Week #3: What can you learn through travel?

When I read this prompt, I first thought about a few of the skills I've learned through traveling: how to read maps surreptitiously so people won't know I'm a tourist, how to hide money and ID on my person (a tip I learned from LV: use an Altoids tin instead of a wallet), how to use the ticket machines at Grand Central and use the Metro Card on the bus, how to drive on the other side of the road in Australia (although some would say that is still a skill at which I am not yet proficient).

 It's also fun to take classes while traveling.
 I took a cooking class in Rome: we made fried artichokes, veal saltimbocca and tiramisu after going to the market at the Campo de Fiori and the bakery. No written recipes, just my frantically scribbled notes. Wonder where those are now?

I also took a cooking class in San Miguel de Allende: We helped make guacamole (with pomegranate seeds), mango salsa, and chile rellenos stuffed with goat cheese. No margaritas while cooking.

A great experience was the "Blend Your Own Wine" class at Wynns Coonawarra Estate winery in South Australia. We got to taste while creating the perfect blend, then took home our mixtures in a personalized wine bottle.

Then I thought of other skills I've picked up while traveling: I parked that houseboat!

 I learned how to pack the back of the car for a cross-country road trip and keep everything organized along the way.

I learned that everyone needs down time and alone time on a trip, even while enjoying the group.

I think I'm still learning to be in the moment every moment while traveling.

What is an Indie Traveler?

This week's topic from BootsnAll Indie Travel Guide : you can be an indie traveler without even leaving your hometown – as long as you’re challenging yourself and your assumptions about the world, learning about people or a place different than your own, and seeking out experiences that help you better understand the local culture.
What does indie travel mean to you?
I think I've always been an "indie traveler." I always want to see what's out there. My vacations are often jam-packed with sight-seeing and museum stops. In fact, there have been some people who hesitate to go places with me, as they know what the pace is going to be like and that museums are always going to be on the itinerary.

I'm not the best photographer, but I like attempting to record what I see. And what I will want to remember. 

I loved seeing the ceramics factory outside of San Miguel de Allende. We toured the show rooms, but also parts of the manufacturing buildings. Each ceramics painter has a chair, a table for glazes and brushes, and an easel or stand to support the object currently being painted. Completed pieces are sent to the kilns for final firing.

I found the deep sea drilling museum in Galveston, TX interesting. Building those rigs is an amazing feat, let alone working on the platforms themselves and getting the oil and gas out from under the sea. We should all know more about how we get our energy.

Museums can be park-like and have little to do with art. I had no idea that Thomas Edison and Henry Ford were good friends and had winter homes in Ft. Myers, FL. Thomas Edison did research in Florida on plants that produce latex. You can tour laboratories and restored homes at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates. Fascinating.

 "See if you have what it takes to join the ranks of noble knights."
I saw this poster advertising knight school in a bookstore in Brisbane, Australia.Really enjoyed taking a minute or two to wonder who would send their kids to knight school and if my son and/or daughter would have liked it.(They do take girls.) Used bookshops are a great way to soak up local culture.






I enjoy a sunset and a sunrise, too. Just kicking back by the water is a favorite pastime. Taking some time to just be in a place is important, too. I am trying to appreciate that aspect of indie travel more. Maybe giving up some of the "forced march" pace will be good for me.

Welcome 2012!

In an effort to post more consistently, I'm signing up for the 2012 Indie Travel Challenge by BootsnAll Travel. They will post a prompt each week, and I'm going to respond. This week's prompt is to list my 2012 travel resolutions. They have a pretty good list on their blog.

What are my travel resolutions? I have some places I really want to see, but I don't know if 2012 will be the year for them: Antarctica, the Galapagos, Alaska's Inside Passage, Western Australia, New Zealand's North Island, Xian, China, are just the first few that roll right off my fingers. There are more.....

I don't have any of those big trips planned yet for this year. But I'm thinking of all the other short trips I make and don't even consider them to be "traveling."

Resolution #1: I resolve to appreciate that every night spent away from home (even if it's only 100 miles away) is traveling and to take advantage of it in the same way I would a more far-flung destination.
 My short trips in the next 6 months that are already on the books: Houston for one night to attend a travel conference, Dallas for one or two nights for family business, Colorado for 3 nights with DH for a business meeting, a week of skiing in Taos with family, a trip to NY with DD to see family. See, that's a lot of travel already!  

Hunziker Bowl, Taos Ski Valley, NM

Resolution #2: To put technology in its place while traveling.
I'm pretty well attached to my smartphone at this point. Love it. I have over 150 apps, with at least 50 related to travel, travel planning, and finding services while traveling like food, bathrooms, wifi, NPR stations, movie theaters, AAA discounts, etc. I need to learn to disconnect more from the ethernet and connect more with the real world. Ask someone for directions or recommendations?  That would be a novelty for me. Come into a town without knowing where to eat? Frightening. I think I need to do that more!

I have app folders now

Resolution #3:  I will never use the term "bucket list." Travel experiences can't be plucked out of a container.

So I guess that's my list for now.  Wishing everyone safe and rewarding travel this year!