Erica Jackson Curran

As more people decide they want to travel the world on their own terms, private vacation home rentals have become more popular than ever. From home-sharing sites to luxury vacation rentals, travelers of all ages are choosing to create a more customized approach to vacationing—and it’s shaking up the traditional hotel model.

A new dad’s first Father’s Day can feel like a major milestone in his fatherhood journey. Whether he’s still in those sleep-deprived newborn days or watching his firstborn take his or her first steps, the inaugural Father’s Day celebration is almost like the world saying, “Congratulations: You’re officially a member of the Dad’s Club.”

If you want to find craft cider in Virginia, all you have to do is follow the trail of the apples. For generations, the commonwealth’s orchards have been scattered along the peaks and valleys of the Blue Ridge Mountains range, which extends from the northern tip of the state all the way to the North Carolina border. The region’s climate, soil and sunshine have helped apples thrive here for hundreds of years—so much so that the mountains were known as the “Apple Belt” in the early 1900s. And Virginia’s growing crop of cidermakers has taken notice.

What’s new (and old) in Richmond, Virginia’s newly...

Tucked within a brownstone-lined block in VCU’s urban campus, Shoryuken Ramen serves up Japanese-style soul food to college kids and locals alike.

It’s hard to believe that Richmond’s new 60,000-square-foot boutique hotel started out as a humble two-room art gallery. The Quirk Hotel, which opened its doors in September, is impressive in its scale—75 sleek, chic guest rooms are spread across seven stories in an Italian Renaissance building that once housed an upscale department store.

I’d never paid much attention to Kim Kardashian, but that all changed last summer when she opened up about her troubles getting pregnant. Suddenly Mrs. Kanye West and I briefly had something in common: We both desperately wanted a baby, but things weren’t going according to plan.

Matt and Alicia Conrad were living in a 900-square-foot cottage in Church Hill when they first set their sights on their dream home. Located a few blocks west in Union Hill, just across the street from Jefferson Park, the turn-of-the-century, Queen Anne-style home had sat boarded up and vacant for years before hitting the market in 2012.

Rona Sullivan grew up in the mountains near Franklin County, Va.—known as the Moonshine Capital of the World. Today, she wraps her Moonshine goat’s milk cheese with cornhusks soaked in the high-octane hooch of her home county, resulting in tangy curds with a kick of white lightning.

As the capital of the European Union, Brussels has a reputation for being buttoned-up and a tad boring. While you could spend all of your euros visiting the city’s bohemian bourgeois hotspots, there’s an affordable side to Brussels, if you know where to look.

Porto has its share of trendy hotels that cost $100-plus per night, but by renting an apartment, you can experience life in the heart of the historic city for right around $50 a night.

Recover from a night of exploring the Holy City’s ever-growing beer scene with a breakfast of champions.

When it comes to bridal showers, bubbly is often the beverage of choice.

Back when they were brewing beer in their Princeton dorm kitchen, Tim Edmond and Dan Potter couldn’t imagine transitioning into the world of cider. “I had never tried craft cider before, and I wasn’t interested in the category,” Edmond says.

All-inclusive resorts always seemed like the realm of world-weary retirees and honeymooners traveling on daddy’s dime—not a savvy explorer like myself. But when I found an unbeatable package deal online a few years ago, I took the bait and joined the crowds at a shiny new resort south of Cancun.