After two days in St. Louis with the folks, we’re headed out today for a joint vacation in New York City — where, believe it or not, your columnist/blogger has never been.

I’m a small-town boy (my hometown had 9,000 residents) and have to admit that NYC has always intimidated me. But I’m very excited about the trip.

As usual, I don’t know if I’ll have Internet access, so if you leave comments, be patient as I may not be able to post them for hours/days.

Keep checking back — I have three posts written in advance that will pop up this week. For you book lovers, there’s my April Reading Log; for you food lovers, there’s my Restaurant of the Week. And for nostalgia buffs, there’s a minor treat on Wednesday that ties into my column that day.

Yes, rather miraculously, fresh columns will appear Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Somehow I found the extra hours the past couple of weeks to cobble ’em together. Now I really do need that vacation.

Until my return: Stay classy, Inland Valley.