The next few posts are going to revolve around a theme: that of our Spring Break trip to New Orleans. The first step in our epic Big Easy adventure was taking the train from Los Angeles to New Orleans.
Now, both Jo and I have been on trains in foreign countries (Kenya, Scandinavia, Korea etc…) but never here in the states. The trip takes 48 hours and we decided to skip the extravagance of a sleeper car and ride coach the whole way. The seats were huge and there was plenty of leg room but it was a tad uncomfortable to sleep two nights in a row in a semi-reclined position. We’ll definitely spring for a sleeper car next time.
A majority of our time was spent in the observation car simply watching the countryside roll by and pretending to read our books. We played cards and bananagrams, drank coffee, ate bagels and peanut butter, and took a lot of pictures.
Our day on the train began in El Paso, Texas. It was interesting because we could see the big brown fence that marks the border between El Paso and Juarez. The rest of the day was spent crawling across the vast expanse of Texas. We had a nice dinner in the diner car with a retired Air Force Chaplain and his wife. It was a decent meal and a lot of fun to meet a new people.
I think the most interesting thing about taking Amtrak is the obvious level of unhappiness amongst the employees. They were never outright rude to the passengers, but they were obviously surly and often told the passengers that “they don’t listen to us, so please complain.”
We would definitely take the train again and we got in to New Orleans right on time and got to see a lot of the lower half of the United States.
We painted the living room...well the two of the walls. Observe!
It took a week to decide on colors. We had about a dozen different and very similar shades of green and red. We're still on the hunt for a matching set of curtains but overall we're very happy with the change.
Once again, I'm late in posting about my latest trip, but it is what it is.
My sister, Rebecca, and I sailed on Holland America's ship, the ms Eurodam, the second full week in January. We rarely get to spend time together, so it was nice to just chill away from everything else for awhile. For the most part, we were unplugged for the duration of our trip, though we couldn't help but ring up the hubbies while we sat in the hot tub on the shore of Puerto Rico (technically U.S. land and therefore no international roaming charges). I was on the cruise for the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association 2010 conference, but for most of the time, we got to do what we wanted to do.
Some of the highlights:
Holland America paid for me to get a spa treatment. I got a seaweed wrap, which sort of made me feel like a baked potato. It was very relaxing, though, and, for a first-time spa experience, I give it two thumbs up. I will be writing about the experience on Kaleidoscopic Wandering within the next couple months.
The dessert extravaganza, which was held by the chefs one night, was by far more of an art show than a culinary marvel. Carved fruit and ice sculptures, beautifully designed bread art, a chocolate fountain, tiers of candied apples, dipped strawberries, mousse in every flavor ... truly stunning in every sense of the word.
Relaxing in the hot tub. I know, I know, not all that exciting from the sound of it, but it was so nice to be able to soak in the hot water with no where else to go or anything else to do. I really did enjoy the night we were sitting in the hot tub while we were in port in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The lights were colorful and the weather was warm.
There was a piano bar on board, and the piano man could plan hundreds of songs - everything from 1920s hits to modern gangsta rap. We spent a couple evenings in the piano bar and had a lot of fun.
The Exploration Lounge was actually a huge library with computers and a cafe. It was on the very top floor of the boat, overlooking the ocean. Very chill. A nice place to relax.
Rebecca and I were smart enough to pack a deck of cards (I never seem to have them when I want them), and we whipped through some serious games of War, including the shortest game ever. It lasted two rounds through the deck.
In the week we were at sea, we stopped at four ports: Grand Turk (Turks and Caicos Islands), Puerto Rico, St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands) and Little San Salvador (Bahamas). Seeing as how our first cruising experience was pretty much a bust, I was definitely happy with our on-shore stops. Here's what we did:
It was raining when we left Ft. Lauderdale, and it poured rain the whole first day at sea. It also poured rain on Grand Turk, the largest of the Turk Islands, which are part of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Luckily, Grand Turk is a pretty small, fairly undeveloped island, and there really wasn't all that much to do. We stayed with the conference group the day we went ashore to Grand Turk, and that was fine with me. We had a car tour of the island (at 7 miles across, there's not much to see). The island is still trying to rebuild itself after a devastating hurricane that swept through in 2008, and there were a lot of buildings in shambles. I was most surprised by the garbage dump, which was literally a huge pile of garbage next to the side of the road - and next to a school and cemetery. We ate some variations of conch, which is a delicacy in the Caribbean, and which I fell in love with in Honduras. Overall, a pretty chill day - cold, rainy, but at least we got to get off the ship for a bit.
Our second port was San Juan, Puerto Rico. We started the day off with part of our conference group. We had a really knowledgeable guide who gave us a tour of Old San Juan. I loved the public art and fountains in the public spaces. The streets were narrow and paved with cobblestones or old blue bricks. The sun was hot, and Rebecca and I each got a bit of sun (Yay! Mission accomplished!). Once we reached El Morro, the famous fort in San Juan, we broke off from the crowd and decided to tour it. I was a fan because the view was superb, and there were aspects of this fort - like a triangular staircase - that I've never seen anywhere else.
Our cruise ship next docked at St. Thomas, one of the U.S. Virgin Islands, but Rebecca had found out that it's quite touristy and known for shopping. Not so much our style. So we hopped off the boat and caught a ferry to St. John, another of the U.S. Virgin Islands, but much more preserved for nature. Over half the island is part of the U.S. Virgin Islands National Park. The NPS office is right off the ferry dock, so we picked up a map and headed up the trail for a day of hiking. We only met a few other people on the trail. It was another warm day and sort of humid. I was sweating like mad, but it felt good to burn off some of those cruise ship meals. There were a couple places where we could look out over the island, and it was so green and beautiful. The sea was vivid blue, and there were itty bitty islands in every direction. Little white sailboats were floating around. Absolutely beautiful. Part of the trail went along Honeymoon Beach, which had very few people on it. It was a soft white sand, and little waves lapped on the shore. One of the stranger things on our hike was our discovery of hermit crabs, which, we learned after our hike, actually climb up into the hills of the park every year to live, then climb all the way back down to the beach and sea to mate.
Our final cruise port was on Little San Salvador, an island in the Bahamas that is rented by Holland America for use as a cruise port. There were two Holland America ships in port that day, so the beach was packed (and the water was freezing cold!!), but we claimed our spot on the sand and did our best to soak up some sun on our last day on the cruise. In the afternoon, we went sea kayaking in a lagoon on the island. I've never kayaked before, and even though it was a hefty upper body workout, it was a lot of fun. I'd definitely do it again.
Overall ... a lovely week at sea. Here's hoping my sis and I get to vacation together every year!
Port and Starboard ~ JoAnna
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Hey everyone!
I made a video last summer for the trip that Jo, Leland and I took to some of the National Parks in California and Oregon. I found it whilst digging through my computer files and thought, "hey! I should actually do something with this." So I did.
*Disclaimer: I fully realize that the Holiday Season is over and that this post should have been done weeks ago, but I had stuff to do (like finish watching all the seasons of ‘Friends’)!
Jo and I spend a majority of the winter break in Washington visiting my parents. We flew out on Christmas Eve and returned to Vegas on New Year’s Eve. We managed to keep ourselves busy while visiting the folks, what follows is a brief synopsis of the highlights:
Christmas Day
Mom made an excellent Prime Rib. Gifts were exchanged, including new WSU hoodies for both Jo and me (yes, that is grammatically correct…fyi). Wine was consumed, then rum. Cheesecake enjoyed.
Lake Quinault
Dad took Jo and me up to Lake Quinault to take some pictures and see the peninsula. Jo wrote a great piece on it for her travel blog. It was a beautiful day spent walking around the woods and the lake and enjoying each other’s company.
Zoo Lights
Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, in a well planned effort to increase zoo attendance in the winter, decks the entire zoo out with holiday lights for the masses to enjoy. So we enjoyed. It was pretty and pretty crowded. A good time was had by all.
Seattle Underground
Jo and I spent a day in Seattle. We went to my personal Mecca (the new Starbucks flagship store), Pike Place, and did the Seattle Underground tour. It was a fascinating bit of Seattle history that I was unfamiliar with. We had lunch at a cute little Greek restaurant and tooled around Pioneer Square for a while.
New Year’s Eve
We got home just before midnight. There is a bridge near our house that offers a great view of The Strip. We sat on the bridge and watched the fireworks. It was a nice way to cap off the year.
Here’s to hoping you and yours had a great Holiday and that this year brings you as much adventure and excitement as you can handle…maybe more.
I'm about a month late with this post, but better late than never, right?
I went on my second press trip in early December to Huatulco, Mexico, a resort town in the southern portion of Oaxaca. This one was only four days long and was really focused on site visits. We spent a lot of time touring the resorts along the bays and we ate every meal at a different resort. These places are high-class places, and the food was fantastic. My two new food experiences on this trip were eating grasshoppers and shark, both of which were tasty. The seafood was plentiful, and I loved the coconut shrimp I ate on our final night there. I also had a chilled cantaloupe soup which was delicious as well.
Because this trip was focused on site visits, we didn't do as much as I would have liked, but there were a few highlights:
Taking a catamaran out into the ocean where we saw a wild sea turtle swimming in the water. Even from a distance I could tell it was huge.
Spending the day beach hopping, which equates to sucking up some sun and floating in the bathwater-warm ocean.
Hiking up through an ecological park where we could overlook the river flowing into the ocean.
Discovering a "secret" beach located on the property of the resort we were staying at. It was small, quiet and void of beach chairs.
Jumping off a waterfall ... then really pushing the limits and swinging from a rope swing from a 20-foot platform into the water. Considering the fact that I don't like diving boards, both of these were scary and exhilarating.
Seeing a huge (2.5 feet long?) iguana in the wild.
Some of the more unusual parts of the trip included:
Realizing that Huatulco, while located on the ocean, is actually a desert climate, which means there were cacti growing on the beach.
Staying at a resort that was so large I had to call for a shuttle to take me to the lobby (a 5-minute drive away).
Navigating my way through the Mexico City airport, which is fairly confusing as it doesn't announce which gates flights leave from until an hour before the flight is scheduled to leave. And to find out what gate you leave from in the international terminal, you have to stand in a long line and ask a single woman sitting in a booth.
Touring an eco-archeological park that is not yet open to the public.
One thing that I really liked about Huatulco: It is an environmentally sound community built on sustainability and conservation. When Mexico decided to build it as a resort town, it built in plans to create schools and medical facilities that weren't originally there. It is the only city in Mexico that has received a Green Globe certification, and that was a city effort. In many places, different businesses work in isolation to achieve environmental certifications, but all of Huatulco is invested in the city's future. It has controlled growth and programs in place that ensure all aspects of the community are included in all the planning stages.
Though I haven't written specifically about Mexico at Kaleidoscopic Wandering yet, stay tuned for detailed blog posts to come.
And now the part you've really been waiting for ... a few choice pictures of the nearly 1,000 I took while there: Sunshine and tropical climate ~ JoAnna
