Issues: March 2009 Archives

My name is Jen, and I'm addicted to artesanias, which is the Spanish term for "locally-made handicrafts."

When I travel, I have no problem walking right past kitschy T-shirt-and-keychain souvenir stands selling snow globes and goofy pens, but I cave when it comes to beautifully painted ceramic pots, plates or canvases.

I can't withstand the pull of a Mayan calendar made from beautiful bits of wood or a polished jar with the most beautiful swirls of natural wood grain.

I know I don't need a leather purse or the funky jewelry made by the woman at the street stand in Buenos Aires. But I have a hard time stopping to appreciate and admire someone's handiwork and then not following through on my comments by purchasing. Somehow, I feel obligated.

Strangely enough, I don't feel buyer's remorse or guilt at these purchases, even as it becomes more difficult to find a place for them in my house. (I don't like clutter.)

Instead, I feel proud for supporting the local artists wherever I'm visiting.

Does anyone else have this problem? What is your weakness when traveling?

I was reading this story and wondered how baggage can be "irretrievably lost"?

Is it like when you put your socks in the laundry?

During a five-hour layover in the Houston airport on the way home Costa Rica, I began to wonder why airports offer some things, but not others.

First, I walked past Best Buy vending machines selling everything from Playstations to iPhones (are these really the kind of thing people will buy on a whim, in an airport?) and ProActiv vending machines peddling skincare products.

On my way out of a restroom, I overheard a girl asking her traveling companion why airports didn't have hair salons in them. She thought there would be plenty of people willing to pay someone to get their hair back in order after hours on a plane.

It got me thinking: Wouldn't a five-hour layover be the perfect time to finally get the haircut you've been meaning to make an appointment for? Or grab a manicure or massage to make all that travel stress melt away?

Apparently, they do have such things. Now that I'm back home and looking into such things (see Things to Google), I discovered XpresSpa has plenty of airport locations, including one at the Houston airport.

What have you been surprised to see in an airport? What's missing? Have you ever used an airport vending machine to buy electronics? Gotten a pampering service an an airport spa or salon? Post a comment and share your experience.

My jaw dropped when I read this story from USA Today.

I know plenty of folks who blindly go where the box on the dashboard tells them. And while I can see the appeal of freeing yourself to the wisdom of technology -- throwing your worries of wrong turns to the wind -- I would never feel comfortable driving unknown territory without the map books in my seat back pocket. See this post, my ode to maps.

Have you ditched your maps in favor of GPS? Are you a die-hard map lover? A combination? Post a comment and share your thoughts.

This is what my kitchen floor looks like right now. This is the part that used to have cabinets and appliances and running water.

I know this has nothing to do with the subject of this blog, but every now and then, it's good to add something totally random to the mix, right?

Actually, the real reason I need to interrupt the travel-and-outdoors theme of this blog to write this brief post about my kitchen renovation is so I don't go crazy. When you're a writer, writing is how you make sense of the chaos around you.

And believe me, it's chaos.

Calling it an adventure would be a bit of an understatement -- anyone who has trodden this path before me I think would agree.

Here are a few things I did not realize before I embarked upon this "adventure":

The travel industry is taking steps to reassure people who avoid booking a vacation for fear of losing their jobs.

In recent weeks, more than one travel provider has announced they will offer "job-loss insurance plans."

Norwegian Cruise Lines will give a cash refund of its typical cancellation fee if passengers who have been employed at the same company for at least a year need to cancel a cruise because they've been laid off.

Jet Blue goes one step further, promising to refund the full cost of tickets.

As you might imagine, the travel industry, like the rest of the global economy, is a mess.

Have you changed your vacation plans or cut back on travel for fear of losing your job?