Please forgive my LATE contest winner announcement for my tiara blog from September 27, but I’ve been gallivanting! The winner is KARYN GOOD!
As some of you may know, my husband and I bought All You Can Jet tickets from Jetblue. The deal was you pay a set price and you can fly anywhere within the Jetblue system for 30 days. We couldn’t have done this A.When our children were younger. B. When we had heavy September work requirements. C. When our kids went to college.
This was a rare opportunity, so we decided to grab it. We would not usually make this kind of impulsive decision. In fact, we’ve spent a lifetime NOT making these kinds of decisions, so I’m especially glad we took the plunge now. I highly recommend the experience if you can work it into your schedule. My husband and I both feel very fortunate to have taken this opportunity.
First trip: We drove part of the way up the Pacific Coast highway from Santa Monica to Santa Barbara (where I finished and turned in my latest book), then joined author friend, Charlene Sands and her husband for dinner at Duke’s at Malibu, 
Next trip, the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. LOVED Grand Canyon. We took a small plane from Boulder City to Las Vegas then toured the South Rim. 
Final trip, Bermuda. I’ve always wanted to go, but it’s an expensive island, sooo…..how to justify that??? We took the plunge, stayed at a “pink” hotel right on the harbor 
and visited other beaches during our trip. We made a special visit to a beach to collect some of the pink sand to share with our family when we returned.
Along the way, we met a politically active server in Santa Monica and in Santa Barbara, a mechanical engineer with a doctorate who drives tourists in rickshaw bicycles in his spare time (for fun!). We met a lovely self-employed accountant on the ferry to Bainbridge. She was from Scandanavia. At the Grand Canyon, we met a seventy-plus man who was visiting the canyon for the second time. His first visit was forty years ago! In Bermuda, we met a waiter who wanted to move to Costa Rica. All of the people we met broadened our perspective a little and enriched us because they were both like us and different…
My questions is can you tell me some of the most interesting people you’ve met while travelling? I’m all ears!:)
22 comments:
sounds like a fun time. a friend of ours just did that jetblue thing and had a great time with it.
i travel alot for work and have met so many interesting people along the way, it would be hard to pick just one.
Thanks Kris! You do a lot of international travel, don't you? I don't see how stand those long flights on a regular basis!
Yup, I'm all over the globe (although it is tapering off...which is a good thing!). I did manage to sleep the entire trip back from Hong Kong once, but only because I was hungover and had stayed out the entire night before! You kind of get used to it after awhile, and the only good part is that when I have to do a "short" flight to California, it goes by super fast for me! :-)
What wonderful travels you had. I have been to Las Vegas a few times, but have never did the grand canyon tour. I will have to take that if I ever get back..
Oh, Leanne, this sounds like so much fun. You got in a good mix of destinations. Sounds like you didn't try to do tooo much in one month.
Some of the most interesting people I've met while traveling were in England and Scotland, mostly because their perspective seemed so different from mine. But I have this feeling there are interesting people everywhere. We're just more apt to listen when we're on vacation. More time.
Great recap of your adventures, Leanne.
I've met some amazing people on my travels as well - hard to pin it down to one.
There were the computer gurus from India I met down at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, the jeweler who gave me a bottle of his private wine in Verena, Italy, the rug merchant in Morocco who wanted to be my 2nd husband ... oh, and I can't forget the Pakistani taxi driver/palm reader in Chicago :o)
Wow, I'm getting tired just reading about your adventures! But how fun. I wouldn't be able to do it, because I do not fly well. But I'm jealous that you got to see Cher! That is something I must do before I die (and I'm sure she'll look the same as she did thirty years ago, only..lifted). :-)
how FUN!
I would love to do something like this! *eyes the kid* yeah...in about 17years.
I've traveled quite a bit and the only one I really remember was this guy in Germany. He was a taxi driver and had this huge mustache going on. It was white and puffy. it shot out directly to the sides off his face and the tips were curled up. I'd been terribly sick for a day or two and I remember seeing him and smiling.
kris, you are amazing! A SHORT flight to California? That's a LONG flight for me!:) Glad it's tapering off a little for you.:)
Kathleen, yes, yes, yes to the Grand Canyon! I liked it much better than Vegas. Whew! Talk about a different world.
Helen, great point about listening to people more when we're on vacation. More time. Hopefully a little less mind clutter.
Cindy, you are such a charmer! You've met some cool people! And I love that you met those computer gurus in the bottom of the GC!:)
Michele! CHER was amazing! She still has incredible vocal quality and her body made me cry. Still so slim! And yes, she made a gajillion costume changes. My husband loved the show too!:)
Keri, we had to wait until our kids had flown the coop to do this. Funny thing, even when they go to college, September could be a tough month to try to do this much travel. It was a great experience for us, though and I'm glad we did it.
Ha ha on the taxi driver's moustache. He probably had no idea what a lift he gave you.:)
Yeah, I think I'm the winner!!
What a fabulous holiday. I would love to go to Bermuda. I think some of the most colourful characters we've met on our travels would be the Jamaican bartenders that worked for a small, meaning cheap, all inclusive resort we once stayed at. They were so friendly and had nicknames for everyone. My husband's was John the Baptist and I was Mrs. John. They never failed to smile and share a laugh!
Leanne, your trip sounds fabulous! When we were in Paris, we found the citizens to be particularly unhelpful, whether they spoke English or not. We were wandering, for once with sort of an idea where we were going, and a Parisian stopped us to ask if we knew the historical significance of a cathedral we were eying. He proceeded to explain it to us, and it was fascinating. We never would have known anything about that church if he hadn't stopped and offered to tell us!
Leanne: Your trip report is awesome! We love Duke's in Malibu (yum on their beach fries). It makes me think of a fun meeting. A couple of years back we went to Hawaii and were staying at the Outrigger Hotel on Waikiki. Our room wasn't yet ready so we went to have lunch at Duke's that's right on the sand at the hotel. Our server comes to our table...and it's one of my husbands former high school students! He was hoping to get a full time job soon as a math teacher (same as husband) and when we were there last Christmas we found out he'd gotten that job and was no longer on the wait staff. What a small world!
Karyn too cool! Thanks for responding! And I love the names the Jamaican bartenders gave you! Send your snail mail address to leannebbb @ aol.com no spaces! Yeah girl!:)
Kylie, weren't those cathedrals awesome! We visited both France and Italy. I just felt so blessed to even be able to visit them. And how cool that a native wanted to give you their perspective? Thank you for sharing. How sweet.:)
Christie, OMG. I think that is the same hotel that housed the RWA convention ... lo many years ago. And what a wonderful, crazy coincidence to run into one of your husband's students!!! Amazing.:) If he was a math teacher, I suspect he could have named his tune as a teacher. Cool!:) Thanks for sharing.
California is the best place for travelling with lots of beaches and attractions. There are also other famous places also such as Hollywood, Disneyland and Sequoia National Park.
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