INTRODUCTION

 Award-winning travel writer Carole Terwilliger Meyers, a native San Franciscan, holds a B.A. degree in anthropology from San Francisco State University and an elementary teaching credential from Fresno State College.  She is the author of nineteen books, the editor of six books, and the mother of two children--with whom she has been through the road wars and in the travel trenches first-hand.  Her books include WEEKEND ADVENTURES IN SAN FRANCISCO & NORTHERN CALIFORNIA and MILES OF SMILES: 101 GREAT CAR GAMES & ACTIVITIES.  She is the editor of DREAM SLEEPS: CASTLE & PALACE HOTELS OF EUROPE and is the founding publisher of Carousel Press.  An active freelancer, her articles have appeared in a variety of publications--including Parenting, FamilyFun, Family Circle, Sunset, and numerous other magazines--as well in the travel sections of many  newspapers.  She has written a column for several publications, including the San Jose Mercury News and Expedia.com and has been a featured guest on the Today Show, CNN News, and Bay Area Backroads.  On a different career path, she is an extra in Mick Jagger's "Visions of Paradise" video.  Ms. Meyers is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and resides in Berkeley, California.