My Bi-Plane Adventure

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return." 
 Leonardo da Vinci

Getting ready for take-off

For Christmas I told my husband that I didn't want any more "stuff".  We have so much, and we really need to downsize, instead of adding to it.  I wanted to have adventures instead.  He bought me several adventures.  They were certificates for things that I could do whenever I was ready.  My first adventure I did in January, it was a kayak/whale watching trip.*  This week I decided to do the 2nd adventure, which was a flight on a bi-plane. 

The trip was with Barnstorming Adventures here in San Diego.  www.barnstorming.com We first picked up our daughter, Kim.  She wanted to go and watch and take pictures.  She is thinking about doing this with her husband, so she wanted to come along.  We had lunch on the way, and then we arrived at Montgomery Field. 

Del Mar Fairgrounds & Racetrack
from the air

I put on my head gear - that is so that I could speak to the pilot and hear him.  We took off and flew north toward the coast and Del Mar.  There were a few clouds, but we were below them, so it was a beautiful day for flying.  I took a few pictures while up there, but mostly I just enjoyed the view.  We flew all the way down the coast till we were almost in downtown San Diego.  Then we headed back inland over Qualcom Stadium, then made a steep turn and headed back to the field to land.  It seemed like it was over all too soon.  I was really enjoying being up there with the wind and the fantastic views.  We had a smooth landing. 

Coming down the coast

I would recommend this trip to anyone who likes to fly.  It is certainly different in an open cockpit.  They have bi-plane rides available in most cities, and it is a great way to see the area, and a fun way to spend the afternoon.

*If you would like to read about my first adventure - the kayak trip - go to the January archives.

Looking across Mission Bay to OB

Looking down on Crystal Pier in PB

My plane coming in for a landing

taxiing back to the terminal

What I do on my Summer Vacation

“If you're not beside a real river, close your eyes, and sit down beside an imaginary one, a river where you feel comfortable and safe. Know that the water has wisdom, in its motion through the world, as much wisdom as any of us have. Picture yourself as the water. We are liquid; we innately share waters wisdom.”  Eric Alan

Our cabin

We have a cabin in Washington state. The land has belonged to our family for several generations. When I was a kid we had a small one room cabin with a deck and an out house. That cabin was jointly owned by my mom and her 2 brothers, so there were a lot of people using it. Then they split the property up and my mom had a deck and a shed built on our part of the property, and she pulled a travel trailer up next to the deck. It had a flushing toilet, at least, which was hooked into a septic tank, but we didn't have running water, so we hauled jugs of water up from the river to flush the toilet with. That worked okay, because during those years we were using it for day use only, as my mom lived only a half hour away and she had guest rooms for when we were there. 

Our river below the cabin

But now my sister and I jointly own the property, and we decided a few years ago to make it a more permanent structure that we could use for longer periods. We didn't have much land space so the cabin is small, but quite comfortable. In fact the footprint of the actual cabin is 250 square feet, but it is 2 stories and we still have the shed and the deck. The upstairs is reached by ladder. We still don't have running water as of now, but the well is in, and we are in the process of getting that hooked up. That will be a nice improvement. Last year we stayed there for 3 weeks, and the neighbors allowed us to run a hose from a cabin up the road, so that was our running water. It was more like camping out than I would have liked. But the river is right there, so you really don't need to shower too often, besides we were roughing it. But when the water is hooked up it will make washing dishes and taking showers a little easier.  

The river below the cabin

So, why am I putting this in a travel blog? Because for us, our yearly trip to Washington and our cabin is part of our travels. It's a 2 day car trip from here, although quite often, now that we are retired, we take longer to get there and detour to see sights we have missed in the past. Last year we were gone 6 weeks total – 3 weeks at our cabin, one week on the Washington coast visiting my husband's family, and one week up in Canada, then a side trip on the way home through Glacier National Park in Montana. It was quite a trip, and the dogs were very glad to get home at the end of it. 

For me, the river where our cabin is happens to be a place where I can go and feel completely at peace. It is one of the prettiest places, I think, in the whole world. Our river is a small river that flows into the Columbia River. It is in the woods, but only about 5 miles from a town. There are other cabins along the road. In fact, quite a few of the owners of those cabins have owned them since I was a kid. Now some of the kids I played with when I was young have taken over their cabins, the same as my sister and I have.

 

 

Field by our cabin

There is a field between us and the road, where there have always been horses, and at one time donkeys.   We quite often see deer. They come right up the path by the cabin. And one night we were sitting on the deck and we saw an osprey (a large bird that looks quite like an eagle) fly by and land at the top of a tree straight across from us. It sat there for awhile and then suddenly dived down to the river and came up with a fish in its talons. The fish tail was swinging back and forth. The osprey flew downstream with the fish, probably to feed its young. Quite a sight, I wished I'd had a movie camera handy. We also have had whole flocks of Canadian Geese that have landed there, probably on their way back to Canada, and families of ducks.

rope swing across from us

I think about the movie "On Golden Pond" and Katherine Hepburn talking about the loons on the lake and she would go off and pick berries.  I feel kind of like that sitting on our deck at night. We keep track of what birds we have seen and I make blackberry cobbler from the berries I picked that morning.  Only ours is a river and not a lake, and not nearly as peaceful during the day. We have the best swimming hole on the river right in front of our deck, so all the local kids come to swim. They have to trespass on private property to get in, but most of them are good kids just having fun. And you have lots of people who go up river and then float back down on their inner tubes and they all stop at our swimming hole to swim. 

Local kids on the cliffs across from us

There is a rope hanging from a tree straight across from us, where everyone has to stop and  swing out on, and a rock cliff to jump off of. There is also a waterfall across from us, which is quite pretty. Just below us are some rapids that are fun to go over in the inner tubes. So we have all the background noises, which to me are happy noises. The sound of water flowing, the screams of the kids as they swing out on the ropes, and jump off the rocks. It is fun to watch them, also.  

Baxter and Sadie on our deck

For me, this is a chance to reconnect with nature, to relax and just be myself. I take walks everyday, usually with the dogs. I pick berries, read, swim or float down the river on my inner tube. We have friends and family nearby, so its a chance to see people we don't get to see the rest of the year, and in the nearby town there are cute shops, restaurants and a farmers market to pick up fresh produce. We mostly eat at the cabin, with occasional meals out. But its simple fare, salads and casseroles, quiches and such. Its a pleasant getaway.

  "What makes a river so restful to people is that it doesn't have any doubt – it is sure to get where it is going, and it doesn't want to go anywhere else.” Hal Boyle

Pictures are Memories of your Travels

“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” Pat Conroy

Banff National Park, Canada

Doorway, Durnstein, Germany

I admit that I am one of those travelers that takes lots of pictures.  I have a camera on a strap around my neck, and I snap away.  Thank goodness for digital.  I remember when I used to be careful how many pictures I was taking, because I didn't want to run out of film, and besides, it cost so much to print all those photos when you got home.  And with film, you didn't know if you actually got the shot until you got home and saw the print, and when it didn't turn out, you couldn't just go back and take the picture again.  Now I don't even make photo albums anymore, I just store all my photos on discs.  After all, albums take up so much space and who is ever going to want those when I'm gone.  With discs I can pull them out and watch them whenever I want, and they take up very little space.

Doorway in Hvar, Croatia

Child at the zoo in
Chongquing, China

I will say though, that when traveling, I make a point of taking some pictures, then putting the camera aside and really enjoying the place without the camera.  You don't want to see a place only through the lens of the camera.  And I like to take pictures of odd things.  While in Croatia last year, I became fascinated with taking pictures of doorways.  And in China, it was children, which my friends and family found amusing, as I have never been a "kid person".  But I thought the children in China were so cute and well-behaved.  I kept snapping their pictures.  I've always loved the water, so quite often I take pictures of harbors or the sea.  And I love animals so tend to snap them whenever I see them.

Sequoia

I sometimes like to try to be artistic, and shoot through openings, like arches or doorways, so that the  scenery is framed.  While in Sequoia National Park last year we walked through a tree that was laying on the ground and was hollow.  Halfway through there was a large opening and I got a really neat shot of the trees through the opening.  But most the time I am just documenting the trip and what we see, and trying to get the best shot I can.  I will never be a professional, but I enjoy taking pictures, and I also enjoying going back and looking at them years later, and remembering the fun we had on the trip.

Plitvice Lakes NP, Croatia

Last year we took a trip to Croatia.  There was a young woman in our group who was traveling on her own.  She was a camera fanatic.  She must have taken several thousand pictures in the 3 weeks we were on this trip.  She wanted pictures of herself with the background, so she was forever holding the camera at arms length pointed at her face and whatever was in the background.  She also would ask anyone in the group to take her picture whenever possible, which was fine, but she didn't want just one picture, she'd then get you to take 7 or 8, which was sometimes a little annoying.  We particularly noticed it when we were in Plitvice Lakes National Park.  The scenery there was spectacular, and we were all in awe of it.  But Marivic spent the entire time standing with her back to the scenery pointing her camera at it and herself.  I doubt if she really saw much of the park.  So the one thing I will say to everyone, take some pictures, they are nice to have later, but make sure you also see the area you are going to, first hand - and not only through the lens of the camera.

Budapest

Hvar Harbor

 "Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don’t have film."

Unknown

"When setting out on a photographic holiday, always provide yourself with two cameras, one to leave in the train going and the other to leave in the cab coming back."  W.C.Sellar & R.J.Yeatman.

 

Staying in a Whorehouse in Dublin

"All the pathos and irony of leaving one's youth behind is thus implicit in every joyous moment of travel: one knows that the first joy can never be recovered, and the wise traveler learns not to repeat successes but tries new places all the time."  Paul Fussel

Glass Blower in Dublin

In 1989 my 20 year old daughter and I were doing a 3 week trip that started in London, we took a side-trip to Paris, then back to England, across Wales and over to Ireland. We arrived in Ireland by ferry in Waterford. We spent that day touring the Waterford Crystal factory, where we purchased some crystal to be shipped home. We then got on the train and headed for Dublin.

When we arrived in Dublin I hailed a taxi and asked to be taken to a B&B that I had researched, but I had not made reservations. The taxi driver obviously had ulterior motives (probably a commission), but he said he knew a much better place for less money, and could he take us there instead. He was pretty persuasive, so I agreed. He took us to a place that looked nice enough. I did notice that the parlor area was done in red velveteen wallpaper, it was maybe a bit much, but they had availability, and it looked okay, so we decided to stay there a couple of nights.  Our room was nice, and it had a sink and a shower, but the toilet was down the hallway.

Molly Malone statue in Dublin

We spent the rest of that day seeing the sights of Dublin, we took a city tour, and we wandered the streets. There was a big soccer game, and a group of soccer fans who were a little tipsy surrounded us while we were posing for a picture in front of the statue of Molly Malone and her fish cart (also know as The Tart with a Cart), so we ended up with a group photo with them, that was kind of fun.

When we got back to our room Kim left to use the toilet. She came running back a few minutes later to tell me that when she got there the door was open, so she went in, and a man was there displaying himself to her. She got out fast, and she was a little upset. I went back to the toilet with her, and he was gone. We decided that we would go to the bathroom together after that.

Kim in front of Clontarf Castle

The next day we did more sightseeing and that evening we went to a dinner show at Clontarf Castle. It was a fun event. You sat at a long table with other diners and there was the table for the “royalty.” It was all done fairly authentically to medieval times, even eating with our fingers. And the atmosphere was great. We were sitting with an older couple, celebrating their anniversary, who lived there in Dublin. At the end of the meal we went out and were waiting for our bus to take us back into town when the couple pulled up in their car and asked if we'd like a ride. We got in and told them where we were staying and they both started laughing. They said we were staying in the heart of the red-light district and that our B&B was a known whorehouse, but that they always kept some rooms available for the gullible tourist trade, it helped fill in their vacancies. Things then started making more sense.

We were leaving the next day anyway, so we went back to the place and spent another night in the whorehouse. The room was clean, the breakfast was very good, and we didn't have anymore men in the toilet area, so we were fine.   We can now say that we have slept in a whorehouse.

The Titanic - 1912 -2012

"Many brave things were done that night but none more brave than by those few men playing minute after minute as the ship settled quietly lower and lower in the sea...the music they played serving alike as their own immortal requiem and their right to be recorded on the rulls of undying fame."
 Lawrence Beesley, Titanic Survivor

Entrance to Exhibition

You may wonder about why I would write about the Titanic on a travel blog.  Well, it is travel related, although certainly not very successful travel.  Talk about things going wrong on a trip, this was the ultimate bad luck, for many people.  But this year is the 100th anniversary of the sailing.  Many cities are putting on exhibitions.  San Diego has an exhibit which will continue till September, and I think it is well worth going to.  My husband and I just recently went to it, and we both enjoyed it.  The exhibit is at the Natural History Museum in San Diego's Balboa Park.  If you live somewhere other than San Diego, check your museums, the exhibits are going on in many cities throughout the United States, and for that matter I understand there is an exhibit in Belfast, Ireland where the ship was built.  Since we are heading that way soon, we may just check it out.

My boarding pass

The exhibition we went to was fun, because they give you the name of a person on a boarding card as you enter.  It tells you whether your person was in First Class, Second or Third, or a member of the crew.  My person was in First Class, and her name was Mrs. Isidor Straus (Rosalie Ida Blun).

Mrs Isidor Straus of New York, NY was 63 years old and was married to Isidor Strauss - the owner of Macy's department stores. She boarded the Titanic at Southampton with her husband Isidor Straus, her maid Ms Ellen Bird and his manservant John Farthing. The Straus's occupied cabins C55-57.  Mrs Straus almost entered Lifeboat 8, but at the last minute she turned back and rejoined her husband, she had made up her mind: "We have lived together for many years. Where you go, I go."   Friends tried to persuade her, but she refused. She handed her maid Ms. Ellen Bird her fur coat.  She told her she wouldn't be needing it, and had her get into the life boat.  Mr and Mrs Straus went and sat together on a pair of deck chairs, her body was never recovered.  Ms. Bird survived and tried to return the fur coat to the Straus' daughter, but she told her to keep it, her mother had given it to her.

My husband was given the boarding pass of Mr. Edward Beane who was traveling with his bride Ethel.  He was 32 years old and was born 19 November 1879 in England.  Beane moved to New York where he worked as  a bricklayer. He had returned to his home town of Norwich to get married to Ethel Clarke. The ceremony took place some days before the Titanic would leave. The newlyweds had ticket number 2908 and paid £26. They boarded the Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers.  Mr Beane, survived the sinking together with his wife. They were one of a few "honeymooners" that were not parted by the rule "women and children first". Both were rescued in lifeboat 13.

The actual exhibit has stories on the walls of different people and how they ended up on the Titanic.  It has actual artifacts that were recovered from the ship, and it has a full-size re-creation of what a first-class cabin would have looked like.  The exhibit gives you an idea of what life on the ship would have been like. 

At the end of the exhibit there is a list of everyone who was on the ship, and you can check to see if they survived or died on board.  It really is quite a good exhibit, and if you have any interest in the Titanic, it is worth going to see. 1517 people lost their lives that night, and 705 survived.  Amoung those who died were the musicians on board the ship, and they played their instruments until it sank.  The ship sank in the early morning hours of April 15th, 1912 - 100 years ago today.

Packing Tips

 “There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it.”

Charles Dudley Warner

1.   Pack items that coordinate.  You'd be surprised how many different outfits you can come up with from just 2 shirts, 2 pairs of pants, a jacket and a few accessories, as long as they all coordinate.  

2.   Pack like you're in the military.  They can pack everything they need for months in a duffle bag.  Some things save space when rolled, and travel better that way.  For example - Tshirts.  Fold both sides in toward the back of the shirt so that sides almost touch in back.  Turn back the sleeves.  Fold in half by bringing the hem end up to the shoulers, roll up from the fold to the top, then grab both ends of your roll and pull to stretch.  That final tug gets rid of a lot of wrinkles.  It takes a little practice, but it saves space when packing.

3.  Not everything should be rolled.  If you have a dress, nice pants, or jacket, that you do not want to get wrinkled then do this - lay half of the item in the bottom of the suitcase (like the slacks from the knee down), then place your rolled and folded items on top of the item.  Then bring the top half of the item up and over the rolled and folded items, so that you have a sort of sandwich of the other clothes.  This prevents the more delicate item from having deep wrinkles that come from hard, flat folds.

4.  Take some plastic bags, for anything that doesn't get dry.  You won't want to bring the wet stuff home packed in your suitcase with the rest of your clothes.  Many times I have gone swimming the last day of a trip and my swimsuit was still wet when I was packing.  Thank goodness I had a plastic bag.

5.   Shoes are caverns waiting to be filled.  Stuff the shoes with spare socks, or any small items that you are packing.  If your shoes don't pass the smell test, then put the items in one of your plastic bags first, and then stuff them.

Me, wearing Chico's Travelers on a cruise

6.  In the last few years, several companys have specialized in "travel" clothes.  The company I have found that does it best is Chico's Travelers Collection.  http://www.chicos.com/  The clothes are made out of polyester, and they can be wadded up in your suitcase, and still be in perfect condition when you arrive at your destination.  I love the colors and styles that they have.  They are not cheap, but they are well worth the price.  They take up very little space in a suitcase and are wrinkle free.  I have used some of their clothes for very dressy occasions while traveling, and have fit in, even on cruises on their formal nights.

7.  Make a packing list.  I have one general list that I use for all trips.  Each trip varies as to the types of clothes your are packing, but there are quite a few things that you always pack, and it helps to check the list.  Make sure that an umbrella is on the list, you won't always pack an umbrella, but it is something that is easy to forget when you do need it.

Booking on the Web vs. Travel agent

“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, to gain all while you give. To roam the roads of lands remote, to travel is to live.” Hans Christian Anderson

Tahiti

I was a travel agent for 15 years. I know that in todays world the internet is a fact of life. I certainly wouldn't want to be without it. But should you book your travel on line, or should you book with a travel agent? My answer – it depends.

For simple things, like hotel reservations, car rental and flights, why not book online?  I do it myself, and even recommend it to my friends and family. Should you book a tour or a cruise online? I would say no. First of all, a travel agent is probably going to have a lot of information and choices for you, that you might not see online. You may be looking at one cruise line and the agent may have something that would be the same cruise, only better, and the price could be the same or better.

Montenegro

And what if something goes wrong, is there someone to turn to if you've booked it online? No! But a good travel agent is with you from beginning to end, and if you have a problem, they will assist you. Quite often they can get you exactly the same price as the online price, and they will give you personal service as well. Many travel agents will also have a gift for booking with them, such as a bottle of wine in your room when you board your cruise. You won't get that from the internet.

If you are going to travel to a foreign country on your own, a travel agent usually has personal experience that is invaluable, and will certainly have experience in booking different segments of the trip. At the very least you should go and talk to one and get some ideas of what they can or cannot do to help you with the planning. When I was an agent, my favorite thing to do was to help clients plan independent travel. Sure, there was not really any commission involved, so it wasn't helping my goals (which we all have), and it took up lots more time then a tour or cruise did, but it was FUN!  So you need to find an agent who feels that way also, and talk to them.

For those of you who are very internet savvy and just want to do it on your own, there are lots of websites available. I am listing a few of them here, with links. They are all great for booking hotels, cars, and flights.

http://www.orbitz.com    http://www.edreams.net    http://www.kayak.com    http://www.expedia.com   
http://www.priceline.com

She Who Loves to Travel

 I have a picture on my wall by my computer area, which I purchased at a craft/art show years ago.  The artist is Suzy T and it is of a curly haired woman with bags packed and a Bon Voyage sign behind her.  This write up is on the back of the picture, and I have always loved what it says, and it has always seemed like it was speaking to me.

  She Who Loves To Travel        

                                                                                                                                                                     

She wants to see it all, do it all, taste it all.

There are so many wonders in the world

fish tacos

And by golly, she wants and insider's look at each one.

She wants French Bread in France,

Chicken Kiev in Russia,

Tacos in Mexico,

And hot dogs at Dodger Stadium.

But that's not all.

She wants to hike the Redwood Forest,

Ski the Swiss Alps,

Watch the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace

And dive the Great Barrier Reef.

Redwood Forest

Her passport is always current....

She has enought Frequent Flyer miles

To travel around the world....

And the best time of her life

Is when she's packed and ready to go.

That certainly is how I feel, and I am happiest when I am packed and ready to head out on my next trip, except I always hate saying good-bye to my dogs, they have such sad eyes when they know we are leaving them.  But we leave them in good hands in their own home, so I miss them but I don't worry about them.

We are heading out on a new adventure next month, not packing yet, but getting excited.   We will be meeting our friends in Scotland and heading off for adventures from there with them.  Looking forward to seeing them, and making new memories.