The family vacation from California to Japan had been planned for nearly six months. Bags were packed and the pre-dawn drive to the airport complete. At the ticket counter, four bags, a folding stroller and playpen were placed on the baggage transom. Printed out boarding passes were ready and passports handed over when the agent asked for the baby’s papers. The birth certificate wouldn’t do. Where was the 18 month olds passport? It didn’t exist. “But we all went on a cruise in Mexico just a couple of months ago!” Unfortunately, airlines have different requirements. It may be different country  [ Read More ]

The dive boat bucked in a white capped sea while rain blew in at a slant – it was not the tropical experience I’d imagined. When the dive master finished his briefing and announced, “Pool’s open,” I flopped heavily over to the back of the boat and stepped off. “Warm, too warm” was my first thought! After diving in chilly San Diego waters, it was a shock to sink deep into a steady 80+ degrees all the way to the bottom. That impression faded as I descended, surrendering to a circus of color and shape floating in an expansive blue.  [ Read More ]

Alaska, sun holidays and the human spirit If you’ve ever spent much time in Alaska, especially the rain forests of the Inland Passage, the idea of a sun holiday might lure you still. While working for a couple of years in Ketchikan, I learned that taking a week off every few months to return to the lower 48 was almost mandated. Another four years in Juneau, where it would rain in a variety of degrees from October into early summer, the rare days of sunshine called for special dispensations. The Governor must’ve know the benefits to health from the sun  [ Read More ]

For those people who find it hard to get through an entire winter without some sunshine, then a heading off for little winter sun break is always a good idea. You don’t necessarily need a hot holiday, but just to be able to stroll around in a t-shirt and shorts for a week in flip flops instead of being bundled up in winter clothing and boots can give you a real lift. For Northern Europeans, though, the problem is that the sunshine is always quite a distance away in the winter – so unless you feel like a long-haul flight  [ Read More ]

Americans cling firmly to the belief that bigger is better. From super-sized food to amplifying body parts, America is hard at work at creating the most gargantuan version of anything and everything imaginable. Southern California has it’s share. There’s a giant doughnut at a 50′s bakery in Long Beach, California and until recently, a towering fork in Carlsbad, just north of San Diego. The sentinel fork was short-lived. Inspired by a Muppets movie prop, an anonymous, local retiree used his wood working skills to give his visitors a literal ‘fork in the road’ to turn at. Standing tall in a  [ Read More ]

I didn’t plan on becoming a scuba diver. Growing up my eardrums would scream every time I ventured into the deep end at the local pool. So the thought of spending extended time truly down under wasn’t on my bucket list. That changed pretty quickly when a dive buddy romance led to Cozumel Island. Dave and I had been dating a few months when he invited me on a dive trip to Cozumel with some of his underwater photo buddies. Would I like to come along? Not one to pass up opportunities to travel, let alone spend days with my  [ Read More ]

I found myself stumbling down a dark beach in Sri Lanka by full moon light. A local boy was just ahead of me, leading two of us to observe a giant Leatherback Sea Turtle laying her eggs. We heard her shadowy grunts first as she pushed the eggs out of her body and into the shallow nest she had swept out of the sand. She was massive and it was stunning to realize the amount of effort it took for her to heave her body up from the water and crawl above the high tide line. This was long before  [ Read More ]

Even in this slow American economy, more of us are taking off than ever – or planning to. While tips on how to have the perfect trip and holiday fun are flooding the media, what’s unique for our country is that we’re venturing forth on road trips instead of venturing overseas, according to reports from Expedia.com. As they worked with a mathematician, a psychologist and other travel experts on discovering what makes a “perfect” holiday, what emerged is a picture of traveling far, more than six nights and on longer flights. Those of us taking shorter trips and vacations are  [ Read More ]

Living in a motorhome is a dream experience for many, but without proper planning it can easily turn into a nightmare. By learning a little about the potential problems and the positive aspects of a motorhome lifestyle, you can save yourself a lot of trouble in the long run. Select the Right Vehicles A motorhome refers to a wide range of different homes on wheels. It is important to understand the different types before making the decision to purchase or rent. According to RV-Dreams.com, motorhomes and travel trailers have a wide range of options to choose from that vary in  [ Read More ]

WORK: As I sit at my desk first thing on a fresh morning there’s a moment of crunch, a tightening, as I seek to focus on work. This morning I brought my hands to cover my eyes and squeezed my brow. Then stopped and took a breath and relaxed. There was a slight shift as I remembered the tasks of writing my first book years ago,Drivetime Yoga, and how I would stop the frenzy of activities to simply breathe and open to adventure. Open up to what? To something else, a subtler knowing, with nothing to do with religion but  [ Read More ]