Purple Roofs is “your GLBT key to world travel” and features Gay and Lesbian Bed & Breakfasts, Inns, Guesthouses, Hotels, Travel Agents, & Tour Operators. The site is run by Mark and Scott and they have been kind enough to share some of their favorite vacations with us. Today we’re looking at the weekend getaway of Amador County in Northern California for wine tasting, bed and breakfasts and everything in between. When most people think of California wines they think of two places: the Napa Valley and the Sonoma Valley, and then they go there by the busload.  This premier wine region in Northern California overflows with tourists in the summertime, and wine tastings are often $5, $10, or $15 a glass.  Yes, for a tasting. However, there are a number of other less...[more »]

The irony of this entire thing is that I could have chosen any hotel in the greater Portland area. It was a business trip and they’d pick up the tab. Marriott on the water? A night in one of the McMenamin’s pub-based rooms? Hilton? I could have had any. I decided to try for ‘cool’ and ‘funky’. In fact, that’s what I typed into Google. The first to pop up was the Jupiter Hotel and from the initial look of the website, it was everything I hoped to find my one night in town. It’s a motel with a makeover. I can dig it. I got off of the plane and into the cab. ’800 East Burnside, please’, I said. ‘Jupiter Hotel! Nice choice, man’ he said. ‘Thanks!’ I said back, suddenly reminded of how nice everyone was in this...[more »]

For me to even write this post is asking for trouble. It might be safer to pick a fight with a 300 pound, 6 foot 4 Scot than to throw out my suggestions for the best Irish bars in New York.  The list, of course, is subject to opinion and everyone has theirs. This is mine. And yes, I know that my list is Manhattan-centric. There are some great Irish bars in places like the Woodlawn and Riverdale sections of the Bronx, and in Woodside, Queens, and the Irish Riviera officially know as Breezy Point, but lovingly called Boozy Point. For all I know, there are probably some good Irish bars upstate too. But I know Manhattan best. It’s where I lived about a quarter of my life. It’s also where I’ve wandered the streets for many a St. Patrick’s Day. If you’re planning t...[more »]