Tag Archives: travel

Jun26

$49.

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With a $49 Raffle Ticket,

You Could Win an Island Resort in Micronesia

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if you’ve ever dreamed of giving it all up

to go live on a tropical island somewhere,

we may have found your one-way ticket

—as well as your future career.

As Condé Nast Traveler reports, Doug and Sally Beitz are giving away the Kosrae Nautilus Resort, which the couple has run for the last 22 years. With the purchase of a $49 raffle ticket, you’ll be entered in a lottery that will be drawn on July 26. The winner becomes the 100 percent owner of the 16-bedroom hotel located on Micronesia’s Kosrae Island. It’s an enterprise that, according to the raffle website, is “debt free,” and the resort features a swimming pool, private beach, fully-stocked restaurant, and SCUBA dive operation. The winner also inherits $10,000 in the company bank account. There’s just one caveat: If fewer than 50,000 tickets are sold, the resort is off the market and the Beitzs will split the money from the lottery with the winner.

Why in the world would the innkeepers abandon a life of island bliss? “We’ve had our time in the sun and enjoyed a career most people would never even dare dream about, but our current goal now is to become professional grandparents,” Doug Beitz says on the contest website. “We feel like a new chapter in our lives is beginning, and we’re ready to pass the baton to someone else.”

—

credits: mentalfloss, caitlin schneider, conde nast traveler, kosrae nautilus resort

Apr21

finding myself.

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one saturday night in 2012, a search party was organized in iceland to hunt for a woman who had apparently failed to return to her tour bus. but the twist? she had. she became part of the search party looking for her, unaware that she was the subject of everyone’s concern.

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the tour bus in question had stopped near iceland’s eldgja canyon and the woman in question took the opportunity to go freshen up and change clothes.

when she reboarded the bus, the rest of the passengers didn’t realize it was her. instead, they became alarmed that she’d gone missing. the driver waited for an hour before the police were called.
things escalated. a search of the area took place, joined by around 50 people, some in vehicles, many on foot. the coast guard was alerted, and the search went on for several hours.
it wasn’t until three in the morning that the truth became apparent: that the woman everyone thought was missing was actually helping them in the search. once she realized she was the missing tourist, she informed the police. the search was called off.
moral of the story? it’s always worth properly counting the number of people on a tour bus. no matter what they happen to be wearing.

—
“not only do I not know what’s going on,

i wouldn’t know what to do about it if i did”

 – george carlin 

—

credits: mentalfloss.uk

Apr18

stumble not.

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traveling with my co-workers

to meet fellow educators

i was faced with a snap decision.

with one of us busy on her phone

working to get transportation from the airport

and the other already at the bottom

i suddenly realized i was left carrying two rolling bags.

while standing at the top of the moving stairs

and people piling up behind me.

i quickly did the math

and decided that:

me – one human

plus

they – two rolling bags

would probably not all

safely make it down at the same time.

so instead of a minus one situation

at the end of the equation

 i heaved my companion’s bag

right onto the escalator

all on it’s own

let it just gently bounce and roll down

figured it could take care of itself

alerted them to look out for it at the bottom

though when they looked up

they were too busy laughing

to realize the gravity of the situation

and somehow

it all ended well. 

humans and bags both

none the worse for wear.

survival instinct kicked in

at just the right moment.

and that is why we are teachers.

we are always learning.

i feel that i might be good in a landslide situation.

or a kindergarten classroom.

—

“let thy step be slow and steady, that thou stumble not.”

-ieyasu tokugawa

Sep20

try to avoid being naked.

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25 Unusual Foreign Travel Warnings for Visiting the U.S.

What do foreign tourists worry about when they visit the U.S.? Expensive emergency healthcare, overly sensitive attitudes towards nude sunbathing, and gross tap water, apparently. That’s according to travel warnings for potential U.S. tourists from around the world.

These government-issued advisories can seem like common sense for Americans, but they also reveal significant cultural differences between the U.S. and other countries.

 Here are 25 unexpected travel warnings from around the world aimed at those visiting the U.S. (most are approximate translations from the country’s official language):

1. DON’T GET RIPPED OFF AT AN ORLANDO GAS STATION (UK)

2. TAKE CARE OF THE FLOWERS (CHINA)

3. DO NOT USE HOTMAIL OR GMAIL (AUSTRALIA)

4. DO NOT STALK ANYONE (GERMANY)

5. WATCH OUT FOR GUNS AT NIGHTTIME (CANADA)

6. STAY AWAY FROM THE EAST COAST (CHINA)

7. REALLY, WATCH OUT FOR GUNS (GERMANY)

8. DOORS MIGHT BE CLOSED (RUSSIA)

9. DO NOT INSPIRE ROAD RAGE (CHINA)

10. DO NOT TALK TO PROSTITUTES (GERMANY)

11. DON’T PEE IN THE STREET (SWITZERLAND)

12. DON’T JOKE ABOUT BOMBS (UK)

13. TRY TO AVOID BEING NAKED (GERMANY)

14. FEEL FREE TO SHACK UP (AUSTRIA)

15. DON’T CUT IN LINE (CHINA)

16. DON’T EXPECT AIR TRAVEL TO BE SAFE (CANADA)

17. VACCINES DON’T CAUSE AUTISM (MEXICO)

18. THE TAP WATER TASTES GROSS (AUSTRIA)

19. THE AMERICAN DREAM ISN’T REAL (RUSSIA)

20. EXPECT HARASSMENT IN ARIZONA (MEXICO)

21. YOU MIGHT GET EXTRADITED (RUSSIA)

22. WATCH OUT FOR EXPENSIVE DOCTOR VISITS (AUSTRALIA)

23. DON’T LEAVE TRASH IN YOUR CAR (CANADA)

24. TAXI DRIVERS KNOW NOTHING (RUSSIA)

25. PAY YOUR TRAFFIC TICKETS (GERMANY)

—

credits: google images, mental floss magazine, animation insider

 

 

Aug30

what I love most about this crazy life is the adventure of it. – juliette binoche

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spent the afternoon at

 the rogers centre

in canada

where the

baseball opened with

the official roof report –

‘the roof is open’

 the game began

and we

watched our detroit tigers

get mowed over

by the toronto blue jays

such a game (15-1)

where

our outfielder even

lost track of

how many outs there were

and forgot to throw the ball back

toronto fans threw out hats

when their player hit 3 home runs

all in the same game

and

hockey and baseball

blurred lines

in the old hockey tradition

of the hat trick

then

every opposing starter

got at least on base

giving us the chance

to see their entire roster

all in one game

but the staff and the local fans

were very friendly

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except for the guy

who impounded

our piñata head mascot

kind of a chicken

who was meant to be a tiger

(a chi-ger)

upon entering the stadium

lest i possibly wear it

and conceal my identity

but we decided to shake it all off

and

embrace the huge loss of this game

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by enjoying the town

with fans from both sides

and

our pinata

came right along with us

as we met

a rickshaw driver

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a man with a chicken hat

( a kindred spirit who grew up in my hometown)

a street singer with a bag on his head

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a sweaty spiderman

a bachelorette partyIMG_0890

 and a band

playing american and canadian covers

so we danced a lot

and passed the piñata on to the band

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but upon returning to our hotel

i couldn’t exactly remember

my hotel room number

except for the last two digits

which caused a bit of a logistical issue

so i visited a few floors

on the elevator that only moved

in response to an electronic key swipe

(who knew?)

saw a lot of our beautiful hotel

made friends with the front desk

who made a few phone calls

to my fellow travelers

who mostly had their phones shut off

in this

faraway and friendly foreign land

and

finally got back into my room

where i soon after

got locked in the glass shower

for a while

then

relaxed and drifted off to sleep

in my pillowy bed

until there was

a 3am fire alarm (false)

but it was one great day

leading into the next

and

there certainly was a lot of laughter

i’d say there were

at least

3 major bouts of laughter

all in the same day.

and

that’s a hat trick.

—

‘that’s the beauty of sport.

sometimes you laugh,

sometimes you cry.’

– joseph gradual

Aug29

go north. and then go more north. and just a bit more north yet.

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heading to the great white north

speeding on a train

with

one group of friends

one piñata head

one group of others waiting for us there

and bringing heaps of american spirit to go around.

k
“the cool thing about being famous is traveling. i have always wanted to travel across seas, like to canada and stuff.”

– britney spears

—

image credits: googleimages

Mar8

the sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever. – jacques yves cousteau

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and so

we went to the sea

and it was

everything

and more

 moving sun

calm waters

 boats afloat

seals playing

fish tacos and ice cream

on the beach

and

friends

and

stories

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and

water

and

shore

alive

with color

and

changing light

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laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.
– victor hugo

Mar7

the violets in the mountains have broken the rocks. – tennessee williams

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and so

we went

high

into the

san diego mountains

4,000 feet up

through

 rocky landscapes

 national forest

great expanses

up and up

and

up

winding

turns

and

twists

and

landed

in the

tiny

mountain

gold rush town

of julian

known for

apple pies

gold

stargazing

and

friendly welcomes

and

wound our way

back down again.

—

what is straight? a line can be straight, or a street, but the human heart,

oh, no, it’s curved like a road through mountains.

– tennessee williams

—

image credit: cdn.calisphere.org

Mar6

up in the air.

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not exactly our flight experience.

but somewhat similar.

there was carpeting.

and we were on a plane.

Mar5

i’m hopping off to san diego for an early spring long weekend thaw.

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(not me, but very similar)

the Alaskan tree frog

freezes solid

during the winter

including

stopping it’s heart

and then

thaws in the spring

and

hops away!

—

image credit: snakebytestv