Author Archives: Lori

social media, travel and photos

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view-across-old-town-cartagena-colombia-conde-nast-traveller-24feb16-david-crookes_i took a social media course this past week, which was eye-opening on a few levels.  even though i have my own business and this ever-so-popular (cough) blog, i don’t use social media except at work. i advertise my business through different sources and why would i publicize this blog? i don’t feel the need to jump into the wide, and time-consuming world of social media for my personal life. i’m just not into broadcasting that much about myself.  i do have an Instagram account with 12 followers. yep 12…..i’m big time.  i am glad i took the course though, which i did for my M-F job, as i do manage some social media there, because i met the nicest person CC from Colombia.

CC said, “you must come to my country, it’s so beautiful”.  really, do i need more incentive than that? no. why haven’t i thought of visiting Columbia before?  no idea, i do love South America, and it is gorgeous.  i was looking at photos online and reading a bit about it…i must go.  so that is where my “big” trip of 2017 will be, Columbia. so let the planning begin.  i’ve contacted a tour operator and i’m just waiting to see what kind of itinerary they can come up with for me.

while trying to find the name of my Peru tour operator this morning, i realized that gremlins have attacked my blog again and photos are missing from posts.  you know i can’t leave little boxes with x’s in the pages, even though it’s content from 2011.  i just can’t do it.  thankfully as far as i can tell it’s just one 3-day trip i need to fix.  if i had to do all of Argentina again, i might have cried.

you know you want to….it’s on the tip of your tongue……”don’t cry for me Argentina, the truth is i never left you………”  yep, i went there.

photo courtesy of cntraveller.com

back to reality

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IMG_1100i love vacation.  now vacation is done and it’s back to reality.  it seems like a lifetime ago that i was sitting on a beach enjoying a tropical drink listing to the waves.  sigh, it was just last week.

a couple of things became clear during this last trip. the most important, i’m done travelling by myself.  maybe because i live alone (ok, not really alone, alone with kitty) solo travel just isn’t fun.  and when i say solo travel i mean me going to one place and hanging out by myself, like my trip to Puerto Rico and Mazatlan last year.  trips where i’m on a tour like Argentina and Peru, that is different, because i’m with a set of people the whole time.  even in Argentina the week alone in Buenos Aires, not as much fun as the rest of the trip.  i like talking with people, seeing familiar faces and sharing experiences.

i’m fairly certain i can get a friend to vacation with me, it all depends on where i go and what i’m doing i suppose.  a lot of my friends have kids, so they would probably enjoy a little respite sitting poolside drinking fruity beverages with little umbrellas in them right?

the other important thing i realized is always wear long pants/shoes and socks when walking through any type of high grass.  during my walk around Old San Juan (in my shorts and slip on sneaks), i walked through the big grassy area between the two forts.  kids were playing, kites were being flown, shaved ice was plentiful, why wouldn’t i walk through the grass?! because when one walks through grass one can have an allergic reaction.  a reaction taking up most of my calf that looks and feels like poison oak.  awesome. welcome home, have some prednizone.

so now i sit, with my itchy leg, waiting for the next trip.  not much going on over the summer……a quick trip to Tahoe for Fathers Day, fingers crossed for Bonneville in August and then Northern Lights in September.  if i manage to get somewhere else before Bonneville i will of course post, but it may be quiet for a bit.  don’t worry though, i shall return!

glitter

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SONY DSCyou might remember from a previous post that the main reason i chose Puerto Rico for my vacation was to see the bio-bay.  i found out when i confirmed my kayak trip that the bay hasn’t been very bright the last 5 months, and i was told that i should keep expectations low.

i went to one of three bays in Puerto Rico, El Farjado.  it was the closest to the hotel, but not the brightest.  the brightest right now is in Vieques, which is a ferry ride and an overnight away. maybe next time i visit i can make it over there.

i went out with Island Kayaking Adventures, they were a great group and did a good job with the trip coordination and guiding.  we took off from Las Croabas Park and we were in two person kayaks; i went out with a nice Mom and little girl from North Carolina, her husband and son were in a different kayak.  the kayaking through the very dark mangroves was 30 minutes and we ended up in the bay known as Laguna Grande.  it was a cloudy night so that made it a bit bright, but the tour guides had a tarp for us to hang out under so we could see the glow of the micro organisms, the dinoflagellates.

it was barely visible, but you could see a little something when you swirled your hand around in the water.  i won’t lie, i was sad at the lack of lights, but having a little girl in the kayak so happy to see the “sparkles and glitters” in the water definitely made me appreciate what the bay did have to offer.

sorry, no photo of the sparkles.  i didn’t even bring the camera, which was a good thing.  it would have been soaking wet and there is a good chance it would have a new home at the bottom of the Laguna Grande.

photo courtesy of ikapr.com

old san juan

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i wrote a whole post with photos and everything, and deleted it by mistake.  really?  f#$@!

let’s try this again.

one thing that i haven’t done on this trip is a tour,  and you know how i love a good tour.  i realized that one reason i like tours so much is that since i travel solo, tours offer me the opportunity to spend a short amount of time with a group of people.  granted,  sometimes the tours aren’t that short (Peru and Argentina) and the people can being annoying, but you get my drift.

i tried to book a tour to Old San Juan (OSJ) but there weren’t enough people interested, so no tour.  i either had to hire a guide/driver or rent a car.  the rental car would have been the less expensive option, but how can you sight-see and drive at the same time? i’m glad i had a guide, as he gave me some local history along the way to OSJ and a brief description of what was what in the town itself.

then i was on my own for the next 5 hours.  i saw the two forts that were built to protect Puerto Rico from invaders, Castillo San Cristobal and Castillo San Felipe del Morro, the Cementerio Maria Magdelena de Pazzis, the capital building, San Jose Church, San Juan Cathedral and lots of colorful buildings.  there was also no shortage of arts and crafts/gift shops.it was a fun day, but i wish i had some company along the way.

a friend would have reminded me to put sunscreen on my shoulders. doh.  thankfully the guide was willing to stop at the drugstore on the way home so i could get some aloe.

                                                      street in Old San Juan
IMG_1187                                                  Castillo San Felipe del Morro
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                                                           cemetery angel
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rain forest adventure

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the first sign of really being on vacation…..sleeping in. i get up early, usually at 5:30 AM, but today wake up time was 10 AM, oh the sheer luxury of it all.

the rest of the morning went a lot like yesterday: up, gym, breakfast, and pool. but i did go to a different pool and i went to the beach.  at the pool i ran into a couple of ladies i met yesterday.  sisters, here for their birthdays (3 days apart), from South Carolina.  we got to chatting, and they mentioned the were going to the rain forest, and asked if i wanted to go with…so nice if them!

the El Yunque rain forest was really pretty.  we stopped at Coca Falls, a viewing tower and then and another falls that you could wade to and stand under.  it was about a 35 minute walk each way,  a narrow but paved path and slightly steep and slippery at parts.  in my opinion, completely worth the time, but i’m really glad i didn’t pay to take the tour, it was expensive and i didn’t need a longer hike with a lot of people.

La Coca Falls

Puerto Rico

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i arrived in Puerto Rico yesterday afternoon, but was so sleepy i couldn’t manage to post anything.

in theory taking a red eye flight is a good idea, you don’t waste a day flying and usually it’s a more cost effective option.  both of those things factored into my flight decision a year ago when i booked the trip.  but then when i looked at the flight details on monday i realized that i had a 3 hour layover, not awesome.  the travel went smoothly, even the layover (which started at 5:30 AM) but i was SO tired when i got here that i had late lunch and took a nap, which then turned into bed.

so, where exactly am i?  the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Beach Resort.  i’m staying on the Margaritaville side of the resort, which is fairly new and pretty nice.  although i am a Wyndham owner, i don’t belong to Margaritaville, so staying here is a treat.  of course the idea is they have you stay in the nice new part and then you’ll want to upgrade your membership.  i might be tempted but currently there are only two Margaritaville resorts, here and St. Thomas.  both are beautiful spots, but not as easy for me to get to, as say, Hawaii or Mexico.

so after sleeping a very long time, i woke up at my normal time and went to the gym.  what? did i say the gym?  yes i did.  my room is on the same floor, so there is really no excuse not to go.  especially when it’s early in the morning and there isn’t much else to do.

i decided to just hang out today and get the lay of the land.  the day went like this: quick owners meeting with breakfast and tour of the fancy pants M’ville rooms, investigated tours & car rentals, bought some staples for the fridge, went to the pool, checked out the spa, grabbed some dinner and now i’m enjoying a truly bad Lifetime movie starring Jennifer Beals.  vacation is the best.

tomorrow i have big plans.  the beach.

view from my patio

a quick Toronto visit

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IMG_20160416_130932[1]arrived in Toronto late Friday night, and came home at 10 AM on Monday morning.  i was there for a conference, but managed to get in one major activity.

the extracurricular activity was the Toronto Zoo, where they not only have baby Giant Pandas, but also baby white lion cubs, baby polar bears and a baby rhino.  sadly we weren’t able to see the lion cubs or rhino, but we did see the pandas and polar bear.  SO adorable.  need i say more?

some good meals were had including dinners at Little India and the Keg Steakhouse and dessert at the Milk Bar.  yum.  i may have to order some of those cookies online, they were delicious. and they had a crack pie.  i didn’t try that, but maybe next time.

one thing to note about flying out of Toronto (maybe all of Canada?) is the whole customs/luggage process.  it wasn’t very user friendly.   unlike SFO, you can’t check your luggage at the airline counter to go international.  you need to tag your luggage at the counter, then take your luggage through customs, then send it through screening, and then it goes on the conveyor belt to the plane. it’s not like the process is terrible, or that odd, but there are no signs telling you what to do. it’s a little frustrating.

the customs agents are less than pleasant as well.  i know they have to be serious, but come on now, i just want to leave your country, stop with all of the questions.  maybe they’re being extra nasty so that we don’t all want to flee there after the November election.

one good thing about the whole set-up…….no customs clearance in SF. deplane, grab luggage, and go. done.

no excuses

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miya-ando-bioluminescent-leaves-537x405there is no excuse for my lack of content, except that i haven’t been anywhere.  i figure anecdotes about my cat, things happening in town, and my commute to SF are not things anyone wants to hear about.  if you do, you really need a hobby.

next week i’m off to Toronto (i’ve been told you pronounce that as Toronno, eliminate the T, to sound like a native.)  i know nothing about Toronto, and i’m looking forward to the trip.  i don’t have a ton of time to poke around, but i’m sure i will find something to see/do.

Puerto Rico is only a few weeks away now, which is very exciting.  i bought a guide book, which looks great on my coffee table, and probably contains lots of useful information i haven’t read yet. isn’t that what the plane ride is for? the only thing i have done is booked a kayak trip so i can see the bioluminescent bays.

i don’t know if i’ll be able to get any decent photos, holding a camera steady in a kayak at night to take a photo seems like a hard thing to do…..but i will make the attempt.

oh, i’ve also booked a trip to Alaska in September to see (hopefully) the Northern Lights.  that will be fun, it’s going to be a mother daughter adventure.

so, although i won’t be writing every day or even every week, there will be new posts coming your way over the next couple of months.

stay tuned.

photo courtesy of inhabitat.com

it was inevitable……

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i’m pretty sure i can’t ever go somewhere and not take a tour.  i thought maybe Cabo would be the exception, but then i saw a boat and city tour combo. i was in.

i met up with the other folks at 9:30 AM (such a reasonable time) and we made our way to the marina. we headed out on a glass bottom boat to the arches, where we saw some fish and a couple of seals.  next on the agenda was a glass blowing shop.  we then had time to walk around town, which is pretty busy and very touristy.  still fun to see.

from there we went off to visit San Jose del Cabo, the quieter, smaller town about 30 minutes from San Lucas.

lunch, mariachi band, church of San Jose del Cabo, walk around town, shopping and then home.  everything a boat and city tour promises to be.

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