Category: North America

Jan. 9, 2024 Podcast: Winter Adventures in America’s National Parks

 

This month’s podcast is all about my adventures in the National Parks in winter. Many of the most popular national parks out west can be visited in Winter. Yellowstone National Park is an especially unique adventure in when it’s covered in snow, but it does require advance planning. Popular summer parks like Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zyon, Arches, and Canyonlands are a pleasure to visit in winter because they are not at all crowded and it’s not hot.

Podcast link: Winter Adventures in America’s National Parks

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The Princess 360 Experience – A Performance for All the Senses

Sharing my review of the Princess 360 experience, a one-of-a-kind, immersive dining event that I recently took part in on a Discovery Princess cruise.

The secret is out!

The Princess Cruises 360 experience is no longer veiled in mystery and intrigue. Until recently, this unique immersive dining “show” was by invitation only. But now, all guests sailing on the Discovery Princess and the Enchanted Princess are able to book this special event.

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Living Like Royalty on a Princess Cruise – A Complete Ruby Princess Review With Photos

In this Ruby Princess review I share detailed information with lots of photos from my recent cruise including a review of my cabin, public spaces and food options.

Some days I wish I had a maid. And a cook. And since I am dreaming, lets add a chauffeur and a gardener to the list. I’ve probably watched Downton Abbey once too often and read too many books set in Britain’s golden age where the hired help does all the work and the Lord and Lady of the manor just get to have fun.

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Reflections from 2023

My annual recap after an incredible year of travel all over the globe.

“….changes in latitude, changes in attitude….”

This was certainly a year for the record books for me as I travelled across latitudes from the Antarctic all the way up to the Arctic. I can’t believe how many bucket list trips I was fortunate to indulge in. I have become very spoiled by all my travels this year, and I am very appreciative of the many opportunities I’ve had to see so many special places around the world.

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Reflections From 2022

My annual review in words and photos from an incredible year of travel.

Wow! I have been so very fortunate to have had the most incredibly memorable year for travel! And what a difference 12 months can make!

It’s taken me a while to write this up as it was a very, very busy year, but I am continuing my annual end of the year post tradition by reflecting on where I’ve been in 2022 – and sharing some of my reflection photos in the process.

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A Costa Rica Cooking Class – Forging Local Connections On An Atypical Cruise Excursion

A traditional Costa Rica cooking class showed me that I could still make local connections in a meaningful way on a cruise ship excursion.

I love cruising, but I am very picky about my cruise excursions. Typical ship excursion involve big busses and large tour groups that take passengers to the most popular sights. This may let you check off one more item on the “bucket list” but does nothing to provide a true connective experience to the local culture or the environment.

However, on my recent Princess Cruise through the Panama Canal, a ship excursion in Costa Rica billed as one of their “Local Connections” program had me intrigued. The tour promised to take us to the Macaw ecolodge high in the rainforest where we would take part in a cooking experience using locally grown ingredients. This sounded quite appealing and would not be something I could easily do on my own, so I signed up and hoped for unique glimpse into Costa Rican culture.

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A Full Transit Panama Canal Cruise – Passing Through an Engineering Marvel

A full transit Panama Canal cruise was on my travel wish list for a long time. I finally had the chance to experience it and was not disappointed.

There are some places on this planet that are easiest to experience from the deck of a ship – the Panama Canal is one of those sights. This “Engineering Marvel” was built to aid in the faster transport of goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, thus bypassing the long and hazardous journey around South America and Cape Horn.

But transiting through the Panama Canal has also become a very popular cruise ship destination. I recently took a  16 day full transit Panama Canal cruise from Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco on the Ruby Princess and going through the canal was the highlight of my cruise.

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One Day in Cartagena, Columbia – A Colorful, Independent Cruise Excursion

I had only one day in Cartagena, Columbia on my Panama Canal cruise and I made the most of it by exploring the city’s UNESCO listed sights on my own.

2022 NATJA awardThis story was recognized by the North American Travel Journalists Association with a Silver award in the Photography – Cover or Feature Photo/Illustration category in the 2022 annual media travel awards competition .

The first stop on my Ruby Princess full transit Panama Canal cruise was Cartagena, Columbia. This was my first visit to Columbia, and I would only have six hours in port so I was going to make the most of it. My focus for my one day in Cartagena was on the UNESCO listed Old Town and the nearby Fort Castillo de San Filipe de Barajas.

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