Last week, I rolled back into town and right back on the wee rec-room stage at Word to talk about travel writing.

This is basically a big shout-out post. But since there’s so little community among travel writers (we’re always, um, traveling), it’s nice to wallow in it a bit.

Great night! Although I was rather long-winded, as I’d gotten accustomed to entertaining bookstore crowds for 30 minutes, while riffing only off one other person. At Word, we had a panel of me, AnneLise Sorensen (who was my editor at RG for a bit) and Sarah Hull (who I can’t find a link for, but I don’t think is a Hawaiian Tropic swimsuit model on the side–but maybe?).

All moderated by the ever-delightful and sharp-dressed Katy Ball, who gets mad props for steering the discussion off the usual rocks of freebies-or-not, local-or-not and wow-your-job-is-awesome that ring the island of guidebook writing.

Aaand it was all sponsored by Jauntsetter, a website/email newsletter/blog that is so up my alley (I’m a woman; I live in New York; I travel) that I’m embarrassed I didn’t know about it until a couple of months ago, when Katy put this whole thing together. It’s great to see something allegedly for the ladies that is not pink and decorated with silhouettes of handbags and high heels. In fact, it would not horrify a man to read the site either.

In other travel news, I went into the corner 7-11 for the first time ever (WTF–why do we need 7-11 in NYC, the capital of corner bodegas?), just to look at the little Domo coffee cups. I wandered around the place like I was in another country, ogling all the weird food products in there. Did you know they make Sour Gummi Bright Octopuses now? Also, I’ve seen squirt cheese before, but never squirt chili. There were two little paper plates under the pump dispensers to catch the drips. There were many obscene-looking drips.

But the real kicker: cheeseburgers shaped like hot dogs! Sitting there in the little rolling hot-dog grill! I couldn’t actually see any cheese, so I assume it’s in the center and squirts out when you bite in. Shudder.

I was so shocked by it all that I didn’t even buy my Domo coffee.