When Rick and I started telling people about our plans to visit Egypt, their first reaction was generally, “Wow, aren’t you scared?” followed by, “That’s on my Bucket List. I’d love to go there.” We’re on a scouting trip for two new TV shows that Rick will do on Egypt. While he’s been here twiceContinue reading “Welcome in Cairo!”
Category Archives: Travel Tips & Skills
A Star-struck Traveler
In the previous article, I shared what it was like to be at a travel show. But I left out one really fun thing: meeting travel celebrities. I admit that I get star-struck pretty easily. Sometimes my neck gets sweaty, my heart feels like my body must be doing a 100-yard dash, and my earsContinue reading “A Star-struck Traveler”
Before You Travel, Why Not Check Out a Travel Show?
When you think of winter, you might imagine trees enveloped in velvety white snow, marshmallows slowly dissolving in molten hot chocolate, scarves wrapped twice around the neck in defiance of the wind, or the crackle of reds, yellows, and oranges in a just-what-I-needed fireplace. Lately, when I think of winter, I picture immense convention centerContinue reading “Before You Travel, Why Not Check Out a Travel Show?”
Iditarod: The Official Start
As Rick Steves’ sister, Jan Steves (with her team of sixteen canine companions) mushes her way through the snow-blanketed Alaskan wilderness of her second Iditarod Trail Race, I’m wrapping up my three-part series on my behind-the-scenes perspective on what it was like last year at her debut in the “Last Great Race on Earth.” TheContinue reading “Iditarod: The Official Start”
Mayhem and Courtesy in Chicago
Tribal beats of ancient druid drums thumped and reverberated in my chest, and the ringing in my ears seemed to be in perfect pitch with the wailing music. Flashes of colored light hauntingly illuminated the gathering of devotees who swayed and swarmed in feverish rapture. I had never been to such a gathering, and myContinue reading “Mayhem and Courtesy in Chicago”
For Love of Country
Cramped in a middle seat, in the middle of a plane that screams its way across the country, traveling east to west from Washington D.C. to “the other Washington”, I find myself in the warm company of happy Democrats. Across the aisle are the Governor and First Lady of my state. Six rows up isContinue reading “For Love of Country”
From Travel Idiot to Travelphile: One Woman’s “Travelution”
With the start of a new year, many people take stock of their life in the last twelve months: choices made, goals achieved, promises broken, dreams unfulfilled. In optimistic form, resolutions are made in the hopes of making this year even better than the last. In a similar vein, I’ve been thinking about my travelContinue reading “From Travel Idiot to Travelphile: One Woman’s “Travelution””
It Takes A Village And Then Some
This might have been the lightest I’ve ever packed. Two pairs of lightweight cargo pants, one pair of leggings, two well-worn long-sleeve shirts, one short-sleeve, two tank tops, a sweatshirt, my jammies, my tennies, my undergarments, and my toiletries would be more than enough to get me through a week of construction work in Tijuana. Continue reading “It Takes A Village And Then Some”
Volunteering in Tijuana: Lessons in Gratitude
Life is good. While many complain, gobble up the spoon-fed fear from media outlets, and blame the other side for everything wrong in our society, traveling makes it clear: we have it good in the USA. That’s not to discount real problems that affect individuals like unemployment, lack of healthcare, poverty, and hunger. Those areContinue reading “Volunteering in Tijuana: Lessons in Gratitude”
Tijuana: Impressions Confirmed and Shattered
When people ask me what I do, I often find myself wincing on the inside before responding. It can be a loaded question, depending on who is asking the question and what the circumstances are. For nearly fifteen years, my answer was simple: I’m a Spanish and Dance teacher at Carlsbad High School. My standardContinue reading “Tijuana: Impressions Confirmed and Shattered”