, the Canary Islands stood where the Old World map ended‚ before European explorers ‘discovered’ civilization on the other side of the Atlantic. Its unique culture, along with a diverse landscape ranging from beautiful beaches to snow-capped peaks, has made the Canary Islands, particularly Tenerife, a popular tourist destination...

“Get ready to shred the red!” said George Miraval, a mountain biking maestro of the auburn desert landscape of Sedona, Ariz. If not for the gray streaks in his ponytail, I might not have guessed the age of this youthful and enthusiastic septuagenarian. Part Berkeley hippie (he studied there in ’69) and part extreme adventure enthusiast, Miraval has Native American blood — and thus has ties to the sacred Native lands of Sedona. He was the perfect guide to lead me and a group...