Traveler, writer, photographer, former wedding officiant, mother, friend, explorer and new Texian ... that's just a little about me!
When I am traveling and need to make my own flight arrangements, my criteria is fairly simple: I want to get to my destination quickly, using the most direct route I can find, and do so as inexpensively as possible.
While I prefer a window seat, I do not mind sitting on the aisle or, if necessary, in the middle seat. I hope that the passengers sitting near me have bathed recently (although not in perfume).
One of the highlights of our stay in Rotorua – in fact, one of the highlights of the trip! – was the evening we spent at the Tamaki Maori Village, where we participated in warrior-training games, were entertained by traditional song and dance, and enjoyed a Maori hangi feast!
I probably shouldn’t admit to having a favorite city on New Zealand’s North Island. Every place we visited was amazing, and having a “favorite” would be like admitting to having a favorite child. (Which I don’t, by the way!)
However, if I were only able to return to one North Island city, I would choose Rotorua.
Head over heels.
In love? Well, no.
Actually, it’s head-over-heels-over-head-over-heels, rolling down a grassy hill in a large inflatable plastic ball.
The ZORB!
As we journeyed south from Auckland to Rotorua, we stopped for lunch (and a little time for exploration) in the whimsical and charming town of Tirau, New Zealand.
“Tirau” is a Maori word meaning “many cabbage trees.”
Carrieanna recently returned from her very first cruise. It will not be her last!
She and her Aunt Vicki (a cruise veteran) took a seven-day trip to Alaska (the Alaska Tracy Arm Fjord Cruise) on the Celebrity Solstice. Along the way they stopped at Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway, as well as spending one evening at the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, BC.
The cruise included MS educational programs, accessible shore excursions and, of course, some amazing experiences — not to mention many photo opportunities!
I asked Carrieanna a few questions about her experience.
[A story, and another self-promoting post. Thank you for indulging me!]
While at a networking function last year, my friend Wendy Sipple – who happens to be the COO and Publisher of Style Media Group, a Folsom (California) publishing company – asked me where my next travel adventure would take me. I told her I was going to New Zealand in early 2013.
And then I boldly asked if SMG’s other publication, Style Magazine, might be interested in having me write an article about my trip.
If you don’t like to read blogs where the author “sings their own praises,” then you’ll probably want to skip my post today.
And probably Sunday’s too.
(But after that, I will get back to talking about my travels. I promise!)
I am generally a very linear person. Taurus; firstborn; structured and organized.
I like to do things in order. And my blog posts about my New Zealand trip have generally been chronological, starting with the beginning (at the top of the North Island) and continuing southward.
However, I am going to get out of order and skip to the end of my journey, because I want to talk about Antarctica.
My friend and fellow travel-junkie, Jen Snyder, recently went to Glacier National Park in Montana. I was there in 2005, and it is Gorgeous with a capital “G”! And she totally agrees. In fact, she and her husband, Mark, have declared this park to be their Favorite!
As Jen and Mark hiked toward Avalanche Lake, they found a wheelchair accessible trail, called “Trail of the Cedars.” And being the good friend that she is, she made sure I knew about it.
Anything Is Possible Travel 