Travel Anxiety

Five Easy Steps to Reduce Travel Stress

I travel a lot. I always have. So I completely understand the travel anxiety that naturally accompanies us whenever we venture outside of our comfort bubble.
 

Sometimes Life is all About Just Looking Out The Window

(Like This Recent View of Mt. Hood)

Nowadays when I travel my stress level is pretty low.  I'm just responsible for me. However in years past, when I was responsible for organizing family travel to new and unknown / unfamiliar places, my stress level was consistently in the red zone.

And things can (and did) go wrong. There was a passport left in a taxi in Spain and running short of cash in Tokyo (accompanied by the sudden realization that the Japanese have lost faith in US banks rendering American ATM cards worthless in most Japanese ATM's).

All that travel has resulted in a planning routine to minimize travel anxiety.

Tip 1
I plan out the basics but leave room for spontaneity

There are many types of travelers:
• The Overthinkers: They plan every second of their trips (I used to veer into this category).
• The Free Spirits: They can grab a backpack, passport and set off to explore without any flight plan.
• The Timid: They limit travel to pre-packaged tours and cruises.

As for me I travel with a framework that includes major accommodations and all major transportation legs. I concentrate time in desired locations and plan no more that about 50% of my sightseeing (i.e the "don't miss" sights) while allowing the remaining 50% of my time for unplanned / spontaneous exploration.

I think of travel like tapas, I try to take little tastes here and there, decide what I like and then go back for more of the things I liked.

Once I am settled in to a locale, I try to find a favorite little cafe or coffee shop where I can comfortably initiate chats with baristas, wait staff and locals. I'll begin conversations offering a genuine expression of fondness for the city I am visiting. I ask about local restaurants / cafes, getting around and sights they think a visitor should not miss. With very little encouragement residents love to share what is best about their home. Despite language barriers and pantomime, the experience can be pretty wonderful.

Right now I'm planning two 2019 trips. In early summer I'll visit Scandinavia for a cycling vacation. Later in the fall I'll visit Prague for a week and then fly to Marseilles / Provence for week of autumn cycling. In each case, my travel framework includes accommodation reservations (hotels and AirBNB's), a few activities and a lot of time for unplanned activities.

For tourist-centric destinations (London, Paris, New York, Barcelona or Rome) I select the essential "must do" experiences and then see they offer advance or "jump the line" tickets. Whether it is the Vatican Museums, the Segrada Famillia or the Louvre, advance purchase tickets frequently spell the difference between enjoying a national treasure or spending hours waiting in line in the sun. 

To keep track of the planned parts I use the Tripit App.  Tripit is easy to use and it comes in freakin handy.       

Tip 2 
I Pack Light

If I forget something it is usually ok. I just replace it at my destination (sometimes netting a souvenir in the process). I frequently stock up on some Nivea Men products that are not readily available in the US.

Need some help packing? Download the app PackPoint.

Remember: List all medical devices and prescriptions you need. Pack them well in advance. Also, remember "Medical Devices" are exempt from the one + one carry on rule. So when the gate agent points at your cpap machine and proclaims you have "too many items", just smile and say the magic words "thats a medical device". 

Tip 3 
I Travel Insured

For much of my life I traveled without any travel insurance. Then I fell in Dublin breaking my foot. After that I realized that good travel insurance is no longer a frill.

After a little homework I prucased a good annual policy. I focused on medivac, rental car and emergency medical benefits.  I made sure it offered a 24-hour access line.  My annual plan is from Allianz.

Tip 4 
I Respect My Hosts

Relaxed people travel with less stress.  When I encounter people who rant about bad travel experiences I find they are usually people that badmouth everything.

The standard will usually begin when they trot out that tired cliche about "rude" Parisians.

After 5 trips to Paris over the past forty years, I know that Parisians are some of the most accommodating and amazing people in the world.  On a recent visit one of the individuals in our party walked with a cane. On every Metro train we boarded, no matter how crowded, Parisians quickly stood to offer him a seat.

I found out a long time ago that doing a little homework delivers huge payoffs.  I know how to say "Hello", "Excuse Me" and "Thank You". I have a basic understanding of currency and local tipping customs. I see what plug adapter I'll need. I make sure my phone plan is sorted and enables me enough data to allow me to use maps. I make sure my credit cards do not charge foreign transaction fees. I buy some local currency from my bank at home before I go (mine offers it without service charges).

When I arrive I eat local food and try to immerse in everyday life. I buy local (I love exploring foreign supermarkets).

In Spain I buy Marcona almonds. In Singapore I seek out Hainanese Chicken. In Paris I search for the perfect baguette. And, in Italy, I love the morning ritual of standing at a counter for a steaming cappuccino. 

And finally....

Tip 5
I Try Not To Be a Dork!

I stay the heck away from countries led by certifiably batshit crazy people.

Now may not be a good time to visit places like Turkey, Cambodia, Venezuela, Brazil, Hungary, the Philippines and Russia.  

Wherever I go I try to fit in. I leave flag draped t-shirts at home. I go for easy care, practical and comfortable clothes.

I don't leave valuables (camera, phone, wallet) on a table while I eat in a cafe. I put my wallet somewhere other than my back pocket. I don't wear backpacks with zippers in the back. I use the safe in my hotel room.

If I'm approached by a swarm of kids in Barcelona I know they are setting me up to pickpocket me.  If teenagers with clipboards approach me to ask me (in English) to sign something, I know it is a scam and I keep moving. 

I always leave a copy of my passport with friends at home and I strongly recommend anyone that will be making periodic trips outside the US to apply for Global Access. If you are planning just a few trips download and use the free Mobile Passport app.

Remember, it is far better to be "of" the world, than to merely be an observer of it.


Roadboy's Travels © 2019

Sold! Barrett Jackson Scottsdale 2019

8 Miles Worth of Cars According to My I-Phone!

The Iconic 1959 Cadillac Tailfin

Sale Price: $93,500

Once a year I take a day of PTO and spend it in Snottsdale walking from tent to tent admiring the cars to be sold at the Barrett Jackson Collector Car Auction. 

An Arizona Sunset Shimmers Over the Outdoor Tents

 

For me, the allure of the annual collector car auctions is as much emotional as it is visual. Walking along is an evocative experience. Over here is my college roommate's '65 mustang. There is my friend JP's SuperBird.  

1970 Superbird

 Sale Price: $116,600

Later I see a T-bird like the one I bought in high school (and still have).  And an Airflow like my Uncle Vernon meticulously restored years ago.

Then I come to a Chevy Impala like the one my parents and I drove across the desert southwest when I was about 10 years old.

Just seeing that car, with its huge rear window arcing over the back seat, made me remember some long nighttime drives under star filled skies. The miles passed blissfully as we listened to AM radio stations with only three call letters that drifted in on skiff.

Lean Back, Look Up & Dream

Sale Price: $66,000

I'm not going to do my detailed statistical rundown on the high dollar cars this year.  As always, vintage Ferrarri's took most of the big bucks.  The highest sale was a 1963 Ferrari 250 GT SWB at $7,595,000 at the Gooding & Company Auction.

No this year I'm just going to present photos of some of the things that made me happy.

Spectacular Hood Art 

1959 Sunbeam Alpine Custom Roadster 

Sale Price: $41,800

 1949 Case Tractor

Sale Price: $33,000

(Judging from the floor below - the new owner better stock up on oil)

2020 Toyota Supra

First Of the New Supra's 

Engine Signed by Akio Toyota

Sale Price: $2,100,000  

(All Proceeds To Charity)

1960 Plymouth Fury

Love the Embossed Trunk!

 Sale Price: $58,300

1959 Lloyd Alexander Taxi

 Sale Price: $19,250

Dreamboat Defined
A 1958 Pontiac Bonneville

 Sale Price: $148,500

 1965 Cobra Recreation

All Polished Aluminum by Kirkham

 Sale Price: $104,500

 Classy Wheels for Everyone!

After a week $239 Million changed hands from the seven auctions in the Valley. 

This week there is runway apron parking space available once again at the Scottsdale's AirPark.

Till next year! Happy gavel drops to everyone from Arizona.

Roadboy's Travels © 2019

Central Avenue Comes Alive

The 2018 Edition of Arizona's Fiesta Bowl Parade

Batons, Horses, Balloons, Steel Drums and Cloudless Blue Skies!

 Spirit - The Fiesta Bowl Parades Official Mascot

Participants Even Take to the Sky

Twice each December my North Central Phoenix neighborhood becomes sequestered with streets closures to allow for the staging of the Electric Light and Fiesta Bowl Parades.

Horse are staged at the parking lot of one church. Floats are staged on a portion of Central or Bethany Home that is closed for the event. Marching bands practice and set up in the parking lots of another big church.

The events take place with military precision. Bleachers, portable barricades and porta johns appear a few days before hand. And as soon as the parades end, an army of street sweepers fill the street overlapping each other in a "V" formation to immediately start the clean up process.       

The participants change each year and seem each reflecting the spirit of the community.  One year there was a phalanx of marching businessmen all wearing he same suit and matching briefcases. Other years we have had astronauts, sports heros, buffalo soldiers and Navajo code talkers. Convertibles carry Mayors, Governors and Miss Arizona's all waving to the crowds. The crowds cheer for the teacher's of the year and jump to catch the trinkets thrown.

Marching bands from all over the nation come to serenade Phoenicians and enjoy some of Arizona's December sunshine.

This year's Grand Marshall was Cindy McCain. There were more balloons than ever and there were lots of stagecoaches. Missing this year were the Wild Women of the West, the Caribbean Dancers, the beloved Shriner's and Ex-Sheriff Joe glaring at us from atop some giant piece of military hardware.

 Elegant Arabian Horses

 The Grand Marshal 2018 - Cindy McCain

 Donors and Recipients Celebrating Life

 Acrobatics

 

"Who Ya Gonna Call?" 

Ghostbuster's

 Sheriff Paul Penzone 

Walking Central Ave Greeting Wellwishers

 Education Was a Major Theme

The Joyous Corona Del Sol Steel Drums 

The Bigeest VW Bus Ever

The air was chilly, the skies blue, a perfect day for a wonderful annual celebration of what it means to live in Arizona!

See you in 2019! 

Roadboy's Travel © 2018

Merry Christmas From Roadboy!

Just chillin

Every year I get the same question "where are you going for the holidays?" 

It finally occured to me there is nowhere I'd rather be this time of year than right here in Phoenix!

So here's wishing you all wonderful holidays. If you are traveling, be safe. Hug all of your loved ones. We never know how many years we'll be able to do that.

As for me, I'll happily resume travels in January. But for now.......

Christmas in Arizona

I'll just enjoy it right here!


Roadboy's Travels © 2018

Never Forget

Thank You Veterans

When my Uncle John passed away some years back I became recipient of an old cigar box. It was a box my Uncle John had kept in the loft where he slept in my Aunt Waundia's log farmhouse in Wetmore, Colorado.

John was my fathers oldest brother. He was the first in his family to enlist during WWII. He joined the army and was assigned to General Patton. Although he enlisted at the very beginning of the war he remained in all the way to the end.

My dad told me when John returned from the war he was forever changed. He was no longer the gentle, happy-go-lucky farm boy dad had grown up with. 

He was quiet and withdrawn. 

He remained that way for the rest of his life. 

One summer when I was about 10 I rode into town with Uncle John in his old Ford pick-up. As he drove I asked him about the war. The result was a painfully silent ride down miles of road.

The topic never came up again.

Now, in a humble little box, I found my answers.

There were medals that documented John's distinction as a marksman and decorations for heroism. 

John's discharge papers noted that he was part of the Normandy invasion and the notorious  Battle_of_the_Bulge.

We suspected John had served with valor. What we didn't know was that he had survived in the battle that claimed the highest number of American lives in the European front. 

The Spirit of American Youth Rising From The Waves

Donald De Lue

The American Cemetery Normandy

Today I send a heartfelt thanks to all of America's Uncle John's.

Never Forget.


Roadboy's Travels © 2018

Thanksgiving in Phoenix 2018

Home Sweet Home

Frequently my holiday posts describe a visit to some warm or scenic destination. But once again this year we are lucky enough to just be staying home to enjoy the Valley of the Sun!

So here is a holiday blog for those lucky enough to be visiting Phoenix over Thanksgiving 2018!

Welcome!

November is arguably the loveliest month of the year to visit Phoenix. Believe it or not, there are leaves falling (from all the big deciduous trees that fill North Central Phoenix). And our nights are getting cold"ish" (this year the evening low for Thanksgiving will likely plunge to a bone chilling 55° F.) And, it gets dark early now, car headlights start popping on around 5:30 pm.

So what is there to do?

Well here are just a few ideas from Roadboy. My focus is Phoenix. I'm not into the snooty Scottsdale scene. Roadboy prefers "real".

1. A visit to Desert Botanical Garden (or as we call it the DBG) is always amazing.

Nothing is more refreshing than a walk in "the garden". And this year the gardens are dazzlingly illuminated in a special night show by the Klip Collective called Electric Desert. Click here to visit the DBG website. 

 

The Desert Botanical Garden

The garden's holiday festival, Los Nochas de las Luminarias begins Dec 1. It typically sells out, so reserve tickets well in advance for that.  

2. The MIM!

Arizona's new Musical Instrument Museum is a treasure. This is a high-tech and very wonderful addition to Arizona's cultural scene. The MIM displays musical instruments from around the world and with your GPS headset you hear most instruments being played as you walk near them! The MIM has a special "Electric Guitar" Exhibition on now. 

Also, if you plan to visit any time in November or December the amazingly intimate MIM theater (with its awesome acoustics) will host to the likes of Stringshot, Karla Bonoff, Bettye LaVette, Heart Society and the Manhattan Transfer is once again returning to spread joy with their Holiday Show (Yeah it is always awesome!) Click Here to visit the MIM's website.

3. EAT!
A proliferation of spectacular new restaurants have joined my list of tried and true favorites. For scenery (and old Arizona charm) the best spot hands down is a lunch or romantic sunset dinner on the patio at Lon's at the Hermosa Inn. Adventurous? Try Pa'La for wood fired delights (limited dinner hours - check) or check out the Taco Guild. For Mexican food with a smoky goodness Cafe Otro. For some zing try Ladera Mexican. For meet market Postino's wine bar on Central should work. For more wood fired yumminess it's Timo's in Sunnyslope. For neighborliness try Windsor. Want Chicken and waffles, its Lolo's. How about a chicken fried turkey dinner? TexAz has got you covered. Or there's brunch at Elly's Kitchen and coffee at Lux. These day's it is hard not to eat well in Phoenix!

4. Culture!
The Phoenix Art Museum is a true gem. After two major expansions by the husband and wife team of Tod Williams / Billie Tsien it has wonderful space to display an extensive permanent collection as well as mount special expositions.

The Entry Courtyard of the Phoenix Art Museum

This Thanksgiving they have the special exhibitions: Teotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire and an exhibition from contemporary artist Ragnar Kjartansson entitled Scandinavian Pain and Other Myths. Click here to visit the Phoenix Art Museum website.

5. Get Smart!
Antoine Predock's stark concrete Arizona Science Center is a perfect place to go with kids (of all ages). It has great interactive displays and a cool planetarium. Alas it will be closed on Thanksgiving.
Click here to visit the Arizona Science Center website.

6. For the Jocks
For the "get out and do it' set November is the perfect time to go mountain or road biking in Phoenix. Sip a Latte while getting fitted for a excellent rental bike at the Trailhead Cafe / Bike Shop at 16th Street and Glendale. From there you can pedal away on the nearby AZ canal or go single track at the North Phoenix Mountain Preserve. Visit the Trailhead's website here. For the "sit and watch" set the Suns play Oklahoma City on November 17th. The Cardinals will play the Raiders at Peter Eisenman's State Farm Stadium on Nov. 18th and the Coyotes play the Vegas Golden Knights Nov. 21st.

7. Shop!
All the museums above have great gift shops. But there are also great little boutiques like Frances near Camelback and Central. For Black Friday there is The Biltmore Fashion Park - a perfectly sized outdoor mall featuring some one-of-a-kind shops. It also features great restaurants plus an Apple Store, Saks, and a cute little 1960's vintage Macy's thrown in for good measure. All of the Biltmore's parking facing Camelback is strictly valet. The free parking is located in the big garage behind the mall. Visit the Biltmore Fashion Park website here. On November 23rd there will be an Alternative  Black Friday Vintage along with the tree lighting and opening up of the skating rink at CityScape downtown.

8. Ogle!
Walk the Grounds of the Arizona Biltmore Resort. The only Frank Lloyd Wright inspired hotel left standing in the world. Since it opened nearly every sitting president has checked in at the Biltmore. Irving Berlin wrote White Christmas while sitting by the Catalina Pool (the same pool Marilyn Monroe said was her favorite). The Biltmore offers a variety of Thanksgiving buffets and dinners, as do most of the big resorts.

9. The Heard
In the tradition of saving the best for last, I recommend the Heard Museum. In my opinion the Heard ties with the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum (near Tucson) as my favorite museums in Arizona. The Heard is the premier showcase of Native American art and culture. It has grown from "a little museum in a little western town" to what it is today - peerless.

Come for Thanksgiving. Enjoy our weather, our culture, our food and everything else Arizona does well!



Roadboy's Travel © 2018

Cycling Croatia's Hvar Island

Days 6-9: Hvar! Ancient Greek Ports and Lavender Fields

I am now officially and deeply in love with Croatia. The fall climate is lovely. The villages are immaculate, the water is radiant blue and the locals are sincerely friendly (with many speaking perfect English).

Day Six began on the Island of Brac and ended on the Island of Hvar. The ride was a beautiful downhill ride to the seaside town of Bol and arguably Croatia's best swimming beach Zlatni Rat (the Golden Horn). 

 

 Zlatni Rat - The Golden Horseshoe

While awaiting our water taxi to Hvar we enjoyed a great alfresco lunch in one of Bol's waterfront cafes.

The boat then shuttled us to the village of Jelsa on the scenic island of Hvar. Conde Nast proclaimed Hvar (along with Zanzibar, Capri, Mykonos and Bali) as one of the most beautiful Islands in the world. And, with only 12.000 residents, it is very quiet and peaceful.

Hvar's Fortress at Night

 

Venetian Influenced Architecture in Hvar

Hvar Town

Upon arrval in Jelsa we boarded buses for transfer to Hvar Town and our hotel overlooking St. Stephen's Plaza. Dinner was hosted by a local chef who gave us a cooking class on how to grill perfect tuna steaks.

 

Tuna Steaks and Fleur de Sel

Day Seven began with a hearty and (very lovely breakfast with great homemade pastries). Sated, we walked to our bicycles for a ride to the top of of the island to enjoy views and the chance to buy local lavender products. Then it was all downhill to the port city of Stari Grad. This port dates back over 2400 years when it was built by the Greeks. Our 34 mile ride came with a chance to swim in the crystal clear Adriatic.

 Morning Route Review With Mario

Hvar's Elaborately Terraced Farmlands

Stari Grad

 

An Inquisitive Donkey

Fields Near Stari Grad

 
Day Eight, the last cycling day of the trip began and ended in Stari Grad. We had a bunch of chances to swim and enjoyed a picnic l,unch created by our host Neven followed by rides through lavender fields. We finished the evening at the hotel's terrace with a farewell dinner.

Neven's Picnic at Jelsa

Hotel Terrace

Day Nine began with a round of good-byes, a ferry transfer to Split and an Uber ride to the airport for my flight on to Rome. 


Roadboy's Travels © 2018