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Spanish delicacies, fishing lessons and "navigation" are just a few of the topics travel writer Nikki Goth Itoi is ready to dish on.From her expertise on New York's Hudson River Valley to a back-oh-her-own-hand type knowledge of Baja, California, Nikki Goth Ittoi has had many adventures in her coast to coast travel. Currently, she is a freelance writer living in San Francisco as well as the author of Moon River Handbook: Hudson River Valley. Here, she talks with us about her first trip to Saigon and the pitfalls of traveling with a toddler.

1. What one thing do you never leave home without?
My journal and a pen.

2. What's the best meal you've had while traveling?
The shellfish tower at Botafumeíro, in Barcelona's Gràcia district. Our waiter introduced us to tiny barnacles that are a local delicacy and paired them with a fantastic white rioja, the cheapest bottle on the list.

3. The best hotel you've stayed in?
The best hotel I've stayed in wasn't a hotel but a casita by the sea in the bohemian town of Todos Santos, near Baja's southern tip. Our hosts, a couple from northern Italy, invited us to pick fresh arugula from their garden. We stayed for a month, joining them for free fishing lessons at five a.m., sipping homemade limoncello over brunch, and enjoying the daily companionship of their two dogs, Sopa and Torta (Soup and Sandwich).

4. The attraction that really blew your socks off?
As a native East Coaster, I was struck by my first visit to California's Sierra Nevada. The dramatic sight of Yosemite Falls shrouded in a winter mist left an indelible impression.

5. Your best souvenir purchase?
I treasure the family size, hand-woven hammock that I purchased in the Merida market on the Yucatan Peninsula. I had searched for several months and thousands of miles as we drove across the mainland, and instantly knew when I had finally found the source. The hammock now hangs between two white pines on a lake in the Adirondacks of upstate New York.

6. How early do you really get to the airport?
I used to cut it pretty close, but that all changed when I began traveling with a toddler and discovered you can never be too early.

7. Are language books/tapes ever actually worth it?
A little Spanish goes a long way on the 1,000-mile drive down the Baja Peninsula.

8. What is the most useful word to know in a foreign language?
"I'm Canadian."

9. What do you look for in a traveling companion?
Someone who puts up with my "nagivating."

10. What destination did you most enjoy when you were in your 20s or 30s?
When I first started traveling, the colorful histories and diverse cultures of Europe's Old World cities captured my imagination .

11. What destination do you most enjoy now?
These days, I prefer off-the-grid destinations that are a little closer to home. I've fallen in love with Mexico's Baja Peninsula.

12. What was your biggest moment of culture shock?
Arriving in Saigon for the first time and experiencing the energy and sheer industriousness of its people. As a young foreign journalist, I was invited to tour a new business park and interview via a translator the governor of the province where it was located. The interview took place in a government palace and was filmed by the local television station.

13. If you could go back to one place, what would it be?
The pristine, white-sand beaches of Baja's East Cape are the place I think about most these days.

14. Where would you never go back to again?
Texas. The contrast of driving I-10 east after five months of exploring coastal mainland Mexico was simply too depressing for words.

15. Has there ever been a cultural tradition you tried to take home with you?
For a while, my husband and I were hooked on playing a competitive Venezuelan card game called Brisca, which we learned when visiting with his sister's in-laws.

16. What one thing has held true no matter what land or country you've been in?
Living in San Francisco for the past 12 years, I've found that no matter where I go, I'm never sad to come home.

17. What has been your biggest surprise while traveling?
How difficult it was to adjust to the nearly 24 hours of daylight in a summer trip to Finland.

18. How do you stay safe when you're traveling?
Pay attention and learn to walk, drive and talk like a local. Never be the most conspicuous person around.

19. What are the ingredients for the perfect trip?
Whether it's an activity such as scuba diving or skiing, or a writing assignment, I need a reason to travel. Beyond that, anticipation, flexibility and a willingness to embrace the unexpected are key.

20. What's next on your list?
Figuring out how to take a toddler backpacking.