Big outdoors and a small Basque community make this Idaho locale worth a springtime getaway written by James Sinksphotography by Visit Idaho Wednesdays and Fridays on Grove Street in downtown Boise, a line of hungry noontime patrons forms outside the Basque Market, as a giant pan of steaming saffron-seasoned paella simmers on an outdoor stove. The biweekly culinary pilgrimage celebrates the city’s Basque heritage, which traces to the influx of immigrants that began arriving in the 1800s from near the France-Spain border. Initially searching for gold in the West, Basques were sought to tend the huge flocks of hungry sheep that once chomped their way through the surrounding high country and range. Today, the Idaho state capital is home to the continent’s biggest Basque community and, while many cities have Chinatowns, Boise boasts the Basque Block. Roam between former boarding houses and shops, experience authentic Iberian fare like pintxos (think…

Compete your holiday shopping—and find beer and deer—in the PNW’s premier Christmastown written by James Sinks Pretty much anywhere, you can open your wallet and browse for holiday gifts. Yet few places—at least, on this continent—can approach the kitschy yuletide charm of Leavenworth, the Pacific Northwest Christmastown filled with Bavarian-styled buildings, beers, bratwurst, and boutiques in Washington’s north Cascades. Festive holiday shopping is only the beginning. Surrounded by snowy and showy 8,000-foot peaks, Leavenworth offers a wonderland of winter outdoor pursuits you won’t find at any strip malls or retail websites. Fly down powdery slopes at Mission Ridge Ski Area; try nordic trails, tubing runs and ski jumping at Leavenworth Winter Sports Club; navigate sledding hills pretty much everywhere; and—once things really cool down—strap on crampons for ice climbing. If that’s not enough to convince you to start making travel plans, there also are horse-drawn sleigh rides with cocoa and…

Immerse yourself in Chinese culture written by James Sinks photography by Tourism Richmond The Canadian city of Richmond, located just south of Vancouver BC, sits a mere three feet above sea level. So, like other major low-lying locales, the place guards against flooding with dikes and pump stations—which here can expel 1.4 million gallons every minute. Yet Richmond has long welcomed a flood of a different sort: The city of 210,000 has attracted waves of migrants from across the Pacific, and today the former farming and fishing community boasts North America’s highest concentration of people who identify as Chinese, at 53 percent. Three quarters of the population is of Asian descent. As a result, just a twenty-five-minute drive from the U.S. border, you can immerse in the vibrant culture and rich flavors of the Far East, from dim sum to spicy hotpots to karaoke. The New York Times in 2018…

Discover seaside delights at this Washington destination Written by James Sinks If the picture-perfect beach hamlet of Seabrook feels like it is out of a movie, it’s by design. Nestled between Gray’s Harbor and Pacific Beach a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Seattle, the resort town is modeled in part by Seaside, Florida, the tidy community that helped to inspire The Truman Show. In Seabrook, the starring attraction is one of the most striking stretches of coastline in Washington, set against a beachfront community peppered with fire pits, parks, eateries and promenades. Seabrook invites you to do everything on foot. First opened in 2004 and now up to 475 houses—many of them vacation rentals with ocean views—the Cape Cod-evoking development follows the planning tenets of New Urbanism, with its twin goals of environmental sustainability and livability. Instead of navigating oceans of asphalt and strip malls, Seabrook invites visitors to ditch their cars…

Traipse back in time and across cultures on Vancouver Island, BC written by John Macdonald Note: At the time of writing in mid-August, Canada began welcoming back fully vaccinated leisure travelers from the United States who have proof of being fully vaccinated. We all have our own reasons for visiting Victoria. My reason was quite narrow. I wanted to walk Fan Tan Alley in Chinatown, also known as Canada’s narrowest street. In the era of social distancing and pandemics, I realize this may not resonate with everyone, but, for me, it was a grounding starting point to explore the history of Vancouver Island and Victoria. Vancouver Island’s largest ethnic groups are British descendants and Chinese, the former because it had been a fur trading outpost and then British colony, the latter population largely streaming in after the 1858 gold rush. Chinatown is Canada’s oldest and second in North America only…