Category Archives: Travel

Snorkeling in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

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This morning I woke up to the loudest and most interesting storm I have ever heard/seen, which is saying a lot, since I live in the Pacific Northwest, went to college in the Midwest, and have visited nearly every one of the ‘worst weather’ states in the US. Until recently, we had never been this far South – on the Island of Key Largo in the Florida Keys, to be exact.

I ran out and shot the best video I could with such short notice, being that is was still dark, and trying to find a decent place to park where I wouldn’t be stuck down by lightning. – I’ll post a bit of the video when I have some time to edit it. It really was surreal.

Christ of the Deep

Christ of the Deep


A couple of interesting things to note about the Florida Keys. First off, if Oregonians think their weather changes fast, they should visit the Keys. Not only are you in the tropics, but there isn’t much land mass, either. So weather systems just breeze right over us like nothing. In fact, if I have my GPS on, the route line is the same width as the island! At some points I can literally see the Ocean on one side and the Bay on the other…a little disconcerting when the monsoon-style rains start.

Key Largo – the first major island in this archipelago of islands (or Keys), is considered the diving capital of the world, and snorkeling here has been on my ‘must do’ travel list for some time. Ever since I saw images of the undersea park in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, I knew I had to visit. They put stone people underwater! I couldn’t wait.

Today, I’m happy to say I’ve at least started to scratch this one off my list. Even though the day began with a bang, in the afternoon we were able to fit in a couple hours of snorkeling off the main beach in the Park. Surrounded by children learning to snorkel, one can assume that’s the kiddie pool/training area. This means it’s doubtful that I’ll be able to swim down and greet the Christ of the Deep before we leave Key Largo, but I know I’m well on my way to at least make the colorful coral reefs that lie 3-5 miles offshore.

This trip mostly featured the same little fish I’ve seen around the piers, random sea vegetation, one feisty crab, and – if you believe the kiddos in my area – at least a half dozen sharks and one sea snake. Thankfully, I escaped unharmed, despite forgetting to remove my Power Bait Pink nail polish – again!

What we learned about lodging in 2012

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Our 2013 trip (which will likely be our last big road trip), is much easier due to all we learned on our first go around. One of the things that make this possibly is our choice in lodging. Last year we tried to go as cheap as we could–think Motel 6, Days Inn, etc. We tried living solely off a hot plate, mini-fridge and microwave (if we were lucky) One room, generally no seating, which made any down time watching movies or just talking a bit tricky ~ bed are comfortable enough for sleeping, but not so much for lounging around. At times our internet was spotty at best, the rooms’ cleanliness and existence of roommates in the form of critters was always a gamble.

This made for a lot of moving sooner than expected, which increased our costs greatly. And since we travel with our dog, the shorter the stay, the less the pet fee would get spread out. I’ll make another post soon about which hotel chains give you the most value for your pet fee. :)

In our second round, we’ve discovered a few very helpful tips that have made our work and personal lives much more productive and enjoyable. Here is a list of our more helpful suggestions:

1 – Try and find one hotel chain and stick with them. This gives you the ability to collect ‘points’ using their reward system (all big chains have them), and most include multiple brands under one umbrella. While we try and seek out Mom & Pop motels in smaller towns, in any larger cities, it’s much more reliable to go with your favorite. Our number one pick is the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). They have nearly 5,000 hotels in 1,000 countries (even though we’re focused on just one at the moment). Their hotels include: Candlewood Suites, Staybridge Suites, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Crowne Plaza to name a few. Candlewood Suites are generally on the ‘budget’ end of the spectrum, but they have all the comforts of home. With a kitchen, optional bedrooms, and free (yes, FREE!) laundry. Their Internet access is always spot on, and if it’s not, they’ll generally work to resolve the situation.

2 – Don’t always go for the cheapest solution. As mentioned above, brand loyalty has its perks. If you earn a free night for every X nights that you stay, you can count that into your budget. Also, for longer term stays, you can usually negotiate the room tax. A $33 budget room quickly becomes a $50+ once you add in taxes. In most states, if you stay 30 days or longer, you can get the state and city taxes waived. Add in being able to cook for yourself and being comfortable staying in or on property, free internet, cable, sitting areas and free laundry – and suddenly you find a lot more money in your budget to spend on the lodging itself.

3 – Try before you buy! A lot of our unplanned moves from one location to another could have been prevented if we had simply looked at the room and checked the internet speed before checking in! All motels and hotels should allow you to do this, and if they don’t, that’s a big red flag in my book. Just because you’ve reserved the room doesn’t mean you need to take it. If it’s not what expected or as advertised, stand your ground. Ask to see another room or even cancel your reservation altogether. Again – any reputable company will not hold you to the 24-hour cancellation notice if they’re at fault for not providing what they represented. A simple & free speed test app on your smart phone can give you the details of Wi-Fi in the room.

4 – Location, location, location! Do some research and think before you commit to a certain area. On our second cross country trip, we knew exactly what we wanted to see in the places we had already been, so it was easy for us to plan that way. If you know you want to visit DisneyWorld, but simply search for Orlando hotels, you can end up miles and miles away. For some, that might be OK. For others, especially if you are visiting multiple days, you may want to pay the extra money to be closer. It’s a little game in pros and cons we always work out. We ask ourselves a couple important questions: ‘How many times will we be visiting ‘Location X per week?’ and ‘How much time/gas will we pay being further away?’ – These two answers along can make a great mathematical equation to decide on being across the street or half an hour away from ‘Location X’.

It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas?

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Las Vegas WorkThis is the view from my ‘office’ today. I am outside enjoying the beautiful weather.  It sure feels odd
for December.

 

Berried treasures close to home

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Hoffman Farms Store

$1 Berry Tarts – Perfect size, perfect price!

One of the hardest parts about coming ‘home’ is the sheer amount of catching up there is to do. Many people believe life on the road is the chaotic part, but they’re mistaken. Honestly, I get most of my battery recharging, creative juice flow, inspiration, etc., when we’re on the go. During our respite back at Home Base, my free time is spent catching up with family, taking care of various checkups, car maintenance, and so on. We hardly ever have the time to get out and explore our very own backyard.

This makes our latest find all the sweeter. Earlier in the summer, a local berry farm ran a Groupon special, and it was quickly snapped up by me at least three of my family members. We’re very fortunate to live in an area in which a ten-minute drive from the city will land you smack in the middle of agriculture nirvana. Hoffman Farms Store is located within this little haven, just off Scholls Ferry Road in Scholls, Oregon. For those not in the know, Scholls Ferry, along with its cohorts, Farmington & River Roads, sprawl through miles and miles of Washington County’s west side. Out this way you’ll find everything from Alpacas to Vineyards. Berry and apple farms, lavender fields, mini horses, antique shops – these are just some of the places you’ll pass, and on a nice day, a fair amount of cyclists. We are located just outside the most bike-friendly city in the world, after all.

Hoffman Farms Store is a small, family owned and operated farm residing on the historic Butler/Flint Century Farm in Scholls . They’ve been in business for over two decades, but relocated to their current home in 2000. The Store is quaint, clean and charmingly decorated. Their staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Prices are wonderful, but the main attraction has to be those berries! Big, juicy, bright and fresh – you’ll have a hard time resisting them until you get to your destination.

At this time, with summer winding down, Hoffman Farms Store has some blueberries and blackberries left, but the season is sadly over for strawberries, raspberries, and marionberries and all U-picking. However, they still offer a variety of fresh, locally grown produce, Walla Walla sweet onions, cucumbers, zucchini, green beans, sweet corn, cherries, cantaloupe, and Sweet Sue peaches. Fresh spinach, lettuce and herbs are harvested daily from the garden.

While you’re there, don’t miss one of their fresh-baked, handmade fruit pies and tarts. The little hand tarts are just $1 and the perfect size for an on-the-go treat.  You can grab a coffee as well, since Hoffman Farms Store even boasts it’s own real espresso machine…the kind the big guys abandoned for less attractive and more automated gizmos & gadgets.

Be sure to take a walk around the grounds while you’re there. Among the fields you’ll find great places to stop in the shade, have a picnic, and even one of the most unique play structures I’ve seen.

You can currently visit the Hoffman Farms Store daily. Hours and updated availability is located on their website.

Hoffman Farms Store

22242 SW Scholls Ferry Road
Beaverton, OR  97007
(503) 628-5418

The kindness of strangers

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Disney Passes!

A gift from a passing stranger...

I’ll never meet you, you’ll never meet me. Even if we did meet, the chances of us knowing we share a moment in time are not in our favor. You ‘paid forward’ a little gesture that created a lifetime memory for four people. Early on Wednesday, May 16th, 2012, you happened across two travel weary college students in the Orlando International Airport while exiting the plane. The kids had just spent the last dozen or so hours flying the red-eye from Portland, Oregon to Orlando, in order to visit with my husband and I. You simply handed them two small scraps of cardstock, explaining to them that they were passes to DisneyWorld, insisted they made sure to use them, and continued on your day.

Well, I wish I could express the gratitude the four of us feel for what you did. My husband and I already had resident passes, and we all knew ahead of time that DisneyWorld was not really in the cards for the kids this trip. Theme park prices have increased since my day (back when your parents/grandparents or anyone else electing not to go on rides could pass those gates for free & simply observe!) For those who don’t know, a day trip to any of the major Orlando parks will set you back about $100 – one park, one day. To make matters worse, all the big players have now split their parks into individual mini-parks, so count on adding more money for each additional park, day, food, line passing, and any other way they can think of to make more money off you :) So, needless to say, the Wonderful World of Disney (split into four separate parks here in Orlando), was off our list.

Two happy kids!

Justin & Jasmine in the Magic Kingdom


Not sure if the flimsy cards my nephew held in his hand were real, he showed them to me. I read the back – one day park hoppers, worth about $120 each. Nice score! Two days later, we headed to the turnstiles of Disney’s Hollywood Studios with a little trepidation, but once the kids were through the gate, they didn’t stop until we closed down Epcot later that evening. They managed to get in 3 of the 4 Disney parks that day, and had an amazing time.

So, kind sir, the chances of you ever reading this are lottery-winning slim, but hopefully it’s a lesson to others what a small gesture can mean to someone else. (Note: I’m in no way implying $240 worth of tickets is a “small” gesture, but in this case I imagine they were extra or leftover tickets you could not use) In any event, you added an unforgettable experience to two very grateful young adults, as well as their Aunt & Uncle. Thank you!

Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

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Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

During the spring, Epcot transforms into a wonderful world of colors, fragrance, topiary displays and much more. Although it’s my first trip to Epcot period, I could not have been more delighted than to find out about the annual festival, which is put on by HGTV (which I love!)

Already a stunning park full of fountains, water features, lakes & tree-lined walkways (more of my favorites), the festival put this very-amateur photographer into snap-happy overload. Below you’ll find a few of the shots that interested me the most, but I will definitely be back, hoping to catch some of the blooms during the ‘golden hours’.

If you’d like to enjoy some other photos of the festival – as well as information, history, and events, the festival has two great places to check out, their Facebook Page or at Disney’s web page on the event.

Epcot holds a special place in our heart now, and I know we’ll be back many times. There is so much more to tell and share, but this festival deserved a post all of it’s own!

After you have a look, let me know what your favorites are, I know I have mine!
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A Month in Review

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We’ve officially been on our own and without a “home” (a lease, an apartment, rooming with family, etc.) and it’s time to do a little reflecting on what worked and what did not.

First off, how did finances measure up?  This is probably the area that I am most excited to see go down in the future.  For the amount of traveling we did, however, I’m quite pleased with the results.  During the month we spread our time between six hotels and spent about 30% more than we would have back home in our last apartment.  Having to do it all over again, I could have saved about ½, putting us at less than a permanent location.  Not bad considering these factors:

Rookie Mistakes

When heading to a town known for its conventions, it’s wise to check the calendar before giving up your room.  An ill-timed change in location – due to a poorly kept motel – cost us at least a few hundred dollars & nearly a full day of work.  We discovered this when we left a Motel 6 in search of a better place during the week of the Consumer Electronics Show.   Ooops.   Apparently, one of – if not the – largest convention Las Vegas hosts.  Plus side – We ended up in a great resort about an hour or so Northeast of here in Mesquite, Nevada.  This also enabled us to visit Utah and Arizona both, including the town of St. George and the Valley of Fire.  It was wonderful!

Traveling With Pets!

I love my dog, and I will never leave her behind or “board” her for the sake of a nice hotel room (which more than one proprietor has suggested!)  Unfortunately, having her in tow does costs us some additional fees & phone calls.  Without her we’d be in a condo overlooking the Strip for far less than we paid this past month, but then it wouldn’t be a family trip, now would it?  My advice – put your investigative skills to work when looking for a room with your furry friend.  Fees vary widely.  Some hotels charge per stay, some per night.  Most will cap the fee at some point.  Extended Stay of America, where we are currently staying, charges a hefty $25 per night (although they call it nomial), but their fee maxes out at $150, no matter how long your stay is.  Marriott’s Residence Inn charges  around $75 per stay, which works well if you are staying a week, saving you about ½ of the Extended Stay’s fee,  but could quickly deplete your budget if you were staying just a night or two.

Don’t Be Afraid To Check The Goods First

Veer Towers

A half-million dollar view!

One of the best lodging experiences we’ve had thus far has to be a night at the Veer Towers.  We were given the opportunity to stay in a half-million dollar corner condo on the 19th floor, located in MGM’s newly developed City Center Las Vegas and it was amazing!  I could watch the Bellagio fountains from the living room, and gaze over the fiery red mountains to the West from the bedroom.  I was never leaving.  Infinity pool on the rooftop, fully equipped gym, 24 hour concierge, everything within walking distance – all for the same price as a lower budget motel – what more could you ask for?!?  Turns out, internet access!  Although the owner assured us it was there, we have now learned that you should definitely check before getting into an arrangement with a private party.  While we could have canceled in a big chain hotel and received a full refund, in this case the owner charged us her single night price for the time spent, a hefty 3 times what we were set to pay per night at our monthly agreement with her  – ouch!

Was It Worth It?

Without a doubt – absolutely!!  We have seen more in the past month than in years before…we’ve experienced things that we never thought we would (half-mill condo included!), and had the best times.  Our entertainment budget has stayed relatively low – Groupon, free attractions and visiting places during “off-peak” times have all helped.  You cannot put a price on some of the experiences we’ve had, including an impromptu night with visiting relatives, pulling off the road to watch rock climbers, stumbling across the Valley of Fire, and many evenings spent in front of the Fountains at Bellagio.  In the past 30 days we’ve gained an invaluable amount of knowledge as well, including how to ensure February tops this past month!

Now the big question – where do we go next?  That’s probably the toughest decision of all :)

New Years Eve in Vegas

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Tearei & I never go out and do anything for New Years Eve. This year we were in Vegas among the huge crowds. But, let’s back up to the trip here…

With New Years Eve on a Saturday this year, the traffic on Friday made it seem like California was emptying into Nevada. At points I felt my GPS was “punking” me as it said it was going to take 3hr 11min to travel that last 100 miles, but still said the same amount after another hour of driving.

We made a couple of silly errors. One of course was trying to travel when everyone else was as well. Another was waiting until the last minute to book a room. Lucky for us the extended stay still gave us a decent rate as we were going to be here for a week. Otherwise the “cheap” motels were $120 +.

At about 6pm we were ready to head towards the strip to join in the festivities. Our plan was to take a bus that goes right in front of our hotel. It’s a straight shot about 3 miles down to the strip, so we didn’t think this would be a big issue. We waited at the bus stop for about 20 minutes or so, and then we saw the two story bus heading our direction. The driver only slowed down slightly to announce “You’re going to have to catch the next one.” We figured that if that one was full the next one is likely to be as well, as it was still early in the evening.

We switched plans and drove, paid the $20 for parking, and walked up to the strip.

Earlier I had purchased a Groupon for a “yard” sized drink. It’s one of those crazy tall drinks they sell here. Our first mission was to find the place where I could get my drink. Weaving through thousands of people at various levels of intoxication, past the guy on on the loud speaker shouting about Jesus, past 7 street vendors selling mostly light up novelties, through the lines in front of the street “bars” we come to a security guard at the entrance of the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Casino where my drink is waiting for me. He is stopping anyone who doesn’t have a good reason, from going in. As we could tell from the people in front of us, “going to the bathroom” was not a good reason. Lucky for me, going in to get my drink qualified, and we got in.

We passed a couple of bars on our way. One was the Stripper Bar which has a giant old time “stripper” sign/statue that looks like Bob’s Big Boy’s slutty girlfriend. As we were walking by a little kid starting playing on one of the feet of the statue. It was totally innocent, but I can’t imagine the parents were too excited about it.

We found the Fresh Grill & Bar. I stood in the “alcohol” line and Tearei walked right up to order some food in the empty “food” line.  I had them fill my 36″ drink with a concoction they call “moonshine.” It was just a blended drink with orange & pineapple, and as I’d later find out, Everclear.  Tearei had a spicy chicken wrap and I had a cheeseburger.

The Miracle Mile of Shops goes in a big loop, so we decided to walk around the loop to get back to the front and go back out. The lighting for the inside of the Miracle Mile is really interesting. With clouds painted on the ceiling and the lights set to a certain level, it’s meant to give you the feeling of dusk. It’s pretty effective.

We stopped by a wishing well, where it “rains” every half hour. We waited a couple minutes to see the action. I was laughing at Tearei because she was so excited about videotaping the “rain.” As Oregonians how often do we get to see rain? :) I have to admit, the stuff they come up with is pretty neat though. If we are here a month I might actually miss the rain and go check it out again when I’m home sick.

By the time we got around the circle of shops, I had almost finished my drink, so I decided to go back to get a refill. Tearei waited outside, as she was getting hot. I got my refill, met back up with Tearei outside, and headed back down the strip.

We stopped into a candy shop called Sugar. It was crazy busy in there, and they didn’t seem to have lines. There were about 6 of them making milkshakes behind the counter and whoever wormed their way up to the front to ask for something got it. It was odd, but actually seemed to be working pretty good as far as getting a lot of milkshakes and hot chocolate sold. Tearei got a milkshake and we headed out.

As we were walking back up the strip, we had to kind of shove our way through this giant line of people, waiting to order drinks. As we were heading west, a group of people is shoving their way, single file, coming east. The guy at the front says, “OK everyone hold hands,” and they did so the could drag each other through the crowd. The guy at the front was my favorite Poker Player, Daniel Negreanu. I was bummed that I couldn’t get to him and get a picture with him or something.

It’s about 10:30pm and we start to contemplate if we should just watch the fireworks from our hotel parking lot. Both of us had sore feet from walking/standing on the cement.

Instead, we ducked into the part of Bally’s with the little restaurants. Here we were able to sit for a bit and rest our aching dogs. While siting and resting we saw Danielle from the CBS reality show, Big Brother. Ironically, it would have been super easy to go get an autograph/picture with her, but neither of us were too interested. It’s fun to see people in real life that you have only seen on TV, though.

We hung out for about an hour and then went back outside. We decided to go back to our van, and watch the fireworks from the van. This way we could beat the crowds leaving and get back at a reasonable hour. We sat and watched the fireworks for about 5 minutes (it was an eight minute show) and people were heading to the parking lot so we went ahead and took off.

The fireworks were pretty impressive. They lit off the same show over 4-5 different casinos simultaneously. While the shear volume and kinds of fireworks were more and better than I’ve seen before. I found the show to be a bit mechanical. It was just one after another. I didn’t realize how important the pauses are within a fireworks show. Music makes it better too. All and all I like the one they have on 4th of July in Seaside, OR. Here they probably lit off as many fireworks in 8 minutes, as the Seaside show has in 20-30 minutes, but it’s just not as good a show without the pauses. Of course this one wasn’t a 4th of July show, so who knows what they do for that.

We got home in about 5 minutes, and both crashed pretty quickly.

 

Watch out world, here we come!

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What more could you ask for as a New Year’s resolution than to travel the world for an undetermined amount of time? Aside from marriage, kids, and other life-changing events, I cannot think of anything better.

After nearly two *very* successful years of flirting with living the location independent lifestyle, we’re 100% sans home and ready to go!  Less than an hour now we’ll be able to count ourselves among the growing niche of modern-day nomads.   Our first destination – Vegas, Welcome to Las Vegas signbaby!  Normally our New Year’s midnight tradition consists of Justin working while I have long since fallen asleep.  This year we’ll be right in the thick of at all at the Fremont Street Experience, complete with cheesy 80′s tribute bands, fireworks, and quite a bit more, I’d imagine.  Although we could have spent $100′s of dollars to party with big “stars” like Kim Kardashian or Pauly D, we’re going to pass and go for a much more humble event :)

Neither of us has been to Las Vegas before, I have a feeling we’re in for an amazing time.

For those of you who have spent time in Sin City before, what were some of your favorite things to do?

Where do we go now?

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Usually I like to write outdoors, or at least in my “mobile” work station (our car), however it’s a brisk 30ish degrees (F) outside this morning, but the clear blue skies are just beautiful. So instead, I am safely tucked in the warmth of our room, which has been our home away from home for the past week. As a trial run, to say this was a success would be an understatement. Away from the many things at home that seem to dilute our focus, we’ve been getting higher-quality, higher-impact work done, more miles per gallon, if you will. Not that I don’t love those little time killers, but when don’t leave the house for a traditional work shift – whether it’s for someone else or yourself – it’s easy to lose track of time in household chores, phone calls, errands, etc.

Personally, I have been able to invoice out nearly as much this week as I did for the entire month of October. Justin has been busy making connections, befriending the local innkeeper and helping him with marketing ideas and such. Mostly we’ve enjoyed his stores, and I must tell you – if you need to stay Pendleton, Oregon for any reason – this is the place. They have done more for us than I ever expected a motel to do. Ask for Gordon if you do stay, head down after dinner and he’ll chat you up over some fresh-baked cookies & milk, or for the more adventurous, a nice drop of Whiskey. Truly a great guy. I miss my family terribly, but its experiences like these that I know make this journey worth it. Not only will I become a better person in the end, but I’ll have my own stories to share with generations to come.

So my question remains – where do we go now? Obviously late fall/early winter is not the ideal time for a road trip, however the holiday season usually requires your presence at various family gatherings (to eat, of course!), and this may be our chance to visit some of places I have always wanted to near Christmastime. Leavenworth, Washington has always been high on my list, as have places like Aspen, Colorado, Whistler, BC and other towns that seem to put on quite a show for the holidays. Since I come from an area known for rain, rain and more rain – the postcard perfect snowy Christmas is not something I get to see.

Ideas? Suggestions? I’d love to hear them…today is “moving day” and we still haven’t decided what is next for us. That is the true joy of being location independent.