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Where to Next?

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on December 9, 2012 in Planning, Travel

Travelers and travel bloggers have a few things in common; wanderlust for one, and second, friends and relatives who think of us as their go-to sources for travel information and planning. I, for one, love planning trips; I plan trips all the time just for fun.

Model jet plane.As travelers, we also know that a trip and a destination are as individual as the person taking it.  So, to help find out what kind of vacation my friends and relatives are looking for (particularly when they don’t have a clue), I created a questionnaire to help give me a jumping off point for planning an awesome trip. It’s got to be awesome, we have reputations to keep.

I’ll walk you through the questionnaire to help you understand how we use it and why we ask each question.

The first question is very important:

How much time do you have? 3-4, 5-7, 8-10 days

Why ask this question? You don’t want to propose sending someone to Hawaii from New York if they just have a long weekend, no matter how good the deal on the flight is. You’ll eat up half the time in the airport and on the plane and, as a general rule, you want to spend as little time traveling and as much time at the destination as possible.

The second question is equally important for planning the perfect trip:

What kind of traveler are you? 0 = Stay in Room 10 = Go, Go! Every moment packed with activity.

You don’t want to suggest a driving vacation through the English countryside to someone who wants to spend all day by a resort pool. I did that driving vacation once, 1,000 miles in 10 days, exploring England and let me tell you it was neat, but I was exhausted at the end and needed a week to recuperate.

A suggestion in travel style and budget also helps with the planning. I have many different types in my own family; my sister-in-law likes the white glove service of a fine hotel, my sister on the other hand will camp in her own backyard because in her words “it’s fun”.

What kind accommodations do you like? 0 = camping/hostel 10 = White Glove Four Seasons

If you’ve been following our blog you know Amanda and I have a clear preference with this next one.

What kind of cultural experience do you like? 0 = the resort bubble 10 = cultural immersion/museums/tours/local restaurants

I ask this question because I know there are a lot of people out there who see any unfamiliar street as “dangerous” and shy away from “strange” foods (even if it’s similar to a familiar dish, just called something else). I know some people just want to eat their pizza and Cesar salad when abroad, but dude, really?

The question also applies to activities like historical tours, visiting monuments and museums. I agree, you don’t have to visit every little museum but you should at least hit the highlights, you wouldn’t go to Rome without visiting the Coliseum.

I then build off of the cultural experience portion of the survey and ask what they like to do, or want to try to do:

What kind of activity do you like? Sit on beach, Hike/bike, Snorkel, People Watching, Wave Runners, Pool, Sailing, Wine Tasting, Clubbing, Scuba Diving, Shopping

If they say their level of activity is zipping around on a wave runner, you’d better be sure you place them somewhere they have access to wave runners.

You also want to ask how they like to get away, are they looking to get away from it all or just enjoy time in a different setting.  I’d never send someone to New York if they wanted to get away from it all or put them in Cancun and not Playa del Carmen if they wanted to relax.

Do you want to be on: 0 deserted island – 10 Vegas Strip

Chora, IosIn my travels, I’ve found some places have different lives depending on the time of day. The island of Ios, Greece is a quiet, sun-soaked island during the daylight hours. But a few hours after sundown, the youth visiting the island come out of their hiding places and hit the discos and bars and party until the sun comes up. If you’ve gotten “old” and can’t do the late night partying anymore, you can still have a wonderful time. So ask your would-be traveler:

Would you rather turn in early or stay out late?

Keep in mind the answer could still lead you to the same place.

And, at last, the question that prompted us to start this blog:

Do you want to visit a place frequented by couples or somewhere more family-centric?

You know our answer. Know the answer for the traveler you’re helping.

I hope this questionnaire helps you find a jumping off point when you get asked that question, where should I go on vacation?

Travel Questionnaire

How much time do you have?
3-4, 5-7, 8-10 days

What kind of traveler are you?
0 = Stay in Room 10 = Go, Go, Every moment packed

What kind accommodations do you like?
0 = camping/hostel 10 = White Glove Four Seasons

What kind of Cultural experience do you like?
0 = the resort bubble 10 = cultural emersion/museums/tours/locals restaurants

What kind of activity do you like?

Sit on beach
Hike/bike
Snorkel
Wave Runners
Pool
Sailing

Do you want to be:
0 deserted island – 10 Vegas

Eat Local Traditional or eat American Traditional?

Turn in early or stay out late?

Family or Couples-focused?

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Boys and Travel Toys

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on December 2, 2012 in Travel

Last week we tackled holiday gift ideas for the female traveler on your “nice” list — this week it’s the guys’ turn. Again, no disclaimers needed here, these gift selections are my own finds.

We boys — I mean men.. suave, sophisticated, worldly, manly men — travel light. We don’t need two bags of clothes and a third filled with shoes.   We can fit a week’s worth of clothes in to one carry-on bag and not think twice and (though admittedly I’m writing this blog while wearing my apron and baking bread) more often than not we pack less than our female counter parts.

The Spacepak Clothes Bag

The Spacepak Clothes Bag

To make our packing even more efficient I suggest the Spacepak Clothes bag. This bag allows you to compress your clothes and fit more in your carry-on; it even has one side for clean and one side for dirty laundry. The bag features instructions, in pictures, on how to maximize your space (not that we’d ever feel the need to heed instructions).  The Spacepak system not only lets you fit two weeks’ worth of clothing in your carry-on, it also helps you avoid checking a bag. If you really want to stick it to the man you can get the whole system — the F1 Spacepak set — that really maximizes your bag space.   The three-piece set includes the clothes bag, the shoe bag for gym shoes so you can work out, and the toiletry bag so you can look good when you go out.

Not convinced a bag alone can squeeze more into  your standard carry-on? Check out this demonstration:

I know as a man we say we can sleep anywhere, especially when presented with the opportunity to be chivalrous and pass up the obviously more comfortable space for a woman.  The folks at REI have now given us an excuse to sleep anywhere.  The Byer Easy Traveller Hammock weighs in at just 19 ounces — about the weight of four baseballs or half of a baseball bat. The sling is made of parachute nylon, so if the cloth can stop people from plummeting to the earth and ending up as a pancake you know it’s strong. But, let’s say your “friend” has decided she’d rather not sleep alone. No problem: the ENO Double Nest Hammock is the perfect fit, for two.  The double nest balls up to the size of a softball and can easily hold 400 pounds. 

I truly believe a hat is a great and practical accessory for a man (and I’m not talking that beat up baseball hat you’ve had since the 10th grade).  A hat is one of the easiest and most acceptable ways we can still dress up like we wanted to as a kid (although I’m excluding the Storm Trooper Costume you wear at Comic-Con) and feel like our heroes.

The fedora is one of the most versatile hats you can own — and the most fun. A fedora can transform you into an Indiana Jones-style adventurer or a romantic like Bogart in Casablanca. It’s an easy way to have fun and dress up any outfit, besides you never know when you will be doing “Smooth Criminal” during karaoke.

Tilly's LTM3

Tilly’s LTM3 Airflo

If you’re looking for a more practical hat, the folks at Tilley have a hat for you.  I’ve had one for years, it’s an LTM3 Airflo and not only has a wide brim to keep the sun off your face and shoulders it floats too, so you can wear it on the water and not worry about losing your investment. I’ve worn it everywhere and it will be the hat I  take to Africa in March.

As men, we don’t like to admit when we’re uncomfortable, and nothing advertises a painful circulatory issue like breaking out the compression stockings for a long flight. Don’t sport the clinical look, turn to the folks at Feetness First. They have a whole like of TravelSox that come in designer styles (leave it to the Italians to do that), and the designs look like your average dress sock while providing a lot more support and comfort.

TuGo Coffee Holder

TuGo Coffee Holder

Occasionally something comes along and it’s just simply genius. I found it on the web and though I haven’t tried it out yet I’d love to hear about it if you have.  The ToGo travel mug carrier is a cup holder for your luggage.  You won’t feel like an idiot trying to carry your bags and a hot cup of coffee, and yes black manly coffee not some fru-fru latte. The mug holder spans the gap in between the rods on your rolling luggage. I think it’s brilliant and would love to give it a try.

So, if you are short on hints for gifts for your significant other I hope this helps. If you’ve come across any great travel-related gifts drop us a line. We’d love your input.

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Great Gifts for the Female Traveler

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on November 25, 2012 in Travel

Our Christmas (lemon) tree – a holiday fixture in our dining room.

The holiday season is now upon us and you may find yourself wondering what you should get for the female traveler in your life.  I know shopping for your significant other can be challenging at times, especially when she doesn’t give you much of an idea of what she’d like or need.  If you’re here reading this blog you have the biggest hint already, something travel related. I’ve searched top ten lists, travel retailers and the internet for some of the best ideas to please your favorite travel companion. No disclaimers needed here, these gift selections are my own finds.

Control Laptop TSA-Friendly Messenger: A storage-rich laptop briefcase for your gadget habit.

I am a firm believer that the ladies are always looking for a great bag.  The folks at Timbuck2 can get you that bag and make it one-of-a-kind. You’ll not only get points for style but also for thoughtfulness. You just need to go through the website and choose the kind of bag, the size and choose the colors from the drop down menu, click through the accessories and put it in your online cart.  You can spend less than 15 minutes on the purchase and the San Francisco-based company will ship the bag to you in two to four business days.  The bag will be unique and she’ll show off quality construction to all of her friends.

Travel Accessories Battery Backup

I have no doubt that your travel partner is a well-connected woman, and by connected I mean wired to the world wide web no matter where she is. That means charging accessories are a great gift idea. The chances of finding a place to charge your phone while on a plane is not likely and having switched your phone or tablet  to airplane mode to read, watch a movie, or play a game is bound to drain your battery fast. So here are some battery backups to take with you to extend the life of your personal entertainment.

  • The guys that make Samsonite luggage have a nice battery back up for under $50 that can charge  devices with USB or micro USB. It’s also rechargeable itself through a DC input adapter.
  • If you have an iOS device you can pick up the Mophie Juice Pack Reserve External Battery.  The Mophie has a full charge for your iPhone or iPad and has a convenient hook to place it on your key chain so your traveling companion won’t have to spend precious moments before her device shuts down rooting through her cavernous purse.

I also have some simple suggestions for those of you who want to pad the gift count, so it seems like you’re spoiling her, or if you need stocking stuffers.

I suggest some custom luggage tags.  A luggage tag is more than a something with your name on it to help your luggage find its way back to you if it gets lost, because you can always get that with the paper tag the check in desk gives you. A luggage tag can help you find your bag when it get to your destination because if you’re like most people you have the same black square piece of rolling luggage as everyone else.  Avoid the scene where you force your way through the crowd to the luggage carousel and pull a bag as it goes by only to realize it’s not yours… and you put it back on the carousel and wait like an idiot.  If you have the right kind of luggage tag you can spot your bag and only your bag as it comes around the conveyor   How do you do that? You can use orange flagging tape like my family or get a customized luggage tag from the folks at Luggage Pros.

You go through a simple four-step process uploading a personal message and photo and – boom – a tag that will set your black block apart from everything else on the carousel.

A very small sample of the fun tags available through Flight001.

Don’t want to fuss with designing your own tag? The guys over at Flight001 also have a great selection of tags and other gifts for the traveler in your life (including a vintage tag from a Tanzanian travel agency that might find its way onto our bags next year).

My final suggestion can also be one of the most romantic: a map. I suggest the folks at MapEasy, they make colorful, fun maps of most major cities.  A map can say “we’re going to go here one day” or “we’ve been here and I want to look at this map with you an remember all the places we’ve been together”.

I hope this list can be helpful for the hard-to-buy-for partner, I know it’s given me some great ideas.  I haven’t forgotten the guys, we’ll share the list to show your wives and girlfriends next week.

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Headed to the Minors

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on November 18, 2012 in Travel

I think if you’ve been reading our blog you might have gotten the idea that Amanda and I crave sunshine and the warm summer breezes (which is true), so it might feel like a contradiction when you learn we freaking love ice hockey.  I know, weird huh? Remember our trip to Toronto last February? It was prompted by our love of hockey and the need watch our Capitals play.

If you’re a hockey fan too, you know watching a NHL game this year seems less and less likely to happen due to a lockout. But that doesn’t mean you have to completely miss out on quality professional hockey.  The American Hockey League, one of the feeder leagues of the NHL (and the best in my opinion, sorry Ontario Hockey League) is filled with quality play and the league’s future stars. Watching these games gives you a first look at the prospects so you can say “I saw them play way back when”.

Will travel for hockey.

In our case that team is just a little over an hour north of Frederick in Hershey, PA where the sweetest place on earth is home to the sweetest hockey on earth. The Hershey Bears hockey team is 75 years old and happens to be the lead farm team of our Washington Capitals. The first misconception you might have about minor league hockey is you’ll get a minor league experience. Not so. The play is fast and the hitting is hard, both on the boards and during the fights. And venues like Giant Center are top-class facilities. The arenas may not be as big as places like Madison Square Garden but that allows for a more intimate experience; and by that I mean be able to see the missing teeth in a hockey player’s grin. The fans are great and often hard core; in Hampton Roads I remember seeing countless fans walking around in Admirals jerseys and in Hershey the sport’s following is equally as big. The AHL towns I’ve been to take their teams seriously.

Now for a little on Hershey as a destination. Hershey is just outside the capital of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg.  It is the home of Hershey’s Chocolate and the wonderful Hershey Park (amusement park), which is bound to be the subject of a post sooner or later.  The Hershey area is filled with cute bed and breakfasts and plenty of hotels. The best and most expensive is the Hotel Hershey. The four diamond hotel has a spa, pools, golf, and every other high-end amenity you could imagine. You can even have a skin treatment that involves being painted in chocolate. The more reasonable Hershey-owned hotel is the Hershey Lodge. We’ve stayed there and enjoyed it a lot.  The lodge has the scent of chocolate piped in through the air vents for one, the rooms are spacious, and the Bears Den pub (specializing in Hershey Bears’ Hockey) is attached.

I think, though a few thousand seats smaller, the Giant Center is just as good a venue as Verizon Center (the home of the Capitals). The parking is $8 and it only took between 10-12 minutes to get to a parking space once we got in line to exit from the highway. From the car to our seats in section 123 added just seven minutes to our trip.

Bears’ Goalie Braden Holtby paces as officials review a Hershey goal.

The game itself was great; the Bears scored first on a penalty shot (seriously, click this link, you can watch the penalty shot and Amanda screaming her head off) and then finished out the game with an empty netter and a score of 4-1.  Amanda will enthusiastically tell you a big part of that was Bears’ goalie Braden Holtby, who spent last year bouncing between the Caps and the Bears.

So if you’re like us and need a hockey fix during the lockout, take a road trip and head back to the minors.

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Just a Little Pinch

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on November 11, 2012 in Adventure, Africa, Planning, Travel

The things we’re willing to do for the love of travel. We’ll stand in line to be searched, scanned and even frisked by Transportation Security Administration representatives. We’ll pay for the privilege of checking a bag or some in-flight entertainment to pass the time in the air. And in this case, we’ll even go to the doctor.

Our upcoming safari in Tanzania doesn’t require any vaccinations, officially. The Africa Adventure Company (through which we’ve booked our trip) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agree on this point. The CDC does recommend a pre-safari trip to a travel medicine clinic at least four to six weeks ahead of departure, so that’s how we found ourselves at FCPA Travel Health Services a couple of weeks ago.

Nick Craig, Travel Medicine Specialist, set us straight on which of the “recommended” vaccinations on the CDC’s list were advised for our trip. It’s quite the list, I’m not gonna lie.

Zeke shows off his Snoopy band-aids

Zeke shows off his Snoopy band-aids.

First, Zeke got up to date on some of the vaccines he missed along the way. He had never been vaccinated for Hepatitis A, for example, because it wasn’t a requirement when he went to college (it was a requirement by the time I started my college career). He also got his flu shot – we’re pretty sure that’s a first for him. I had already received my flu shot (an annual event for me since I work in a hospital). We both needed a booster dose of the polio vaccine. Craig says we’re set for life now on the polio front.

Now the fun part, the typhoid vaccine. This one is administered in pill form, but it’s a complex process. For the vaccine to be effective, you have to take four doses over a seven-day period. Every other day you take a pill, but you have to make sure it’s on an empty stomach (two hours after eating) and you can’t eat for another two hours after you take it.

You know how every time you’re kneading dough and your hands are covered in stickiness, your nose starts itching? Same phenomenon here. Every evening we were killing those two hours between dinner and typhoid vaccine time I could only think of all of the stuff I wanted to eat. I wasn’t hungry. I know not eating for a four-hour window is a perfectly normal thing to do, but because I couldn’t grab a snack it’s all I wanted in the world. I know, I’m strange.

We got through the process successfully this week, so we’re prepared to fight off typhoid should we encounter it.

Next up on the vaccine list is malaria. It’s another one in pill form, but we have to wait until two days before our trip to start taking it. I’m happy it’s marked “take with food” – that’s so much easier! Apparently it’s known to cause some stomach upset, so we also have a prescription for promethazine to relieve nausea – just in case.

Craig also prepared us to fight off traveler’s diarrhea. We have prescriptions for Ciprofloxacin, which we’ve been told to start at the first sign of queasiness. If it’s just something not agreeing with our stomachs, fine, but Dr. Craig explained that every 15 minutes you wait to start fighting the bad bacteria will translate into two hours of discomfort. You don’t have to tell me twice. Along with the Ciprofloxacin, we’ll have Pepto Bismol and Immodium caplets to get everything back in balance if something should go awry.

But wait – there’s more!

Better living through chemistry.

Apparently the lions, giraffes, elephants and zebras we’re hoping to see on safari happen to live in an ecosystem chock full of bugs. Not surprising, really, when you think about it. Dr. Craig has thought about it a great deal and set us up with cream for any exposed areas of skin (hands, face, neck) and spray for our clothes. I have a feeling I’m going to be very happy we’re so well prepared with bug repellant.

While his office doesn’t participate with any insurance providers, I found out our insurance does cover vaccinations – even those related to travel. Something tells me the paperwork will be more painful than any of the vaccinations.

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Flight Cancelations

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on November 4, 2012 in Planning, Travel

The weather on the east coast of the United States this past week has reminded me of something important: you should always be prepared in case your flight is canceled.

So close … and yet so far.

So, I scoured the internet looking for the best examples of what to do if your flight is canceled due to weather.  Of course, in situations like Hurricane Sandy, you really should have checked before you left the house (and tried to rebook your flight for a less eventful weather day).  But let’s say you’re already at the airport, maybe you flew in from somewhere else and your connection is canceled; what should you have done to prepare for the possibility, and what should you do when it happens?

If you’re in Europe or on a European airline there are laws governing what to do if inconvenience strikes. The European Union says that air carriers must pay compensation and provide food or even hotels for passengers on canceled flights, or even flights delayed two hours or more.

In the United States it’s a little more difficult to find out what services you’re owed. The rule of thumb in the U.S. is that you should expect nothing when it comes to weather-related cancelations. Bad weather is considered act of god, and the airlines are not required to pay for food, transportation, or lodging.

So, what do you do? I suggest calling ahead.  If the roads are bad at your house, the runways will be bad too, so why risk it. If you are at the airport and suddenly see the bright light next to your flight on the departures board change from on time to canceled, get on the phone and call the reservations desk for your airline while you walk to the ticket counter.  Chances are you’ll reach someone who can help you on the phone faster than you can reach the counter.

If you’re trying to get on a connecting flight, you’re already past security and this gives you a leg up on the people who are at the main ticket counter. Ask the agent at the gate if they’ve set up a desk for connecting passengers; airlines tend to understand the plight of passengers in transit and will look for options.  I think it’s because the flight crews have been there stranded at airports with nowhere to go.

That brings me to how to snag a room.  You should start looking for a nearby hotel the moment the first delay goes up.  The airline will delay as long as possible before canceling your flight, so after an hour, call that hotel and make a reservation.  Be sure to look up the hotel’s cancelation policy so if your flight does take off you can cancel without being charged for the room.

When you’re dealing with the ticket agents, don’t be a dick. Remember they truly would rather you get on a plane and get to where you’re going.  They have stressful jobs that get even more stressful when 150 people are yelling at them. Be nice. Your kindness may be rewarded with meal vouchers and faster rebooking.  I had someone yell at me at work once to go faster; I simply told them “yelling at me will only make me go slower.” I think that’s true for a lot of people in a lot of situations.

What are some preemptive measures you can take?

Pack smart. You should always have a carryon bag with a change of clothes and essential toiletries.  Once you’ve checked your bag it’s gone, there are about a dozen rules preventing it from being returned to you at a place other than the final checked destination. I also suggest granola bars, or some other type of non-perishable, filling food that packs easy.  You never know if the airport restaurants will remain open overnight.

Remember when you booked your ticket online and you were asked if you’d like to receive push notifications? You should have clicked yes! The push notifications will keep you apprized of changes in the flight plan, keeping you one step ahead of the other passengers and increasing your chances of successfully rebooking if necessary.

I know that having a flight canceled is no fun.  I’ve been on some that were delayed up to 10 hours and never canceled.  But these tips should help you prepare for the next time you head to the airport if Mother Nature doesn’t want you to leave.

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Stay to the Left: an Ireland Adventure

Posted by achanguris on October 28, 2012 in Travel

The post this week is a guest post from the man who first got me to start journaling my adventures, my father, Randy.  So, yes he does have kids, but none of them are dependants.  I asked him to write up a blog post on his recent trip to Ireland with my mother.

I am Zeke’s Dad and retired.  I have always enjoyed traveling.  Each trip is an adventure, whether it was hitch-hiking and freight train hopping as a teenager, taking my first plane trip with my wife Holly to Greece for a month of island hopping, or a cross country trip in a cargo van with the kids.  On all my trips, I have kept a journal.  So, I am pleased to comply with Zeke’s request to write an entry for his travel blog about our recent trip to Ireland.

I asked Zeke to act as my travel agent.  Here are a few notes and observations.

First of all, United vs. Lufthansa.  Our flight on United was direct to Dublin, a little over 5 hours,  and our return trip on Lufthansa has a stop in Frankfort, making it 10 ¼ hours. The United plane showed its wear and tear.  We had exit seats but there was less leg room than on Lufthansa.  On United there was no in-flight entertainment.  The food was bland and the flight attendants “frumpy”.  On our Lufthansa trip, we had exit seats with plenty of leg room.  It was a newer, cleaner plane with a variety of in-flight entertainment.  The food was good.  When Holly requested a vegetarian meal, the flight attendant, smartly dressed, went into business class to construct a meal.  In addition, they offered hot towels after each meal and complimentary drinks (wine, Bailey’s, cognac).

Next mode of transportation was our rental car which was pre-arranged.  We used Enterprise and got a Fiat Panda, manual shift.  It was a little difficult finding the rental desk in the airport as it was separate from the other rental car agents.  The big question for 119 euros do you get the additional insurance which drops your deductable from 1400 euros to 250 euros and do you get a GPS for 25 euros a day?  What do you do?  You take a shuttle from the airport to the rental lot.  They are quick and efficient in getting you in your car.  But be sure you ask them show you how to work lights, wipers, location of gas tank and spare tire.

The true adventure begins when you get into the driver’s seat on the right hand side of the vehicle.  The pedals are in the same order (gas, brake, clutch) but they are so close together it is easy to step on the gas instead of the brake – YIKES!

Ready, set, go.  Ooops!  LEFT!  You must constantly remind yourself to stay left.  So when I started the engine I would look at Holly and together we would say LEFT.  With a map in Holly’s lap, which essentially is useless for she is map reading challenged, we are on our way.

The first thing you notice is how narrow the roads are and that everyone driving on your right side is so close to  you that you move left until the one riding in the passenger seat yells that you are too close to the vehicles parked on the left side of the roadway.  No wonder the cars that have side view mirrors that collapse are pushed in towards the door.  The roads do not compare to those in the good ol’ USA.  Their highways are our roadways and their interstates our dual highways with speeds of 100kph to 120kph.  I stopped trying to keep up and just let the natives pass at will.

That recent phenomenon called the roundabout that is springing up as traffic control in the US is a common occurrence in Ireland.  All but the M marked highways have them at most major intersections.  LEFT!  Ramps are speed bumps and traffic calming is a narrowing of the road to slow you down when you enter a town.

Finally, the signage is dismal.  The locals will agree with me on this point. Their retort is that you should have seen it before the EU.  You can hardly find them much less read them.  Some roads change names a half a dozen times in a single stretch. We decided it was better to go from point to point.  Only remember, that the furthest point of interest is at the top and the next closest at the bottom of the sign.  When in doubt, pull over and ask as we did in Blarney.  We stopped a nun (a Canadian) in the rain to ask directions.  She volunteered to cram into the backseat and direct us to her convent and then describe the two turns needed to Blarney Castle.  Kissing the Blarney stone would not have helped.

Driving on the left is a challenge.  It can bring on many anxious moments, but I would not travel any other way.  For how would I be able to see and appreciate the beautiful Irish countryside or the intimacy of the quaint and picturesque towns or the hustle and bustle of the urban centers like Dublin, Kilarney or Galway? Or the ability to find the oldest Irish pub for an evening of beer and food to celebrate our survival.

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We’ve Joined Pinterest!

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on October 21, 2012 in Travel

I have to admit like a lot of people out there Pinterest has become one of our main sources of kitten and puppy pictures.  The picture-focused social media site  allows its members to post images with short captions and arrange them by subject on boards. You can then share your boards and pins with others who follow you via Facebook and Twitter.  I will admit that at least one of my Pinterest boards is filled with the aforementioned kitten and puppy pictures, but the other day it dawned on me that we could use the social site as another outlet for No Kids, Will Travel.

Anyone can pin a picture of a beautiful and interesting place on a board; it doesn’t take much effort. What we noticed was that many times these pictures only have captions like “Beautiful” or “Italy”. We see an opportunity here – a chance to give you a little more than a one-word description.

We promise each picture we pin will have not just a caption but an informative description. The description will of course be constrained by the 500 character limit, but we’ll include both the location and useful information about the place.

The No Kids, Will Travel Pinterest page can lend itself to being a mini guide book of sorts, a place you can go to find helpful pictures and descriptions of places you’ve been (or may want to visit someday).

Right now we’re starting with pins describing all of the places we’ve been. That should keep us busy for a while! Come join us on a virtual vacation – you won’t even need to pack a bag or tango with the TSA!

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The O. Henry Hotel in Greensboro, NC

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on October 14, 2012 in Travel, United States

I was definitely excited for this little road trip.  I was ready to leave work on Thursday at noon and drive the five-and-a-half hours from Frederick to Greensboro, North Carolina and hit the town.  I was sure that we’d come away from the trip with loads to tell you about the North Carolina town for this week’s blog post. Well, that didn’t quite work out like we had planned.

We arrived at the hotel around six o’clock and I was exhausted, but still mustered up the strength to accompany Amanda to the cocktail hour with the other speakers, but by the time that was done, I was done, exhausted.  We didn’t even have the strength to wait the 45 minutes to be seated at the hotel restaurant. We checked with the front desk and they recommended a pizza restaurant that could deliver to our room. So, after gorging ourselves on a great pizza (the crust was brushed with garlic butter and dusted with Parmesan) we promptly fell asleep.

The next morning we woke up refreshed and ready to tackle Converge South, the social media conference that brought us to Greensboro in the first place.  The day was long but we both felt we learned a lot and are looking forward to attending again next year.  We ran out to downtown Greensboro and had a bite to eat then quickly found ourselves back in the hotel room and ready for bed.

So, instead of this post being about Greensboro, a place we’d love to get to know but didn’t get the chance, we’ll focus on the place we spent most of our non-conference time, the O. Henry Hotel.

Courtesy O. Henry Hotel

The eight-floor hotel just outside downtown Greensboro is a haven of class and sophistication.  The exterior is modeled on the original O. Henry Hotel built in downtown Greensboro in 1919 and demolished in the 1970s.  The neoclassical façade and use of brick make the new O. Henry feel like a grand dame hotel of a bygone era.  The high ceilings in the lobby with detailed wooden inlay and tapestries hanging from the walls invoke a feeling of majesty and yet make visitors feel welcome, which is due in no small part to the friendliness of the staff.

The porters and door men greet you with a smile and hello and ask you how your day was as you enter the lobby.  Staff-members at the desk were ready to help with any question; how do you think we got the number for the Hungry Howie’s pizza? The staff floating around the hotel lobby going to or from one place or another would always great you with a “hello, how are you?” or that quintessential greeting that lets you know you’re in the south “how are y‘all?”

Another nice touch, even the thermostat welcomed us to the O.Henry.

The room was very nice with a large soft bed and feather pillows.  A desk, a soft chair and a love seat filled the room but didn’t make it feel crowded at all.  The bathroom had both a shower and a separate soaking tub and a large vanity with enough space that you didn’t need a second, but if you did there was an extra vanity outside the bathroom next to the closet.   I can’t remark enough about how much I like the bathroom.  I would love to redo the one in our condo just like it, but alas I don’t think we have enough space to make it work (and I’ve been told that getting rid of the walk-in closet is out of the question).

Amanda filled this with bubble bath as a reward for her good presentation.

What’s a stay at the O. Henry without an Oh Henry on your pillow?

The cost of a beer at the hotel bar was about on par with most other upscale hotels.  I paid $5 for a Guinness from the tap, which is still $2.50 less than you spend at a ballpark for a watered down Miller Lite. The food at the Green Valley Grill, the hotel’s restaurant, looked good enough to draw a plenty of customers that weren’t staying on site.  We did find out that if you wanted to eat at the Print Works Bistro — a restaurant at the sister hotel down the street called the Proximity — you could get a complementary cab ride in one of the hotel’s London-style cabs.

The hotel even takes time in the décor to pay homage to Greensboro native and world renowned short story writer William Sydney Porter, know to the readers around the world as O. Henry. The copper doors inside the elevators are outlined with the titles of O. Henry short stories and copies of his short stories such as “Gift of the Maji” are available on your bedside table to read.

We both would definitely recommend the O. Henry if you are staying in Greensboro. The ease of travel in and out of downtown and the attentive staff are certainly worth the price of the room.

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A Simple Retreat

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on October 7, 2012 in Beaches, Travel

The cottages all have names in Salvo, Kalisti means very beautiful in Greek.

The lives we live today are often busy, carrying us from here to there and filled with distraction.  The distractions in our lives don’t just extend to life outside the home.  We fill our homes up with distractions too, the large televisions, the computers, the wired world, the six different ways to make coffee (okay, that may only be us), but you get my point.  So when my family has gone on vacation over the past 30 years, we’ve loaded up the car and traveled down Interstate 95 to a simple summer cottage on Hatteras Island for anything from an extended weekend to a month-long break.

I call it a cottage because that is simply what it is.  The house has been changed and adapted with our sweat and craftsmanship but remains the little house on 16 foot stilts looking across the Route 12, the highway that bisects the whole of the Outer Banks.  The cottage occasionally shows its age with a warping board or a missing patch of cedar shingles.  The slight wear is a testament of its strength as it has weathered 30-plus years of hurricanes and Nor’easters that have pummeled the island, sometimes breaking the narrow strip of sand sitting at the edge of the Atlantic clean in half.  The three small bedrooms and one and a half bath home faces west, looking out onto a view of the sound. It’s a view that for more than 20 years was unobstructed.  The recent housing boom took our view, but we can still see some of the sound and the amazing sunset, it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen.

A cottage like ours was common years ago, in the years before the mega mansions of the housing boom with their elevators, gourmet kitchens and swimming pools.  The expectations of the public for what they “need” became too high and we could no longer find any renters and decided to just keep the house for ourselves and close friends to use. The modern family just didn’t want a little cottage on the beach.

The house is located in the town of Salvo halfway down highway 12 between Oregon Inlet and Hatteras Island Light House.  The small cluster of towns Salvo, Rodanthe (yes that Rodanthe from the Nick Sparks book) and Waves are a place to truly get away from the crowds, shopping malls and board walks of larger places like Ocean City, Maryland or Nags Head, North Carolina.  The closest grocery store is 20 minutes south in Avon, but you can make do at places like the Blue Whale – a small convince store within walking distance.  As a kid it was my job to ride my bike to buy my father’s morning paper, a job I was all too eager to take as a way of asserting my independence.

You learn many things about an island when you visit it as often we do.  You learn that Lisa’s Pizza is the place to be in a blackout, because the ovens are fired with gas.  The Fishin’ Hole always has the best fishing report, thanks to their local knowledge reports from fishermen up and down the coast via CB radio. You also learn that island time isn’t a foreign concept when you need something built or repaired.

The sunset on the sound as seen from boat.

The main thing you learn is that you don’t need a game room to entertain your kids; you have Parker Brothers and the dining room table.  You don’t need a big screen television when you have good book, (or Kindle). You have the same mess to clean up when a pot of boiling crabs boils over in a kitchen built in 1990 or 2012. You learn that you can sit on the beach and watch the waves and the birds and if it’s too windy you pick up your chair and find a low spot in the dunes and sit behind a sandy hill and let the sun bake you without being sand blasted.  You know that the evening sunset over the sound shouldn’t be missed as the yellow sun turns red and slips beyond the horizon. You learn that email isn’t necessary to communicate because the person you truly want and need to communicate with is sitting next to you watching that sunset.

I’m guessing the point is most of us go on vacation to get away from the stresses of life, but in this modern age we tend to bring them along. Sometimes the best way to escape is to find a simple cottage on a peaceful island and let each moment come and go and not feel pushed to do any more.

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