Vacations Blog

As I mentioned in my previous entry, I joined my husband last weekend up in Flagstaff, since he had to work a job up there and the hotel room was, therefore, free.

On Saturday night we went out on the town. We’re trying not to spend a whole lot of money, these days – I think everyone is feeling that way, lately. So our goal was to have as much fun and hit as many places as we could, for as little money as possible.

First we stopped at Altitudes and had a beer ($3.25 each – we like microbrews, domestic beer is cheaper), and we split the hummus plate with veggies and pita triangles ($6.99). We lounged there for a good hour, watching college football and conversing with the bartenders. Grand total spent (including a $5 tip): $19.84.

Read More »

Look, I – as well as most guys – can understand the need to run things by our significant others before acting on them. Yes, a call from Blockbuster before renting True Romance and Bladerunner for ‘date night’ would be nice. No, not everyone appreciates bourbon being on sale when told to run out and grab some wine for the dinner party. Michael Jordan posters do not make for a proper engagement gift, etc.

I understand. We all should.

Which is what makes this quirky little story even better. Read More »

I don’t know about you guys, but my family starts wishing for our next vacation the second we get home from our last vacation. Having as much time in advance for planning makes it a lot easier to pull together the required funds. About once a year we plan a “big” vacation, and once we’ve got a destination in mind, and a general cost figured out, we start working toward saving the money.

And again, I don’t know about you guys, but my family lives RIGHT up to the edge of its means, every single month. With our paychecks exiting the bank account every bit as quickly as they’re deposited, it’s a challenge to find the wiggle room to set aside money for vacation. Here are five ways to save money every month.

#1 – You were going to spend it anyway, so put it away instead. The next time you plan to drop, say, $50 on dinner at a sit-down restaurant, spend $20 at a fast food joint instead, and put the remaining $30 in an interest-bearing savings account. If you get into the habit of down-scaling your plans and setting the extra money aside, you’ll be shocked at how quickly it adds up.

Read More »

As previously mentioned, the family spent a little time in Tennessee earlier this month. Admittedly, most of the time was spent taking full advantage of my in-laws lake front home. I couldn’t find much to complain about, what with the gourmet meals, nightly karaoke (Much to my surprise I discovered that I’m a mic hog) and instant access to all variety of lake activities. The boy learned how to bait a hook and spent many an hour paddling around trying to land a biggin, while the girl morphed into a mermaid, coming out only for meals and to text her friends back home.

But in an effort to get acquainted with our southern surroundings, we did venture out to explore one of the local sites. In the city of Crossville stands what some of the locals refer to as God’s tree house.

Read More »

What would you do from this balcony, hmmm? Relax? Drink?

I did the same, but with a slight twist.

See, we all have hobbies, one of mine is music. And talking about music. And local music.

Because I like music? No. I hate it. Can’t stand the thought of it. Read More »

After the 5-hour, nerve-racking motorcycle ride out of the Kathmandu congestion and into the outlying mountain ranges, I planned on doing a whole lot of nothing in Pokhara.

And that’s exactly what I did. Read More »

We’ve already covered what to ask when looking for good local eats, right? But there’s a good chance they’re still going to send you somewhere safe – someplace where the menu isn’t laminated.

Which means you gotta dig – and here’s a trick I learned during my 5 years in China:

Find a construction site around mid-day and wait for the whistle to blow*.

Then follow the workers.

See – we’re talking about big boys who don’t get paid big money but need to eat. And they always seem to know where this predicament can be taken care of.

So, while in the less-than-thrifty Honolulu, I did just that. I followed a few yardworkers to a serious place.

Helena’s.

Now – I’ll go ahead and tell you I was quite pleased with myself but would soon find out that this is a rather well-known local dive that tourists occasionally get taken to. But even with a few haole sitting in – it was exactly what you’d want in a hidden haunt.

Now – you’ve learned the main lesson of who to follow.

And when it comes to dining, here’s another.

Order one of each from the appetizer menu.

Sure, it might cost you a few dollars more, but there’s no better way to sample what the kitchen can do.

I ordered this – and still don’t know exactly what it was:

I mean, I know the fish is called ‘poke’, but the eyeball thingy I’m not sure about. It’s a mussel of sorts and is really salty.

But that’s just it – I experienced something that wasn’t that great and am still not sure what it is but am better for it.

Which is exactly what travel should be all about.

*Entirely based on The Flinstones, I’ve never had a callus on these hands, so am not sure what it sounds like.

Waking up blows. And no doubt, this is the last thing you want to do when you’re on holiday.

But, as we’ve talked about before – vacations are all about making us cool, yes? If you don’t come back with stories of drinking with the locals, boring tidbits on food preparation and a few sets of unfortunate coasters, then you haven’t really done your job, have you?

Oh yes – and pictures. In this day in age of social networking, if you’re not ‘tagging’ your own feet with the beach in the background, then your vacation credentials should be taken away all together.

Which brings me to my original point of waking up early…once.

For a sunrise, of course:

Now – a few things you need to do to prepare for said ‘rise’.

It’s cold. No matter where you are. See, the sun keeps things warm. So if it’s not visible, then you won’t be warm. So bring warm clothes. You roll your eyes and wonder if I’m just trying to meet word count (totally possible), but I’ve climbed* 2 volcanoes in the past year and have witnessed too many strangers cuddling (which, if you’re into, I can recommend a few bars in Berlin) out of poor preparation.

So bring a blanket or something.

And then charge the camera.

Get a coffee.

And have one day when you see both a rise and set.

‘Cause that’s the kind of thing friends back home love to hear about.