If you are like me, dear Prime readers, then you know that sometimes doing the right thing for animals can increase your expenses a bit because many companies still market vegan items as a "niche" products. There's no reason why living compassionately can't be affordable, and that's why I want to share a few cost-cutting tips that I've learned …

When I took my first road trip in 1989, Miami Beach, Florida, had not yet been anointed a global hotspot and Lincoln Road was years from its current fame as a glitzy pedestrian mall anchoring the north side of South Beach.

But here you could find inspired cooking at little places such as the …

Bicycling north of Miami's beaches, I found a bit of paradise in an unlikely place. With a row of modern white skyscrapers girding its shoreline, Sunny Isles Beach offers an array of amusements, along with a welcoming attitude toward vegans and vacationers who travel with companion animals.

The compact barrier island just north of Miami …

Cheapside Park, the public square of Lexington, Kentucky, is certainly a good place to sense the collective character of the city's residents, and it also makes visitors feel immensely welcome.

The park is jam-packed for the Saturday farmers' markets, Thursday Night Live concerts, and occasional events such as the Bluegrass Pride decorated rain-barrel …

If you're looking for a cool, quiet place to escape, take a cue from bats. Exploring caves is an exciting way to experience new realms of nature amid a constant, comfortable chill, even when it's extremely hot outside.

Central Tennessee's swath of the Cumberland Plateau has an estimated 5,700 caves. The sandstone caprock allows water to seep into …

Scenic views don't have to be pretty. For proof, take a bike ride along the Riverfront Trail in St. Louis.  This 12-mile paved trail, part of the vast Confluence Greenway between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, begins just north of the Gateway Arch and runs north along the Mississippi River.

The scenery stokes …

There's much more to Louisville, Kentucky, than horseracing and bourbon.

I talked about NuLu in a piece earlier this year, but I hope to return to check out some of the area's new attractions. Among them is a new Consuming Cultures exhibit at Proof on Main, which features Johnston Foster's birds made of scavenged …