Traveling Fool

This trip got off to a very precarious and nerve-wracking start with a horrible ice storm that had me very worried I wasn't going to make it to the airport in time. Three re-routings later and my terrific Lyft driver, Tom, got me to the departures and the rest was up to me and the good folks at Delta. Seriously, if you could have seen the mass of people just waiting to check their baggage...in the Sky Priority line you might have cried. I know, because I was. I thank my indulgent attitude when I booked my Delta Premium ticket that got me Sky Priority and that I also obtained Global Entry/TSA pre-check. I zoomed through to my gate, and then we waited some more, because the ice had delayed a couple of crew members, then we sat on the runway to get de-iced (not complaining about that part at all), and then we were off, Tokyo-bound. We left on Saturday and landed around 3:30 pm on Sunday, thanks to the good old International Date Line. It's always a little disorienting landing in...

I would not say I'm a nervous traveler or flyer; I'm not sure I could do the trips I do if I was. I think I have become a planner, however, and I woke up this morning (mere days away from departure) freaking out because I couldn't remember if I needed visas for Japan or S. Korea. Okay, "freaking out" is a bit dramatic, but I did have a bit of a heart flutter until I re-confirmed that I do NOT need visas for those countries. Now, in case you're thinking, um, hey dummy, shouldn't you have looked into that a little while ago? I did, and in fact, got my Chinese visa back in August, so I did do my homework, but it typifies the waves of panic I've had over the past few weeks. This panic has resulted in many online purchases. I knew I was going to a cold place; Harbin is called "Ice City" and all the literature stressed the negative temperatures; I was fine with that, blasé, you might say, UNTIL I realized that I might be fine, but my camera might...

This time last year, I was in Iceland. I haven't been sitting around, I was England for a week in March and since then I have been busily planning my next big trip: two weeks in Asia. The main impetus for the trip is the Winter and Ice Festival in Harbin, China. Someone asked why I wasn't going in the summer...um, because it's the winter festival? Since I was headed in that direction, I added on stops to Tokyo and Seoul. It has been an education planning for these destinations because I'm not as familiar with those cities as I am with others, but it's also exciting. I'm not sure my allotted days are going to be enough, but I'll try and pack in what I can and make notes for the next time. I hadn't given much thought to the potential language issues, until a friend asked if I was worried. Er, I wasn't until you mentioned it. I guess I figure I'll make it work; the cities are pretty safe and with my winning personality and research, I'll be fine...

"And the Mississippi's mighty But it starts in Minnesota At a place that you could walk across With five steps down" Ghost by Emily Saliers, Indigo Girls In what has become another one of my annual traditions with one of my pals, the famous TB2, we headed out on another trek to discover the unknown, the hidden, the passed by and the overlooked. Along the way, one of us laughed so hard she started crying. We start out with an end goal and then we research what fun things might be found along the way. Your definition of fun and our definition of fun may be very different. You can see what we thought was fun on our route to and from the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Long Prairie, Todd County - Veterans Memorial Park This is a small corner lot turned into a Veterans Memorial Park, with a tribute to the Battle of Iwo Jima, but also veterans of the Korean War, Vietnam War and the more recent Gulf Wars. There is a lot of history packed into this little park. The...

I went home recently to The Land, the 216 or, as I like to call it, Cleveland, to see family and catch some All Star fever. Sadly, I didn't have tickets to any of the actual competitions (one brother did go to the Home Run Derby), but I did go to the activities at the Convention Center, and it was terrific. I think the whole block around the Convention Center was blocked off to traffic, which was nice, and there were a lot of free things to do outside, and a ticket was required to go inside (vendors, autographs, exhibits). The weather was gorgeous, the city looked fabulous and people seemed to be having a lot of fun. It was so cool to see people from all over the country enjoying my hometown. Rock and Roll and baseball - Fender guitars and bats representing all the teams. He's a goofball, but he's mine. Equal time for my home teams - Twins and Indians   Negro Leagues Exhibit   Got to meet some of these ladies ...