This weekend, my car overheated when I was in the D.C. area.
Of course, it was dark. I was in an area I kind of knew, but not all that well. I pulled over near a fire station to ask where I could buy coolant or antifreeze or whatever it is the car wanted.
One of the firefighters pointed me to an auto parts shop down the street.
By the time I got there, it had just closed.
Last night I met some friends for dinner at a relatively new Moroccan restaurant in Harrisburg called La Kasbah.
From the outside, it doesn't look like much, but everyone knows you can't judge a restaurant by it's exterior. It's several blocks north of Second Street's restaurant row, so we found parking on the street without issue.
Inside, we sat on cushioned bank seats with pillows, sipped Moroccan tea and sunk our teeth into small loaves of quite possibly the best bread I have eaten around here.
The server brought out bowls of harira, a traditional lentil-and-chickpea soup flavored with parsley and coriander. We also sampled the couscous, which I like because the texture feels cool in your mouth.
You've gotta read this incredible story from yesterday's USA Today about a man who came back from a trip to South Carolina and unzipped his suitcase to unpack and got bit by a rattlesnake stowaway inside.
I have a quote somewhere on my desk at work that explains why I enjoy journalism so much more than fiction writing -- and this story is the perfect example. You just can't make this stuff up.
I like to snap pictures like this so that when life on land starts to bog me down, I can rise above it all (pun intended) and gain some perspective on all the little annoyances and frustrations that blind us to the bigger picture.
When you look at life from this altitude, you see the insignificance of our sometimes trivial worries and preoccupations.
One thing you learn quickly in the Andes mountains is that while it can be 80 degrees and hot at sea level, it gets pretty gusty and cold as you gain altitude.
Even though I was freezing when they snapped this picture (I have issues with coats, but that's another post for another day), I was so excited to set foot on the nearby Chilean border that I left my jacket warming my bus seat.
This picture documents one of a few surreal moments Laura and I had during our time in Argentina.
You know what I'm talking about. When all of the sudden it hits you that it's the middle of the afternoon on a weekday in February and instead of being a slave to e-mail and deadlines, you're in the top of the Andes mountains and feel like you're flying through the blasts of wind. And you realize you're on another continent, in another hemisphere, in another world. And you feel very alive.
This, my friends, is one of those credit-card moments. I don't care what anyone (including myself) says about how inconvenient and expensive travel is. Moments like this are priceless.
Have you ever had a surreal moment in the outdoors or while traveling?
You know how, when you're having a tooth drilled at the dentist or in some other unpleasant situation and they always tell you to "go to your happy place" or imagine you're somewhere nice?
Well, this picture shows one of two places I send my mind in such situations. It's the Andes mountains. Not the highest, but the longest mountain range in the world. The backbone of an entire continent. The range those little mints in the green wrapper were named for.
My happy place.
(The other, in case you're wondering, is Cowans Gap State Park, where my family would go camping each summer growing up. See this entry from last summer.)
Where's your happy place?
I guess because I attended college in Washington, D.C., I always associate spring with the blossoming of cherry trees in the heart of the nation's capital.
Maybe it's because, as a college freshman, I volunteered to walk in the National Cherry Blossom Parade, helping with the Garfield balloon.
Or maybe because the memory of a relaxing evening eating a dessert from The Cheesecake Factory while sitting on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial with friends is permanently etched in my mind.
Whatever it is, I always get giddy when I hear people talk about the cherry blossoms. It means spring is really here!
This year's Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off March 29 and runs through April 13. And it looks like the trees are planning to be at their pink-and-white peak for the festivities. National Park Service horticulturists say that even though the blossoms last for several weeks, they'll be at their peak from March 27 through April 3.
So head to D.C. for a daytrip or a weekend of fun. When you return, send me a photo and a few lines about your time there.
Stops along the way included Key West, The Grand Caymans, Cozumel and Castaway Cay, which is Disney’s private beach in the Bahamas.
Travel tip: Bring plenty of sunscreen. You’re closer to the sun, so you will need to lather up several times. Consider use of walkie-talkies. They’re a great way to communicate with members of your group while on opposite sides of the ship.
Southwest Airlines has a reputation for doing things well in an industry where that's become more the exception than the norm. And its safety record couldn't have been better -- until last week.
The FAA socked the discount airline with a $10.2 million fine last week for flying planes without checking for fuselage cracks during safety inspections. Yesterday, the airline grounded 43 of its planes to make sure they were airworthy in light of the missed inspections.
That's comforting.
As I flipped through the Travel Industry Association's annual report (sounds boring, I know), a list of travel trends caught my eye. The report said that the following niches are gaining in popularity:
*Babymoons
*Culinary travel
*Destination weddings
*Gen Xers and Millenials
*Girlfriend getaways and Mancations
*GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender)
*Medical/life-enhancement travel
*Procreation vacations
*Travelers with disabilities
*Voluntourism
Some of these I've heard of (voluntourism, girlfriend getaways, destination weddings). But procreation vacations? Babymoons? Travel for medical procedures? Interesting.
Are you or someone you know planning a trip that fits into one of these new categories? Send me an e-mail and tell me about it.
For the first time, I'm seriously in a quandry about what to do with photographs I took during a trip. I haven't officially counted the files, but I'm guessing I shot more than 500 frames during my two weeks in Argentina. Most, I'd like to keep.
Do I print them all and slip them into protective plastic album sheets as I have until now? While time-consuming, costly and admittedly low-tech, this method makes it easy to pull out a book and look something up, share or transport when a computer or TV isn't convenient or available.
Do I burn them to a DVD to show on a TV screen? Most pictures tend to look better when displayed on a 40-something-inch flat screen. But maybe you lose some of the "Wow" factor because people are so used to seeing amazing and unusual things on their TV screens.
Do I post them to an online photo-sharing site such as Shutterfly.com, Snapfish.com, Kodakgallery.com or Flickr.com? This is great for sharing your photos with far-flung friends and relatives, but some require you to create an account to view the photos and if you use several of these services, it can be tricky to remember which photos you posted where.
Should I do all or some variation of these?
How do you store and share your favorite photos? Post a comment and help me decide what to do!
The Pennsylvania Campground Owners Association has released its 2008 campground directory, a 64-page color guide that is a must for RV enthusiasts and tent campers.
The directory divides the state into six regions with maps, color coding and detailed facility listings for all member campgrounds in each area.
Request your free directory at www.pacamping.com or by calling 1-888-660-7262.
I decided the best way to shake my post-Argentina funk would be to list all the things I'm thankful for about the USA, things that can be irritating about Argentina:
*Here, the toilets have sufficient water pressure that you can toss your toilet paper in the bowl rather than into a trash can.
*Many places in the US are now non-smoking.
*Here, I am allowed to blog at work. In Argentina, I can't access my blog from Internet cafes anywhere.
*Most restaurants here don't have a separate charge for silverware/plates and extras such as butter for your rolls.
*Fitted bed sheets. None of the beds we slept on had fitted bottom sheets. This means when you wake up in the morning, chances are you're lying on the bare mattress because the sheet has shifted or come entirely off the bed during the night.
Unfortunately, that's all I can think of right now.
I'm sure if I lived in Argentina or stayed for longer I'd find many more items for the list, but right now, all I can think about are the $3 bottles of magnificent wine sold in the supermarkets, the friendly people and sense of community, the flan with dulce de leche, and the grand bustle of Buenos Aires life.
So much for that little useful exercise.
One of the things I miss about my trip to Argentina was the way I fell into bed at the end of a long day, completely wiped out.
I'm not talking about the kind of tired that comes from stress and tension -- from sitting behind a computer, juggling phonecalls and interviews and deadlines all day and fighting traffic during my commute.
This is the kind of tired you feel after walking most of the day. From seeing and experiencing so many new things. It's a good feeling.
So yesterday, when a friend asked me if I would go salsa dancing with her in Harrisburg, I said yes, even though I felt like I'd rather just go home and lounge on my couch with a book.
Gettysburg has been getting quite a bit of attention lately in the travel industry.
In January, the destination was named one of the "15 places every kid should visit" by Budget Travel magazine. Last month, Gettysburg ranked 29th in the top 50 motorcoach destinations, as compiled by the National Motorcoach Network.
In May, the Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau expects that the Student & Youth Travel Association will name Gettysburg among its top 10 destinations.
Although history is definitely a focus in this town, it's not the only attraction.
Each of the past three days, I have asked myself this question: "Why am I having such a hard time readjusting?"
I was pretty happy and content with my life before going to Argentina, but since my return, I can't seem to get back into things.
Saturday, I thought: "Where are all the people?"
The one thing that really left Laura and me steamed about our two-week trip to Argentina is the following assumption:
You live in the U.S. + You're traveling internationally = You're rich
... that Hershey's Great American Chocolate Tour is among the top five factory tours that visitors to the Web site TakeGreatPictures.com would like to photograph?
Of course, you're wondering about the other four. Here they are:
1. Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Tour in Waterbury, Vt.
2. Cape Cod Potato Chips in Cape Cod, Mass.
3. Jelly Belly Candy Tour in Fairfield, Conn.
4. Hershey's
5. World of Coca-Cola Tour in Atlanta, Ga.
What are you itching to photograph? Post a comment and share.
