Where in the World: Indianapolis, Indiana
The Inspiration: Ok, so this doesn't seem like a terribly exciting location, but in a few weeks the National Samoyed show will be in Indiana, and I'd really like to go. My parents are going to visit a friend from Oregon who will be showing her dogs, and visiting with other friends in Cincinnati and Indy on the way, and I'd love to be part of the trip. Is that silly? Probably not, especially considering these fantastic and hilarious friends.
Also, I'm really ready to just go SOMEWHERE and am particularly envious of travelers lately. Maybe I could get one of those nanny jobs where you travel with a family and take the kids to exotic museums while the parents conduct international business and I could do my homework while the kids have nap time or take their violin lessons at the Parisian conservatory... Do you know people like that? Are they hiring? Can you introduce us? Can you tell that I could use a change of scenery?
Showing posts with label Domestic Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Domestic Travel. Show all posts
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
A Great American Road Trip
Where in the World: The Open Road
The Inspiration: Envy, as usual; it seems the seven deadly sins (well, at least lust, envy, greed, gluttony, pride in your adventures, and a dose of sloth on the beach; wrath doesn't fit very well, which is a good thing) are all very closely related when it comes travel. This week I've been talking to a friend who is driving through the West, and during a few moments of clear phone signals I've been getting amazing descriptions of the scenery and wildlife. I loved driving through the Southwest when I was there a year and half ago, and I'd love to see it in the fall when it would be perfect for hiking.
I am also a huge fan road trip music; I think there a some really fantastic songs that deserve the setting of the blue sky and great stretches of lonely highway. My friend's road trip has me humming Matt Costa's "The Road" and the Counting Crows' "Omaha" and "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" ("We drove out to the desert/ just to lie down beneath this bowl of stars.")which are certainly staples for any trek across Nebraska into the mountains. The play list already has a few items, which are expanding exponentially as I write this, so I think I should stop with the distracted writing, and maybe find a map. As long as I watch my mileage, this is a dream that isn't out of reach. =)
The Inspiration: Envy, as usual; it seems the seven deadly sins (well, at least lust, envy, greed, gluttony, pride in your adventures, and a dose of sloth on the beach; wrath doesn't fit very well, which is a good thing) are all very closely related when it comes travel. This week I've been talking to a friend who is driving through the West, and during a few moments of clear phone signals I've been getting amazing descriptions of the scenery and wildlife. I loved driving through the Southwest when I was there a year and half ago, and I'd love to see it in the fall when it would be perfect for hiking.
I am also a huge fan road trip music; I think there a some really fantastic songs that deserve the setting of the blue sky and great stretches of lonely highway. My friend's road trip has me humming Matt Costa's "The Road" and the Counting Crows' "Omaha" and "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" ("We drove out to the desert/ just to lie down beneath this bowl of stars.")which are certainly staples for any trek across Nebraska into the mountains. The play list already has a few items, which are expanding exponentially as I write this, so I think I should stop with the distracted writing, and maybe find a map. As long as I watch my mileage, this is a dream that isn't out of reach. =)
Friday, August 14, 2009
My Golden Ticket Dilemma
Warning: Ignorance may be bliss regarding this one.
Where in the World: ANYWHERE that JetBlue Flies, September 8- October 8, for $599.
The Inspiration: It's pretty obvious that I've found an airline special, isn't it? I think I'm in love with JetBlue. Check this crazy action out (go ahead, I'll be right here debating and waiting for you to get back): http://www.jetblue.com/deals/all-you-can-jet/?intcmp=HPHero1Eng_All-You-Can-JetPass
Here's the tricky part: this is AMAZING, but I work on the weekends, and go to school during the week. I don't know if I could take off all of the weekends in September without getting fired, or even to have enough cash to eat and stay in all the places I'd like to visit in that month. If this were for August, while I don't have classes, there is no question that I would already be a happy vagrant, sending a postcard goodbye to my tea shop job. My tea shop job is nice, though, and they are very kind to accommodate my occasionally ridiculous class schedule, and I am very far from wealthy and need the cash. Knowing that this special exists is rather torturous, though; it's my Pandora's box, full of all sort of delights and evils, and nearly impossible to avoid opening.
Hmmmm.... Perhaps I can get someone to pay me to travel, and to write about it? I think tonight I'll fall asleep singing "I've got a golden ticket!" and dream about just that.
Where in the World: ANYWHERE that JetBlue Flies, September 8- October 8, for $599.
The Inspiration: It's pretty obvious that I've found an airline special, isn't it? I think I'm in love with JetBlue. Check this crazy action out (go ahead, I'll be right here debating and waiting for you to get back): http://www.jetblue.com/deals/all-you-can-jet/?intcmp=HPHero1Eng_All-You-Can-JetPass
Here's the tricky part: this is AMAZING, but I work on the weekends, and go to school during the week. I don't know if I could take off all of the weekends in September without getting fired, or even to have enough cash to eat and stay in all the places I'd like to visit in that month. If this were for August, while I don't have classes, there is no question that I would already be a happy vagrant, sending a postcard goodbye to my tea shop job. My tea shop job is nice, though, and they are very kind to accommodate my occasionally ridiculous class schedule, and I am very far from wealthy and need the cash. Knowing that this special exists is rather torturous, though; it's my Pandora's box, full of all sort of delights and evils, and nearly impossible to avoid opening.
Hmmmm.... Perhaps I can get someone to pay me to travel, and to write about it? I think tonight I'll fall asleep singing "I've got a golden ticket!" and dream about just that.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The Chautauqua Institution
Where in the World: The Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, New York
The Inspiration: Looking for a place to get away with friends that's not too far away. Family friends have had a cabin there since I was little, and I've always been a nerd, so I've always been intrigued by a place that was "founded on the belief that everyone 'has a right to be all that he can be -- to know all that he can know.'" Every day of their entire summer schedule is full of fascinating lectures, concerts, sermons, and art classes in a really lovely setting. Elie Wiesel and Justice Anthony Kennedy are two of this the speakers this year on a stage that has also hosted Franklin Roosevelt, Susan B. Anthony, and Ameila Earhart. I'm thinking of going after the summer class term ends and learning just for the fun of it for a few days. If that's appealing to you too, you may want to check out their website: http://www.ciweb.org/
PS: Here's something a bit crazy: spell check struggles with "New Zealand" but is fine with "Chautauqua." How does that work?
The Inspiration: Looking for a place to get away with friends that's not too far away. Family friends have had a cabin there since I was little, and I've always been a nerd, so I've always been intrigued by a place that was "founded on the belief that everyone 'has a right to be all that he can be -- to know all that he can know.'" Every day of their entire summer schedule is full of fascinating lectures, concerts, sermons, and art classes in a really lovely setting. Elie Wiesel and Justice Anthony Kennedy are two of this the speakers this year on a stage that has also hosted Franklin Roosevelt, Susan B. Anthony, and Ameila Earhart. I'm thinking of going after the summer class term ends and learning just for the fun of it for a few days. If that's appealing to you too, you may want to check out their website: http://www.ciweb.org/
PS: Here's something a bit crazy: spell check struggles with "New Zealand" but is fine with "Chautauqua." How does that work?
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
My Favorite Trail at the Park
Where in the World: My Favorite Trail at the Park
The Inspiration: Today's non-adventure. Class let out early this evening and it was such perfect weather that I was really excited to be able to go to the park. I went home and got Angie, my dog, and arrived at the time of evening that comes right before dusk, where the eastern part of sky is almost white, and the opposite edge is just getting darker. Angie was all fired up because it was cooler, and the animals at the park are more active and more fun to chase.
We started towards our favorite trail, a wide dirt road that loops outside of the paved circle, and I felt a little pang of guilt because I had promised not to go there by myself; a man who could be reported as "a streaker" at best had been seen in the woods recently, and when my parents saw a sign about it they made a point of asking me not to go alone. As we approached the trail, I realized how long it's been since I was there in the evening; the trees' leaves have grown in, and the trail was a lovely, dusky green, perfected by the combination of rains earlier in the week and today's heat. It was beautiful, but already almost too late to be setting off into the woods. I paused at the trail-head and read the homemade sign for myself. It warned women not to travel alone, that a "NAKED CREEPER GUY" had been spotted in the woods, and that he had put shorts on and run away when he was seen, and the police were investigating. So I sighed, and remembered what I'd told my parents, and looked at Angie, who had bounded ahead and was watching me expectantly. Then, dear reader, I swear that it bubbled into my mind and I just had to say it:
"Come on Angie. The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep..."
We turned around and walked around the big, paved loop. I was stunned at how few people were there, considering the fantastic weather, and for most of the walk it was like being in the woods except for Angie's nails clicking on the concrete. The road did have the other advantage of showcasing one of my favorite summer sights at the park: a family in a car driving as slowly as possible with sleepy but wide eyed children in the back seat, peering out the windows with flashlights, hoping to see coyotes. =)
We finished our walk with just a bit of daylight left, an inch of orange stretched across the horizon. Driving home I had to laugh: with the danger of creepers and coyotes, who wouldn't consider a walk at the park to be a little adventure?
The Inspiration: Today's non-adventure. Class let out early this evening and it was such perfect weather that I was really excited to be able to go to the park. I went home and got Angie, my dog, and arrived at the time of evening that comes right before dusk, where the eastern part of sky is almost white, and the opposite edge is just getting darker. Angie was all fired up because it was cooler, and the animals at the park are more active and more fun to chase.
We started towards our favorite trail, a wide dirt road that loops outside of the paved circle, and I felt a little pang of guilt because I had promised not to go there by myself; a man who could be reported as "a streaker" at best had been seen in the woods recently, and when my parents saw a sign about it they made a point of asking me not to go alone. As we approached the trail, I realized how long it's been since I was there in the evening; the trees' leaves have grown in, and the trail was a lovely, dusky green, perfected by the combination of rains earlier in the week and today's heat. It was beautiful, but already almost too late to be setting off into the woods. I paused at the trail-head and read the homemade sign for myself. It warned women not to travel alone, that a "NAKED CREEPER GUY" had been spotted in the woods, and that he had put shorts on and run away when he was seen, and the police were investigating. So I sighed, and remembered what I'd told my parents, and looked at Angie, who had bounded ahead and was watching me expectantly. Then, dear reader, I swear that it bubbled into my mind and I just had to say it:
"Come on Angie. The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep..."
We turned around and walked around the big, paved loop. I was stunned at how few people were there, considering the fantastic weather, and for most of the walk it was like being in the woods except for Angie's nails clicking on the concrete. The road did have the other advantage of showcasing one of my favorite summer sights at the park: a family in a car driving as slowly as possible with sleepy but wide eyed children in the back seat, peering out the windows with flashlights, hoping to see coyotes. =)
We finished our walk with just a bit of daylight left, an inch of orange stretched across the horizon. Driving home I had to laugh: with the danger of creepers and coyotes, who wouldn't consider a walk at the park to be a little adventure?
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Pittsburgh!
Where in the World: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The Inspiration: Hometown pride! I know that I've said this is a blog about traveling, but it's also about where I want to be, and right now I'm happy to be at home in Pittsburgh. On Friday night, the Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings in a heart-stopping, odds-defying game seven Stanley Cup final, and it's such a great thing! Pittsburgh is the first city to win both the Super Bowl and the Stanley Cup in the same year, and fans here take sports so personally, it really is a victory for the city. Today I also was able to attend part of the Three Rivers Arts Festival, and even though I got there late, it was lovely. I took a friend who is new to Pittsburgh, and had the opportunity to show off the rivers and fountain at Point State Park, some of the architecture downtown, and ride the Duquesne Incline to take in the whole Pittsburgh panorama. People were friendly everywhere we went, and we finished the evening with some fantastic midnight ice cream at Oh Yeah! in Shady Side. Pittsburgh is a world class city, but it's also simply home, and I love it. =)
The Inspiration: Hometown pride! I know that I've said this is a blog about traveling, but it's also about where I want to be, and right now I'm happy to be at home in Pittsburgh. On Friday night, the Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings in a heart-stopping, odds-defying game seven Stanley Cup final, and it's such a great thing! Pittsburgh is the first city to win both the Super Bowl and the Stanley Cup in the same year, and fans here take sports so personally, it really is a victory for the city. Today I also was able to attend part of the Three Rivers Arts Festival, and even though I got there late, it was lovely. I took a friend who is new to Pittsburgh, and had the opportunity to show off the rivers and fountain at Point State Park, some of the architecture downtown, and ride the Duquesne Incline to take in the whole Pittsburgh panorama. People were friendly everywhere we went, and we finished the evening with some fantastic midnight ice cream at Oh Yeah! in Shady Side. Pittsburgh is a world class city, but it's also simply home, and I love it. =)
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Chicago
Where in the World: Chicago, Illinois
The Inspiration: Another lovely friend, who will be running the Chicago Marathon in October. I am not a marathoner. I'm not even a runner. However, I'm really impressed by marathoners, and I would love to be there to cheer her through the race (which is much more my speed). Also, I love Chicago. I visited once, as part of a shopping trip for a wedding in which I was a bridesmaid (file that story into the "fabulous extravagant things I'd never choose to do myself" category). That trip had lots of lace, sparkles, and satin, which could have been overwhelming if we hadn't balanced it with tons of delicious food. I'd love to go back and explore more than the bridal circuit, checking out the museums, more of the wonderful places to eat and to dance, and take in some real Chicago blues.
The Inspiration: Another lovely friend, who will be running the Chicago Marathon in October. I am not a marathoner. I'm not even a runner. However, I'm really impressed by marathoners, and I would love to be there to cheer her through the race (which is much more my speed). Also, I love Chicago. I visited once, as part of a shopping trip for a wedding in which I was a bridesmaid (file that story into the "fabulous extravagant things I'd never choose to do myself" category). That trip had lots of lace, sparkles, and satin, which could have been overwhelming if we hadn't balanced it with tons of delicious food. I'd love to go back and explore more than the bridal circuit, checking out the museums, more of the wonderful places to eat and to dance, and take in some real Chicago blues.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Seattle
Where in the World: Seattle, Washington
The Inspiration: My brother, because he lives there. He actually came to visit for a grand total of 21 hours this week, so that he could go to the hockey game on Tuesday (Go Pens!). The thing about little tiny visits like that is they can make you suddenly miss someone so much more than before. I helped him move out to the Seattle area in 2007, but I haven't been there since. When he moved there our sightseeing time was limited, so there's still a lot on my Seattle must-list. This includes the view from the top of Space Needle, actually purchasing and preparing food from Pike's Place, seeing live music, and hike to the top of Mt. Si, which is his favorite place to take visitors for day trips.
The Inspiration: My brother, because he lives there. He actually came to visit for a grand total of 21 hours this week, so that he could go to the hockey game on Tuesday (Go Pens!). The thing about little tiny visits like that is they can make you suddenly miss someone so much more than before. I helped him move out to the Seattle area in 2007, but I haven't been there since. When he moved there our sightseeing time was limited, so there's still a lot on my Seattle must-list. This includes the view from the top of Space Needle, actually purchasing and preparing food from Pike's Place, seeing live music, and hike to the top of Mt. Si, which is his favorite place to take visitors for day trips.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
The Adirondacks
Where in the World: The Adirondack Region, Northern New York
Inspired by: My lovely friends, K&J, who are currently honeymooning in upstate New York. The region is rugged and beautiful, with calm lakes and fierce mountains. Last time I visited the area I stayed between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, where we spent a lot of time kayaking. I gave the newlyweds a map so that they could make sure to get Donnelly's Ice Cream near Lake Clear. My parents went to college in the area, and for my entire childhood they told me of the wonder of Donnelly's, where a berry patch and a dairy farm meet in an ice cream shack. The most amazing part is that when I finally tried Donnelly's as a teenager, it exceeded the expectations that I had been building for years. Since I told K&J, I've been anxious to get in the car and make the treck myself. I'd divide my day between breathtaking mountain hikes and creamy raspberry gluttony. How delightful!
Inspired by: My lovely friends, K&J, who are currently honeymooning in upstate New York. The region is rugged and beautiful, with calm lakes and fierce mountains. Last time I visited the area I stayed between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, where we spent a lot of time kayaking. I gave the newlyweds a map so that they could make sure to get Donnelly's Ice Cream near Lake Clear. My parents went to college in the area, and for my entire childhood they told me of the wonder of Donnelly's, where a berry patch and a dairy farm meet in an ice cream shack. The most amazing part is that when I finally tried Donnelly's as a teenager, it exceeded the expectations that I had been building for years. Since I told K&J, I've been anxious to get in the car and make the treck myself. I'd divide my day between breathtaking mountain hikes and creamy raspberry gluttony. How delightful!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
