Travel Tips and Helps
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Huell Howser, a Travel Lover’s Friend
Who else misses this sweet guy? I think most people in California know Huell Howser. And those that do know him, have a fondness for this dear man. For 30 years, he produced shows all about some great and often unknown people and places in California. His shows appeared on PBS stations up and down the state; and, in fact, one of these shows, California’s Gold is still being aired today. He loved being on the road, finding interested places and people and sharing what he found and his conversations on shows that didn’t feel overly produced. He became our friend because of his unassuming mannerisms. He showed genuine interest…
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Packing Checklist
Need to pack in a hurry, here's a checklist.
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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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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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The Best Way to Get to LAX
What’s the best way to get to LAX from the Inland Empire? One word: Metrolink! There are Metrolink stations all over Southern California…..they all end up at Union Station and from Union Station, there’s a continually running “FlyAway” bus going to LAX that takes just a quick few minutes. So, don’t bother your friends and family….just find one of the train cars that have the bicycle logo on the outside and you’ll have plenty of room to store your luggage while you just sit and enjoy the view. We usually just take the train to LAX the day before our flight takes off….just so we can relax in a…
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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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Weekend in Northern Utah and Bryce Canyon National Park
On Friday night, we started our weekend out with a quick stop at Smith & Edwards (on our way out to Brigham City). Smith & Edwards is part army surplus, part thrift store and a whole lot of Wal Mart. They have some unusual candies too….if you want an “Idaho Spud” this is your place. And yeah, we picked up a couple….just because we could — and can’t in Southern California. We still haven’t opened one up to eat it yet, I’m not sure they’re even any good?! Because we were in Brigham City, we HAD to get some cherries and they’re ALWAYS good! https://www.facebook.com/UtahsFamousFruitWay/ And, the reason we were in…
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Las Vegas Baby
Weekend in Vegas One thing I’ve learned about going to Vegas is you’ve got to have a plan….if you don’t, you end up just wandering the streets and watching the fountains in front of the Bellagio with every other drifting tourist. So this time, I got tickets to a few events a couple of months ago. We started our weekend in Vegas on Friday afternoon with dinner at Margaritaville.….not so much for the food as for the outside table overlooking the strip. People watching in Vegas is an extreme sport and we were not disappointed — European tourists, exhibitionists, lots of flirting, and tons of tattoos. After our…
