Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic

I kept my eyes on the ball until it vanished in a flurry of horses’ hooves, swinging mallets and shouting riders. A  whistle signaled the chukker’s end, and I resumed my conversation with the fellow sitting beside me in the stands. “The games are not all that different,” I said, “except for the danger. Golf’s… [Continue Reading]

Teet of the Dog Hole 7. Copyright Donnelle Oxley

England’s Woburn Abbey

As I drove through England on a balmy day in late May, I found it hard to concentrate on driving on the “wrong” side of the road because the countryside constantly drew my attention. Meadows and crops in all shades of green covered the hills like patchwork pieces stitched together by tidy hedgerows, with fields… [Continue Reading]

Woburn Abbey

Exploring Alaska’s Glacier Country by Small Ship

  The underwater microphone beneath our skiff picked up the whoosh of bubbles and the sound of whales chattering like children at recess. But we knew the humpbacks circling under us were on serious business—the pursuit of dinner. As if at a conductor’s signal, all sound from the hydrophone ceased and Pavarotti began his solo.… [Continue Reading]

Alaska: kayaking to glacier. Copyright Donnelle Oxley

Australia Wine and Golf

Americans often lump New Zealand and Australia together, even though they are 1,000 miles apart. Both countries are peopled by friendly folk, but they dislike being named in the same breath and are fiercely competitive in the things that count—sports, wine, food and the wow factor of their countries. We flew from Auckland, New Zealand,… [Continue Reading]

New South Wales Golf Course, hole 5. Copyright Donnelle Oxley

Close Encounters in the Galapagos Islands

Like most nature lovers, I have dreamed of close encounters with wildlife that don’t make me feel like a stalker. A Dr. Doolittle experience–short on actual conversation, of course, but long on trust and peaceful acceptance. Last spring I found a place where this is a reality–the Galapagos, an isolated 28,000-square-mile archipelago straddling the equator… [Continue Reading]

Galapagos Islands. Copyright Donnelle Oxley