On A Roll With Travel Planning

 On A Roll With Travel Planning

I am curious if others do what I tend to do while traveling, which is to make even more travel plans. I feel inspired when we are in the midst of a trip, and it very often results in even more ideas on what to do next. Which is the theme of this post.

The Remainder of 2026

In a few weeks we will be leaving for a one week Coastal Cruise with my mother and my spouse's sister. This will be the first cruise for them both, and we are feeling very excited based on their respective excitement. It's been really sweet to experience their growing excitement about what awaits. 

The cruise will visit Ensenada, Mexico, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco. We have fun tours already booked through the ship to enjoy a beautiful hacienda in Mexico, a harbor cruise in San Diego, an open trolley tour in Santa Barbara, and a shuttle tour in San Francisco that will take us over the Golden Gate Bridge, among other stops. 

We tailored our list of activities to accommodate my 80+ year old mother's needs, plus my own stress level. It makes things very simple to leave the driving, literally, to the cruise line, vs doing everything on our own, when attempting to accommodate two elderly travelers who are not seasoned. 

The weather should be lovely along our southern and central California coastline in early November, and thus our cabin connecting balconies should see much use.

Otherwise, we'll be traveling to the Santa Ynez wine country with our wine club, and spending Christmas in Tennessee with our daughter and family, before flying down to South Florida for a New Year's Western Caribbean cruise.

In 2027 our 'big rock' trip will be a two week cruise through New England in the fall, that will begin with a week on our own in Montreal, Canada and conclude in NYC, where we'll spend another week on our own before flying back home. 

In 2028 our 'big rock' trip will be a four week cruise that begins in Amsterdam and ends in Boston. Included on the itinerary are the fjords of Norway, the Shetland Islands of Scotland, a full circumnavigation of Iceland, three ports in Greenland, and a variety of French territory islands and Canada maritime provinces. 

In 2029, depending on how my aging parents are doing at that point, we are looking at doing a four week cruise of Eastern Asia that begins in Indonesia and ends in Japan.

In 2030, I am wrapping my head around doing, finally, for my long-asking spouse, a gynormous trip to S. Africa and surrounding to see what are called 'The Big Five' - lions, leopards, rhinoceros, elephants, and Cape buffalo. plus, hopefully, giraffe and zebra.

Neither of the later two are yet etched in stone, but given that we would most definitely fly Business Class given the distances, they may each use up the majority of their respective year's travel allocations, so I want to remain aware of them now.

Monday Musings - Hot Hot Hot

 

Monday Musings - Hot Hot Hot

Every so often, based on memory and historical records, we get hot, hot, hot here along coastal Southern California. And hot, hot, hot we are currently, with temps of 90+ degrees even along the beach. Thus our walks over the weekend occurred early, and on one day we actually dropped a car at the beach in order to avoid even the slightest of uphills on the return trip to the house.

We have another few days to go, during which we'll confine workouts to our air conditioned gym. We should be released from heat jail by Thursday, yeah.

Other than the heat, the weekend was lovely. We're still battling through jet lag, but moving in the right direction with it. I fell asleep at 8:00 PM last night, waking at 2:45 AM this morning, but that's an improvement from the last two nights (Midnight, then 2:00 AM respectively). Nicely, thankfully, our next trip over to Europe will start off with an abrupt nine hour adjustment, but our return back to the US- eastern time zone will be leisurely via a cruise.

I left our schedule open the first two days after our return home because I knew our sleep would be wonky. Yesterday, day three, I had a volunteer event in the AM, and a musical live event in the afternoon, followed by dinner out.

Today I have, joy of joys, a mammo in the AM, and then I'm taking my mother to lunch for a deferred birthday celebration at a lovely coastal restaurant with air conditioning. Even right at the beach is too hot right now, so indoors for lunch it is, but hopefully at an ocean view table.

Dinner back here will be teriyaki marinated salmon, rice, and green beans, so very easy.

Oh, and I returned home one pound lighter than when I left, which was great. We enjoyed the local cuisine - fish n chips, salmon, hake, haddock, haggis(!), soups and bread of all types, scones, cottage pie, and apple pie with warm custard (I limited myself to just a few bites of my spouse's pie),  and thus I wasn't 100% certain I'd held, even though the travel shorts I tried on each morning during our trip indicated I had.

Oh, and if you've been reading that our coastlines have lost much of their sand, that would be correct. It will return eventually (this is not the first time this has occurred) but this is what low tide (low tide mind you!) looked like yesterday at one of the beaches we frequent during our walks.

Business Class- It Really Is All That!

Business Class- It Really Is All That!

I am writing this under the influence of our Business class flight return from Dublin, Ireland. We've only been in the air for 90 minutes, but I have already been provided with champagne and had it refilled twice, selected my three course dinner meal from a generous menu, been provided with hot towels to clean our hands before dinner, had my metal seat meal tray set up for me, then covered with a clean towel, and been provided with a code for free wifi for the duration of the trip. And this after spending two hours in the Business Class lounge pre-flight, where we ate and drank and relaxed to our heart's desire, at no additional cost.

This has already been a game changer, even before making up our lay-flat beds to go to sleep on later this evening.

Truly, it feels like heaven. 

There are several far-flung places in the world where my spouse wants to travel, primarily South Africa and it's surrounding countries, and also to India. Due to the challenges of the flight lengths for both destinations, I have been very, very resistant. But, with what I'm experiencing with this flight's comfort and luxuries, I can already see myself potentially changing my mind. Because it really is that significantly elevated from the flying experiences we've had previously, including our flight over to Scotland just a few weeks ago.

In my younger years I would not have been willing to spend for Business class seats. I would have wanted to use that extra money for more travel, not more comfort. Because I really didn't need much additional comfort in my younger years.

But, I do now, a result of increased anxiety that is most certainly a result of being older. So, if the choice is to either give up traveling due to increased stress, or instead attempt to minimize the stress by taking fewer but more luxurious trips, I think I'm increasingly in the camp of the later.

And so thankful to even have this as an option.

Our 'resting lounge' at Dublin airport, prior to boarding our flight.

What appeared within moments of my spouse and I taking our side by side seats on the plane.

What next appeared, along with refills to my champagne glass above.

My dinner starters: cold salmon, and salad, and rolls. In my case, this was my entire meal at my request, as I could have added an entree (second course) and dessert (third course) if I wished.

Business class amenities and staffing: We have two restrooms and four flight attendants for 21 people, the entirety of the business class section of the airplane we're on. And there is also a mini snack area we can select from at any time.

The other thing both my spouse and I are noticing is how quickly the flight time is going by. Perhaps because we are so very relaxed?

It's incredibly wonderful, and my expectations have been wildly exceeded already, with much still to come - like lay-flat beds!

So, I'm thinking flying Business Class is going to quickly become identical to how we feel about cruising. That being that if we can't afford a cabin with a balcony, then we'd simply rather stay home.

Quite the game changer for me, and by proxy, for my husband. 

A Snapshot Of Our Tour

 A Snapshot Of Our Tour

After six days on our own in Philadelphia and five days on our own in Edinburgh, Scotland, we are now on the tour-led portion of our trip, and I'm feeling like I barely have time enough to shower, much less blog. But, I thought it might be fun to post over from the private blog I keep of our travels, in order to provide a glimpse of what just two days of our current tour of the British Isles is like. We're having a fantastic time, even if we're currently exhausted . . . but it's a good exhaustion! 😃

Snapshot Of Our Tour:

Day 1 - Our group of 20 happy travelers, plus our tour guide, got going right after breakfast for a full day of scenic driving around the Isle of Skye, said to be the most scenic of the Scottish Highland isles.

From our tour itinerary for the day:

Enter onto Isle of Skye via the scenic Skye Bridge, and onto a 50-mile long fusion of velvety moors, angular mountains, quaint villages, and historic castles.

Later in the drive visit Loch Ness, one of the most storied sites in all of Scotland, home of the fabled Loch Ness monster. 

Our first stop was the town of Partee, where we enjoyed both lunch and the town's scenic seaside pastel houses:

Some of Partee's vintage British phone booths, now repurposed into anything but!

Eilean Donan Castle, the most photographed castle in Scotland:

At Loch Ness, searching for the elusive ‘Nessie’:

Day 2- We departed for Glasgow, largest city in Scotland. Enroute was really fun, however. We drove through the beautiful Glencoe Valley, enjoyed a scenic boat ride on the largest loch in Scotland, Loch Lomond, and stopped by almost 200 year old Glengoyne Whiskey Distillery to sample and learn how Scottish whiskey is made.

From our tour itinerary for the day:

Today's journey travels past Ben Nevis, Scotland's mighty mountains, and the Glencoe Valley with its glimmering lakes and dense forests. Arrive on the 'bonnie banks' of Loch Lomand, the largest freshwater lake in the UK, located within Trossachs, Scotland's first national park. Tour a whiskey distillery to learn about the art of Scotch Whiskey making and enjoy tastings of several varieties. In the late afternoon,  arrive in Glasgow, Scotland.

At the Three Sisters Mountain view spot in Trossachs National Park:

One of the hotels we sailed past during our cruise along Loch Lomond is used by hikers traversing Scotlands famed 96 mile West Highland Way, one of the hikes on my lengthy bucket list. And which explained why we saw so many hikers along the loch's scenic shoreline.

Our stop at Glengoyne Distillery was as fun as it was interesting. And where we learned that the first sip of whiskey is really just the beginning of one's whiskey journey. I.e., don't judge a whiskey by the first sip. The first sip generally burns, so the second sip is the real 'tell':

We really are having a fabulous time, and could never do or see as much as we are if doing this on our own, which is what we most appreciate about doing tours. We're in Glasgow, Scotland today, then tomorrow we set sail for Belfast, Northern Ireland, via ferry boat and the Irish Sea. 

Hope all is well for you all wherever you may be, and whatever you may be up to!

We're In Scotland!

  We're In Scotland!

After six very interesting days in Philadelphia, then a quick 6 hour redeye flight, we arrived in Scotland by way of historic, charming Edinburgh.

Our plan for the day was to just keep moving so we didn’t succumb to jet lag! We dropped our luggage at our hotel, and got going.

We primarily followed Rick Steves' Royal Mile walking tour, seeing interesting sight after sight.

From a 1600’s lodging house we visited, Gladstone's Land, and still rules to live by!

We enjoyed our lunch at Deacon Brodie’s tavern, thought to be the basis for Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, Jekyll & Hyde. Deacon Brodie ran a respectable inn by day, and brutalized and stole from hapless travelers by night!

The street below, Victoria Street, was beyond charming, and thought to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley in Harry Potter.

St. Giles Cathedral, below, the most historic church in Edinburgh, dating back to the 1100's, if not earlier-

All in all, a fantastic first day in the British Isles!

Wednesday Wellness - September Week #2

Wednesday Wellness - September Week #2

I'm heading off to the British Isles shortly, where in place of my scale, I'll be relying on my trusty travel shorts. They've gone all over the world with me, for no other reason than to act as a stand-in scale. I try them on each morning of any traveling we do, and can tell immediately by their fit, if I'm up, down, or holding steady.

Weight:

- Goal: Continue to remain within my maintenance range of 108 - 110 pounds.

• Weekly weigh in: 108.8. Following my food plan each day is becoming increasingly easier as I continue to strengthen my brain-muscle. I'm not perfect - I still have the occasional slip day - but I get right back on track, and that appears to be much more important in continuing to maintain my 2025 weight loss.

What I wore to a recent Club dance.
I enjoy putting outfits together to wear to our various social events.
Clothing is really my only vice. 
Well, that and coffee. 😀

Fitness:

- Goal: Do cardiovascular movement five days out of seven. 

• Weekly results: 
• I walked a total of 28 miles over 6 out of 7 days. My anxieties have kicked up a bit this week, a result of stressing over the details of our upcoming travels, and my daily walks help immensely to calm my travel-frenetic brain.

- Goal: Do strength training at the gym three days each week.

• Weekly results:
• Did strength training at the gym 0 times. Will focus on getting there a minimum of two times a week immediately upon our return from our upcoming travels.

- Goal: Do planking, squats, and push ups daily at home, track progress.

• Weekly results:
• Began to incorporate all three into my morning routine, for a success rate of four out of four (began, finally, this past Sunday).

Water:

- Goal: Consistently consume four glasses a day.

• Weekly results: Continuing to average between 2 - 3 glasses a day. I am, however, now consciously thinking about water consumption, particularly during meals and workouts, which is a significant improvement.

Long Range Goal:

- Goal: Find a long distance event to sign up and train for. 

• Completed previously - A 10k (6.2 miles) Thanksgiving Day run. Formal training to commence in early October, following this 8 week Hal Higdon plan.

--------------------------------------------

I'll resume my Wednesday Wellness posts after returning from our travels. I intend to continuing posting my Friday Five though, likely with a good amount of photos!

Friday Five - Kicking Large Entities To The Curb

Friday Five - Kicking Large Entities To The Curb

I had a bit of an 'ah ha' this week, when I had to untangle a couple of problems that involved having to interact with large companies that had made it almost impossible to get to a live person. Going forward I'm going to be even more resolute about who and what I do business with.

Friday Five

1. I fought a corporate machine and won. A national gym brand closed their location closest to us, so in early 2025 we cancelled our membership and joined a locally run gym just up the street. Out of the blue, a renewal fee of $250 from the 2025 cancelled gym membership hit our credit card, which after almost two hours and multiple calls attempting to connect with the correct person by phone, was resolved in our favor and removed. 

Lesson learned: The moment an entity is provided with our credit card, they now can potentially jerk us around, and thus other than paying for a good or service on the spot, we will simply no longer do.

2. I eliminated every non essential auto-renew and auto-charge item in our budget, including to my spouse's religious entity of choice. After my unpleasant experience above, I went over our remaining renewing bills and my spouse has agreed that the only ones we will leaving in place going forward are for utilities and our HOA, because those are tied to documented ownership of our home.  I'm no longer giving up sole control of our financial life going forward, even if it saves us a few bucks. My time is more valuable that a few dollars saved here and there, not to mention lessening my stress level. Between phone trees, auto prompts, bots, and AI, having to make a phone call to a business is an increasingly awful ordeal.

3. Only businesses that have brick & mortar locations, and that answer their phone will get my business going forward. This includes online ordering as well. If they 'exist' in real life I'll continue to order, if they don't I won't.

Amaz*n has a presence at our local Wh°le Foods, and Targ#t and H^me Depot have stores here as well. So I'm well covered in spite of my new self-imposed requirement.

4. Sat outside for the first time in weeks. Our weather has taken a pleasant turn recently, with humidity dropping and coastal breezes returning, and we resumed our habit of sitting outside before dinner, sipping sparkling water while chatting and/or reading.

5. Booked a New Years cruise to the Caribbean. Since we'll be in Tennessee with our family for the Xmas holidays, we decided to add on a New Years cruise in that flying from Tennessee to Florida to do cruise is a short flight. We are cruising to the Western Caribbean, and have signed up for excursions that include close up encounters with dolphins, giant sea turtles, manatees, snorkling with 'gentle' sting rays, and a foodie tour. Excited.

------------------------------------------------------

Off shortly to enjoy an 8 mile beach walk with spouse, after which we'll share a well-earned burger. I wish you an enjoyable day as well, wherever you are.