Travel Tips & Adventures

I know I promised to tell more about shopping in Scottsdale – and I will get to that next week.

But, I’m ready to share a new project I’m about to launch-

Drum roll, please.

Da- da- da- dum- da- dah!

Very soon you’ll be able to see my book: Hiking for the Couch Potato: A Guide for the Exercise-Challenged

In about three weeks, the book will be available as both as an e-book and a printed book.

A light-hearted guide that encourages people to get off the couch and go hiking, Hiking for the Couch Potato has everything from advice on hiking gear to recipes to an “Ode to Frozen Green Peas.”

It even talks about how to meet that significant other!

So, be on the lookout for the book – soon to be available at an e-store and on my new (not available yet) web site.

Suitable for gift giving! (And the web site will be a community where people can share their hiking experiences, recipes, and encourage each other!)

Looking forward to sharing Hiking for the Couch Potato with you!  Everyone likes potatoes!

PS Please let me know your reactions to my book!  I’ll autograph any book personally for someone who orders it through this travel blog.

And the travel winner is…

(Okay, we have not been blogging recently.  Our internet connection was very iffy, but now we seem to have resolved those issues.)

After reviewing travel options for our nine-day excursion, we have decided to choose -   ta da da da dah da!-

IDAHO!

Our choice of Idaho was for the following reasons:

1. We have never been there.
2. They sent us information very quickly – we like responsiveness!
3. We know images can be enhanced, but the stunning views of mountains and lakes were irresistible.
4. After living in the Arizona desert, an abundance of lakes, waterfalls and rivers will be a welcome change.
5. The scenic byways sound entrancing and the diversity of climates is always a great idea if you want to see a lot in very little time.
6. Boise sounds like our idea of a great city to visit.  A university town, that always seems to add something special to the life of a community.   “A vibrant downtown bordered by a 25-mile greenbelt and seven grand parks, line the city’s waterfront.” (Although there is a punctuation/grammatical error there, we get the point.)
7. My husband wants to get some golfing in.  Idaho has an abundance of that.
8. Towns with names like “Bliss,” “Eden” and “Cascade” are so evocative we can’t resist.
9. We once met a Coeur d’Alene resident who couldn’t say enough great things about the city.  We want to see Coeur d’Alene – scenery, culture and golf – sounds almost too good to be true!

10.  After looking randomly at the Idaho Web site, I was hooked! www.visitidaho.org

More to come as we refine our travel adventure!

NO, we’re not robbing a bank!  When it gets to this time of year in Phoenix, people start leaving.  The weather begins to be warmer and the snowbirds start flocking up north.

We have thoughts of migrating ourselves.  We have a short trip to LA coming up, but we’re also planning a longer stay.

But, where to go?  We have nine days and we want a new place –“somewhere where we’ve never been before.”

We had several ideas.  First, we’ll stay stateside since we’re not in the mood for customs and dealing with currency conversions.

Also, we don’t want an enormous plane ride.  We’re open to the possibility of a drive, but we don’t want to spend most of the vacation getting there.

I voted for open spaces, but I need to see water.  My husband also likes open spaces, but he likes mountains.

California?  Been there, done a lot of it.

Colorado?  Maybe.  I keep hearing about Durango and picturesque mountains.

Wyoming?  Certainly, it has the open spaces!

Idaho?  The scenery looks great in the brochures!

Washington (the state)?  We drove through on our way to Vancouver.  I’d get my water and my husband his mountains.

We’ve sent for new brochures.  Yes, I know, the mountains and natural features don’t change too much in a few years.  But, hotels and manmade items do change.

With visions of exploration and open vistas dancing in my head, I will sign off for now.

Come back next week, and we’ll share more about our plans.  Out west for sure!

One adventure that almost anyone can have anywhere in the world is “geocaching.” To the uninitiated, geocaching is using a Global Positioning System (GPS) to locate coordinates and find where someone has left a “treasure.” But, really, the fun is in the hunt. (more…)

When I first traveled to Arizona, everyone talked about Scottsdale as some magical place.  This week we’ll be featuring Scottsdale.  You can decide whether it is magical for yourself! (more…)

Tempe, the hometown for Arizona State University, is a vibrant city with business, social and quality of life issues well-handled.  With a population of 175,000-plus residents, Tempe has a business center, new malls, revitalized housing stock and is just a fun place to be.  It’s also near to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, so there is easy access in and out.

Housing in downtown Tempe

Festival of the Arts

During the weekend of December 4-6, Tempe hosted the Festival of the Arts, an arts and crafts gathering that last year attracted 250,000.  In 2009, over 400 artisans with some stunning work were displaying and selling their works.  Pottery, glass, wood, photography, woven items, painting, sculpture and even food showed the individuality and quality of the handmade efforts.

With no two works identical, visitors had the opportunity to see and buy something for their use for as little as $5 or as much as thousands.

Colorful Pottery from Ken Foster Ceramics - and useful, too

www.kenfosterceramics.com

(559-760-4549)

(As of early December 2009, his Web site was not populated yet.)

Doug Mader's metal art - Courtyard Art and Design

(No Web site available – 503-537-0720)

I tend to like usable art, so I was on the lookout for a small pottery casserole to replace one that had broken. I couldn’t find what I was seeking.  Instead, I saw a gorgeous pottery French butterkeeper made by Liscom Hill Pottery Works that I purchased.  (I did not take a photo – the display was crowded and I was intent on my purchase.) 

www.liscomhillpottery.com

Bands also performed throughout the Festival.  On the jazz stage, we heard the Chandler-Gilbert Community College Band perform big band numbers.  They had an interesting medley with “Auld Lang Syne” intermingled with Christmas carols, plus a rendition of “On the Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady.

To host the Festival, Tempe blocked off about fifteen blocks of the downtown area.  Since these events occur regularly in Tempe, check out the light rail which travels right through the campus to save you time looking for a parking spot or $10 for event parking. The light rail is relatively new to the Phoenix area, but it is clean, on schedule and reasonable in cost.

http://www.valleymetro.org/metro_light_rail

Other Tempe notables

It may be in the desert, but Tempe has an amazing amount of water.  Tempe Town Lake, a manmade body of water, is a centerpiece for many community events.  In the area adjacent to the lake, events from ethnic fairs to fireworks are held regularly.

If you’re coming to the Phoenix area for a visit, we recommend that you check out what might be happening in Tempe.  There are hotels in Tempe if you care to stay; the aloft hotel is new, a “hip” hotel, and there are other hotels that can put you right in the middle of things or give you some quiet at the end of the day, if you prefer.

aloft hotel in Tempe

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/alofthotels/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3102

The Buttes

(Tucked into a hillside and next to a spring training baseball facility.) 

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/phxtm-the-buttes-a-marriott-resort/

ASU and Tempe

You can’t miss ASU’s presence in Tempe; it is unmistakable.  

Come back tomorrow for info on Arizona State University and other amenities in the area.

This is the day in the United States that families give thanks. But, it has grown far beyond what the original Pilgrims could ever have envisioned. We have a humongous feast that can take days to prepare. We truly do have much for which to be thankful.

 
Years ago, I traveled to Plymouth Rock where the Pilgrims landed and it had become extremely commercialized. There were little stands with the usual gimcracks and souvenirs.

 
Buying things seems to be what everyone thinks about when they consider traveling. And, I admit, I have purchased my share of souvenirs, too.

 
Somehow, the anticipation of seeing a new place and the sense of wonder and discovery has now been dulled by security checks and the many rules and regulations that now govern our travel.

 
In this blog, we have tried to feature places where we have enjoyed the travel, the people and the indelible scenes that have enriched our lives.

Why travel tips and adventures exists

The reason I decided to publish a travel blog was that the newspaper for which I write, a small city’s paper, had asked me to cover travel. They decided they only wanted to feature local places, which left a whole world of great destinations I wasn’t able to share.

 
So, that led to the beginning of this travel blog.

Almost old enough to give birth

The blog is now eight months old – almost old enough to have given birth to a real human baby. Have we done a good job? Does anyone want to share his/her experiences?

 
Would anyone like to offer comments other than the spammers who perpetually leave messages – or in Russian, which I cannot read?

 
So, I am asking for people to respond and participate. Should we continue the blog? Will you help us by supporting the blog through response and checking out our store?

 
We’re open to new experiences and new people. We’re always thankful for them.
Please give us some feedback!

 
And, have a wonderful holiday season to those who celebrate holidays in the next month. To those who don’t have holidays, please accept our understanding that people have different cultures and ways of experiencing the world. We would love to hear from you, as well!

 
May you have health, love and joy in your life and a chance to travel to the places that enlighten, enliven and excite you!

 
Warmest regards,

Shelley Gillespie
Publisher and Editor
Traveltipsandadventures.com

PS The new photos at the top of the blog give you some new places to view.  Oregon and Las Vegas are featured – two great destinations!

Time to travel! We’ll be reporting on our travel to, around, in and beyond cities in Oregon. We’ve been before, but we never kept track – and it was years ago. So, on your behalf, we’ll be dishing on what, where and how much! (more…)

By Guest Author Peggy Bradshaw

Photos by George Bradshaw

I can’t decide if I have a favorite RV park or not. There are many that I like because of different reasons. Most RV Parks and campgrounds have their own Web sites, complete with pictures for viewing.

One of my favorite parks is the Cherry Hill Park in College Park, MD, not only for its location but for its beauty and amenities. It is the closest RV Park to Washington, DC, and tour buses leave daily for tours of the DC area and bring you back. (more…)

Well, I promised to update everyone on how my effort to remove the scammer’s charge from my credit card worked out!

Triumph!

My credit card company sent me a letter that they had concluded the investigation (it only took another month) and the amount was “suspended” and was removed from my account.  

Under absolutely no circumstance do I recommend that anyone use Tracfone Airtime.  They submitted a pile of documentation and tried to get paid for fraudulent charges.

May everyone learn from my sad experience!  Be VERY careful before you give any information to anyone!  Credit card companies already have your info.