We just returned from a trip to Northern California and Lake Tahoe. One of my favorite things about travel is that you get to share the adventure! There are a couple more posts to come. Maybe the upcoming weekend will provide you with stories to tell…
Hubs and I have traveled to a conference last week at Lake Tahoe. Not the Lake Tahoe that everyone thinks about when they say they are going to Tahoe. That would be the community of South Lake Tahoe that sits right on the Nevada-California border.
This conference was at the north shore of Lake Tahoe at Incline Village. While it is still as exorbitant and expensive as the other Tahoe, it does not have quite the level of commercialism that reigns supreme on the south shore.
While we were there, the weather fluctuated from sunny and calm, to downright windy, and even included some snow flurries. When it’s windy like that, the lake looks more like the ocean than an inland lake at 6200 feet.
Our stay brought us to the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino in Incline Village, NV. We were greeted by these three bears and a glass of champagne. What could be bad about that?
And the resort has all of the high end amenities you’d expect of a Four Diamond Resort. Heated pools and hot tubs, fancy schmancy spa, fire pit, gift shop and sports shop, and several restaurants and cafes where I spent too much money and ate too much. And because you are in Nevada, you can also indulge in games of chance in a well-appointed casino, um, and have a cocktail or two (or three) in one of several lounge areas.
I’d have to say that if you are going to hang out with a spouse at a conference, overall, this was not a bad place at which to do it!
Happy Friday! The weather is beautiful and I’m starting to feel some wanderlust coming on again! Hope the weekend takes you somewhere with someone you love!
When you explore St. Kitts, especially if you arrive via cruise ship, the first thing you encounter is the monkey peddlers. Here’s the warning: They will want to take your picture (Their monkeys, your camera). Not a bad thing, a guy’s gotta make a living, right…but if you want to hold a monkey, as I did, be sure to negotiate your terms in advance!
As you wander into town, away from the cruise terminal, you will come across Independence Park. Notice the old stone buildings, where slaves were once held prior to being sold in the slave trade. And if you are lucky, like we were, beautiful bougainvillea will be in bloom.
Across from the park sits the Immaculate Conception Co-Cathedral Catholic Church. This cool and stately church, flanked by palms at the front entrance, welcomes all travelers and is beautiful in its simplicity.
Also on the park is the Gallery Café, a gem not to be missed. Enjoy the art, but be sure to wander all the way to the back, for a brunch snack and a little rest in the quaint garden seating area.
If you get an opportunity, hire someone to take you up to Romney Manor (originally owned by Thomas Jefferson’s great, great, great grandfather) and now the site of Caribelle Batik. If you are a fabric hound, as I am, watching these talented women draw in hot wax is not to be missed!
We barely scratched the surface of St. Kitts. After meeting some of her warm, friendly people, I can only hope that we get the opportunity to return someday!
While exploring the heart of St. Kitts, the hubs and I were fortunate to discover this little beauty. Always attracted by the pastel colors of the Caribbean buildings, add the two words “gallery” and “cafe”, and I’m so there.
Anyone who allows the street dog to snooze in the middle of the gallery floor is alright in my book. And Leah Cameron-Blake is just that type of person, and her Gallery Cafe is oh, so special. Open Mon. – Saturday, 10:00 – 4:00, the sign says: Sometimes a bit earlier, sometimes a bit later. (What’s not to love about that!) The lovely art offerings left me trying to figure out how to get them into my suitcase or ship some home. But when we ventured a little deeper inside, we discovered a cozy cafe counter, and a cool inviting outdoor seating area.
On top of that was our freshly made caramelized onion and goat cheese quiche, the pastry crust of which was so flaky and tender, it crumbled under my fork. And when Ms. Cameron-Blake brought out about a half dozen grapefruits and freshly squeezed them, hubs was in heaven, and, it was then that we knew this place was one of those hidden gems we seek when we travel.
I asked her permission to link to her Facebook page, but no one paid me for this endorsement. I just like to share the discoveries that delight us!
I recently posted this over on Encore Wanderings, but as I read through it again, felt how strongly it applies to the Encore Voyage and retirement in general…or, well, meaningful living in general!
A while ago, I had lunch with a good friend who recently returned from completing the nearly 500-mile pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain. In the course of the afternoon she shared her many experiences from the Camino. She told of blisters and pouring rain, of sleeping in rooms filled with snoring strangers, of not speaking the language yet learning how to order a beer. She told us about carrying stones from home, representing her burdens, and her opportunity to lay down those burdens at a cross along the way. She shared the struggle of a middle aged woman walking 8-12 miles per day, up and down hills, over the Pyrenees Mountains. She shared photos of centuries old churches, of stunning scenery and of quaint villages.
My friend was walking on behalf of those with autoimmune diseases, and carried with her a list of prayers which she burned at Finisterre (The ‘End of the World’). She started out with a true purpose in her heart – that she would walk the entire Way of St. James as a spiritual pilgrimage.
But what she learned along the way, and shared with the rest of us, struck a particularly meaningful chord:
As our afternoon drew to a close, I found that I was deeply touched by how my friend’s insights from the Camino apply to our Encore Voyage. Our longings for a minimalist way of life were proven valid by the few items she carried in her pack. Her accomplishment of that 500-mile journey, with its resulting fitness and friendships, confirms for me the things that are truly important in our retirement. One Day…One Adventure for me means living
Whenever you travel out of country, you start to read about all the precautions you need to take (or at least I did) regarding personal information and documents. Be sure to take this, pack that, make extra copies of this or that and keep them with you, or not with you, in your checked luggage, or not….
What’s a girl to do???? Sorta freaked me out a bit.
So I wanted to share a few tricks I’ve learned which involve some technology:
4. I have a page in One Note called, “When We Go.” That page contains a list of all the things I need to remember to do prior to our leaving, like arrange for mail pickup, stop the paper, pay the bills, vet requirements if the dog is going to the kennel, etc. Makes a quick getaway possible!
5. After I finish packing (or as I pack), I use my phone to photograph the contents of each bag, checked or carry-on. That way, if anything gets lost, I have a record for insurance purposes. I know that’s a little anal – but someday it’s going to save us!
6. Inside the checked luggage, put your contact information. We put a business card on top. Even better is the recommendation from fellow bloggers, Tim and JoAnne over at A Note From Abroad. They say to put a copy of your complete itinerary inside your luggage – That way it has some chance of catching up to where you are! Brilliant!
I do not put actual credit card numbers or any financial information into any cloud based documents. Perhaps I’m paranoid, but that’s just me. I’m also sure to take portable chargers with me, so I can keep everything up and running.
So there you have it. That’s how this voyager uses her digital tricks. If you have other technology travel packing tips that I haven’t thought of, please be sure to let me know in the comments! Anything to make wandering easier!
You ever look around and notice that it seems as if everyone else is doing more exciting things than you are? I have friends who have been on 4 or 5 cruises. Another couple has been to Italy, and yet another friend of mine just spent several weeks in Asia! My Facebook News Feed is loaded with my friends’ check-ins from places far and wide. Seems like this one is headed for Disney World with the kids, and that one is on a bicycle, riding through the Redwoods of California. I find myself thinking, “How are they doing that??
I don’t like to believe that this is just the green-eyed monster rearing her ugly head (and I really do have green eyes, just sayin’). I’m genuinely happy for all my friends’ adventures. But I sometimes find myself thinking, “How do they find the money?”, “How do they get away from work?”, “How are they able to do that with xxx going on?”
Jeremy and I have always had Our List, but until recently, we haven’t made a whole lot of progress in crossing the items off. I think that’s because, up until now, we have always seemed to approach the list with an attitude of “someday, we’ll…”
Well, DUH!!! It’s taken us almost four decades, but I think we’ve finally figured it out. In our effort to live with more intention, we have finally learned that meaningful living does not just happen by accident. If we wait for “someday”, it will never come. We have learned that if we want a rich, fulfilling lifestyle, then we need to
Here are some of the things we’ve learned on the Voyage:
1) Negotiate the next big thing – Pour yourself a couple glasses of wine and have the discussion about what you want to do next. Sometimes it’s his “thing”, sometimes it’s mine. Every time will involve compromises. We figure out ways to make certain that each of us will enjoy the journey. (For example, while we went to Chicago to explore its architecture, yours truly had a blast doing so on a Segway. I loved swimming with the stingrays – him, not so much!)
2) Mix it up – Not every pursuit needs to be a two-week vacation. We have started looking for little things that will enrich our day to day lives. In the past month, we have been to our local museum and to our local science center. We have a couple of picnics planned where we will put the dog and some munchies in the pickup, and head into our state’s beautiful mountains to explore roads we have not yet traveled. Big adventure or small day trip – both deserve to be planned.
3) Put it on your calendar – Ever notice how you never miss a dentist appointment or a haircut because it’s scheduled on your calendar or planner? We’ve learned that our adventures deserve the same amount of respect and planning. Next Saturday, we will head downtown to explore our local farmers’ market. It’s on the calendar – If it were not, I’m pretty sure laundry could get in the way.
4) Figure out how to budget – For some adventures, a little financial planning is in order. The point is to not adopt the notion of, “I’ll go when I can afford it.” If you do that, you’ll never, ever go. There will always be some other use for your money. That being said, you also don’t want travel to leave you in the poor house. You need to figure out some way to finance the adventure you have planned. Maybe it’s a dedicated travel fund to which you contribute regularly. Maybe it’s planning the trip enough in advance that you can save for it before you leave. For us, we booked the cruise and airline tickets enough in advance that they were paid for before we left, and had saved up for other expenses prior to our departure.
5) Do some research – The interwebs are our friends. Google your destination to find experiences that will add depth to the adventure. Remember how I mentioned above, SEGWAYS!!! Soooo much fun and something that would never have occurred to me had I not found them on-line. Which cruise to take was based on my research about the islands I wanted to visit.
6) Leave some time in the plan – This one is still quite difficult for me, as I like to go, go, go, go, go. What I have learned is that if you kill off your husband with the adventure, he is less likely to want to travel with you…(remember that compromise thing, well this is it.) And it’s not such a terrible idea. We found that leaving unplanned time allows for serendipitous discoveries, reading, writing, reflecting, or even just a plain old nap! Fight the urge to try to see everything and do everything. Be intentional about how you spend your vagabond moments.
7) Just book it – At the end of the day, the really important step is to commit to the journey. Put it on the calendar. Purchase the airline ticket. Book the hotel room. Whatever. If the adventure is somehow “booked”, with commitment and a plan, we will figure out how to work around it. We’ll take those vacation days. We’ll arrange other appointments around our plans. We’ll make it happen!
So starting right now, we’re busy deciding what NEXT adventure will be. Perhaps even the next couple of adventures! How about you? Are you planning your next wander? Then just pull the trigger and book it!
One of the things on Our List was to go on a zip line. Now, being the picky wife that I am, I told the hubs that I did NOT want him to take me 20 miles north of town, to one of our small local zip-lines which has been set up in conjunction with the ski area. NOPE – NOT ME!
I wanted to zip-line somewhere exotic! Somewhere where there was the possibility of seeing parrots or monkeys! We found the right place at Treetop Adventure Park in St. Lucia!
I do not know whether it was the 12 lines cut through the top of the lush forest canopy, the speed, the height, or the ridiculously fun demeanor of the guides – but I’m pretty sure this was my favorite part of our 10-day trip! The guides at TreeTop made even me, a confirmed chicken, soar through the trees like a hawk. (Our guide Melvin gave our group the nickname, “The Chicken Hawks!”) After the first line, there was nothing scary about it. See for yourself:
Nobody paid me to write this post. I just wanted to share one of the most stinkin’ fun things we did on our wandering!
I am a list maker. Always have been. When I was teaching, I would keep a stenographer’s notebook with lists of tasks which needed to be done. Then I would artfully use a variety of colored pens to color out the tasks as they were finished. A rainbow of accomplishment! Now I use an app on my phone, tablet and laptop which syncs together so many lists that they are categorized in folders and assigned to different days. Overall, my lists are so long that I will most likely never finish many of the tasks before they become unimportant – which is also OK. My lists are living, evolving things.
But there is one list which is near and dear to my heart. We keep it in the Notes section on my phone, and it is entitled simply,
Our List has evolved through many bottles of wine, over dinners, while taking walks, and even while driving along in the car. The rules for the list are quite simple: It is the place for storing our dreams that begin with, “I wanna…”
Our list is now a couple of pages long, and ranges from the silly to the sublime. It includes things like “eat in every not-yucky restaurant in our town” to “zip-line somewhere where there are monkeys or parrots.” Everything from “jet-boat through Hells Canyon” to “The Guggenheim Museum.”
Every so often, we pull out the list, talk through the items, and prioritize what we should try to do next. That’s when we sometimes negotiate, adding and deleting from the list as our wishes change. (I, for example, no longer feel the need to mountain bike down our local ski hill!) There has never been any pressure about trying to complete the list in any given amount of time. And we most certainly are not considering “kicking” anything! It’s just a way for us to record all of our ambitious and sometimes stupid ideas!
The beautiful thing about our list is our commitment to it. It’s not really a bucket list, but rather our shared journey list. In the bigger picture, it is about our desire to fulfill each other’s dreams, to voyage through life together, and to share our experiences. A little sappy, I know…But we are committed to spending the rest of our lives trying to cross things off Our List!
An Encore Voyage 