After the September 11 attacks, airline travel was forever changed by new regulations and tightened security. To make things worse, in 2001 Richard Reid unsuccessfully tried to light a bomb hidden in his shoe on an American Airlines flight. The incident spurred a new rule requiring passengers to remove and screen their footwear. Then, in 2006, a plot was uncovered in...
“A goal not written is only a wish” Anonymous A fellow traveler and I were discussing upcoming trips and she proudly announced that she was going to be a passenger in a hot air balloon at the Albuquerque balloon festival. I had been there 2 years before and and it was amazing. We started comparing must-see lists and then she pulled out what looked...
I had just checked into the Grande Colonial La Jolla and everything seemed as normal as it could be. As I turned toward the elevator, the man at the desk stopped me. “You don’t want to forget this” he’s said as he passed a small attaché case across the counter. “it’s your ghost hunter kit. It comes with the ‘special rooms’.” I’d played a ghost hunter in a small...
I’m sure we’ve all been in a similar situation. You’re in the country of Belarus, hanging out with the daughter (you’ve never met) of a former girlfriend, who lives in Dubai, when you get invited by the daughter’s high school friend to visit his parents and try their Russian sauna. Sound familiar? Like I said, pretty normal stuff if you’re a globetrotter used to...
The church looked awfully busy for a Wednesday afternoon. As I walked through the double doors, I immediately noticed there was something a little different about this house of worship. The pews had been replaced by tables and the altar was adorned with giant beer tanks. The stained glass windows and other church decor had been left intact when the building had been...
I’ve been to Vegas a lot of times. I’ve never considered myself a high roller except maybe by third world country standards. I’ve never flown to Sin City by helicopter, had afternoon tea with Steve Wynn or played blackjack in the high stakes room. I normally stay in whatever hotel I get on sale, run down to Fremont street at some point and see a...
I hear this phrase a lot: “They don’t like Americans over there”. Usually the person saying it is an American and has never been “there” or anywhere else for that matter. The world is easier to understand if you make assumptions and base opinions on what you thought you saw or read somewhere. Just apply the principles from what you learned in cartoons: The bad...
To be honest, Minneapolis wasn’t high on my travel list until I came across a Spirit Airlines promotion that seemed to good to be true. From Houston, the round trip fare was $46. I can’t even get an Uber to the airport for that. I tweeted the deal and asked my friends and followers if there was anything worthwhile to do there. The response was fast and...
When you think of Jamaica, you’re likely to conjure up a mental picture of Bob Marley before you think of anything else. There’s no other country in the world where one musician seems to represent the embodiment of an entire culture like Marley is to Jamaica. The dreadlocks, the red/green/yellow color scheme seems sooooo Jamaican. But is it...
First Avenue Night Club in Minneapolis was starting to fill up. I sat on the end of the bar sipping a Purple Rain, a drink made famous by the 1984 Prince movie filmed in this legendary venue. Whether Prince ever drank one himself remains a mystery, but as I sipped my violet colored libation, I had to smile. I was going to visit Paisley Park the next...