So, um, it looks like I haven't updated this site in a wee bit, eh? Funny how time does that! Well then, here are a few bits of news for you. Last week I learned that I won two awards from the North American Travel Journalists Association . If you had told me 20 years ago that anyone anywhere would actually pay me real American dollars to write about traveling — perhaps the single greatest pursuit of human kind outside of love, family, and music — and that I'd actually win an award for such a thing, well... I'd have laughed you right out of the pub. And yet, here we are. Here are the winning stories: Kid County, Ireland (Gold Winner, Family Travel category) It’s no Orlando (and thank God for that), but Ireland doesn’t need the Disney touch to feel like a magical playground for your own little leprechauns. Road Trip, Meet Field Trip (Honorable Mention, Family Travel category) Sometimes the best souvenir isn’t what you buy, but what you learn. I should probabl...