Author: pushpinnedmap_ppydng

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In mid-to-late August, hubs and I took an Alaska cruisetour with Princess. Our cruise on the Island Princess started in Vancouver, went to Icy Strait Point, Skagway, Juneau, thru Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and College Fjord, and ended in Whittier. The land portion started in Whittier and went to the Mt McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge (Talkeetna/ southeastern Denali), to Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge (northeastern Denali), and to Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge. This time of year was ideal, IMHO. The tourism season was dying down. The weather was pleasantly cool, there were no mosquitoes to speak of, wildlife was active, and we had very little rain. I do have a few after-the-fact considerations.

TRAVEL TIPS

• Getting Around – One benefit of booking the trip with Princess was they coordinated our travel and luggage transport between all locations (e.g., airport to hotel, hotel to cruise ship, hotel to hotel). Alaska is an enormous state, travel time between sites was considerable, and I didn’t have to worry about any of it. Sure, I could have organized my own land and sea travel, but it was nice not to have the hassle. In most places, traffic was light, but infrastructure was limited. We were told there are only three ways to get to Juneau- by boat, plane, or birth canal.
• It’s Expensive. – Roughly half of Alaska’s population lives in Fairbanks, Juneau, and Anchorage. These cities are major supply cities and where stuff is cheapest. Even in Fairbanks, food, souvenirs, and Uber were about 20-25% more expensive than in Florida. Cruise excursions were also more expensive than they were for other cruises we’ve done. I recommend booking excursions before you go so you know what to expect, costwise, and adding a little extra padding to the budget for this trip.
• Built-In Excursions – There were a handful of activities pre-built into the cost of our trip that we really enjoyed. The cruise thru Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and College Fjord with a naturalist guide, the four-hour bus tour thru Denali, and the dog-sled demo led by the National Park Service (NPS) were among our favorite activities, and we did not incur any additional charges for them. These were optional activities automatically scheduled for us by Princess or made available by the NPS, and I highly recommend future cruisers take advantage of them. Don’t forget to bring your binoculars!
• Go Beyond Princess-Hosted Activities – We did a few activities on our own that we really enjoyed and that were not hosted by Princess. We asked folks who knew the area or poked around online for things to do when we knew were going to have extra time. Also, our best meals were not in the Princess restaurants or on the ship but rather stuff we found off-site. Side note, you’ll get your fill of fresh salmon, crab, and reindeer.
• Appropriate Ensemble – I started each day wearing a long sleeve shirt, a hoodie, a waterproof jacket (Recommend!), a hat, and gloves. By noon, I had shed everything but my long sleeve shirt. I was bundled up again after dinner. Bring layers.
• Wear a Led Zeppelin Hoodie. Make Friends. – Most of the Alaska cruisers were senior citizens, and most of them were ready to initiate a conversation with little-to-no provocation. If you are the kind of person who loves talking to folks, then this is an ideal trip for you. Case in point, I wore a Led Zeppelin hoodie, and lots of random folks needed to tell me how much they love Led Zeppelin. But hey, maybe you won’t need this icebreaker. This isn’t the Titanic.

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The mid-to-late August weather was gorgeous – cool in the shade, warm in the sun, with very occasional drizzles and fog. If we saw no wildlife, then we still would have had gorgeous views of the inlets and bays, islands, glaciers, mountains, waterfalls, rivers, the taiga, and the boreal forest. We were fortunate enough to get a great list of wildlife sightings – orcas, humpback whales, Dall’s porpoises, Steller sea lions, otters, black bear, brown (grizzly) bear, Dall sheep, moose, caribou, trumpeter swans, varied thrush, black-billed magpies, and gray jays (banded). We also rode a train (slowly) through the smouldering remains of a wildfire and had a jet boat excursion cancelled due to drought, but hey, that’s nature. Also, I have no idea why this list is fun to me, but modes of transportation on this trip included airplane, taxi, Uber, cruise ship, tramway, train (Alaska Railroad and White Pass & Yukon Route), bus/ shuttle (HOHO, Princess, Airlink, and The Parking Spot), river boat, ATV, and APM. All in all, this is certainly a trip you could do several times and see something new each time. Remember to bring a waterproof jacket, binoculars, your camera, and extra spending money!

Hubs has been telling me for years that I would love the German Christmas markets. Last December, we decided to go visit them, and our darling MiLea joined us. I also planned some non-Christmas market activities because I thought I would get sick of Christmas markets after we visited one or two, but honestly, I could not get enough of them. On our trip, we wandered through strings of large, dramatic markets as well as charming little neighborhood markets. I knew Germany was famous for wooden ornaments, and we saw thousands of them for sale, but the markets also sold food, drink, local crafts, clothing, and all matter of Christmas decor. Granted, there was overlap with some of the products we saw from city to city, but regardless, each market was as unique as the area in which it was set. I compiled some tips and a little summary of the places we visited.

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General Tips

• Bring Cash. Allowable payment types are a mix of cash-only, credit cards accepted, or credit cards accepted with a minimum purchase.
• Timing Counts. Christmas markets run throughout the advent season. Hours of operation vary, but generally they are open daily from late morning into the evening. Go early in the day or on weekdays if you wish to avoid crowds.
• Eat the Food. There were many food options, and I am sure they were all tasty. As a concept, currywurst sounds disgusting to me. I cannot explain why, but it is actually delicious. A mint, the Staatliche Münze Berlin, even released a sorta hideous/ sorta glorious coin commemorating its 70th birthday this year. Eat some.
• Drink the Gluhwein. Germany is cold in December. There is no better way to warm up than with a steaming mug of hot, spiced wine. It is ubiquitous and delicious. As an aside, they charge a mug deposit which you get back when you return the mug to any stand that serves Gluhwein. As another aside, the designs on the Gluhwein mugs vary from city to city. Collect them all.
• Pack light. Leave room in your luggage or bring a collapsible bag so you can get your spoils home. I brought my own shopping bags to the markets thinking no one would provide them, but many of the things we bought were boxed properly by the vendors. We also packed light because we mostly got around by train.

Christmas Markets We Visited

• Cologne – We strolled through a string of Christmas markets in search of dinner and kölsch, and they were all adorable. We started at the market in the courtyard adjacent to the Cologne Cathedral, and you would be hard pressed to find a more dramatic backdrop. The scale and facade of this massive structure is impossible to describe, and it was enlivened by the jolly lights and decorations. These markets were Matt and MiLea’s top pick.
• Heidelberg – We stumbled across this market while in search of Doner Kebab before a visit to Schloss Heidelberg. At this point we realized that in Germany the equation is every Old City Center + open air Market Place = Christmas Market.
• Stuttgart – The long, meandering Christmas market we visited was situated alongside the large square and a former baroque castle that now houses government offices. The grand, sweeping backdrop made for a gorgeous walk, and when we started to get chilly? Currywurst and Gluhwein.
• Nuremberg – This was the largest of the Christmas markets we visited (180 stalls!) and certainly the most famous. If you only get to visit one Christmas market and are there solely for the shopping, then I would hit up this guy. The Nuremberg Castle and St. Lorenz church are also within walking distance of the market if you want to make a very full day of it.
• Rothenburg ob de Tauber – We drove a little stretch of the Romantic Road, and this was our last stop of the day. This little medieval city was basically magic. Again, a walk thru the old walled city was just as much fun as the market itself, and I wish we had more time to take in the scenery. As an aside, the brick and mortar store, Käthe Wohlfahrt Weinnachtsdorf, was fantastic!
• Dresden – We were on the fence about a day trip to Dresden, and we were all so glad we decided to make time. The markets in this city were my top pick. The first one we visited was near a complex of buildings associated with the Dresden Castle, and the other two we visited were outside the Frauenkirche. We needed a few days to visit all the amazing buildings in the area.
• Berlin – We visited three markets in Berlin, two little neighborhood markets and the large Gendarmenmarkt. We paid one euro for entry into the large market which is located in a historic square encased by a concert hall and two churches. It was insanely busy on a Saturday night.

Our trip to Germany was basically a delicate ballet of me trying to buy all the things and Matt trying to keep me from buying all the things. As it was, our luggage was bursting on the way home as it was crammed full of chocolate, wooden ornaments, and Christmas gifts. I literally started planning our return trip as we waited to fly home from the Frankfurt airport. Maybe next time I can collect some of the adorable little wooden figurines I had to leave behind.

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Hubs and I went to Louisville this past Labor Day weekend. I saw a concert at Riverbend with my bro, did an escape room with the fam, played pinball at RecBar, and made the obligatory stop at Skyline Chili. I know, I know- we missed Graeter’s. Truthfully, the main purpose of our trip was to visit Waverly Hills Sanatorium. Waverly Hills was not an official tourist attraction when I lived in Louisville fifteen years ago, and I have wanted to go ever since they started public tours. Afternoon, evening, and overnight tours are conducted March thru August, and in October, the first floor is converted to a haunted house. I am rarely home outside of Christmastime, so we had to make a special summer trip home.

We opted for a 7:30 pm, two-hour tour in the hopes that we would get a little bit of daylight and a little bit of darkness. However, it was a dark and stormy night, *ahem*, so the whole tour was pretty dark. Flashlights and flash photography were allowed in a few designated areas, but for the most part,  the tour was conducted with ambient light only. We went to all five floors of the main building, and there were no functional elevators, no a/c, and only one place to sit down. The building was so neat no one cared about these minor discomforts.

The history of Waverly Hills was fascinating. It was a state-of-the-art facility in its heyday. At its peak, the 28-building facility situated on the outskirts of Louisville housed 400+ tuberculosis patients. Basic treatments included heliotherapy, fresh air, and good nutrition; some advanced cases were subject to dramatic experimental treatment like rib removal, or thoracoplasty. The patient death rate was one death per hour at its peak. The development of the antibiotic streptomycin rendered this large facility unnecessary, and it closed in 1961. It reopened in 1962 as an elder care facility that was shutdown in 1981 by the state.  Around this time, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places because of its unique architecture and historical significance. The facility changed hands a few times, was stripped for parts, fell into disrepair, and was overrun with destructive trespassers before the current owners acquired it.

I suspect most Waverly Hills visitors do not come for the Tudor Gothic Revival architecture. The sanatorium has been featured on a number of television shows and is thought to be one of the most haunted places in America. A high Tuberculosis death rate coupled with a staff suicide, the murder of a resident vagrant and his dog, and elder care abuse are perfect fodder for ghost stories, real or imagined. Most locals have heard rumors about Room 502 or the body chute used to covertly remove numerous deceased bodies from the grounds. The tour helped me distinguish between fact and urban legend, and I felt like the folks who worked there took pride in and felt personally invested in the facility. I was fairly spooked at the onset, but by the end, I felt informed, and my heebie jeebies were gone. Personally, I would go back in a heartbeat. I would very much like to go on a day tour and see the interior building details that were lost in the dark. However, first-time visitors, you should definitely experience it in the dark.

Hubs and I were invited to vacation with my friend Ned and his family at their lake house on Lake Murray in South Carolina this past Fourth of July. We had not been in years but knew it would be a few chill days of fresh air, sunshine, and poor-to-no cell phone reception. Additionally, I have wanted to visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina for a decade+, and I thought we could stop there for a visit while in the area. My dad has also wanted to take my stepmom back to Biltmore for years, so we decided to meet up with them for a long weekend before heading to the lake house.

I did not know much about Asheville, so I spoke with a few folks familiar with the area. One friend held his bachelor party there so his crew could hit up some of the 25+ craft breweries. Another spent her days driving the Blue Ridge Parkway, picking blueberries, collecting river rocks, and bird watching from her grandpa’s front porch. Biltmore recommendations ranged anywhere from “stop by for a few hours” to “give yourself a few days.” Ultimately, we did as much as possible in Asheville and then as little as possible at the lake house. Here are the highlights of our trip.

The Biltmore Estate – I was told the house was busiest first thing in the morning so we went in the afternoon, and it was still packed.  We paid for a guided tour but felt it was not worth the extra money. We were rushed thru without time to see anything as long as we wanted, I had very few opportunities to ask questions, and it was so packed it was impossible for the group to navigate the house together. I suspect better advice would be to go in the afternoon and avoid the Fourth of July week altogether. The fam and I agreed we would be willing to return if we went on an off day and were able to work at our own pace.

 

Honestly, the best stuff we did on property was outside the main house. The gardens, paths, and Conservatory around the main house were phenomenal. We stayed in Antler Village. The first night we walked thru an adorable temporary model train exhibit, ate ice cream, listened to live music, and watched fireflies.  The next morning I got up before everyone else, bird watched, walked around the petting zoo, and watched the horses. Hubs and I walked thru a cool rock tunnel to get to a wine tasting. We had nice meals at two of the estate restaurants – reservations recommended. Driving around the estate itself was scenic and wonderful.

The Biltmore Village McDonald’s (and Other Restaurants) – When it comes to food, hubs and I are game for anything from the greasiest greasy spoon to the fancy pants-iest of restaurants. We ran the gambit during this stay and did not have a bad meal. The restaurants on the estate were nice and featured food grown on-site. I adored the funky and cramped breakfast we had at Biscuit Head. It has a JAM BAR that was totally my jam. We hit up Wicked Weed for a tasty lunch and beers, and later on we had a leisurely Mexican meal in the Biltmore Village. Yes, I know this is a weird side note, but the Biltmore Village McDonald’s is the fanciest McDonald’s I have ever visited. There is a small water feature on the wall, a display cabinet with knick knacks, classy furniture, and a roped-off stage in the corner that houses a player piano complete with classical music on playback. Next time – Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and the Funkatorium.

The Blue Ridge Parkway -> North Carolina Arboretum – My stepmom is an avid gardener, so I thought she might enjoy the North Carolina Arboretum. It was a great stop! My favorite things were the awesome and surprisingly elaborate bonsai garden and the quilt garden with flower beds planted in a repeating quilt patch pattern. We drove a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway to get to the arboretum which I highly recommend even if you do not have a destination. Who does not need a little Blue Ridge Mountain therapy?

The Grovewood Village – I read about the Grovewood Village online and thought it would be an interesting stop and a nice way to get into the mountains. The antique car museum was small but fun for the car enthusiasts in our group, and the old wooden building in which they were housed was as interesting as the cars themselves. Personally, I enjoyed the art gallery and the variety of unique custom art for sale. As an aside, the GPS took us past the Grove Park Inn which is in the same complex and is something straight out of a fairy tale. This Arts and Crafts gem is on the National Register of Historic Places, and we were told the view of the mountains from the lobby was phenomenal.

Asheville Pinball Museum – The Asheville Pinball Museum was my personal must-do activity, and I would be there every weekend if I were local. It had a nice range of pinball and retro arcade machines, and the machines were in good condition. The vibe was super cool; even the bathroom was funky in a positive, retro kind of way. I also liked that you pay an entry fee and can play as much as you wish, so I did not have to bother with quarters or change machines. They roped off the entrance when the place was at capacity, but it still became a might bit crowded. Etiquette tips – play each game completely before you move on, and put your drinks in the cup holders affixed to each machine.

Lake Murray Lake House – We finished our vacation week at Ned’s family lake house in Prosperity, SC, Ned and family included. I love Ned and his family, and I always have so much fun when we are together. We made a mandatory stop at Shealey’s Bar-B-Que before we went to the house which basically meant we put away enough bar-b-que, fried chicken, and cornbread to justify three days of napping. The lake house is an idyllic getaway situated on Lake Murray with plenty of windows and deck space for everyone to enjoy the lake view. For three days, we napped, swam, fished, birded, ate junk food, played board games, and generally lazed around. Showers optional. Longer than three days, and I would have become a fixture.

All in all, our week in the Carolinas was fantastic. We had the perfect mix of a/c and the outdoors. Asheville turned out to be a quirky little town with great food, a random smattering of art deco buildings, and wonderful mountain vistas. We had not been to Prosperity in years, and there is no better way to recharge the battery than a few days of napping and fresh air. Recommend!

A Few of My Favorite Things

4) Disney Cruise Line Navigator Mobile App – The Disney Cruise Line Navigator mobile app was a nice, free feature. The layout was clean and simple, and it was so easy to navigate a child could and most likely has done it. It included deck plans, a filterable list of activities by day, the ability to make a short list of favorite activities to create a personalized itinerary, excursion details, and chat functionality complete with Disney-themed emoji. The app needed fine tuning though. The chat feature was offline for a good portion of our cruise. Disney provided a portable phone system in each room for on-board communication, and it would have been great if it integrated with the app. Additionally, the app allowed individual users to sign in on multiple devices, but individual user content was not synced between devices. Activities could only be filtered by one category, so I could only sort by adult activities OR teen activities OR kid activities. I oftentimes defaulted to the paper Navigator schedule provided daily because the single item filter was not helpful.

3) Adults Only Stuff – On our way through security, an elderly woman in front of us confided that her husband played Santa Claus on the cruise. Santa protested her secret identity reveal, and she dismissed him because  we “cah-lear-ly did not have kids.” Awkward. Then hubs and I walked into the cruise terminal and saw roughly one million screaming children. I thought to myself, I have made a terrible mistake. Honestly, once we cleared the terminal, I realized the no-kid thing was no big deal. Sure, there were lots of kids and kid activities; however, there was also an abundance of adult-only areas and activities.  Castaway Cay, the Disney-owned island we visited on Day 3, had a large, adult-only beach, bar, and dining area. Three of the upper forward decks of the boat were designated 18+ areas with a hot tub, several pools, bars, and a lot of chairs. There were plenty of adult-only activities. Also, it was not uncomfortable to be a childless couple at shows or activities listed as suitable for people of all ages. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed at how much of a non-issue it was to be an adult couple on a Disney cruise. A couple I know went on a Disney cruise for their honeymoon, but I did not believe Disney couples cruising was a thing until I experienced for it myself.

2) Movies – The kiddie pool had an outdoor movie screen with all sorts of fun animated features playing which I watched on my many runs to and from the soft serve ice cream bar. For the most part, we opted for the indoor Buena Vista theater. I know it sounds stupid to go on vacation in the glorious Caribbean and spend hours in a cold, dark theater, but I could not care less. I live in Florida. I roast in the subtropics year-round. It was so cool to see Disney films playing in theaters now such as Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Coco, and Thor: Ragnarock. There were 3D showings and closed captioning showings too. I suppose if the most blasphemous offense was that they charged for popcorn, then maybe there was not too much to complain about. But seriously, Disney, you include prime rib in the cost of admission but try to charge me $4 for popcorn?!? Get it together.

1) Castaway Cay – Several cruise lines have purchased or leased Caribbean islands for day stops.  I have been to one or two and know you would not go wrong with a day spent on any of these islands; they are clean, well-laid-out retreats with standard beach loungers, walking paths, and plenty of food. However, Castaway Cay was my favorite by far. The entire island is laid out like a Disney theme park – wide, paved walkways, thoughtful decorations, shops, bars, bike rentals, a tram with four stops, lots of BBQ and self-serve ice cream, a post office, and plenty of hammocks and lounge chairs. There were a handful of excursions like swimming with the stingrays, jet ski rentals, and Jetovater (Google it.) rentals. We walked the paths, waded the crystalline waters, and lazed on lounge chairs in the adult-only beach. My favorite oddity was the old airstrip you travel to access the adult-only beach, observation tower, and sections of bike path. I could have stayed there a week.

Travel Tips and Trivia Tidbits

• Pieces of Flair – Repeat Disney cruisers researched and came prepared. There was a Facebook group for our ship and tour date so you could meet folks ahead of time. People brought lanyards for the “Key to the World” ID card issued when you check in and decorated their stateroom doors with door knob hangers, magnetic pictures, and name cards. Folks brought costumes for the pirate-themed night. I wore my “Goonies Never Say Die” t-shirt to dinner only to find Ned had worn a t-shirt with the exact same saying. Great minds.
• The Artist’s Palette – Dinner at the Artist’s Palette was painful. There were televisions screens throughout the dining area, and characters from Finding Nemo traveled between screens and engaged the kids, loudly and for the duration of the meal. To make it tolerable, I suggest a drinking game where you take a shot every time you hear Crush say “Dude.” I call the game “Gone in 60 Seconds.”
• Discounts and Promotions – This January, the Disney cruise website had a small number of cruises with Florida Resident Discounts available for a limited time. Our group booked through Small World Vacations and received shipboard credit as part of our deal. A 10% discount was offered to folks who booked their next cruise while on board.

Final Thoughts

Matt had a class in Monterey, CA on Monday, so he suggested we spend a long weekend together in San Francisco. I am not going to lie; at the time, my knowledge of San Francisco was limited to Alcatraz and the Rice-A-Roni jingle. I was surprised by the plethora of interesting suggestions we got from friends when we started to research things to do in the Bay area. We were only in town three days, and it did not take long to realize we would only have time to scratch the surface of what San Francisco had to offer. Regardless, we had a blast and still managed to squeeze in lots of cool stuff. Here is a list of our trip highlights.

A Few of My Favorite Things

5) Topography

I live in Florida. Florida is so very flat. My first impressions of San Francisco were dominated by the area’s topography. It may seem like a weird thing to include on my list, but the excessive relief is so San Francisco. It is cool to drive around town and see block after block of sloped streets lined with colorful row houses and sidewalks comprised of hundreds of shallow steps. Atop landmarks like Twin Peaks, Alcatraz, and Telegraph Hill there are gorgeous cityscape views and views of the San Francisco Bay. The downside is long walks are taxing and may take longer than you would expect. Hubs and I walked to a concert at The Fillmore and thought it would be quick because it was only a mile away. We did not realize it was a mile uphill. It was not quick. If you are not interested in a buns-of-steel crash course, then catch an Uber or Lyft, or map out a walking route that avoids hills.

4) Alcatraz

We booked the behind-the-scenes evening tour of Alcatraz because apparently hubs thinks everyday life is not scary enough, but our tour was canceled due to a blackout on the island. Personally, I think people would pay stupid money for a blackout tour of Alcatraz, but I digress. They rescheduled us for a tour the following morning. I did not know much about Alcatraz beyond a few hazy details gleaned from the 90’s movie “The Rock,” and it turns out “The Rock” is not super accurate. Alcatraz is best known as a federal penitentiary; I was surprised to learn this is only a small portion of the island’s history.

There were numerous shipwrecks in the Bay area during the Gold Rush, and the first notable construction on the island was a lighthouse, operational as of 1854. The island then housed a Civil War fort, Fort Alcatraz, and in 1907, Alcatraz officially became a military prison.  Alcatraz later became a maximum-security federal penitentiary in 1934, and in 1963, it was shut down due to high operation and maintenance costs. Between 1969 and 1971, Native American activists occupied Alcatraz for 18 months in an effort to raise awareness for the Native American peoples. Alcatraz was designated as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and has been operated by the National Park Service since 1972 .

Personally, I thought it was neat to roam around the island and see how each use left its footprint. I took a photo near the dock, and I think it sums up the history of the island very nicely.  The building in the background is the barracks building constructed in the 1860’s during the Civil War and expanded in 1905. Black and white signs like the one in the picture were installed all over the island when it was a federal penitentiary. By the way, if you are most interested in the penitentiary, then there is an excellent self-guided cellhouse audio tour that describes life on the island for inmates, Alcatraz employees, and the employees’ families. Graffiti left by the Native American activists, the red painted letters seen above the sign, can also be found all over the island. Finally, the National Park Service logo can also be seen just above the ranger who gave our brief orientation.

3) Food

Before I came to San Francisco, I thought the food scene was limited to sourdough bread and Rice-a-Roni, the later solely because of the commercials I saw as a kid. In reality, the San Francisco food scene casts a wide net. You can get a great meal on any budget, and you can sample a variety of cuisines. This may be true of any big city, but I love the California twist. Despite my firm belief that I am a “pre-millennial,” I do love avocado toast. We had three awesome meals within two blocks of our hotel. Hubs gravitates towards Asian foods, so we decided to hit Japantown and Chinatown. We got stellar ramen at Marufuku, and luckily our stomachs were still on east coast time so we ate early. There was a line about 15 people deep when we left. We also grabbed dim sum and baked goods at shops in Chinatown; the food was delicious and cheap. I liked to walk the streets in Chinatown and see all the produce, noodles, and other food stuffs.

I  suspect the San Francisco food scene has an interesting history, but we did not delve into it too deeply. I did learn the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company originated in San Francisco. Ghirardelli Square, the former factory location in Fisherman’s Wharf, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a tourist destination for dining and shopping. The Cannery located right across the street was built in 1907 by Del Monte and was its major canning facility for 30 years. Now it is another cluster of retail and restaurants. Boudin Bakery has a storefront a few blocks east of The Cannery, and it is famous for its sourdough bread. Sourdough bread originated in San Francisco. Local Gold Rush miners cultivated the perfect yeast starter through sheer dumb luck, and the sour-tasting bread they baked became a regional staple.

2) Musée Mécanique

We made the obligatory stop at Fisherman’s Wharf solely because it was the terminus of the cable car line. Honestly, the cluster of shops and restaurants was not appealing to us. By chance, we happened across the Musée Mécanique as we wandered around the Wharf. The Musée Mécanique is a bizarre and wonderful collection of mechanical games that date from the 1800s to the present. There is no admission fee, and there are several change machines on-site if you wish to play. Mostly we played the antique games in wooden consoles. Some of them were innocently charming, some were decidedly un-PC, and others were indescribably creepy and will provide nightmare fodder for years to come. Quite frankly, I did not have the courage to activate “Laffing Sal.” I DEFINITELY did not make eye contact. Let us just say if I wind up dead, then I know what is responsible. I got a kick out of the

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

gift shop, an ancient vending machine with a large “GIFT SHOP” sign posted on top that dispenses patches and other random souvenirs. I had not seen this place advertised, and I cannot speak to its popularity among visitors, but this is definitely a fun pit stop if you have any interest in antique machines, video games, or random, neat crap.

1) OK Go at The Fillmore (It is my list, and I will list what I want.)

I told my dad we saw OK Go at The Fillmore, and in an unprecedented fit of coolness, he responded, “The Fillmore is really an R’N’R tabernacle. So many big names started out there. Cool.” He is right. The Fillmore is a super cool venue. They have a coat check, an appropriate bar-to-patron ratio, and a large tub of free apples for some reason. The concert hall size is perfect; it is small enough so there is not a bad viewing spot in the house but large enough to accommodate about 1150 people.

I am glad we got there early because it gave us a chance to walk around inside the building. It is full of high-ceilinged rooms lined with hundreds of posters from past concerts spanning over 50 years. It is interesting to see how the stylized posters have evolved over the decades, and it is equally cool to see posters for so many phenomenal bands; from memory, Led Zeppelin, The Black Crowes, Weezer, Them, G. Love & Special Sauce, Tom Petty, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Bullet for My Valentine, The Wallflowers, Moby Grape, and The White Stripes. The Fillmore provides posters for select sold-out shows, and each person was given a slick poster printed on thick, quality paper as we exited. The ticket prices were reasonable, and we got kick ass posters. How cool is that?

I first saw OK Go in 2002 when they opened for They Might Be Giants at Bogart’s in Cincinnati. It was one of the few times I have ever loved an opening band new to me, and we were not the only ones who felt this way. Their CDs sold out before we got to the merch booth. I saw them again in 2015 in Orlando, and I had so much fun I jumped at the chance to see them in San Francisco. Their sold-out show at The Fillmore was wildly entertaining. Anyone would have had a great time even if they knew nothing about OK Go’s music because their shows are so engaging and energetic. Who would not be overjoyed amidst the blast of confetti cannons? Matt said it was by far the best of the concerts I have dragged him to. I know that does not seem like a glowing endorsement, but trust me, it is. I have dragged him to a lot of concerts.

I am not clairvoyant. I do not know if OK Go will ever play The Fillmore again. I do know that history repeats itself, so maybe you will get lucky. Alternatively, go on a few side quests. See OK Go in another city, or see a different show at The Fillmore. It felt amazing to experience this little music history gem, and I am so glad we went.

Travel Tips and Trivia Tidbits

• Learn the Districts – Our hotel had a nice map at the front desk with the Districts labeled. It would have kept me oriented if I had noticed it before we checked out…
• Ridesharing – Uber started in San Francisco, and Uber drivers are ubiquitous. We skipped the car rental and opted to walk or catch an Uber, and it was the right decision for us on this trip.
• Alcatraz Tour Tickets – Buy tickets as soon as you can, 90 days out, because popular times may sell out.
• Cable Car – You will have to wait in line because cable cars depart in 10-minute intervals. The ride offers nice views of Coit Tower and the curvy segment of Lombard Street. If you are happy to snap a picture of these places from a distance, then pick the appropriate line and snap while you ride.
• Haight Street – Our Uber driver routed us down Haight Street on our way to Twin Peaks. If you are in the market for hippie gear, then stop off in the Haight-Ashbury district.

Return Trip Bucket List

• Presidio
• Coit Tower
• San Francisco Bay Trail
• Muir Woods
• Sausalito
• Battery Spencer
• The Castro rainbow crosswalks
• Mission District Burritos/ La Taqueria
• Tartine Bakery

Final Thoughts

This is the first time I have spent any length of time in California apart from the occasional airport layover. I assumed the entire state was sunny and warm year-round, but northern California actually gets cool and overcast. The cool weather was a welcome change. The state is notorious for its high cost of living and crippling traffic, and it did not fail to meet expectations on these accounts. San Francisco was a city of dented bumpers and $40 breakfasts. Regardless, I enjoyed the uniqueness of the city and am glad we visited. San Francisco has a lot of character.

Earlier this year, Matt and I were throwing around ideas for our ten-year anniversary vacation. My ideas were practical, and his were, of course, completely insane. After a few days of back-and-forth, he suggested we go to New Zealand. Perfect! Our springtime, mid-May anniversary actually occurs near the end of New Zealand’s fall because of that whole opposite-side-of-the-world thing. We decided to go a month early because temperatures would be in the low sixties according to historical weather data. I live in Central Florida and embrace any opportunity to wear a light jacket. April is the tail end of the New Zealand hurricane season (Read: “cyclone season” in the South Pacific.), and typically rainfall is not too heavy. Rain no longer registers with me anyway. In the Sunshine State, it is as ubiquitous as oxygen.

When we go on vacation, I have a tendency to keep a frenetic, Clark Griswold-esque schedule, and it drives hubs crazy. I figured after ten years of matching my pace he’d earned a relaxing vacation, so I outlined a low-key itinerary that minimized hotel room changes and drive times but allowed us to see a good chunk of the country. I decided to stick to the North Island in lieu of covering more ground too quickly.

In mid-April, we left the warm central Florida spring to soak up a pleasant, cooling New Zealand fall. The flight across the Pacific was no joke, long and turbulent. We flew into Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand, and stayed four nights. We then took advantage of New Zealand’s relatively cheap in-country flights and flew to Wellington, the nation’s capital, where we spent three nights. For the second half of our trip, we got a rental car and drove back to Auckland. We ignored the GPS and headed to Napier via SH2 as the concierge told us this was a more picturesque drive with less traffic than SH1. Indeed, it was a charming country drive with one beautiful but intense pocket of mountainous switchbacks centered around the Rimutaka Crossing. This route also gave a chance to stop by the Tui Brewery. We spent two nights in the Hawke’s Bay region, one night in Tongariro National Park, four nights in Rotorua, and one night in Hamilton before we flew home.

A Few of My Favorite Things

I put together a list of my top five favorite things from this trip rather than chronicle everything we did. Our trip was meant to be leisurely, but we still crammed in a bunch of stuff.  Sure, we would have done things differently if the weather were warmer and the country was overrun with peak-season tourists. There were quite a few things we did not get to do. Regardless, I feel like this is a solid list.

5) Waitomo Glowworm Caves

When I brought hubs home to Kentucky for the first time, I wanted to show off my home state. We got hot browns at the Brown Hotel, visited the Corvette Museum, and toured Mammoth Cave. In hindsight, I can’t believe I forgot the bourbon. Anyhow, hubs is tough to impress, but he was impressed with Mammoth Cave. As I was planning our anniversary trip, I saw that the Waitomo Glowworm Caves were kinda sorta on our way back to Auckland, and we decided to check them out. We booked a combo tour of Waitomo Glowworm Caves and Ruakuri Cave. As an aside, book ahead of time to ensure you will get your desired tour time. We did not do this, so we had to take a tour later in the day.

The thought of setting foot in a dank, dark cavern deep underground might not appeal to everyone. Welp, leave the canary in the car, definitely don’t Google “Floyd Collins,” and suck it up, because it would be a shame to miss these caves. You have the opportunity to see stalactite, stalagmite, column, and drape formations in addition to glowworms. Glowworms can be found throughout New Zealand, actually they can be found nearly worldwide, and this tour provides an easily-accessible place to view them. Glowworm adults hatch with no mouthparts because they only live long enough to mate, but the bioluminescent larval stage lasts nine to twelve months. They make gorgeous constellations across the ceilings of the caves, and the lighting is minimal for full effect. In some places you will also be able to see the long strings of silk spotted with mucus droplets the larvae excrete to ensnare prey. Somewhat less poetic, but cool nonetheless.

4) Auckland Ferry Trips

Hubs likes the city; I like the country. We try to pick vacation spots with a little bit of both, so Auckland suited us. We did the Hop-On, Hop-Off (HOHO) bus our first day in town and then spent the rest of our time ferrying out to the surrounding islands. Was there plenty we didn’t do in Auckland? Sure. What can I say? Ferries are fun. Islands are fun. We took the ferry to Rangitoto with a stop in Devonport on the return trip to see North Head Historic Reserve, hit up wineries and lunched on Waiheke Island, and picked up a few life birds in Tiritiri Matangi. This may seem like a random selection for my list, but if you think about the geography of New Zealand, two large islands surrounded by about six hundred small islands, then you realize you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t check out a few small islands.

3) Wineries

New Zealand’s latitude south of the equator is mirrored by California’s latitude north of the equator, and two areas have much in common in terms of climate and geography. About a hundred years ago, a stand of California redwoods was planted in the Rotorua area, and these trees actually grew faster and softer in New Zealand than they would have grown in California. Grapevines also grow well in these two areas. Vineyards can be found throughout New Zealand in regions that extend from the Northland in the northern North Island to the Central Otago in the southern South Island.

We spent two days visiting wineries on this trip, and we just scratched the surface of the local wine scene. The first day we spent on Waiheke Island. Waiheke Island is home to about forty boutique wineries and also home to some affluent citizens, I suspect. There is no shortage of good wine or good vistas on this island. The second day of wine tours we spent in Hawke’s Bay which is the northern end of the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail, a stretch of country between Wellington and Hawke’s Bay where 80% of New Zealand’s wine is produced. In short, drink wine. Go with a tour group, go on your own, grab a bottle or two to enjoy later. Some wineries have lovely restaurants, and you definitely should grab lunch or dinner if you have the chance. If you don’t have time to visit any wineries, then you should at least enjoy a bottle of New Zealand wine with dinner while you think about your priorities in life. New Zealand wines are sold in most restaurants.

2) Getting Outside

There is a variety of outdoor activities for all skill levels literally everywhere. You will never have to go far to find a trail to hike, or a track to tramp as they say in the local vernacular. In the North Island alone there are thermal pools, mud baths, a rain forest, active volcanoes, craggy beaches, and waterfalls. You can hike up a mountain or ski down it, take a casual stroll through a manicured garden or make the eight-hour Tongariro Alpine Crossing hike between the frozen peaks of Mount Tongariro and Mount Nguaruroe. Tongaririo National Park was a must-see for the three-mountain view alone, and we also went mountain biking along the Old Coach Road in this area. We saw the Lady Knox Geyser, mud baths, and walked the three-tiered trail around the thermal pools at Wai-O-Tapu. We hiked around Rangitoto and Tiritiri Matangi Islands and did the short walk up Mount Eden. We drove Te Mata and walked along Huka Falls. We did an afternoon canopy walk through the redwoods at Whakarewarewa. Hamilton Gardens was an easy walk through incredible gardens, and it was much bigger and cooler than we’d anticipated. I like to think I beat my personal record for most mountains climbed in a two-week period. I also like to think walking through vineyards counts as an outdoor activity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1) Lord of the Rings Tours

I was loathe to put this as my top pick because I am sensitive to the fact there is so much more to New Zealand than The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. There is also Flight of the Conchords. Kidding, kidding. This country is breath-taking and special, and it also happens to be ripe with Tolkien lore. If you’ve read the books or seen the movies, then your inner geek will connect with this country in a special way. There were over 150 filming locations in New Zealand. You can do self-guided tours on public properties, a simple Google search will provide written directions and lat/long coordinates, or you can select from many guided tour options.

Hubs and I did a full-day guided tour in Wellington led by the illustrious Jack of Wellington Rover Rings tours. He is the President of the Wellington Tolkien Society and knows just about everything there is to know about both the films and the books. We were part of an eclectic, like-minded, and energetic group of nine companions (Seriously!), and the tour was crammed full of filming locations, movie trivia, and a tour of the WETA Cave Workshop. It’s a miracle my heart didn’t explode from this brush with nerd utopia. I haven’t had many chances in life to look around and think to myself, “Hey, I’m not the biggest nerd here!” I also have never been in a group of people who catch my random LotR quotes or who know about Tom Bombadil. Golden times.

We also did the obligatory Hobbiton tour. We opted to do the Evening Banquet Tour which meant we toured the Shire at dusk, ate a Hobbit-inspired banquet dinner at the Green Dragon Inn, and then waddled back to our bus with lanterns for light. The weather was abysmal, but even soggy shoes and forty-degree weather couldn’t dampen my spirits tromping through the Shire. I am an idiot for not picking up a loaner umbrella at the entrance! I tried to get hubs to go back the next day since it was clear and sunny, but The Man shot me down. You don’t have to be a hard-core fan to appreciate the charm of Hobbiton. It is an insanely popular attraction, so book ahead.

Travel Tips and Trivia Tidbits

I picked up a few useful bits of information during our stay. I thought I’d pass them along to any future travelers.

• METRIC – Do yourself a favor and learn to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit and kilometers to miles so you will have a comfortable internal frame of reference. I used these simple tricks to get rough approximations:
  • To convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit, multiply the degrees Celsius by two and then add thirty. This simple shortcut will give you a workable estimate. If you are a superstar and can do the math in your head, then remember °F = (1.8 x °C) +32.
  • To convert from kilometers to miles, I remembered that 100 km is about 60 miles or that 5 km is 3.2 miles and would scale the numbers accordingly. Again, if you can do the math in your head, then remember 1 kilometer =  0.62 miles.
• DRIVING – This tip comes courtesy of hubs. If you plan to rent a car and you enjoy driving, then do yourself a favor and get a rental that is fun to drive. The roads are curvy and wrought with elevation changes. Personally, I found the drives terrifying, but driving was one of the things he enjoyed most on this trip. He wished we’d gotten a vehicle that handled better. Also remember the cars are right-hand drive, and they drive on the opposite side of the road. Personal preference, I would avoid a manual transmission because the terrain is so mountainous and you’ll be shifting with the opposite hand.
• IN-COUNTRY FLIGHTS – Flights within New Zealand are fairly inexpensive, and they are a quick and easy way to cover long distances. Driving is nice, but speed limits are low, the mountain roads are sinuous, there is no shortage of slow-moving vehicles on the two-lane roads, and there are not many highways, so you aren’t driving anywhere fast. Consider flying instead of driving long distances if time is a factor.
• RESTAURANTS – In general, it was more expensive to eat out in New Zealand than it is in Florida, and the portion sizes were blessedly reasonable. We didn’t have a single bad meal. As one of our tour guides said, workers in New Zealand are actually paid what they are worth, so tipping isn’t an expectation like it is in the States. Of course, tipping is acceptable and appreciated for good service, but wait staff income does not hinge upon customer generosity. Most restaurants, fast food and table service alike, expect you to pay at the register. One restaurant brought us a check that stated we could pay at our seats, but this restaurant was the exception.
  • CHINESE TOURISM – Chinese tourism is prevalent, and these folks definitely have their own unique style of sightseeing. One beautiful side effect of this phenomenon- we had epic Szechuan and cart-style dim sum meals. If you are in New Zealand and Chinese cuisine appeals to you, then I think you will be pleased with a few of the little gems you’ll discover.
  • HAMBURGERS – This is another tip courtesy of hubs. I had no idea he had so many thoughts and strong feelings about hamburgers, but there you go. Ten years in, and we’re still learning things about each other. New Zealand requires restaurants to cook hamburger patties to well done, so avoid them if this is as offensive to you as it is to him. He did approve of the thin, crusty, smash-style burgers we scored in Auckland.
• ORDERING COFFEE – Kiwis take coffee seriously. The coffee market is supersaturated, and it took me three days to figure out how to order coffee without looking like a total a-hole. Traditional American-style drip coffee, while commonplace in the States, is tough to find in New Zealand. Do yourself a favor and learn the common local coffees that will be available to you before you go: flat white, short black, long black. Trim milk = skim milk. Ice cream = whipped cream when you’re ordering coffee. You’re welcome.
• DO THE HOKEY POKEY –  If I have one regret it’s that I didn’t OD on Hokey Pokey while I had the chance. Hokey pokey is vanilla ice cream with chunks of honeycomb, a sort of porous toffee. This Kiwi classic is available at every ice cream shop. Do yourself a favor and try it.
• NATIONAL HOLIDAYS – We were in New Zealand for both Easter Monday and ANZAC Day. Students were also on break the two weeks we were in=country. Many things were closed on the two holidays, and kids were everywhere. I had not given much thought to national holidays when we booked our trip. Lesson learned.
• LAUNDRY – We packed enough clothes for a week with the vague notion that we would do laundry somewhere at some point. We were upgraded to an apartment-style room at our hotel in Wellington, and joy of joys, they had a washing machine AND provided laundry detergent! Note to my future self – book apartment rooms at hotels.
• MAORI – I knew Maori were New Zealand settlers that originated from the Polynesian Islands, but I thought they were strictly historical. I didn’t understand the contemporary prevalence of Maori culture in New Zealand. We heard Kiwi moms speak to their kids in a mixture of Maori and English, and there were two televisions stations spoken entirely in Maori. We spotted quite a few Maori tattoos. Maori symbols fashioned out of jade were sold everywhere.

Return Trip Bucket List

Matt and I arrived with a manageable to-do list, and we ended our trip with a ridiculously long list of things to do when we return.  Some of these things we simply didn’t know existed until we started talking to local folks, and we were not there at the right time to complete others. Some things we would like to see and do if we return:

• All Blacks Rugby game
• Coastal rainforest (Auckland)
• Coromandel peninsula/ Hot water beach
• Whakatane/ White Island volcano
• The Gentle Annie
• Fur seals
• Zealandia (Wellington)
• Hot Pools (Rotorua area)
• Whakarewarewa nighttime canopy walk
• Glowworm Cave Tubing
• Biking Wine Tour (Napier)
• Napier Annual Art Deco Festival
• North Island’s rugged west coast
• South Island
  • Fiordland Nationals Park (“Pining for the fjords.”)
  • Christchurch, Queenstown, Dunedin

Final Thoughts

I had preconceptions before we visited New Zealand. I expected a country full of gentle folks, men who weren’t afraid to wear short shorts and the women who loved them. While these things most certainly held true, I did get a few pleasant surprises. I was unprepared for the glorious mountains. Essentially New Zealand is comprised of ancient volcano debris underlain by fault lines I can only assume look like craquelure of an antique vase. This country is tough, rugged, and not for the faint of heart. On the whole, citizens are environmentally conscious and make an effort to keep the country clean and pristine. People pack their trash in and out when they hike, they don’t litter the streets, and recycling receptacles are everywhere. When we ate out, most food was fresh and locally-sourced. Biosecurity is no joke; we saw how New Zealand makes a serious effort to control exotic pests and disease at both airport security and on the island ferries. Even the gentlest kiwi puts on their murderface when you mention possum.

The tourism industry is much larger than I’d realized. It comes in third behind agriculture and construction for revenue generation. We were in-country at the start of the off-season, and while some people might find the tail end of tourist season to be a lonely time, we enjoyed it. The last cruise ship came and went during our fifteen-day stay, and the shops transitioned to winter hours. Camper vans and tours buses still littered the parking lots, but the thinning crowds were unobtrusive. The fall weather was perfect. The rain came and went very occasionally and never lasted long. Still, I’d love to see New Zealand in the summer even if it means I have to brave a hoard of tourists. I guess we’ll just have to go back.