DAYTONA BEACH - As the dim light of day casts a long shadow along Daytona’s golden beach, guests at legendary The Shores Resort & Spa gather in front of the open fire pits on a terrace overlooking the Atlantic surf.

PALM BEACH - We cross the bridge connecting West Palm Beach with this posh playground for the rich and powerful and are instantly impressed by the rows of pencil-straight palm trees lining trendy Royal Palm Way.

LAGUNA BEACH, CA. - They say you can’t walk on water, but you can stand on it ... if you have the right equipment.

ESCANABA, MICH. - As our small jet dips its wings on approach to this Northern Michigan outpost, I’m struck by the sight of puffy white clouds being reflected in a crystal-clear lake that’s framed by an evergreen forest. It’s a masterpiece only Mother Nature could paint.

MYRTLE BEACH, SC - My son Noah is dancing in a glass bottom gondola almost 60 metres in the air. “Look at the tiny cars and people!” he shouts excitedly. I

MIAMI - If the way to man’s heart is through his stomach, then maybe the path to a city’s soul is through its cuisine. A food tour through Miami’s famed South Beach district might just answer that question.

DELRAY BEACH, FLA. - Recently, this seaside retreat known as “Florida’s Village by the Sea” was voted the “Most Fun Small Town in America” by USA Today.

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. - For much of the year, the Sonoran Desert is a drab sea of sand and rocks punctuated in places by giant Saguaro cactus whose green skin is bleached by the relentless sun and heat.

FERNANDINA BEACH, FLA. - Felix, known in these parts as the “Peanut Man,” offers to sell me some of the fresh mangoes sitting in the wicker basket on his three-wheeled bike.

BILOXI, Miss. - For someone who’s had so many out-of-this-world travel experiences, Fred Haise seems happiest with his feet planted firmly on the ground in Biloxi, where he grew up and first dreamed of going to the stars.