Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Actress Brooke Burns says her ideal vacation would be to head to “Africa for a month. I’ve been for about 10 days and it wasn’t enough time. Being out on safari takes you to another time. I would love to do that and marry the trip with some significant time on the islands east of Africa. Mauritius. Seychelles.”
Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Page Kennedy is based out of Los Angeles these days, though he has spent a good chunk of time filming in Canada. “I really like Canada,” says Kennedy, 38. “I was most recently in Vancouver in the summer filming ‘Backstrom.’ There’s so much to do. They had the Shakespeare Festival, which was a lot of fun. The water was beautiful and the architecture was really pretty. You don’t see buildings like that in Los Angeles.”
“I’ve been lucky enough to travel from a young age,” says actress and jewelry designer Katie Barberi. “I’ve grown up seeing so much diversity and beauty in different cultures. I draw inspiration from that all the time.”
Entrepreneur Dan Storper has always loved traveling and music. With Putumayo World Music — his independent record label that specializes in world music — Storper has been able to combine his two passions. “Most of my travel over the years has centered around business,” says Storper, 62. “But I love researching museums and hotels and usually let the people I’m meeting suggest the restaurants.”
Actor Sean Astin encourages travelers to “look up. It might sound like a simple thing to say, but don’t have your face in a map or your phone or your stuff. I think most people get to wherever they think they need to get to and then they look up.”
Earlier this year, my husband said we should go somewhere nice this winter. I asked why? He just stared at me. Oh, yeah. It’s our 10-year wedding anniversary.
“Life is a road trip,” says celebrity chef Guy Fieri. “It’s a continuous process where the destination can be secondary. It’s fun and educational and is a great way to learn about your country.”
After making an impressive film debut in “Quinceanera,” Emily Rios has compiled quite the list of roles in critically acclaimed productions such as “Friday Night Lights,” “The Closer” and “House.” But the 24-year-old Los Angeles-based actress is best known for playing a reporter on the FX drama “The Bridge,” as well as recovering drug addict Andrea Cantillo on AMC’s “Breaking Bad.
Grits and Glamour celebrated the completion of its CD “Dos Divas” in a relaxing way. The duo — comprised of country music stars Pam Tillis and Lorrie Morgan — took a trip to Mexico. “We went with our husbands on a couples’ getaway to celebrate the wrap of our new album and stayed at Garza Blanca Preserve Resort and Spa in Puerto Vallarta,” says Morgan. “We were treated like royalty and I’m ready to go back.”
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Calif., where she still resides, Regina King starred as Marla Gibbs’ daughter on the popular ’80s sitcom, “227.” Unlike many child actors who fade away after a few years in the spotlight, the 42-year-old actress worked steadily through the years opposite Tom Cruise, Reese Witherspoon, Sandra Bullock and Cuba Gooding Jr. King recently starred in the series “Southland” and has a recurring role on “The Big Bang Theory.”
“Mexico is pretty amazing,” says singer Tristan Prettyman. “From San Diego, it’s so close to drive to Rosarito and rent a house for cheap and relax, surf and chill out. My parents also have property about 19 hours down in a little surf town. I love going there to get away. No phone service or Internet. It’s the perfect unplug-from-everything getaway.”
Opera star Placido Domingo, 71, was born in Spain. At the age of eight, he traveled to Mexico, where he studied piano and conducting at Mexico City’s Conservatory of Music. Since then, his repertoire includes more than 140 stage roles, 100 recordings and multiple television appearances. For his work, he has won an Emmy and 13 Grammys.
When Craig Hurley was in his early 20s, he seemed headed for stardom. Handsome, talented and one of the stars of a heavily hyped network series, films seemed like the next natural progression. But as detailed in his no-holds-barred book “27 And All Washed Up” (available at www.craighurley.tv), that’s not how Hurley’s career turned out.
Born in Mexico and raised in the United States, actress-singer Katie Barberi fondly recalls a childhood where her family moved to dozens of cities in both countries to accommodate her parents’ careers. “I loved it,” says Barberi, 40. “I’m sure my love of travel is tied to all the different places we lived.”
“Some people are surprised that I speak English and assume that I must be a foreigner,” says Gbenga Akinnagbe, 32, a Brooklyn resident. “When I was younger, my mother wanted me to change it because she worried that I wouldn’t be able to find employment. There was a time I wanted to change my name and I was ashamed of it and I’d have people call me DJ. But I do love it now.”
“Because I have a lot of property and horses, I am always moving something heavy and rarely sitting down,” says Linda Eder, who’s best known for her work on Broadway in “Jekyll & Hyde.” “I also like to do home remodeling, which is hard work. I’m always overdoing it. So when I go on vacation I like to really go on vacation — meaning I like to rest, without too many distractions. I like to lie in the sun by the ocean, eat great food and relax.”
Ballroom dancer Anna Trebunskaya is best known for her appearances on “Dancing with the Stars.” Last year, she guided Olympic figure skating champion Evan Lysacek to a second-place finish. The Russian dancer immigrated to the United States when she was 17. Now 30, Trebunskaya resides in Hermosa Beach, Calif., with her husband and fellow “DWTS” pro, Jonathan Roberts.
Singer, actress and former “American Idol” runner-up Katharine McPhee, 26, was born and raised in Los Angeles, where she currently resides. “I love traveling and am on the road all the time for work, but I don’t get to go on as many vacations as people would think,” she says. “But a lot of people can work on vacation or relax while they’re traveling for business. And that’s what I’ve started to do.” Her favorite vacation memory, actually, is of the days off she had during a business trip to Italy. McPhee’s latest CD is “Christmas is the Time …(To Say I Love You).”
Guitar legend Joe Satriani and his wife, Rubina, are big fans of traveling, whether it’s a quick flight to Vancouver or an exotic vacation on Tioman Island. Though he enjoys the peace and tranquility of villas that offer little distraction by way of phones and televisions, he also admits he’s partial to having access to the Internet, especially when he’s on tour.
WNBA basketball star Candace Parker loves to travel and try new restaurants with her husband, Shelden Williams (of the Denver Nuggets) and their 15-month-old daughter Lailaa. “That girl can eat 900 times a day,” says Parker, who plays for the Los Angeles Sparks. “She is always running around kicking a soccer ball and is always hungry. She likes everything. It’s wonderful because we don’t have to worry much about what she might like when we travel.” Parker, 24, has most her summer free now that her season is over. But she’s currently in the process of moving her family from California to Colorado to accommodate her husband’s basketball schedule.