By Paul Salfen & Photo by Jonathan Zizzo

Bethany Hamilton may just have more willpower and determination than anyone you’re likely to meet. The 21-year-old professional surfer became a media sensation at the age of 13 when she lost her left arm to a 15-foot tiger shark while surfing and lived to tell about it. What’s more notable, though, is that in less than a month, she was back in the water learning to surf again. The Hawaiian native had been in surfing competitions since 8 and she wasn’t going to let this derail her. Hamilton was back to competing the next year and starting winning championships the following year and continues to compete and win awards today.

By Marc Kristal

In the 1960s, when I was, as the saying goes, in short pants, I visited Montego Bay, Jamaica for the first time, in the company of my mother and younger brother. The family stayed in a modest hotel, and had a lovely time. We swam in the impossibly blue Caribbean, ate oxtail stew and did the limbo; I climbed Dunn’s River Falls in Ocho Rios and had my picture taken with water cascading onto my head.(I also received many gentle lessons from the hotel staff, regarding respectful ways to address chambermaids, waiters and porters, which remain with me to this day.)

Written and Photographed by Karen Loftus

Brazil has long shown us its sultry side and has always succeeded in wooing savvy and sexy travelers from across the globe. For decades Brazil’s played host to Hollywood, provided a playground for the international jetset and has shown the world just how Carnival is done.

Photo by Marc Millman

We all know the New York City summer routine. Escape to the beach. Any beach. But how? Where? And what will it cost?

American Cancer Society Bark For Life™
invites tri-state area dogs to bring their owners to the annual “bark” at Riverside Park

Inaugurating New Flights between JFK and Budapest, Barcelona and Miami, 
Plus Added East Coast Flights to Barcelona and Madrid.Customers of American Airlines and its oneworld® partners can now enjoy new and enhanced service between the East Coast and the European cities of Budapest, Hungary, as well as Barcelona and Madrid, Spain. The new service is part of a series of recent and upcoming additional flights, as well as improved schedules, between the United States and global destinations that are being delivered by American and its fellow oneworld partners British Airways and Iberia.

By Lina Zeldovich

When it comes to summer vacation, England is one of the favorite destinations of American families, yet their travel often stays limited to the country’s capital. Some tourists are turned off by gas prices, others are spooked by the right-side driving, and the airport security is too much of a hassle to fly around. Luckily, there is one simple cure for all of the above: traveling by rail. Like everywhere else in the world, UK train travel is on the rise: it’s easy, it’s pleasant, and it’s green. There’s no need to suffer through two-hour check-ins, learn to drive with a stick, or be herded on and off a bus with fifty other tourists whose travel interests are diametrically opposed to yours. Instead, one can devise a convenient, custom-made schedule, and then lay back and enjoy the relaxing views of the emerald green English countryside.

By Maxine Albert

“Over there, I see them,” a young man shouted as he sprang to his feet. Everyone followed suit and there they were – what looked like a water ballet of grey ovals dancing across the horizon in the glistening sun. Then, as quickly as they appeared, they vanished. I returned to my table, lunching al fresco at the Fiesta Americana Grand Resort Los Cabos. I raised my glass of Lambrusco – the whales had arrived.

By Lavanya Sunkara

While exploring Costa Rica recently, I was fortunate to have encountered a
beautiful boa constrictor that wandered in front of our hotel. I knew that it was

By Pamela Jacobs

Only in New York can you spend an evening in a sprawling Italian Renaissance-inspired architectural masterpiece fit for royalty, drinking and dancing with actual Eastern European royalty, listening to sexy Brazilian music, while raising money for a good cause. And only for one night, on May 13, will the city’s elite be able to do all of this and more. The Princes Ball II – A Masquerade Gala, is the big event, and it’s where all of New York’s well-heeled and fabulous will be found that evening.