Waiheke Island, New Zealand

Catch the ferry from Devonport to Waiheke Island and enjoy the parade of sail along the way. The Hauraki Gulf offers spacious waters, dependable winds, and enough convolutions of the coast to guarantee a good time. [2006]

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

What is the state sport of Hawaii? Outrigger canoe racing, of course. This canoe's ancestors transformed the world's largest ocean from a collection of isolated islands into a 'Pacific Wide Web' of human communities. They powered the Internet of their era. [2011]

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

A view across old town Plovdiv almost transcends time. Tile roofs have just refused to succumb to modernity. With the Rhodope Mountains in the background, the Romans might even recognize this view. Interlocking red roofing tiles are among Southern Europe's signature landscape elements. [2010]

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Victoria Market has been a staple of Melbourne's city centre since 1878. The skyline has changed dramatically since then, however, and now the high-rises are closing in. The office towers spell doom; they signal higher land values. The residential towers spell promise; they signal a nearby population in need of food and clothing. [2011]

Ocean Springs, Mississippi, USA

   One lonely wagon,
Lost to the dragon.
Abandoned apartments,
Now merely remanants
Of ferocious attack
That made us stand back,
And ask why the dragon
Had drowned us in venom.
   Now, after Katrina,

A rusty patina

Was all that remained
To tell us how pained
The good people were
Who stood up to her.
[2005]

Biloxi, Mississippi, USA

After hurricane Katrina, Biloxi was in a shambles, but the lighthouse stood tall and proud. It was the perfect symbol of endurance for the city's promised come-back. The key to its indestructibility? It was built of cast iron, something extraordinary for a lighthouse in the 1840s. [2005]

Dauphin Island, Alabama, USA

Here we are, half way through hurricane season. Barrier islands are especially vulnerable to a hurricane's winds, waves, and tidal surges, as Dauphin Island found out during Katrina. This was the Boardwalk Realty office, but most of the houses on the island found themselves in the same condition. Dauphin? The heir to the French throne. [2005]