International Travel
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16 Travel Blunders to Avoid!
1. Not calling your bank or credit card company before you leave Before our trip to China, we did very little preparation other than just pack our bags and water our plants. On our first night in Beijing, we thought, “No problem, we’ll just walk to the mall near our hotel, hit up an ATM and grab some dinner”. We visited an ATM with my debit card’s logo and, worst thing ever; it sucked up my debit card and kept it! We tried buying some small items at a grocery store and got rejected with every card we tried there as well. That night, we had to go back to…
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Israel, Petra and Egypt — Part 1, Israel
Highlights: The Sea of Galilee, Jerusalem, Petra, The Pyramids of Giza, Nile River Cruise Tips: Israel is very safe; I’d feel comfortable there traveling on my own. However, in Jordan and Egypt, for baby boomer travelers like us, we felt comfortable being part of an organized tour group and would recommend the same for others. Bring bags of cheap candy for little kids in Egypt. Cultural Preparation: Books: The Bible — all those Sunday School lessons on the Bible come to life here. Exodus by Leon Uris — a story of the founding of the State of Israel Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie — Book or Movie (I…
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Petra, Jordan and Egypt, Part 2
After several days in Israel (see Part 1) and after a visit to the ancient mesa-top fortress of Masada, it was time to move on to Jordan and Egypt. First up, Jordan. Crossing into Jordan — the Allenby crossing is named after Edmund Allenby — from the time this area was colonized by the British. If you saw the movie, Lawrence of Arabia, you may remember this character as one of Lawence’s commanders. The Jordan River — where Jesus is thought to have been baptized. There had been a lot of rains and flooding in the winter of 2018-19 and some the meeting pavilions had been damaged. A lot…
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15 Items for your long flight
Stretch pants Soft top with long sleeves A light knit jacket or sweater — airplanes can get too cold — and this can double as a pillow Slip on shoes (for getting through security and quick off and on while in your seat) Warm socks — no one wants cold ankles (you might need or want support hose) A neck pillow — an inflatable one saves space Reading glasses Books, magazines Entertainment — loaded on portable devices is the best An empty water bottle to refill once you get past security A sleeping mask Ear plugs or noise cancelling headphones if you’re a high roller Healthy snacks — you can…
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Panama Canal Cruise
Early 2017 found me happily retired and planning adventure after adventure. As we were planning our trip to China (in March and early April), I noticed a fantastic deal on a cruise through the Panama Canal with one of our favorite cruise companies, Holland America. (Yes, its for people like us who don’t stay up late partying and like some of the more “genteel” entertainments — cooking classes, academic lectures and classical music.) Anyway, the deal was so good, that I thought, “heck, why not?” and I booked our 20 day cruise and added an extra few days on our own in the Florida Keys since we landed in…
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China
We booked out trip with a Diamond Bar, CA (local for us) company called Intertrips. We got such a great deal, I sometimes wonder if the Chinese government subsidizes tourism. We started our China vacation on the Metrolink train from Rancho Cucamonga in to Union Station in Los Angeles. From Union Station to LAX, we had to get on a BUS. The “Fly Away bus isn’t too bad, but there really should be trains that go to all of the airports. I’ve heard that the reason trains like Metrolink don’t go to the airports is that the taxi unions opposed them for obvious reasons. Well, their business is becoming history…
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Our September in Hawaii
I began a tradition of taking our college graduate daughters on a trip a few years ago. (I think we gave Danny money for Lasik surgery — buy Danny, get that PHD and, we’ll take you somewhere cool too.) I took Heidi to London and Paris back in early 2003 and April and I went to New York City when she graduated a few years later. Hayley graduated with a Bacherlor of Science degree in Nursing from Loma Linda last year. Her first priority was getting a job, but we knew after she got a few months in, we’d like to take her somewhere as well. Last year at our…
