Traveller

Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin Inspiration from movies As a child, I loved watching the big colorful movies set on location or on the lavish sets of the 1950's and early 60's. This was the era of Singing in the Rain, It's a Mad Mad Mad World and Lawrence of Arabia . One of my favorite movies was Around the World in 80 Days , starring David Niven, a favorite actor of mine. Armchair Travel Now more than ever, having the funds or work opportunity to travel abroad is difficult to come by. Just keeping a roof over our heads is difficult, so for many the only chance to "travel" is by reading a great book. An author that captured my attention in school was Jules Verne. The Mysterious Island was a huge favorite as was character, Captain Nemo. Coming from a family who migrated from Maine to Washington State and included many merchant seamen, I loved mysterious ship captains and the hard work of a ship hand. The Monty Python Angle At first glance, I would ...

A Prayer in Spring by Robert Frost OH, give us pleasure in the flowers today; And give us not to think so far away As the uncertain harvest; keep us here All simply in the springing of the year. Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white, Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night; And make us happy in the happy bees, The swarm dilating round the perfect trees. And make us happy in the darting bird That suddenly above the bees is heard, The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill, And off a blossom in mid air stands still. For this is love and nothing else is love, To which it is reserved for God above To sanctify to what far ends he will, But which it only needs that we fulfill. Optimism

Today started another wonderful writing relationship for me with a great website called Tonic.com. Here is a little of what they are about: Tonic makes it easy for people to do good things. The definition of Tonic is “anything morally, mentally, or physically inspiring” and we think it’s a good name for us! We are a media company focused on the good that happens each day in neighborhoods all around the world. Our world is defined by a philosophy that people want to matter and make a difference instead of being defined by age, race, income, gender or geography. One twist about us is that most media companies are typically sustained through advertising dollars, but instead we decided to create an online store filled with products that do something good for the world. Each product has a social benefit, either through how it’s made or some portion of the sale price being donated to charity. Since Tonic is committed to complete transparency, we will publish how much we have donated to v...

The biggest gift last year for our household was the 3G iPhone and it has been a huge success ever since. We have used it for so many tasks and it saved our bacon when we needed to find a restaurant after we made a wrong turn due to some construction in the road. Being a traveller, a cool notion is how to best use this great invention to make the process a little easier so the enjoyment is higher....and so my first step was Apple Web Apps for Travel Here are some of the new and cool applications for travellers that could make it to my iPhone soon. Getting help with foreign language when traveling is always helpful – my French is decent and my Japanese will get me to a hotel but that is about it. The Roadtrippr looks really interesting because visiting spots off the beaten path is right up my alley – and with the upgrade of international countries I’m sold. Because Facebook is all the rage these days along with Twitter – Travel Buddies on the go could be a great addition. A friend of mi...

Where I find beauty in San Francisco...leave yours in the comments section. Riding the cable car from Powell Street through Union Square up to Nob Hill and beyond, dropping off locals along the way Walking through Chinatown and stopping to buy steamed buns in a tiny shop on Jackson Street Sitting at a window in Cafe Greco on Columbus Street sipping a cappuccino Sharing a Molinari Deli sandwich - with everything on it - on a big blanket in Washington Square Park then sipping a cappuccino at Mario's Staring at the view of the Hyde Street Pier from the end of Larkin Street Walking along the Embarcadero towards the Bay Bridge and the downtown ballpark Looking at the Golden Gate Bridge from the trail hidden on the western slope Walking up the Lyon Street Steps slowly while ogling the mansions at the top of Broadway Driving inside the Presidio and enjoying the new Vista spots that have killer views of the bay Riding my bike along Crissy Field and watching the windsurfers Sitting on a be...

It sure looks like the poor exchange rate for my dollar is going to be lasting longer than I thought. Which is depressing because it is so fun when travel bargains are found. Will this stop me from traveling? I'm not sure to be honest but probably not. Getting out and about is a huge priority for me, even if it is just out into my community - though further afield would bring me closer to my dream destinations of New Zealand, Iceland and India , to name a few. Recently the urge to get on a plane has been high. With a friend's recent wedding and honeymoon in Dubai, the Maldives and India, the travel bug settled into my bloodstream. Seeing the cute kids win for Slumdog Millionaire furthered my descent into currency exchange math - which I am not so good at. Cue the headache commercial... Is it responsible to charge the cost of a trip or should we move to the habits of our parent's and grandparent's generations, waiting until we have the cash, then travel or spend our mo...

This book is from the 2007 UC Berkeley Summer Reading List whose theme was Survival! It’s described to students as "…a harrowing tale of survival" and "…an important and fascinating description of the Amazon ecosystem, which as we now know is an important link in our survival." There are so many current issues facing the world today that impact our very survival. Our environment is being damaged. American children have little or no understanding of America. They can name one of the American Idol judges but cannot name one of the three branches of government. The author - a former National Geographic writer – puts together a descriptive story that is equal parts travel diary and American History. The River of Doubt carries you through the process of putting an expedition together in 1913 that involves a very popular US president and his son. Given their stature, you get an incredible feel for the amount details involved, the number of favors given and the emotiona...

Divi Resorts is giving away a chance to explore the Caribbean with a free 7 night stay in one of their exclusive island getaways. At Divi Resorts, the Caribbean is not just a destination, it’s the destination. We invite you to explore our collection of colorful Caribbean resorts located on the magnificent islands of Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, St Croix, and St Maarten. Each resort offers spacious vacation suites and hotel rooms along some of the islands best beaches- all with your choice of amenities. Entrants will have to upload a creative photo of themselves waving goodbye to winter. That's the only rule, everything else is up to your imagination! If you are tired of ice storms, slippery wet roads or shoveling snow, get a photo of yourself waving goodbye to the cold and dreary winter. Wave goodbye to winter and then say hello to a relaxing stay in a gorgeous resort in the Caribbean! The contest ends April 15 so stop by now and check out the full details at IF.Net (Photo credit...