Going Places

Dear listeners, We have some news about Going Places. As we close out 2018, we’re also ending our travel segment as a weekly feature.

We all have those people who are impossible to buy holiday gifts for. “I’m in that situation right now,” said KNKX travel expert Matthew Brumley. “I’m missing a couple key presents for a couple key people in my life – one of them being my wife.” (She knows.)

Editor's note: This segment was originally broadcast on May 29, 2014. Sometimes, people get sick while they're away from home. KNKX travel expert Matthew Brumley certainly has seen that in his decades leading group tours around the world. "I've been probably in 20 different hospitals in 20 different countries in the last 20 years," he said.

Editor's note: This segment originally aired on Jan. 19, 2017. They say reading a book can take you far away. That’s usually a metaphor. But for many, books inspire literal travel, to follow in the footsteps of great authors or stories.

WESTPORT, WASH. — Drive as far west as you can in Grays Harbor County, and you’ll meet the ocean in Westport. Waves roll into the beach there, next to a jetty that marks the entrance of the bay. It’s where Al Perlee arrived decades ago with a wetsuit and a surfboard. A while later, he opened The Surf Shop.

Thanksgiving kicks off a holiday travel season that's famously busy and stressful for many. Travelers can face long lines at airports, winter weather delays, difficult drives, and so much more. So it's become something of a tradition on our weekly travel segment, "Going Places," to reflect on those who make the experience a little easier.

KNKX travel expert Matthew Brumley is in Hawaii this week, exploring the Big Island and learning about its history.

Editor's note: This segment originally aired on Feb. 5, 2015. Travelers from the United States spend a lot of time abroad, mostly in Europe. Far fewer head to South America. KNKX travel expert Matthew Brumley has five things everyone should see and do in two South American countries: Chile and Argentina.

Editor's note: This segment originally aired Dec. 10, 2015. The fall and winter are famously gray and drizzly in western Washington. In fact, we’re already seeing some of that weather. And that causes many of us to look for a temporary reprieve. KNKX travel expert Matthew Brumley says how far you travel to find it depends entirely on what you’re looking for.

KNKX travel expert Matthew Brumley had a busy summer. He was in Switzerland, England, Croatia and Solvenia, just to name a few places. And everywhere he went, it seemed the crowds were bigger than he's seen, even with 30 years experience as a travel guide.

Winter isn't too far away, and KNKX travel expert Matthew Brumley is thinking about where he's going over the next few months. That includes both holiday travel, trips he plans to take in early 2019. Brumley has one clear message for people planning some travel between now and the spring: Book now.

A visit to Bellingham likely means a stop at a museum or two. There's the Spark Museum of Electrical Invention, and the Bellingham Rail Museum, to name a couple. And then there’s the Whatcom Museum, spread over two buildings, chronicling history, nature and art in the Northwest. From now until Jan. 6, the museum’s Lightcatcher building is hosting an exhibition focused on endangered species.

KNKX travel expert Matthew Brumley continues his trip through Croatia. Last week, he gave us his first impressions of the capital city Zagreb. This week, he's along the Dalmatian Coast, in the southern part of the country.

KNKX travel expert Matthew Brumley has been to Croatia plenty of times, and he's shared those visits with us in his weekly "Going Places" travel segment. But he's never been to the capital city, Zagreb. Until now.

Editor's note: This segment originally aired Oct. 13, 2016. When the weather breaks from summer heat to the gray, cool fall, I always think of a particular scene in the NBC television series "The West Wing," in which President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) is recording his weekly radio address.

It's not yet autumn, but it is what's known as the "shoulder season": that span of time when there are fewer people taking vacations, but when much of the visitor infrastructure is still running.

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain, and smack in the middle of the country’s Catalonia region. This week on Going Places, we hear from Cesar Escuin, a tour guide who lives there. He spoke with KNKX travel expert Matthew Brumley about the region: from its famous artists to the soaring Sagrada Familia, or Holy Family church. -- "Going Places" is 88.5's weekly exploration of travel. Our travel expert, Matthew Brumley, is co-founder of Earthbound Expeditions on Bainbridge Island, which provides small group travel to clients including KNKX. Never miss an episode again. Subscribe to Going Places with iTunes , Google Play or Stitcher .

The top of Seminary Hill rises about 500 feet above sea level. Not a towering peak, but unmissable on the flood plain of Centralia, in west Lewis County.

Searching for a deal when you travel can be challenging. Many people look to low-cost airlines. They offer lower ticket prices and fewer frills than the big carriers. But KNKX travel expert Matthew Brumley says he recently had two experiences that left him thinking twice about flying on the cheap.

Editor's Note: This episode of "Going Places" originally aired on April 28, 2016. KNKX travel expert Matthew Brumley is a big fan of travel experiences that allow for some unexpected discovery. But it's still good to be informed about your destination before you arrive, he says.