Little Black Guidebook

Cartoon Via: penelope-jolicoeur

From the moment I set foot inside an airport I feel like I am being worn out and beat down by the process of travel. I mitigate it as much as possible with snacks, naps, noise-canceling headphones, but really who sleeps well sitting up or enjoys being in motion for more than 12 hrs?

I’d love to pick a long-haul international stewardess’ brain on this, but in the meantime, here is what I’ve found that works for me vs. jetlag. I’ll be employing all these techniques just to focus now that I’m on the ground in France.

Any tips appreciated!

Sleep the week before you leave

Stay rested the entire week before you travel. This means don’t stay up until 2am the night before packing or making the house clean so you have a clean house to come home to. I like coming home to a clean home, but I won’t feel like a zombie for three days of my hard earned vacation to accomplish this.

Stress-proof your body

Your body needs sleep, good food and hydration. Figure out how to get them while traveling.

Hydration – The alcohol may be free, but its de-hydrating. And don’t forget to hydrate your skin. The dry plane air is no fun for skin. While technically it won’t help with jet lag, a little moisturizer on your face will make you feel more human guaranteed.

Food – For longer trips pack accordingly, don’t make yourself a victim of the food they serve. (ah, how happy I am we’re not flying on an American airline) And for short trips its far better to have some healthy almonds in flight than those nasty salt packs they hand out.

Sleep – I don’t sleep on planes. 36 hrs to Hong Kong and nope not a wink in the air, but I have been known to set a cell-phone alarm and crash in the airport.

• Lounge: Trust me, $20 to get into the business class lounge and take a nap in a comfy chair is worth it!
• Set your Watch: I also put myself on the local time of my destination as soon as possible. I enforce this on my body by restricting sunlight with sunglasses (who cares if I look dumb walking through the airport in sunglasses) or forcing myself to stay up to get on local time as much as possible on the way there (subject to flight changes and other travel requirements).
• Eat like you’ve arrived: Eating meals at destination times helps me adjust.
• Try some drugs: I also pack Melatonin to zonk myself out as needed. While controversial for a while, the latest research shows that melatonin does help fight off jet lag. (1-3 mg about an hour before you want to fall asleep, but no more or you’ll be a zombie when you wake up.) I haven’t tried Ambien, but I’m thinking about it.

Drink tea

Chamomile tea keeps me calm, but it also works for nausea and as an anti-inflammatory. Ginger calms tummies too and maybe its all in my head, but a good ginger scone makes me feel less claustophobic too. Sitting there eating a homemade ginger scone with some chamomile tea from Starbucks is a travel ritual that doesn’t get old.

Things to try, that don’t work for me

Acupressure wristbands

No jet lag herbal suppliment

via: John in LA

Oahu, a tropical wonder of beach and sand, mountains and jungles, but it can also be the land of uber-big tacky hotels and tons of tourists.

Hubby will be there for four days of Army training with just a few hours here and there to do more than stare out the window at the rainforest.  Given more time, I’d go with him and do things again like sea kayak or scuba dive. Oahu is everything you’d want a tropical paradise to be, with enough to see and do here to keep you busy for a lifetime (duh people live here for just that reason), but between cosmopolitan Honolulu anad the mountain ranges of Ko’olau there is still an incredible diversity of things to do, even with just a short amount of time.

Here is the little list that I made for him to take with (after jealously whining about the injustice of being left behind).

Stroll through the Botanical Gardens

The 1st time we went to oahu we went to the Foster Botanical Garden, but it was fall time. Now it is Spring and Hawaii’s amazing collection of sweet-smelling flowers and treeswill be in full bloom. Its right downtown and only takes an hour or two to go through.

Bishop Museum

This museum took me all day and for most people it will take at least half a day, especially if you have kids, but you can time it to go just in time for one of their one hour topic specific tours and be in and out in just over an hour. Even if you do not have kids, this is a must-see on your vacation. Originally founded by Princess Bernice Pauahi, it contains a great collection of Hawaiian and Pacific artifacts and a huge science adventure center where they actually make lava as one of the displays.

Nu-uanu Pali Lookout

Honolulu traffic is hell, it once took me 2 hrs to go 3 miles. So why not go a little out of the way on your commute (yes rental car is pretty unavoidable for business trips as the bus system is so slow). Take about a half hour drive from Waikiki to the Nu`uanu Pali Lookout which has a great view of the windward side of Oahu and Kaneohe Bay.

Hawaii’s Royal Palace

Take a unique tour of the only royal palace in the United States. Built in 1882 for King Kalakaua, Iolani Palace takes only about an hour to see and is just a short walk from the State Capitol in downtown Honolulu. http://www.iolanipalace.org/

Pearl Harbor
He went to Pearl Harbor on a family vacation with his parents once, but with military I.D. its super easy to see the U.S.S. Missouri simply by driving yourself and not waiting for the shuttle bus. Both the beginning and end of World War II are memorialized forever at Pearl Harbor today in the form of the U.S.S. Arizona and the U.S.S Missouri. To save time you can drive to the Missouri yourself with military I.D. and see the U.S.S. Bowfin real quick. Tickets to the Arizona are timed so if you only have an hour or so to stop by you’ll have to get there early or skip it.

Historic Mission Houses
The Mission Houses were the original headquarters of the Sandwich Islands Mission, a group of New England Christian missionaries who arrived in Hawaii in 1820. It takes less than two hours to quickly peruse all three buildings. http://www.missionhouses.org/

Hike Diamond Head
Located on the southeast coast of Oahu, not far from Waikiki, Diamond Head is one of the world’s best-known volcanic craters. The view from the 760-ft. summit is well worth the climb. The steep trail to the top is mostly paved and includes two sets of stairs. One is 99 steps, the other 76 steps. They lead to a 225-foot tunnel (bring a flashlight) and end with a spectacular view of the island’s west side. This is also an excellent spot for whale watching during the winter months. While the park service suggests you allow 1.5-to-2 hours for a leisurely hike; the hike itself, round trip, takes less than 30 minutes for an in-shape Army guy.

Spring Europe Trip: Packing List

I’m not going anywhere this spring (sob), but if I were I could totally go two weeks with just these items: Dress, skirt, dress shirt, long sleeve shirt, short sleeve shirt, cardigan, trench coat, guidebook size purse (with all important cross-body strap and closed top), pants (that go with both button down shirt and more casual shirts and is sink washable), and two pairs of shoes (both flat, comfy for walking and which can dress up skirts and pants). It all sort of goes together and can be mixed and matched (long sleeve t-shirt under dress, button down with pants or skirt, t-shirts with skirt or pants, etc.) for a wide variety of occasions and most of it is sink friendly.

Contrast this with: Confessions of an Overpacker

“I realized why I overdo it. I stared at my closet, overflowing with jeans and cardigans. That’s what I miss when I’m away: choice. Call it superficial, but having more than one or two t-shirts reminds me of home. I make a lot of sacrifices to live abroad. When the homesickness sets in, I can find some solace in my suitcase.”

“When your baggage is your home, sometimes it’s nice to have a two-story suitcase.”

I relate, but I can’t do that. It stresses me out lugging so much around. I would rather give myself a budget to buy it there if I need it than to lug it around for sure, but we’re all different.

My desire to wander is unsupressable. I am dealing with it in two ways. First is the big Moving Overseas exercise. 2nd, I’m planning my next trip. So pause all the home improvement posts for a sec and let’s talk logistics.

New Jersey and New York public transit. All I have to say is, “Thank goodness Google has a public transit route planner!” I have the perfect storm of obligations occurring next month all in one-week that will have me flying into Newark, going to Philadelphia, West Point New York, New Brunswick New Jersey, and New York City. The turn around times just don’t make renting a car feasible. Its too expensive to rent, park, navigate and the trains just seem way more convenient. But it does take pre-planning of routes, trains, back up plans, coordination and flexibility. A car just goes with you when and where you want it to.

Tale of two methods of travel.

Take the first leg of my trip for example, Newark Airport to Langhorne, PA to visit my Grandparents.

• My parents: land +1 hr to collect bags and get to rental counter, +1 hour to pick up car and arrange family and bags in car, +1 hr stop for dinner once safely outside of airport pricing zone, +2 hours to drive to Grandparents if all goes well. This works for them, there are 4 of them to worry about now that 3 of us are grown and its more cost effective and less stressful for them.  (arrival time at Grandparents 11pm)
• Me and hubby: land carrying our bags, +1 hr to get to train station in time for 6:40pm train after grabbing a quick bite to eat when we land at the airport or eating prepacked snacks; arrive train station where Grandparents are waiting to pick up 7:57pm; arrive Grandparents house 20 minutes later) (arrival time 8:20pm, cost $14.75 each train ticket)

Next up I have to figure out trains from PA to Grand Central Station, NY then on to Garrison, NY to meet the ferry to West Point. Then ferry back from West Point, train to New Brunswick, then train back to New York and once more back to Newark for the flight home. Hopefully it will all work out smoothly, and thankfully if the plan doesn’t work and I have to adjust things as we go along, we don’t have pre-purchased Italian train-tickets and no Italian language skills.

Even with English not being a barrier, do you know how hard it is to figure out public transportation in American cities sometimes? There are exceptions like DC’s metro, but even then have you tried using Metro buses? Its like a secret club, once you figure it out, you’re in and party to some good, cheap transportation, but its not really accessible to tourists or travelers without a lot of effort on their part. Of course, I’ll admit, by the time I figured out metro buses, I was glad those obnoxiously loud Hard Rock Cafe clad tourists weren’t crowding my metro bus like they were my Foggy-Bottom metro stop during certain hours. I just wanted to sit in peace with my headphones wearing my business suit (but no flip-flops or sneakers so I wasn’t a completely assimilated to DC commuter).

Wow, now that digression came out of nowhere. Here’s hoping for the best.

We walked downstairs to the lobby and got in a van driven by a local surfer-boy. He rolled-down the windows and turned on the radio for the short 1 hour drive East from Waikiki beach. We drove-up through the mountains and the radio died as we popped into a tunnel and sat in silence for a few moments before popping out on the other-side to a view of the ocean meeting the mountains.

The small town of Kailua on Oahu’s East Coast is full of surfers like our van driver. In the summer the windy coastline allows them to kite-surf and in the winter the increased waves on the North-shore drive the scuba divers to the East side of the island in search of wrecks and whales. That morning our surfer-boy was taking us on a sea kayaking tour to look for Honu (Green Sea Turtles) and other marine animals in beautiful Kailua Bay while visiting the Mokulua islands.

Because of the time of year, the economy or maybe just sheer luck our group tour included just the two of us and our guide. There was another group with another company on the water that morning with 20 something kayaks to one guide. They had to go at the pace of the slowest kayakers and we quickly outpaced them, tacking on a trip to Popoia Island, a dedicated sea bird sanctuary on the way out to the Mokulaa Islands.

Once we reached the Mokulaa Islands and finished our lunch our guide turned to us and said, “Ok, now its time to jump off a cliff.” Now if you knew me personally you would know the fear that struck into the bottom of my heart. Falling and heights are some of my worst fears. But I’m trying to make life an adventure so I let him guide us on a hike around the island, climbing hand over hand along volcanic rock and barely clinging on at times. We reached a little cove with a rocky-ledge and sat down to take a break. The ledge was too high up for me to imagine jumping from so I sat there watching the waves and resting up for the hike to my inevitable jump. I’m sure you can imagine what happened next. We stood up to keep hiking and our guide asked: “Are you ready to jump?” “Say what?, huh?” I turned to my husband and said: “You first.” Without blinking he went for it, taking away my excuses, so I jumped.

Back on the beach we threw on our snorkels and found some sea turtles to watch. Even if you don’t feel like jumping off of a cliff you should stop baking on Waikiki and see more of this amazing island. If you want to hang with the same amazing surfer dudes that we did you should look up Hawaiian Water Sports.

All prices include life-vests, paddles, snorkel, seats, backrests, dry-bags, lunch, and transportation to and from your Waikiki hotel. $99 4 Hour Group Tour if you book online, about $30 more each if you book in person. If you’ve had experience kayaking before you can rent out a double kayak without a guide for just $39 a day + $10/day for a snorkel set. For us, that was a little too much adventure for our first time sea-kayaking, but we would definitely try a rental if we did it again.

Uploaded by mrtwism

If you look at the tagline for this blog you’ll see that it is about making life an adventure. To me making life an adventure means that I do things that are sometimes outside my comfort zone. In Hawaii this meant trying scuba.

I swam in high school and snorkeled before, but had never tried scuba. I didn’t want a big group class, but I didn’t want to spend too much either. I ended up finding a structural engineer on sabbatical who is a professional scuba diver and under-water photographer in his new-found free-time. He teaches through Deep Ecology on the North Shore of Hawaii.

Deep Ecology is a full-service, five-star PADI Dive Center and a National Geographic recognized dive center, located on Oahu’s famous North Shore in historic Haleiwa. In addition to the classes they give they participate in environmental activism activities such as turtle rescues, ghost net recoveries and the creation of the North Shore’s first marine sanctuary.

Our intro to scuba class was held at Shark’s Cove on the North Shore. (so named because of the shape of the rock formations in the caves not because of the number of sharks) There were a bunch of other classes out there that day, but most of them were groups of 6-8 whereas ours cost no more and was just the two of us and the instructor. Also, they were all out of the water before us and didn’t go as far away from the shore. Since we weren’t held back by whoever was the least comfortable in our class we got to progress a lot further in our class, learning a few extra skills including confined diving in a lava cave with sea turtles.

After our class we chatted with our instructor about life on the North Shore, being an engineer in Hawaii and got a lunch recommendation. If you’re ever on the North Shore of Oahu with a hankering for Mexican look up Chollos Authentic Mexican. They have the best nachos and margaritas. I would drive the hour from Waikiki just for their nachos. Hubby loved their mojito as well.

I will admit I freaked out a little bit before getting used to it. But looking back it was one of the most amazing things I’ve done in a long time. We saw so much wildlife and a totally different view of our world. If we get another chance to go back to Hawaii we’ll definitely try and do our Open Water dive certification in 3 days.

Cost $109.00 for 1/2 day of scuba. $20 for lunch.

Not that I really have a choice of airlines most of the time, given Alaska Airlines near monopoly, but I found this table interesting:

via: http://lifehacker.com/5344215/the-safest-airlines-to-fly-on

After getting our own iPod Touch I updated this post with an actual list of travel Apps on: 8/25/2010

I recently lost my iPod Video on a flight back from Mexico. After being mad at myself for a couple days for my carelessness I began to get excited because this would be my excuse to finally get an iPod Touch. I love my Nokia N95 phone, but I feel a little pang sometimes when I see an iPhone. Of course their battery life and general international pain-in-the-***ness keeps me from getting one, but I’ve been wanting to get an iPod touch and start using some of the nice apps and touch-screen goodness for awhile. Of course Alaska Airlines had to go and crush my dream by finding my iPod in my seat pocket and next day airing it to me. I didn’t even report it missing! That darn airline, they are too nice to their customers. Oh well. I’ll just have to wait. And I was so happy to read this post on iPhone/iPod Touch travel apps. *sigh* The list should also include the Tripit app, which as an avid Tripit user I’m dying to use.

I felt slightly guilty for going to Chicago and not posting anything about here. Since it is my third trip there I didn’t feel the need to take another day off of work to see the city so I just bugged in and out over a three day weekend. However, I don’t want to leave you empty handed. Here is a Matador network post on Chicago on a Budget and I will add the following. Staying downtown can be pricey. If you’re going for a short trip you’ll be going to and from downtown in a cab or on the “L” at least once to stay downtown. Instead I would suggest staying at the airport, taking the “L” downtown and seeing your sights and then taking the “L” back. If you’re only going to do this once roundtrip then you’ll save time as you already would have had one roundtrip just getting to your downtown hotel. Even if your event is downtown you can take the train downtown, go to your meeting or whatever, do your sight-seeing and return. Sleeping by the airport is also pretty convenient for early flights as you can’t depend on Chicago traffic if you’re in a cab and the “L” can be a pain the morning, especially with baggage. Waking up, checking out and walking straight to your gate after getting your boarding pass in the lobby couldn’t be easier. It really makes Chicago so much less of a hassle.

Any locals have some tips? I have always found Chicago to be difficult to budget travel.

Yesterday’s post on traveling to the Bush reminded me of this website on travel etiquette. Some people have really negative experiences when they travel because they have expectations that aren’t met and because they don’t make the effort to understand the culture they are going to before they travel. Check it out here.