There isn't much that I like more than visiting lighthouses during the summer. The sun, the sand, and sunny skies lend themselves to long lazy days walking along the beach, sun bathing, boating, and building sand castles.

We're lucky here in Michigan, where more than 110 lighthouses dot the coasts of the Great Lakes that surround our state's Lower and Upper Peninsulas, and I'm especially fortunate to have visited many of these historic beauties over the years.

New York City is the city of dreams, lights, and busyness. People who live in the city aren’t known to be particularly nice to tourists – it’s just a fact. Here are some ways tips to surviving NYC - and making your trip enjoyable.

Traveling with CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome) is one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever faced (it comes in second to living with CFIDS, to be honest).

NYC… home to so many people.

NYC… my home, and to others, the place of skyscrapers, Broadway shows, and lights. Don’t get me wrong, NYC has lots of lights and tall buildings, but it’s more than that for me. It’s home, always has been… if you don’t count the first year or two of my life in Wisconsin. In NYC (well, really, everywhere), history is all around you - you just have to be interested enough to learn about it.

In May 2010, my family and I went to Nepal for a month. Over the course of that month, we traveled all across Nepal, but the highlight—for me, anyways—was trekking in the beautiful Khumbu region.

Is it your dream to bike through France? It can be an incredible, life-changing experience – if you’ve got the right bike, and a good plan. There's nothing worse than trying something (bucket-list worthy) and failing. Consider self-guided cycling holidays in France.

Ready for a travel experience like no other? I’m always reminding my students to use the 5 senses in their travel writing, because it packs such a punch in relating a place to the reader.

In The Best of Visiting Belfast: Part One, we covered Belfast attractions such as the Titanic Quarter, the Cathedral Quarter, Queen’s University area, some hot clubs and some lovely wee pubs. Now let’s hit some of the theatres and shops, and the historical murals Belfast is famous for.

Over the past six years, my mom has traveled across America in an RV and visited all 50 states. She has been to major cities all over the world, including London, New York, Dublin, Los Angeles, Miami, and Paris.

I’m always looking for unique ways to explore destinations I love. I remember reading a book in college (for fun, not for class), on cruising down the Seine on a houseboat. Now the drawback, as I remember, was dealing with the boat and all the details of living on it (cooking, showers, etc.).