Road Trippin'



tide pools, Encinitas, CA

Little octopus hiding under a rock

To drive or not to drive, that is the question.   I'll be going up north in a little bit and deeply pondered the pros of just getting in the truck and traveling on my own terms versus cons of the long, long hours on the road.  It was sort of hard to price it out. Virgin America has screaming great deals from San Diego to SFO lately, only $69 one way.  And I love that airline, they have great service and pretty comfortable coach seats.  Enterprise Car rental was sort of tricky.  They have weekend rates of around $9 a day, Friday return Monday.  Otherwise, it was about $33 (or was it $37?) a day.  And that was from the car rental place in San Rafael.  So depending on who I could work with at Enterprise, I maybe could have gotten the weekend rate and two days full price.  Plus, I had to factor in the long term parking, which would be about $66 and the roundtrip   Driving on the other hand, is the cost of gas.  At the time I worked it out, I figured $4.20 a gallon.  Soooo,  it turned out to be $100 cheaper to drive.

Unlike a road trip to Arizona, there is a lot more to see between San Diego and San Francisco.  I'm probably going to go up 101 and maybe stay the night in San Luis Obispo.   Then it's a short trip home.   Of course, the more direct way is up 5, over the Altamont pass, then into the east bay and over the richmond-san rafael bridge.  Well, I've done that drive many times and it is really boring.  According to the directions from Google maps, it a 7 hour and 2 minute drive.  Righhhht!   It takes at least 8 hours to get from Marin to LA. 

Monterey is a destination along the 101.  It's a great place to poke around for an afternoon.  Of course, there's the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  I must have spent 5 hours there, I loved it!  But I'm that kind of person, I just love the ocean and all the creatures in it. And if you are the literary/history sort, you'll love to visit the old hangouts of Steinbeck and Cannery Row.  I also went to Carmel one night to see a concert.  But none of the tour books informed me that they don't have street lights in that town.  Needless to say, it was difficult to find my way around at night!! 

So maybe this time around I'll stop in Carmel during the day for a visit to their world-famous art scene.  Another plus to driving is that I can load up on all the goodies I want.  So maybe a trip to an out-of the-way winery is in order. 

Once I'm back home it will be a little business (yuk, taxes), but more pleasure seeing old friends.  Can't wait!

Diving around

Has diving in the deep blue ocean always seemed to you like a cool thing to do?  One of the biggest obstacles for me was how complicated it seemed with all of the equipment and all the science you need to know to just survive down there.  How was I ever going to remember all of that?  The other problem that people have is abject fear.  It might have something to do with claustrophobia.  Or maybe just the idea of breathing through a tube freaks people out.

About 4 years ago my curiosity won out and I went to a local dive/swim shop in Sacramento.  They had a class where you could simply scuba around their pool.  No big deal.  They put a tank on your back, you put the regulator in your mouth, and then swum (swam?) around their indoor heated pool.  It was so easy!  I asked the guy if there was more to scuba diving than that, and he said "not much."

Okay, I guess that is an isn't totally true.  I signed up for their scuba course from PADI.  I forget how many weeks it was.  It was self-study of the PADI book and then we meet at the swim center to take quizzes and talk about diving.  The course also included "contained" dives, meaning in the pool.  We went through all the drills, like how to equalize the pressure in your ears going down, what to do in an emergency, how to put your gear on in the water, how to enter the water, and stuff like that.  The finale was an open water dive, meaning in the ocean.  After that, you are a certified open water diver.

Up north, the open water dives usually take place in Monterey.  But since I was going to the Turks Caicos shortly after I did the quiz/contained dives part of the course, I opted to do the open water dives on vacation in the warm Caribbean waters.

It was sort of a disaster since, okay I'll admit it, I was scared!!  The place that chartered the dives with Club Med (yeah, I know, club med) took us for a boat ride that lasted about 45 minutes.  The water was choppy and I was afraid of getting sea sick.  But I don't get motion sickness, but was afraid anyway.  Then the dive instructor didn't seem to give clear direction about what we would be doing. 

Step one: enter the water.  Check.  Step two: start descent.  Check.  Step three.  Chaos!  The other people in my group only took the resort class and they didn't really know what they were doing.  One person sank, the other guy lost his mask, the dive instructor was swimming around not really knowing how to organize the dive.  I managed to hang on to the tow line.  That was definitely not what I needed to do to get certified in the open water. 

Still, it was my very first ocean dive, and first impression are the lasting ones, right?  Wow.  The water was so clear.  The sun lit up the underwater world like a huge, bright aquarium. There were fish everywhere!  I couldn't see them from the boat, but underwater, wow they were everywhere from just under the water's surface to the ocean floor about 100 feet down.  A thin barracuda swam (swum?) by.  They warned us about sharks, but the reef and nurse sharks are not Jaws.  From the depths I saw the unmistakable side-to-side movement of a shark swimming toward me. It was a hammerhead!  Now, was that a friendly okay shark or something I should be concerned about?  Hmmm,  My instincts as lower form of food on the chain kicked in and I kept verrry still.  But somehow I think the shark probably knew I was there.

Later that day I did a dive off the beach with another instructor to do at least one required open water dive.  As we were doing the drills, a local celebrity showed up.  I couldn't have been more excited to see JoJo, the resident wild dolphin that has been hanging around the people in the Turks for about 20 years.  As we were sitting on the bottom sand doing drills, JoJo came right up to us, not more than ten feet away, and just sort of stayed and looked at us and we looked at him.  This went on for about five minutes.  I couldn't tell you who was more fascinated with the other!  I was like a little underwater tea party.  I was thrilled to have a good look at a dolphin this close in his own environment.  My first impression was that he was much larger than what you see from a boat.  Also, he managed to stay perfectly still underwater while us humans were moved back and forth by the current.  He eventually slowly went to the surface for a sip of air and went on his merry way.

I eventually did my final dive a year later at Scuba Club in Cozumel, Mexico.  What a fun little resort!  I didn't stay there, just did the dive and got certified. 

So far I have only done a couple more dives.  One in Oahu, which was much more memorable because of the people I met than what was under the water.  And the other time was in the Big Island off of Kona.  Again, nothing to write home about.  Except, of course, for the amazing and spectacular nighttime giant manta ray dive.  Now THAT was remarkable/amazing/awesome/incredible!!  And if you are too scared to dive, they offer snorkeling in the area.  Nothing, absolutely nothing can compare to 30 or more giant manta beasts swimming within inches of you, and gracefully swooping in a circle at the last minute.  It was like an underwater circus, so breathtaking, so exciting.  Afterward everyone was starstruck happily chatting about such an amazing experience.  If you are on the Big Island, definitely do the manta ray dive!!

So here I am about six months later and I am really "jones-in" for a dive.  Maybe Scuba Club Cozumel, or maybe to Caribbean.  I can't decide! 

advetures update

Just because I haven't posted in the last year (or so) doesn't mean I've been loafing around all this time.  Yes, work is work and that does eat into my travel and leisure time.  Oh well, it pays the bills and believe me, I am more than grateful to have such a wonderful job working with great people.  Some of my travels have taken me up to Northern California for some unhappy matters, which I won't dwell on.  This blog is about the fun stuff!

So having said that, it wasn't all doom and gloom in Northern California.  When I wasn't bogged down with family matters, I escaped to Calistoga.  This little gem up in the wine country has managed to maintain its small-town laid-back charms over the decades.  St. Helena, on the other hand, has managed to morph into some kind of Las Vegas strip for wineries.  Don't get me wrong, I love St. Helena too, but when I'm in Calistoga on a summer day, its like going back in time to the uncrowded streets and quiet days of my childhood in Marin.  There are spas galore on the main and side streets, but my favorite is Indian Springs.  They offer mud baths, massage, body treatments, and best of all , a huge olympic-size pool of full of water from the nature's hot springs.  For some reason, I just love the light scent of the sulphur in the water, which mingles with the surrounding landscaping of lavender and other herbs.  Best of all, some excellent restaurants are within walking distance, so just take a stroll down main street, have a great meal, then go back to the spa for more relaxing.

I also went to Rio Verde, Arizona, which is sort of near Scottsdale.  Although I wasn't exactly a single traveler since I was with some family and friends for Christmas, I did drive there on my own from San Diego.  The trip was about 7 hours, mostly on interstate 8.  Talk about a boring drive!  Unless you think rocks, dirt, and cactus is interesting , that is.  It helps me to take a driving break every hour and a half to two hours, if only just to stretch my legs.  There was a point somewhere in Arizona where I was on this little two-lane highway and there were no other drivers, homes, businesses, lights, or even a highway sign for miles and miles and miles.  I was starting to get freaked out.  Seriously, that is the emptiest place I have ever seen.  Some people love that rugged, barren southwest landscape.  I don't get it.  You can hike in Arizona, but all you see is more rocks, dirt, and cactus.  We went horseback riding. That was an adventure, especially when we forded the Rio Verde going out an coming back.  A word of warning: Arizona can get quite chilly in the winter.  We were freezing when we got back!  All in all, it was nice being with family and friends for Christmas, but as a travel destination, Arizona just didn't do it for me.

I'm going to try an attach a video I made with some pictures of the Calistoga and Arizona.http://youtu.be/lZV9geLBnCM

Okay, next post I'll talk about the really fun trips I took to Oahu and Kona. 

Paris adventure

[Here’s a slightly edited version of my original post, after my sister gave some really great input about it.  Her impression was that my trip to Paris was overall pretty crumby.  But this was certainly not my experience!  Yes, traveling can be arduous, but this is true whether you are with someone or on your own.  I want all tall people who can’t get comfortable and sleep on a plane to learn from my experience:  Travel business class on a long haul flight! 

It’s true that there were times in which I would have liked to have had someone with me, like when I was at the Eiffel Tower, or sometimes when I went out to eat.  But there were plenty times I was grateful I was on my own, like when I took the wrong train to Versailles.  I kept thinking: “I am so glad I screwed up on my own because if I were with someone, this would have been a big source of tension and stress.”  As it turned out, I was only slightly chagrined, and getting back on the right track was no big deal.  And there were times when dining alone opened me up to meeting some really great people.  At some restaurants they seat you with people because there isn’t enough room for everyone to have their own table.  I was next to a couple from England, and by simply asking them what they were eating, it opened up a great conversation with some really friendly people.  This happened more than a few times. 

In the Rick Steves videos and books, no one ever gets burned out from flight delays, people don’t need to use the restroom when they’re out touring, women don’t get their periods and have to hunt down a place to get Kotex pads, the rooms aren’t the size of a postage stamp, and the language barrier is never a problem.  If you want the unicorns and butterflies perspective of traveling, then pop in one of his videos, because they are great!  But I am going to tell it like it is because I think people would want to know there aren’t bathrooms on the Bateaux Boats!!!]

It seemed like such a simple plan: I would get on a plane, and then when I got off the plane I would be in Paris.  After all, a plane trip is what it is, and why not end up in Paris? I could hang out, wander around, and see some really cool stuff.

This was back in 2007 when the economy was doing good and the price of airline travel was pretty reasonable.  Virgin Atlantic was offering a package deal, air and hotel for $600 and some change per person for 6 days and 7 nights.  Since I was going on my own, it was a little more expensive to pay the single supplement, so it ended up costing me about $1,100.  Here's a little suggestion for the travel industry: How about catering to the single traveler every once in a while with your fabulous package deals???

The British Airways flight left San Francisco at 4 p.m and arrived about 9 hours later in London's Heathrow airport. This was my first really long flight and the lesson me and my long legs learned was this: We're going business class next time! It's huge and confusing at Heathrow, so I was glad for the two-hour lay over to give me time to catch the flight to Paris.  But when a delay stretched the waiting to three hours, it did start to wear on me.

I finally got to Paris at about 4 p.m. on a mild February afternoon and was immediately revived. The package deal included airport pick-up and drop off, but I had to call them when I arrived, and using the public phone, the "cabin" as I learned from a wonderfully sweet (note sarcasm) French airport worker was a little tricky.  But I managed to contact the company and they got me to Hotel Etoile (Star) Trocadero.  This was advertised as a three star hotel, but it was very small and located on a typically narrow cobblestone street packed with centuries-old buildings with lots of wrought iron balconies off the windows.  The sitting area had just a couple of chairs and there wasn't an elevator.  My room was about the size of a double bed, it was teeny teeeny, and it did have a teeny teeeny bathroom.  It overlooked a courtyard, so there wasn't much of a view.  But for all that I loved it because it wasn't some impersonal chain hotel room.  I felt I was really in Paris, and I could sort of see the Eiffel Tower's sparking lights at night.  Besides, I didn't end up spending much time in the hotel room.

My hotel was in the 16th arrondissemont.  Sorry for the spelling!!!  An arrondissemont is like a neighborhood, and Paris is organized with about 20 or more of them.  The first is located near the Louvre and then they spiral out in a clockwise circle.  The 16th ar. is west of the first, the 5th ar. is a little south, and the 18th is a little north of the first.

The Eiffel Tower is near the 16th ar. and so is the Arch de Triumphe.  But the museums, Notre Dame, and the Latin Quarter, and some other good stuff were located near the 5th and 6th ar.  You can get around using the Paris metro system, which you do have to spend some time figuring out.  Or you can spend more money on a cab.  Or you can make reservations for the red double decker bus that makes a continuous loop to nine top destinations, like Norte Dame, the Musee d'Orsay and Eiffel Tower.  If you are only staying a few days and don't have time for a lot of walking, I recommend staying in the 5th ar. and spending money on cab fare or taking the double decker bus.

Since I was going it alone, I made a couple of tour reservations in advance to give a little structure to my visit. I made a point to book at least one nighttime tour because I didn't want to be inside at night the whole time. Here's what I did in no particular order:

I booked a half day tour with Gray Line Tours to visit Montmartre and then a guided tour of the Louvre.  It was a little difficult finding the Gray Line bus depot and when I asked a woman on the street for directions, in English, she looked like I was going to mug her or something.  So yeah, the language barrier can be a problem at times.  But for the most part, there are a lot of Parisians who speak English, especially in the service industries like the hotels, restaurants, and the museums and monuments. 

I tried to learn a few French phrases in preparation of the trip, but ended up speaking English most of the time.  What I thought was kind of funny was that about four or five times when I was out walking or waiting for the metro, people would turn to me and start talking, like I was a hometown girl!  Of course I had no idea what they were saying, probably asking for directions, which happens to me a lot no matter where I am.  But at those times I wished I could speak French.

We went to the Montmartre village center which is full of artists and is for tourists, but I still loved it and would recommend this.  Be prepared to be hit up by a lot of guys who want to draw your portrait.  It seemed like a goofy idea at the time, but now I wish I had that memento.

You can't see everything at the Louvre in one afternoon, but our guide took us to the highlights, which was really helpful considering the size of the museum.  There were only two other people, Americans, that signed up for the tour that day, so don't be concerned about being in a big herd on that tour.

I booked an Illuminations of Paris tour, which was a nighttime cruise down the Seine and then a tour of the city in a minibus.  The thing I liked about this particular tour, which was offered through Pariserve, is that it offered pick up/drop off at the hotel.  For being known as the city of light, Paris is sort of dark at night with the low energy bulbs the city is now using.  So good for them going green, but the next time I cruise down the Seine it will be during the day.  The boat was large and roomy and packed with people on Valentine night. There were some really nice people sitting next to me, again from England, who talked about their trip to America.  And note: there are no bathrooms on board.  If you have to go, stop by the public restrooms at Eiffel Tower, which is near the dock.

The minivan driver was super friendly and spoke excellent English, and took us around to see some of the sights.  I was with two couples from England, the nice couple from the country who told me all about tea time and invited me to their village up north, and the quiet couple from London who looked like they wanted to throw up on their shoes every time I said something.  I really felt like a dufus AMERICAN around them.  Unfortunately, the nice couple ended the tour early, and the “fun couple” just seemed to sulk in the back of the bus.  The driver offered to stop at the Ritz so we could look inside, but we ended up not doing that because the couple seemed to want to get the tour over with as soon as possible.

I pre-booked a tour with the highly-rated, Paris-Walks, which offers English language walking tours through different neighborhoods with different themes.  At the time the DaVinci Code was popular, and the tour guided the group to some of the sites mentioned in the book.  This is probably why the group was really big and all Americans.  We took up a lot of space and really stood out walking down the narrow streets, with the guide talking very loudly.  A few times we heard comments from the passersby about being Americans, which were positive let me add, but it sort of had the effect of making the group kind of self conscious.  So instead of bonding we sort of stuck to ourselves, which was a bummer for me being a solo traveler.  

Still, I do recommend going on a Paris-Walks tour.  In comparison to the minibus tour, you do get a better sense of place and history.  Also, it really is a great way to meet fellow travelers; I think I just had bad luck the day of my tour.  Next time I’ll book a less popular Paris-Walks tour with a smaller group.

A couple of things I did on my own included the Eiffel Tower.  I went there on a beautiful rainy Paris morning, and seriously, there were only three other people at the ticket booth.  When I went for a walk a couple days later during unseasonably warm weather, the lines snaked around the courtyard.  I went to the second level having chickened out going all the way to the top.  The little 19th century elevator was kind of rickety-looking.  One downside of traveling solo is that you don't have someone encouraging you to do stuff.

You have to take a train trip to see the Palace of Versailles, which I did on about the third day.  It was hard to figure out what train to take, and I ended up going the wrong way.  But I eventually made it there, and guess what? There was a strike which closed down most of the tour.  I later learned that French workers routinely go on strike and this shuts down the museums.  For some reason, I wasn't that over-awed by Versailles and I won't see this again if I ever go back.  If you are only in Paris a few days, you would do well to skip this tour.

The highlight was Notre Dame.  This is a must-see destination.  You will be awed by the sky-high ceiling and stained glass.  There’s no way to get a sense of this cathedral unless you are standing in it, and make sure to have your picture taken at Point Zero, the center of Paris, located outside in the courtyard.  And if you are there on a Sunday, I recommend attending high mass.  Nearby is the Shakespeare and Company bookstore, located in the Latin Quarter. Did you ever see that movie with Ethan Hawke were he meets up with that girl in Paris for one day?  They meet at the bookstore.  Even if you aren't the literary type, definitely stop by.

Another great destination was the Musee d'Orsay, were you can get thissclose to paintings by the impressionist masters.  It was amazing they didn't have the Van Gough paintings covered by glass, but I still appreciated having nothing obstructing my view of his work.  You can see just how much paint he layered onto the canvas, which really gives you a sense of his emotional connection to his art.  This is definitely something you cannot see in a print of his work!!  I found it completely mesmerizing.

Since this blog is about solo adventures, I'll say a few words about going to Paris on your own. Do it!!! Don't let anything stop you from experiencing that amazing city.  I am writing about it four years later, and it is still fresh in my memory, like I was just there last year.  No other trip I have ever been on has made this impression.  Of course there were times I wish I was with someone, mostly when I went out to eat.  It was intimidating walking into a Paris restaurant on my own and dealing with the waiters.  But to be fair, sometimes I was just imagining things.  At breakfast in a near-empty café one morning, the waiter, who spoke very little English, kept glancing at me when he walked by to wait on other people.  I thought, “What am I doing wrong?  I am making a cultural faux pas? Should I not be sitting here taking up space??”  When he finally gave me the check, he looked down at me and said in halting English with a very heavy French accent, “You aavee a beautiful bluee eyes.”  Okay, I wasn’t expecting that, and yes, the French accent does have an effect on us girls, I mean, gurrrlls. 

But on the other hand, I had a very pure experience with nothing and no one to distract me from whatever I was experiencing.  I woke up when I felt like it, I made my own schedule, ate all of the out-of this-world-delicious chocolate croissants that I could stuff in my face, I took it easy when I needed to, and enjoyed doing all the dorky things I like to do without having to negotiate my plans.  The best part about the trip is that is gave me confidence and incentive to keep traveling either on my own, with a friend, or with a tour group.

Happy travels everyone!

whale of a time

The best part about moving from hot dusty landlocked Sacramento to San Diego was that I would finally be right next to the ocean.  When I was 4 years old I saw a movie about a boy and his dolphin friend and seriously, I don't remember anyone else in the theater, not even my parents or brothers and sister, obviously one of them must have been there, but I was so mesmerized by this brave new world of beaches and sunshine and bare feet and endless blue waters and creatures like that dolphin , it was as though nothing else existed.  Since I was born and lived in Chicago at the time, I had only known grey skys, lots of snow, and dark dark winter nights.  So anyway, this movie made quite an impression on me, enough to last a lifetime.

Today I made an impulse decision to head to the harbor and go on a whale watching cruise.  There are a number of operations up and down the California coast where the gray whales migrate along with other types of whales like the mighty blues, minke, and fin (hope I got that right).  I took a whale watching tour out of Monterey last year and saw two whales that were so far away they just looked like black dots.  But it was nice to be out on the ocean and it turned out that happy hour for most of the restaurants on the Monterey pier starts at about noon.  : -) The reason why the captain had to keep his distance was because federal law prohibits getting within a certain distance of the whales, which seemed like a mile.

But what if the whale swims near the boat?  That's what happened today in San Diego and I got some awesome video.  What was so cool was that you could hear the whale spouting.  And if you look closely you can see that the whale had an escort of dolphins, the guardians of the sea.  You can also spot some sea lions too.

It was a beautiful day, clear with 10 miles of visibility, and the water was as calm as a bathtub.  But even in sunny and warm San Diego, it can get really cold out on the ocean.  If you go whale watching, dress warmly!!  I layered a tank top with a long sleeve cotton tee and a wool sweater over jeans and boots.  I also wore a 3/4 length wool coat and a fleece hat, and you know what?  I still got a little chilly by the end of the day.  And if you tend to get motion sickness, take the dramine well before you get out on the water.

Kudos to Hornblower tours for a great time today.  The captain provided lots of informative commentary, and got as close as he could get to the whales without disturbing them, (or breaking the law!)  They rent binoculars at the snack bar and serve beer and alcohol along with snack foods like hot dogs and nachos.  If you get really cold, you can sit inside in the middeck area and still have a great view. We left at 1:30 and got back around 5:30, just a little late.  Check them out at http://www.hornblower.com/.

I posted a couple of videos to show what you typically see, which is the whale way in the distance.  But I also got a great video of the whale swimming right in front of the boat. 

stuck at the airport

The travel headlines the last week or so put the spotlight on one of the worst parts of flying: flight delays.  Ughh.  This brought back my experience flying back home to San Francisco from Cancun, Mexico through Houston.  My friend and I got to Houston all right, but then a ginormous storm socked the Houston area and grounded all flights.  Probably what was most frustrating was the information, or lack of it, from the airline people at the boarding gate.  The information was that the flight was delayed 45 minutes because of weather.  Then after 45 minutes, the delay was going to be another hour.  Then when the storm cleared there was another delay for unknown reasons for another hour.  This went on for 6 frickin hours!  It turned out that they (Continental/United Airlines) couldn't find a pilot because supposedly there were delays at other airports in flying him in.  Good grief.  We finally boarded the plane sometime around 12:30 a.m. and then waited yet another hour before the plane took off for the 4-hour flight to San Fran. Okay, it could have been worse, we could have already boarded and then got grounded when the storm hit. We finally got in around 4 in the morning and for me, it was another 3-hour drive back home to Sacramento where I was living at the time. 

After  that dreadful experience I vowed never to fly again. Well, at least not on United and not through Houston. The hours-long wait in the plastic airport chairs did not do wonders for my back.  There is absolutely no way to get comfortable in those things.  Would it be that much of a financial burden for the airports to outfit the waiting area with comfortable chairs??  I swear, if people could get comfy and maybe get a little shut eye, it would go a looonngg way toward soothing delay frustration.  Some people were lying on the floor, but they were sort of in the isles and exposed to getting stepped on.  Here's my list of do's and dont's when stuck at the airport:

1. Do try to be flexible with your flight plans.  Our flight to San Francisco was delayed, but other flights were taking off for San Jose and Sacramento.  Since I lived in Sacramento, we could have flown there, stayed at my place for the night, then figured out a way to get my friend down to the Bay Area where she lived, which is about 85 miles away.  My friend's boyfriend would probably have driven up there.  Yes, it was a reach, but sometimes anything is better than being stuck at the airport.  We also could have flown to San Jose, and had her boyfriend pick us up there.  But to get those flights, go to the gate where they are departing!  Don't rely on the information from the airline personnel working at your gate.

2. Call the airline for information about re-booking a flight.  You might get a better deal than the one you would get from airline at the airport.

3. Don't consume alcohol.  Yes, it is tempting to down the booze thinking that somehow this will help the situation.  It doesn't.  I made the mistake of drinking too much of the Houston airport house white wine and ended up feeling sick to my stomache the entire flight home.

4. Don't take out your frustrations on the airline personnel.  Yes, they might be giving you bogus information.  Yes they could be more courteous.  Yes they are wrong and you are right.  Whatever.  If you give them lip, they can confescate your ticket and throw you off the flight, even call the police.

5. Don't eat the airport food while you are waiting.  See number 3.

6. Do be nice to the flight attendants when you finally board the plane.  Remember, its been a long night for them, too, and to make matters worse, they have to work the next 4 or more hours. 

That's all the suggestions I have; its not much is it?  If I had some money to throw around, I would join an airline club or whatever they are called and hang out in the VIP lounge! Let me know if you have any other ideas how to make the airport wait more bearable.

midwest holiday

Okay, I'll admit it, the midwestern states are not high on my list of exotic getaways that I dream of exploring.  But my family, or part of it anyway, lives in the little town of Ames, which is located smack in the middle of Iowa, or thereabouts.  And this year, instead of them coming out to see me for the holidays in soggy San Diego, I made the trek to farm country, bare trees, snow flurries, and wind chill factor.  And it was great!

My sister planned a few adventures to dispell the notion that there is nothing to do in Ames, which is known mostly as college town built around Iowa State University.  First up was a visit to a local winery.  When my sister told me about Iowa wineries, I thought of a phrase from an old dairy commercial I heard over and over growing up in the Bay Area:  "Cows?  In Berkeley?"  So my first reaction was "Wineries?  In Iowa?"  But yes, there is a flegling wine industry in America's heartland that has at least the rich soil going for it. 

We drove to the countryside where small farms dot the flat and barren wintery landscape-- it looked like something right out of a postcard.  A couple of ramshackle barns by the side of the country road  provided a great photo opportunity.  My sister said that she went on a barn tour a few months ago and loved it.  I was surprised to see one house that was built into the ground, but I was told that it was pretty common in the old days to build houses into the ground to protect against harsh midwestern elements of high winds, tornados, and piles of snow.

Eventually we reached Praire Moon Winery, located just a couple miles outside of downtown Ames.  And wouldn't you know it, the tasting room was closed that Saturday for the long Thanksgiving weekend!  So we poked around the vineyards and the toured the picturesque patio area that can be rented out for parties and weddings. In looking at the Prairie Moon website, http://www.prairiemoonwinery.com/ they said they grow French and American varietals, but were struggling a bit with the some of the French varietals due to the Iowa's freezing weather. But they are new, only around since 2000, so from my point of view, it's way too early to tell if Iowa wines will catch on.

Next up was a trip to the Butterfly Spa, http://www.butterflydayspa.com/ , for some much needed pampering.  The spa looks like it is located in a temporary office building, and the interior is just as modest.  But as far as services go, you are treated with personal attention comparable to any other luxery spa I have visited.  Their prices for massages, which run about $60 an hour, are extremely reasonable for all of the attention you get.  Their other spa services include manis, pedis, and skin treatments.  And what sets this spa apart from some of the others is that it is a small women-owned business.  But that shouldn't stop the guys from going in for a treatment, as the spa is for men and women.  How about it guys, will you get a pedicure -- just once?  Hint, hint. 

Next up was a visit to Perfect Games, http://www.perfectgamesinc.com/ ,which is the kind of  place I would never normally go to on my own.  But my nephew had to work at their King Pin Pizza restaurant on Thanksgiving night, so we all went down there for a very untraditional, but really fun Thanksgiving feast.  The managers were nice enough to let my brother-in-law and nephew cook up their own original Thanksgiving pizza for us, which substituted gravey for tomato sauce and had toppings of dressing, turkey, onions, and some other secret seasonings and ingredients.  And you know what?  It tasted delicious!!  It was like the entire Thanksgiving feast on a slice of pizza. My nephew thought that business would be kind of slow that night, maybe some single dads with nowhere to go on Thanksgiving, but wow, it turned out to be packed. There were parties at the laser bowling lanes, people hanging out at the sports bar, and kids playing in the arcade.  The place is huge, seemed like the size of a football field, maybe bigger, is really clean, there's lots of fun stuff to do, and has a full bar.  But here's a little bit of advice:  if you order and Irish coffee, make sure the bartender puts a little whiskey in your cup!

I have a lot more to say in my next post about the nuts and bolts of getting to the midwest from California, my flying experience, and how to be a good guest when visiting reletives.  Here's a preview:  rent a room!