Eric Anderson, MD

Kennebunkport is an authentic, quintessential Maine seaside village. However, since the town is just off the beaten path, there are less crowds and parking is easier to find in July and August.

Kennebunk, ME, has some unusual history. While its port was famous for ships that sailed to ports around the world, its river spawned the ice trade in the 1800s.

Provincetown, MA, is colorful, even outrageously so. In addition to being home to art, pilgrim history, and the largest seashore in the US, the town's Land's End Inn is the perfect place to stay.

Portsmouth, NH, is a city abuzz with young people, where art flourishes in the streets. Plus, the city's location makes it ideal for day trips to Boston and Cape Cod.

In Lower Waterford, Vt., there is nothing of interest except the Rabbit Hill Inn, which is the only reason people visit the village of just 80 souls.

Cruises not only simply the vacation experience, but they also enable visits to countries that might be difficult to navigate otherwise.

People don't usually go on cruises only to celebrate frugality, but there are ways to reduce costs if one has to. Here's a checklist for first-time cruisers.

Visits to Kent, known as the "Garden of England," and Cumbria's Lake District are 2 options for those looking to venture outside of London.

For those who have been to London and want to confront Britain's highways, here are 3 suggestions within easy reach by car. But don't expect to visit them on one trip: distances are deceptive.

Lovers of Olde England have their favorite places: London Bridge, Westminster Abbey, Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-on-Avon; and way up north is the city of York.

While rhapsodizing about Europe's upscale hotels is all very well, given the state of the economy, how can travelers handle the choice and the cost of foreign hotels?

Most tours of Dracula's castle visit Bran Castle in Bucharest, but the real one lies 80 miles southwest. Amidst all the serious searching of Vlad Tepes' history, visitors should remember to have a little touristy fun.

Many who visit Sighisoara do so in search of Dracula. But it is such a charming town that even if it had not been the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler, it is well worth a long visit.

In Sighisoara, the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler, or Vlad Dracula, the 14 towers built centuries ago tell the history of Europe's hilltop towns and the monopoly of the guilds.

Eastern Europe has not yet been discovered by American visitors. Romania's Sighisoara is one of the best-preserved medieval hilltop towns and it's still inhabited.

It's hard to travel in Romania and not be horrified to hear stories of the years under Nicolae Ceausescu's brutal reign and to see the vast and permanent destructive changes he wrought on Bucharest.

Once called "the Paris of the East" Bucharest was destroyed by a despised despot before it was taken back in the late '80s, but signs still remain of his rule.

Smithfield isn't just a small town: it has a marina that fills with million dollar boats and an inn that was part of the Underground Railroad and at which George Washington recorded staying.

Don't knock visits to small towns. The Historic District in Smithfield, VA, is on the National Historic Register, the town has 10 houses pre-dating the Revolutionary War, plus the nation's oldest surviving Gothic structure.

More and more people are moving into the cities, but for some people small towns are the only place to raise a family. Smithfield's revitalized downtown makes it one of the great American small towns.

One scientist argues that doctors aren't asking deep enough questions of their patients, while another believes that sometimes patients can be more useful to one another than their doctors.

Hampton, Va., is bursting with history: the alleged bones of Blackbeard were found at the waterfront; early settler John Rolfe married Pocahontas; and the Confederate president was imprisoned at Fort Monroe.

Most speakers at FutureMed 2013 were not physicians, but they were significant authorities in their own field and they did see the big picture of health care.

Two world-famous museums sit just 11 miles apart in Virginia: one looks at the history and naval war, the other takes us into the future and space exploration.

While the museums in Newport News, Virginia, impress, physicians might want to check out some of the city's historic homes that have doctor connections.

The many cutting edge companies that were present at FutureMed in San Diego and what they paint for the future of medicine for both physicians and patients.

Vincent van Gogh's life is probably the easiest artist's career to follow. Since he often traveled by rail, it is romantic (and easy) to recapture his movements through Europe from the Netherlands to Paris to the South of France.

On their drive south through California, the Andersons pass rolling hills, farmer's fields, a town with a historic Robin Hood-like figure, and enough oil wells to make you think you're in Texas.

During his attendance at the FutureMed Conference, Eric Anderson, MD, a physician of 55 years, saw the future - it's scary and complicated.

Carmel-By-The-Sea, one of California's small towns, uses that designation to let you know it's special and separate from the surrounding town of Carmel.