Eric Anderson wrote his first travel article for the June 1976 issue of Trailer Life based on mistakes he had made on his first trailer vacation. He called the article "A Doctor's Eight Prescriptions for a Disaster Vacation" but the magazine, more kindly, entitled it "RV Hints Learned the Hard Way." It started a career, however, and since then Anderson has had more than 3,000 articles published in print, most of them on travel.

Much of the travel was written with his late wife, Margaret, a British Airways flight attendant in the 1950s and his high school sweetheart. Frequently asked for their three favorite travel experiences, they always said it would be, in that order, Turtle Island in Fiji, a package tour of Greece and a windjammer cruise in the British Virgin Islands. The latter was the least expensive of the three: about $650 each plus airfare at the time, and Captain Mike allowed his passengers to stowaway the night before for extra fun. Which shows it's not always the most expensive vacation that is the best.

And the secrets of a good vacation? Do your research, balance the activities with your abilities, pack light and don't take anything with you that you can't afford to lose. And, oh yes, learn some phrases in the local language. You can get a long way with "Good morning, please and thank you."