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I am a time traveler

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on September 30, 2012 in Adventure, Travel

I have a confession to make: I am a time traveler.

I can’t jump back in time to different points in my life whenever I want to.  I don’t use an elaborate steampunky device or use the chamber from Quantum Leap; I simply pick up one of my journals and read.

The tools of time travel

I have talked often about how journaling is helpful for future travel.  You are able to have your own reference book on a location filled with the costs and places you visited in case you return or need to help a friend planning a visit.  But for me the most amazing thing about the journal is its ability to transport me back, where I can see it as if it were yesterday, where the emotion of a moment returns, where I relive the moments my life changed.

The first travel journal I filled out was in the 7th grade when I spent time sailing the Chesapeake Bay aboard the floating classroom the Lady Maryland. I’ve since lost that journal, but it was very good as I remember.  The second chronicled our family cross-country road trip to California and back, camping in national parks along the way. As a trip, it was okay, but I was a teenager and it wasn’t filled with my finest hours.  The first real journal — the one that I reread almost every summer — was started in July, 1998 during my first trip to Greece, a trip I’d been looking forward to my entire life.

The prose is simple, the information recorded in a similar fashion, but the emotion it brings each time I read it is still there.  I talk about how proud I was to get my passport stamped for the first time and told my brother and traveling companion Zach “that there would be many more.” I had no idea how true that statement would become.  I remark at how small the Athens airport was and wrote the price of two bottles of water in drachma in the margin (400 drachma by the way) and know now that airport in the heart of the city and the drachma are long gone pieces of the past.

I then read a passage about making new friends and journeying with them to Napflion, an unplanned destination, and recall the apprehension and pride I had as “we had truly made this trip our own,” by deviating from the route my parents took in 1983.  I wonder where Diane and her mother Anne are now, and briefly regret not keeping in touch.  The pair from Wheeling, West Virginia were pleasant traveling companions and helped us loosen up and meet other travelers instead of keeping to ourselves. It’s a lesson I’m always thankful for.

Flipping ahead a few pages, I journey a few years into the future and learn a valuable lesson about hot dogs, beer, and early morning flights on turbo prop planes.  The lesson: that’s a bad mixture of food and turbulence.

Skipping ahead a bit further, I can recall the romantic longings of my travels in England with my friend Kate.  How I wished she could be mine, how I knew — we both knew — it would never work.  She had a life there and I had one here. But we wouldn’t let that get in the way of our adventures in the countryside and night clubs of Britain.

I few years wiser and with pride I took my little sister, 17 at the time, and my brother as my traveling companions to Egypt.  We had a common interest in history and for us this trip was to be the trip of a lifetime.  How could I have known then that there could be more than one trip of a lifetime in a lifetime?  But, when I read the pages of that trip I can feel the heat of the sun in the desert and feel the cool damp air along with the sense of awe as we stood in the chamber under the pyramid. I can literally get caught up in the moment remembering and thinking that “just being there was amazing” and how sharing it with my siblings made it more than just a stop on a tour.  How could anything in my life top this?

The importance of a journal is not only to jog the memory about the facts, but to activate the senses and bring back the feelings of different places, the different people you share those adventures with and to look back at the different you, you were all those years ago.

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Celebrating Us, and Our Love for Travel

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on September 23, 2012 in Adventure, Travel

Today, Zeke and I are celebrating our sixth wedding anniversary (and about eight-and-a-half years of being each other’s favorite travel companion).

Outer Banks, North Carolina

Our beautiful beach in Salvo, North Carolina.

We’ve stolen away to the family beach house on the Outer Banks in North Carolina and we’re enjoying the peace and quiet that comes with an autumn beach vacation. (Side note: our house-sitter reports our cat, Storm, is doing well in spite of some separation anxiety.)

As you might expect from two would-be jet-setters, our anniversary gifts to each other are travel-inspired.

Not only did Zeke get me a ViewMaster with a reel of 3D images of space shuttles (what can I say? The man knows me!), he also found this gorgeous vintage carry-on bag from the 1960s:

AlItalia Stewardess Bag

One of Zeke’s gifts to me, a vintage AlItalia stewardess bag (c. 1960).

I can just imagine an AlItalia stewardess walking confidently up the jetway in her stilettos, working it like a fashion runway as the boards the plane to start her work-day that would take her to Rome, Milan, or maybe even our favorite Italian city, Florence.

I’ll never look so glamorous (or wear stilettos to travel), but I can’t wait to use the bag on our next trip — Tanzania in March!

My gift to Zeke also has roots in Italy — in fact, they’re literal roots.

Adoption Certificate

We’ve adopted an olive tree!

My boss, Harry, introduced me to Nudo — an Italian company that lets you adopt your very own olive tree growing in the picturesque Italian countryside.

You can even select the grove based on the location in Italy and the dominant flavors in the olive oil they produce. I chose the Il Taccolito grove because it was the closest one to Florence (hey, we might want to visit our tree someday) and the oil is “buttery and peppery”.

The Nudo website also provides a description of the land where our tree grows:

The undulating hill, known as Collina delle Olive, was first planted with olive trees more than 200 years ago. Many of these original trees still stand and even the babies of the grove are now more than 50 years old.

That’s right, our 53-year-old olive tree is a baby.

In return for our adoption donation, we’ll get two batches of olive oil from our tree in the coming year.

So that’s how we’re celebrating six years of happy, adventure-filled marriage.

What’s your favorite travel-inspired gift (whether you’ve given or received it)? We’d love to hear all about it in the comments!

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An Active Vacation on Andros

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on September 16, 2012 in Beaches, discounts, Greece, Travel

When we travel to Greece (Zeke has made the trip four times now), we like to visit Andros Island. Located just off the mainland, Andros is where Zeke’s great-grandmother, Anna Frank, was born. The strong family connection inspired our first visit, and the slow pace of Greek island life keeps us going back.

"The Exemplary Beach at Batsi"

“The Exemplary Beach at Batsi” – Andros Island, Greece

While we’re more likely to spend our time on Andros lounging on the beach with the greatest dilemma of the day the choice between a great cup of coffee and a nap, Petros, owner of the Mare e Vista Epaminondas Hotel, says there’s a more active side of Andros if that’s more your speed.

We’ve always stayed with Yannis Katsilivas in a beach-front apartment, and our friend Yannis has always treated us like family coming home to visit. But if you’re looking for more adventure in your Greek getaway, it sounds like Petros has a room — just across the beach from Yannis’ apartments — waiting for your arrival.

The following is a guest post from Petros:

Andros Island Inspires a Vacation of Fun Pro-Activity!

The new era of vacation has begun. “Fun Pro-Active” Vacation vs “Eating” Vacation.

As our society is constantly changing, there is an increased need to find the positive changes, follow them and create through them further positive improvements. Obesity and unhealthy living styles have crawled into the lives of many people in the developing world. The need for an active and fun lifestyle has become a priority now more than ever. We only get a few short weeks of vacation each year, why shouldn’t it be a time of “Fun Pro-Activity”?

There is a mistaken notion that exercise and sport are exhausting. When we do sports, when we walk, jog, or swim our body and mind become rejuvenated and refreshed.

The Mare e Vista Epaminondas Hotel in Andros Island offers active vacations. With the cooperation of its valued partners, you can discover through hiking one of the most beautiful islands of the Cyclades, if not all of Greece. There are wonderful trails, which will tell you the story of the island. You will pass by ancient ruins, watermills, small rivers and you will find even small waterfalls.

The Mare e Vista Epaminondas is an Andros Hotel that can provide the full package. Even if you don’t have your own car, the hotel can arrange your transportation to the beginning of the trails and your pick up from the point that the trail will take you. The guide, who is knowledgeable and passionate about the island, will inspire you. The best hiking trails can be selected according to everyone’s desires and capabilities.

The Mare e Vista Family strongly believes in “Fun Pro-Active” Vacation and for this reason offers discounts in accommodation to travelers who want to engage in hiking & other activities. We can make Andros accommodation a fun experience!

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Baltimore Comic-Con

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on September 9, 2012 in Travel

Remember all the cartoons you watched as a kid (Voltron, Transformers, Super Friends), and all those movies you watched as a teen (Star Wars, X-men, Indiana Jones), and how much you like your late-night programming on cable (True Blood, Walking Dead)? Have you ever wished you could visit your favorite world? There’s a place for that; it’s called a comic book convention. Amanda had a stressful week at work, so I took my sister to immerse ourselves in the fantastic world of Baltimore Comic-Con.

A comic book convention is– and isn’t — everything you expect.  Are there comic books? Yes. Are there panel discussions? Yes. Is it a massive building filled with people dressed in leather and carrying toy guns? Yes, and that’s half the fun.

When you walk the floor of a convention you need to know it will be crowded early and filled with parents with children. My strategy? Find a panel discussion you want to attend in the beginning of the day and let the hordes shuffle through the floor booths. I find if you spend the first couple of hours in a nice air-conditioned room discussing things like how to get a Kickstarter project funded or the influence of British writers on American comics, the kids will get cranky and adults will get hungry and the floor will clear out. You will then have time and space to explore the floor and meet artists and find that rare issue of Flash Gordon.  You can even get your picture taken with your favorite hero.

My sister Andi, the astronaut, and Mr. T

Now that brings us to cosplay. I know this is a couples’ blog, but that’s not the kind of cosplay I’m talking about.  The folks on the floor who cover themselves head to toe in body armor or neglect to cover themselves in much more than a loincloth are (for the most part) normal people, and more than happy to let you get a picture with them.  You will find some of the most creative and homespun costumes this side of Halloween on the floor of a con.

Cosplay can be fun and G-rated.

If you’ve ever wanted to be a celebrity, find a good costume and walk the floor. You will be stopped and photographed by people who admire your work. It’s a judgment-free zone. There’s a sense of camaraderie whether you’re portraying a hero or villain. I will admit from personal experience this feeling of celebrity is addictive. Last year I dressed as Doctor Who with fez, tweed and bow tie. I must be on 20 different Facebook pages smiling with my sonic screwdriver in hand.

If you are really lucky you have someone to enjoy cosplay with, much like

Rosemary Ward and Tony Tuski. As a couple with no kids, conventions are a place they can get in touch with their youthful sides.

If you don’t have your costume ready to run out to Comic-Con today (10-5), plan ahead for New York Comic-Con in October.

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A Date in DC

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on September 2, 2012 in Planning, Restaurants, Travel

I will admit that one of the perks of living in the National Capital area is we have access to the metropolitan life whenever we want it. I will also admit that being a commuter and driving 50 miles each way to work every day doesn’t have me chomping at the bit to run into the city on my weekend. I imagine that if I were a younger man in a relationship trying to impress a girl the capital city is made for it, and in September after the August heat has dissipated is the best time of year for a visit.

I might start this date early Saturday afternoon by strolling by the National Zoo to take in the new American Trail exibit. The best part is the zoo (like all the Smithsonian Museums) is free to the public. You can show your date that you’re sensitive by awing at the baby animals and funny by imitiating the seals as the new trail brings you face to face with sea lions, otters and eagles showcasing North American wildlife.  The zoo considers many of the animals on display “conservation success stories” as they have found their way back from near extinction. You can even soak your feet in the cool water of a man-made tidal pool.

If you want to show your date you’re sophisticated, too, so I’d suggest seeing a show, and I ain’t talking Mama Mia. The Folgers Shakespeare Library is more than a repository of old folios and plays by the bard. It’s a place where the works of arguably the greatest playwright in history are preformed. The theater will be hosting the London-based Shakespeare’s Globe Theater Company and their stripped-down Hamlet.  The small cast condenses the long play about the mad prince of Denmark into only two and a half hours.  The performances run through the 22nd of September; call 202.544.7077 for tickets.

If all of the walking around has made you thirsty, head downtown to the Hotel W’s roof-top bar for one of the most unique views of the city.  You’ll amaze your date by seeming the Washington insider as you whisk her up to this 11th floor terrace bar filled with soft couches and chairs that let you relax in style.  The hotel is located near the White House and lets you sip drinks in the shade and look down on Lafayette Park, the Ellipse, the White House and the National Mall. I would make reservations though; they fill up fast especially at lunch and in the early evening hours. You can use opentable.com or call 202.661.2452.

You might be getting hungry by now after your afternoon of walking and need something more substantial in your stomach than cocktail nuts.   I have to make a big disclosure at this point; I can’t remember the last time that I had a meal at a DC restaurant.   I drive in and out of the city and seldom have time for a proper meal. The last restaurant-style meal I had was at Ben’s Chili Bowl, a DC institution specializing in chili dogs.  So, to find a meal that pleases your date my best recommendation for finding a restaurant for a nice sit down meal is checking out the Washington Post Best Eats list.  The leading DC newspaper’s list is easy to search and breaks down restaurants into cuisine, cost and location.  I’d trust their reviews and you’re sure to find something that matches your palate. Remember, if you choose Italian food my sister says two garlics cancel each other out.

If you’re from out of town and are looking for luxury on a budget I suggest staying across the Key Bridge in Virginia in the Rosslyn neighborhood. The business-centric neighborhood with views of Georgetown is crawling with federal workers and contractors during the week and empties out on the weekend, which makes the hotel rates more reasonable.  The neighborhood also has a metro stop, so you can ride the rails into the city and leave your car in the hotel parking deck.  I suggest staying at the Le Meridien, Arlington.  I’ve stayed there in the past and the contemporary hotel is stylish and modern.  When we were there they had nightly complementary wine tastings in the lounge. The service was excellent and the room was spacious. I also bet you’ll get a kick out of the leopard print robes in the closet. Search for them on Hotels.com or give them a call at 202.661.2452 for rooms at about $100-150 a night.

If you’re looking for something to do this fall and live in the metro area or you’re planning a weekend getaway with a special someone in mind, consider the nation’s capital. It’s the home of our political leaders — but don’t let that put you off — they won’t  be in town, they’re too busy campaigning.

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An Ode to Exploration

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on August 26, 2012 in Travel

When we learned yesterday (August 25th) that astronaut and exploratory icon Neil Armstrong had passed away, Zeke and I remarked at how personal the loss felt. It feels like we’ve lost a family member. Maybe a distant branch on the family tree, but still someone who had a profound influence on your life.

To be clear, Zeke nor I ever had the opportunity to meet Armstrong, but his life certainly touched ours.

Moon Landing Map

Moon Landing Map, image courtesy: NASA

Armstrong, to me, was like a patron saint of travelers (with all due respect to Saint Christopher). Of course, I know Armstrong wasn’t a saint. He was a human, but a human who inspired a passion for exploration in a generation.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson put it best: “Neil Armstrong was the spiritual repository of spacefaring dreams and ambitions. In death, a little bit of us all dies with him.”

Zeke and I dream of traveling the world, but Armstrong inspires us to shift our gaze skyward and wish we could somehow see the day when travelers dream of seeing far-flung planets rather than continents.

Imagine sitting with Armstrong, watching the Earth rise over the horizon of the moon:

“I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn’t feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.”

In a statement issued by Armstrong’s family, they offered a way for all of us to remember him as a person:

“For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”

I’m game.

Godspeed, Mr. Armstrong.

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Africa Update

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on August 19, 2012 in Africa, Planning, Travel

I know it’s been a while since the last post about the planning for our upcoming Africa trip so here it goes. . . We were torn between two companies, Intrepid Travel (which we’ve mentioned before) and the Africa Adventure Company.   I will admit we love the off-the-beaten-path and budget-friendly travel of Intrepid.  The idea of camping in a tent, much like the one we own, and roughing it on the African savannah was tempting and the price point of $3,800 for an eight-day safari is excellent. But in the end, what is the point of being a DINK household (double income no kids) if you can’t spoil yourself?

The Africa Adventure Company is the happy medium; it appears to give us the safari experience we want and the pampering our hard-working selves deserve.  The adventure we’ve chosen is the Private Tented Safari for $3,900 per person.  The 10-day Tanzanian safari will take us through all the big parks such as Tarangire, Ngorongoro, and the Serengeti. The visit will also be during the Great Migration, the special time of year when the great herds trek north and south through the grasslands.

Image courtesy of the Africa Adventure Company

We’ll only spend two nights in lodge accommodations and the rest of the time in permanent tented campsites.  One camp we’ll visit is the Maramboi Tented Camp located on the shores of Lake Manyara.  The tents are positioned on wooden decks, each with en suite facilities, electricity and private verandas.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included in the price — excluding drinks. Yeah, that seems (as Amanda put it) “nickel and dimey” but we’ve reasoned it might be a way to make sure guests have cash on hand so they don’t forget to tip the serving staff.

We will also be visiting a Masi village with our guide, and by “our guide”, I mean the guide that is assigned to us and no one else.  The safari has six spaces maximum and we are responsible for filling them (or not).  We will be the only clients for the trip. We have put the invitation to out to my parents who are really considering it. The price even goes down if we fill more of the slots. If we get my parents and my sister to join us we could save up to $800 off the original $3,900 price tag for the land portion.  But, we travel at our own pace, if we want to sit on the savannah and follow one family of zebra it’s up to us.

The customer service we received has been excellent, too.  Elena is our trip advisor; a Greek (yes, we are everywhere) from South Africa based in Florida who has been in constant email and phone contact with us answering our questions and preparing our itinerary as we get our ducks in a row. The responsive customer service is something that has put me at ease planning such a big trip.  The tour company is also helping us find a good deal on airfare, helping to keep us on budget.

The research and heavy planning has had me dreaming of Africa and am sure those dreams will be surpassed when we leave in the early spring.

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Piquing Our Curiosity

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on August 12, 2012 in Travel

Most of our posts deal with terrestrial travel, but after participating in the NASA Social event leading up to Curiosity‘s landing on Mars, it only feels right to share some of what we learned.

First, if you didn’t get up (at 1:30 a.m. Eastern) to watch the scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as the landing data came in at a 14-minute delay from the surface of Mars, here’s your chance. Trust us, you’ve never seen anyone get so excited about a low-resolution thumbnail photo; but you’ll be caught up in their enthusiasm.

Now that Curiosity has survived the “seven minutes of terror” required to actually land on the surface of Mars, it’s time for the lander to get down to business. Curiosity is the largest, most powerful and capable rover to explore the red planet. A key component of the rover is a robotic chemist called Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM). SAM’s mission will involve testing at least 74 samples of Martian rocks, soil and air for clues about whether Mars may have once, or may currently, support life.

If SAM finds organic molecules (composed of carbon and hydrogen atoms), scientists will move on to the task of determining how those molecules found their way to Mars. These hypothetical organic materials could mean life once existed on Mars, but it could also have been delivered by an incoming meteorite. Contamination from Curiosity itself is also possible (although NASA has gone to extreme lengths to try to avoid such contaminants).

Mars in a Box

The surface of Mars, in a box!

In attending the NASA Social event at the Goddard Space Flight Center, we got to tour a lab where SAM first encountered the surface conditions that welcomed her (yes, we’re told SAM is a she) on Mars. The large silver box with two round windows simulates Mars’ rather inhospitable weather (the average surface temperature is about -67° F and the atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide). NASA scientist Christopher Johnson describes how the box will continue to be useful even as SAM is working more than 140 million miles away:

SAM is an impressive piece of machinery, completing series of complex chemistry experiments independently (once the program is uploaded), and all in a “lab” that’s about the size of a microwave oven. To investigate a sample, SAM prepares it (pulverizing a rock, for example), separates the molecules, identifies the molecules, and then determining what volatile molecules (like water and carbon dioxide) and isotopes are present.

Sticking the landing on Mars is an incredible accomplishment, but now that Curiosity is safely on our solar system neighbor the exciting scientific mission can begin.

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Sailing on Selina II

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on August 5, 2012 in Travel

I will gladly admit sailing is a passion of mine.  I’ve been romanced by silent slow sojourns on the water since childhood.  I didn’t grow up on the water; we never owned a boat, with the exception of a canoe for fishing. But I’ve been drawn to the sea as long as I can remember.  So it’s easy to understand why each time Amanda and I head toward water we find a way to go out on the water.

Our recent trip to Saint Michaels on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay was one of those perfect opportunities for us to sail away, if only for a couple hours.  The key things we look for when choosing a trip are a classic sailing ship (something made of wood) and a small sailing party (six or fewer guests).  The Selina (pronounced with a long “i” as in Carolina) is a just the right kind of boat. She is a 40-foot long Gaff-rigged Crosby Cat, built in 1926 and currently captained by Iris Clarke, granddaughter of her original owners.

The small complement of six passengers set sail from the dock in Saint Michaels for a gentle and romantic sunset sail around the historic Chesapeake.  Iris took us back in time describing the history of the port of Saint Michaels and pointing out other historic ships in the harbor.

I even got to help out raising the thousand square feet of sail up the 48-foot mast.  I love the sound of the ropes running through the pulleys as a sail is raised.

We cruised out in to open water where the wine began to flow as the sun began to set behind us.  The conversation with other guests and the tales of Selina’s colorful past from Iris passed the time almost too quickly.  The stars began to blink into existence and then we turned back toward the sparkling lights of the boats at anchor in the harbor.

I would always suggest getting out on the water and watching the sails fill as our ancestors did.  The reliance on the wind is also the most environmentally-friendly way to travel across the water.  If you’re in Saint Michaels look up the Selina and relax as Iris takes you on a journey into our collective past.

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The Olympics: Visiting an Olympic City

Posted by No Kids, Will Travel on July 29, 2012 in Adventure, Greece, Planning, Travel, Uncategorized

I call on the youth of the world to gather …

The opening of the 30th Modern Olympic Games in London this past Friday was a spectacular event and despite the grumbling you might hear from some Londoners about the crowds and the traffic problems, I truly believe that they are loving it. The Olympic spirit is contagious; it doesn’t matter how far you are from ground zero, you find yourself tuning in at insane hours to watch your favorite sport or athlete compete live (unless you’re stuck watching the tape-delayed coverage on NBC).

Your fever runs even hotter if you are in the host city during the games. I know this first hand.  We spent the summer of 2004 in Greece on Andros Island, about two hours from Athens.  I had the opportunity to travel into the city several times shuttling relatives between Andros and the airport.

The city was alive; Athens became a contradiction. An old city, that often feels ancient, surrounded by and made up of ruins. It’s a place where you feel the weight of history all around you.  You know you are walking around a grand old city. But it didn’t feel that way during the summer of 2004.

The city felt young. The focus wasn’t entirely on the ruins or the history of Greece, the attention was focused on the young. The Olympic committee president said as much four years before in Sydney:

“I call on the youth of the world to gather in Athens…”

 In the historic center of the city, the Plaka, colorful banners and pennants hung overhead bearing the mark of the Olympic rings. The visitors were visibly excited and the locals were filled with pride. The world was focused on what was new in Greece: the new airport, the infrastructure and venues.

Greece is one of those places where you can hear new languages from people and lands you’ve never heard of or visited, the Olympics only magnified it. The host city is the center of the world for two weeks and it’s not because of its economic power or military might; it’s because of its willingness to welcome everyone with open arms.

If the opportunity was there I’d throw myself in the city of London’s open arms. The chance to feel that excitement, that welcome, that infectious feeling of vigor is worth a trip at least once in your life.  I know some may say you should avoid an Olympic city; it’s crowded, it’s congested, it’s filled with hype and price gouging. But I say even so you need to put it on a bucket list, but don’t wait too long because it’s a great memory to have and share for the rest of your life.

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