Category: Getting There and Away

Out And About In Seattle

Posted by on July 16, 2017 in Activities, Advice, Destinations, Food, Getting There and Away, Lodging, Travel

Big cities don’t thrill me, but Seattle, Washington, has many fun and out-of-the-ordinary things to do, beautiful scenery, friendly people, good food . . . I could go on.

During a recent trip, we spent a few days in Seattle, sightseeing and catching up with an old friend. Though it was typical weather for the US Northwest—with gray skies, occasional mist, and one day of actual rain—we made the most of our time there. And once again, we arrived back at our hotel one evening wondering why we thought we could pack so much into a day—at our ages. (more…)

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Awaken Your Travel Bug

Posted by on June 14, 2016 in Activities, Destinations, Getting There and Away, Travel

Back in high school—oh, so many years ago—a friend of mine gave me a travel article his father had written about a trip to Hong Kong. Looking back, I realized that one article was the seed of my love of adventure and world travel, and it reinforced my own upbringing in which my father always wondered what was over the next rise.

A few of my earlier journals

A few of my earlier journals. Photo credit: Brien Crothers

WHAT INSPIRES TRAVEL? (more…)

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Announcing SU CAMINO… in Hardcopy

Posted by on May 26, 2016 in Activities, Destinations, Getting There and Away

The paper edition of Su Camino… is now available on Amazon.com.

Su Camino… 20 Days – 785 Kilometers – Camino de Santiago

A WHIMSICAL MIX OF PILGRIM RESOURCES

AND CAMINO MUSINGS

There are several options to obtain Su Camino… at Amazon.com:

  • Kindle Edition, $3.49
  • FREE to subscribers of Kindle Unlimited
  • Paper Edition, $7.95, £5.95, or €6.95
  • (FREE Shipping with Prime subscription)

All feedback graciously encouraged and appreciated.

An introspective global journey to awareness and self-discovery catalyzed by 20 summer days walking the Camino de Santiago, Su Camino… is one American baby boomer’s travelogue come preparation handbook full of Camino anecdotes and advice for the contemporary walker of “The Way.”

Steeped in world travels to the far corners of the world over the last two decades, Su Camino… is a layered mélange of travelogue, full of anecdotes from the trail; musings on my own journey of the spirit, and preparation handbook with great resources for any pilgrim, thru-hiker, or adventurer.

Wherever we may roam, there is adventure, there is spirit, and there is discovery.

All feedback graciously encouraged and appreciated.

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Another Passport Stamp

Posted by on February 25, 2016 in Destinations, Getting There and Away, Passports, Uncategorized

Bang, flop flop, thrash thrash, then all is quite. We all know what has happened but remain silent, no one stirs. The bus rolls on, slowing to a crawl. The driver of this Mexican ADO bus seeking a pullout. Our simple, four hour journey to Belize in air conditioned comfort now slipping into delay mode. (more…)

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FREE for the next five (5) days!!! A Whimsical Mix of Pilgrim Resources and Camino Musings

Posted by on February 10, 2016 in Destinations, Gear, Getting There and Away

I’ve just published my new book “SU CAMINO… 20 Days – 785 Kilometers – Camino de Santiago; A Whimsical Mix of Pilgrim Resources and Camino Musings”

“Su Camino…” is now available in eBook (kindle) format on Amazon.

Any and all feedback encouraged and most graciously appreciated!!!

This project, which I describe as: An introspective global journey to awareness and self-discovery catalyzed by 20 summer days walking the Camino de Santiago, “Su Camino…” is one American baby boomer’s travelogue come preparation handbook full of Camino anecdotes and advice for the contemporary walker of “The Way.”

Steeped in travels to the far corners of the world over the last two decades, “Su Camino…” is a layered mélange of: travelogue, full of anecdotes from the trail; musings on my own journey of the spirit, and preparation handbook with numerous resources for any pilgrim, thru-hiker, or adventurer.

Please find and review on Amazon at, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BA0EFBS/?tag=camiforu-20Su Camino cover

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CDC.Gov

Posted by on December 7, 2015 in Destinations, Getting There and Away

Check out CDC.Gov for all questions about potential health issues and suggested or required vaccinations for any country your travel plans will take you.

The first time I travelled to Africa back in the nineties, I went to the local county health clinic to find out what, if anything, I needed. They brought out a large tattered book and opened it the Tanzania to see where I was going and what I needed in the way of protection.

Now you have it all at your finger tips.

Travel.State.Gov

Posted by on December 5, 2015 in Destinations, Getting There and Away

We have used this site for a good many years now, still finding it useful, but its information must be taken with a grain of salt. This US State Department website is for world travellers and the one-stop place for passports and information on visas. What we usually find most useful are their advisories. However, the State Department has recently posted a Worldwide Travel Alert, which is, quite simply, absurd. Sure, it makes it easy for them. Now they can always say, “we warned you.” But such blanket assertions paint such a gloomy, isolationist picture that people won’t travel. Which then, by the way, harms developing economies, creating joblessness and, well, more disenfranchised people that want to harm others.

It’s All in the Details

Posted by on November 28, 2015 in Getting There and Away, Uncategorized

Know before you go is one of our primary goals. To afford to travel more often, we work hard at getting the best prices and look for deals and packages. Kathey is registered with Travel Zoo and a few other websites to keep an eye out for such deals and to know what things are going for. She receives weekly, or more often, emails with hot deals for airlines, hotels, rental cars and travel packages. Travel Zoo sends out their Top 20 travel deals every Wednesday.

But, the devil is in the details. If you are looking at traveling from San Francisco to Washington DC for the spring cherry tree bloom and start looking for airfare, you might get really excited when you, as we did recently, see a $99 round trip fare. You might be ready to jump on that, until you’ve read the offer dates, mid-December to early March. DC is darned cold in winter.

Similarly, you can get great package deals to Ireland—for January. Or, as we did once, an organized tour of China for November. Beijing and Xian are seriously cold in November. We still had a great time.

Too, read up on travel restrictions, cancellation fees and layover duration. We’ve many stories about finding great airfare and happily booking the trip, only to later find out we had a 13 hour layover in say, Chicago—in December. Burr!

What’s Your Carbon Footprint?

Posted by on November 23, 2015 in Getting There and Away

We often suggest determining the carbon footprint of any travel plans you have or plan on and arrive at some type of offsets acceptable to you. For an online carbon footprint calculator, check out calculator.carbonfootprint.com.

Carbon offsets can be purchased online for each trip you take, but for my recent European trip, I calculated a footprint of about 6 tons CO2. To offset that carbon footprint and any other trips in our future, Kathey and I had installed on our home a 9,000-watt solar system. It produces an 8-10 ton CO2 offset each year. We don’t own the system, opting for a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the company that installed and maintains the panels. Thus, zero dollars out of pocket to start and annual savings in excess of 30 percent on our power bill—plus the CO2 offset. Sweet deal.