Europe 2014

Two Depart - One Returns

I've always encouraged my son and daughter to use the time between college and starting careers and families to see the world.

Well my daughter graduated a few years back and quickly got her career started. But, in true Millennial fashion, her career (as an illustrator for comic books and graphic novels) allows her to work pretty much wherever she wants, whenever she wants.  All she needs is a fast connection to the world wide web.

So Ms. M has decided to go live for the next 6 months in London. 

She has carefully budgeted and planned for the trip and is pretty much all set. The last detail has to wait till we get there - finding a nice room to rent. 

As for me I cashed in enough frequent flier points to fly us over (via Ireland) in business class. Since it was cheaper to fly in and out of Dublin we'll begin with a week driving around Ireland before we fly on the little hop to London.

Then, after a week in London, We'll hug and I'll fly home. 

Solo.

Ms. M is an adult and has traveled extensively, so I know she'll be just fine, have a great adventure and return filled with wonderful new memories.   

I am, dare I say it, jealous?

After all, she will miss joining the rest of us for another amazing Arizona summer. 

You know that special time.....where we experience nuclear heat, run indoors during the dust storms, all the while dodging blown retreads on the freeway and the frayed nerves of fellow Phoenicians.

Ms. M will return in November. And, lets face it, there aren't many places on earth more perfect than Phoenix in November.

Our Euro-friendly credit cards are on the way and my Global Entry interview is scheduled. Chris is all set to care for the house and the pups have an appointment at the doggie spa. 

So, stay tuned for Roadboy's Ireland and England posts this June.

Roadboy's Travels © 2014

International Traveling with Your Cell Phone

The Case of Merriam Webster vs. T-Mobile

When I touch down in a foreign land I begin taking in all the new scenery, sounds and smells. 

When my fancy GSM "smartphone" touches down in a foreign land it starts scanning for cell coverage. And, unless I've remembered to turn off my data roaming* feature, it may start accruing charges at 99¢ / minute.   

99¢ a minute / 24 hours a day. 

Day in and day out. 

Forgetting to switch off data is a little mistake that (for many travelers) has resulted in thousands of dollars in roaming charges.

Don't get me wrong taking your smartphone still offers some value. When I find myself in a free Wi-Fi hotspot (like a McDonalds) I use it on Wi-Fi to surf a bit and check my e-mails. And, I periodically switch on the cellular feature to scan for text messages.

But aside from that, without the purchase of a costly foreign data roaming plan, my slick American I-phone becomes a shiny flat stone in my pocket.

Yet, when I see folks from Europe or Asia arrive to the US, they use their smart phones as if they were at home.

Here's why. The I-Phone they buy in Asia or the EU is "open" and will work on anyone's network.

The I-phone we American's buy is "locked" to the carrier you bought it from. So, if you bought it from ATT it only works on ATT etc.

Thank you ATT!

American cell carriers make big political contributions to keep it that way. And now their contributions are unlimited!

Thank you Supreme Court!

And if you go get your I-Phone "Unlocked" in some dark alley, Apple will cancel your warranty.

Thank you Apple!


So Lets Talk Bout T-Mobile......
Recently I read that T-Mobile now offers free and unlimited international talk, text and data in 120 countries.

Roadboy's pilot light lit right up!

So last night I went to a T-Mobile Store. It is officially 2 hours of my life I'll never get back. The sales rep had halitosis and was clueless.

So I came home and scoured T-Mobile's website, and eventually called its "800" number.

Here's the skinny.

The details of the plan seem to be deliberately vague and appear to vary depending upon your total usage of T-Mobile's domestic network. The plan should be called T-Mobile's "free and unlimited for short durations" international plan.

To Roadboy "free and unlimited" means if I go to Barcelona for 6 weeks, my phone should work just like it does at home, for 6 weeks.

To T-Mobile "free and unlimited" means if they feel you are spending too much time off of their domestic network, they will kill your "free and unlimited" feature.

So, if you are planning a few short trips (generally 2 weeks or less) to one or more of T-Mobile's 120 covered countries, their "free and unlimited short term" plan is indeed pretty cool.

If, however, you plan to spend more time abroad than just a short vacation, no soup for you. Just plan on picking up a prepaid phone in the country you visit.


Roadboy's Travels © 2014

* Turning off "Data Roam"
Be sure to check with your carrier and your smartphone mfr. on the specifics of turning off "Data Roam" your specific phone.

On my I-Phone I click "Settings", then "Cellular", then I switch off "Cellular Data". This restricts my phone to Wi-Fi hotspots.

I then select "Roaming (Voice and Data)" and turn off "Voice Roaming" which turns off the cellular phone function and avoids telephonic roaming or SMS charges.  This is the setting I turn back on now and then to see if I've received any texts.  

Huh?!

What's This? Food in First?


Updated February 2015
Well with the AA merger, warm nuts have returned to first class on US Airways flights. But strangely, the pillows in first have been removed.

File this one in the category of "Miracles in my Lifetime".

On my US Airways RT flight to SEA this week I was kinda shocked when my flight attendant on the return leg asked for my drink order and then went on to ask for my choice of a dinner selection.

My look of incredulity resulted in her laughing and saying "it is for real, we've begun serving meals in first class on this flight". 

Now, after 10 years of flying the PHX - SEA run on US Airways without anything but chips and/or a fig newton I am well trained to procure and wolf down a sandwich before boarding even when upgraded to first class.

This milestone follows my realization last week that the quality of my US Airways meal on a PHX to CLT flight was much improved. I ate the whole meal and so did almost everyone else in first.

Despite improvements lets be clear we have not returned to the days of warm nuts and silver trays filled with chilled jumbo shrimp served before dinner and a custom made Hagen Dazs ice cream sundae afterwards. 

To understand my shock you have to understand US Airways is the very same airline that used to fly me 5+ hours non-stop from Anchorage to Phoenix and even in First Class, despite arriving at 9:00 am, served us only a little bag of nuts. 

So what does this say about the airline industry run by bean counters? What it says is that (as feared by the US Attorney General) consolidation has indeed resulted in reducing competition to the point where we are witnessing steep spikes in airfares.

It also appears to be driving competition among major carriers to woo the industries best customers.

Will I live to see a day when every seat in first offers a dedicated electrical outlet and/or a USB port and (he shudders) free Wi-Fi?

I hear rumors that the discount carrier JetBlue is reconfiguring cabins to offer lay-flat bed seating pods on transcontinental flights in domestic first class. And, American is also offering similar pod seating in first class on select domestic long haul flights.......  

Now, if they'd just offer reasonable amount of frequent flier seats (US Airways ranked almost dead last in a FF redemption seat availability study last week) and quit devaluing their frequent flier miles, they might truly win the undying loyalty of us road warriors.....we are, after all, a cheap date.  ;-)

I'm not gonna hold my breath on the free Wi-Fi.

Anyone else noticing improvements to domestic first class service?

Roadboy's Travel © 2014

Women Who Rock!

Some Shots From The Recent MIM Exhibit

I've been meaning to see the "Women Who Rock!" exhibit at Phoenix' musical instrument museum for months. So this week when the MIM's e-mail alerting me that it would end Sunday April 20th I made sure to go see it.

The exhibition is on loan from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland Ohio. Compact, yet very complete beginning with its roots in Jazz, Country and R&B.

As you enter there are displays featuring the roots of rock with people like Mother Maybelle Carter, Billie Holliday, Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey.

It then profiles the early days of Brenda Lee and Ruth Brown.

The early 1960's explode with "Girl Groups" like the Supremes and Shangri-la's.

The late 1960's arrive in the haze of the counterculture and usher in the Disco Era of the 1970's.

Next up, the Punk and Post Punk era and on to Madonna, Janet Jackson and the Pop Explosion.

The exhibit concludes with Ladies First and the New Millennium.  

I found the gowns and performance clothes to be the most compelling items. All of the artifacts were behind glass and a number of gowns had such intense reflections of the fluorescent lighting in the gallery that I could not photograph them. Here are the photos I was able to capture. 

Mama Cass Elliott

Janis Joplin

Loretta Lynn

Madonna

Cyndi Lauper

Lady  Gaga

(The Meat Dress)

Melissa Etheridge

Donna Summer

Cher

Joan Jett

Deborah Harry

Sheila E

Patti Smith

The exhibition from Brenda Lee and Heart all the way to Queen Latifah and Lady Gaga was an instant trip down memory lane. It confirmed that I need to make a trip to Cleveland!

To learn more about the MIM simply click here.

Roadboy's Travels © 2014

Sunnyslope Artwalk Spring 2014

Pretty Darned Great!

Like swallows to Capistrano, one special Saturday each April and October dozens of local artists return to the top of Central for Sunnyslope's Artwalk. 

A twice a year tradition since 2008, the festival features paintings, photographers, jewelers, metalsmiths, milliners, fine woodworking (those amazing handmade kaleidoscopes), chemists and all sorts of musicians. 

Artwalk begins just north of the Canal at Ruth Street in the courtyard of the big yellow architectural studio and extends all the way up to Dunlap.

Everything from Practical Art to Sorbet

Artwalk begin promptly at 5 PM and just as promptly starts shutting down at 9:00 PM. Hours that  make it perfect for families. The sidewalks fill with bicycles, folks of all ages, strollers and pups of every kind on the leash. And, when the sun sets the temps are always just perfect for strolling.

This spring a new section was established for food trucks (including Stacey's BBQ)! 

The whole event is sponsored by the best neighbor anyone could have John C. Lincoln Hospital. 

This year the event was brightened with the re-opening and new home of Karl's European Bakery (and his daughter Christine's artisan chocolate) and the grand opening of Paquime Street Foods of Mexico. Of course our old standby's Corbins Bar and Grill, Timo's (wood fired pizza and winebar ), El Pollo Loco, Via De Los Santos, Salvadorino and (of course) Grinder's Coffee Roasters! 

At Sunnyslope Center

It is sort of a First Friday done family style without any attitude at all. So, If you haven't visited "The Slope" in awhile, this is the perfect time to do it!

Roadboy's Travels © 2014

PS: Christina - My best to you! Your many years of hard work nurturing ArtWalk left us a great legacy!

A Rainy Weekend in New York City

It is Noisy
It is Brash
It Soaked My Shoes
It Inverted My Umbrella

I Love This City

Love it or hate it, there is no place like New York City. It pulsates with energy 24 hours a day. Like Chicago, Vancouver BC, San Francisco or Toronto this is a city I employ almost any excuse to visit.

When my firm selects locations for our annual shareholder's retreat the call usually goes out to find a venue in the sun. Somewhere that we can all bask on the beach in the hours between worksessions. I always listen carefully and then suggest the complete opposite. Having lived in Hawaii for a few years I have nothing against lovely beaches. I just happen to like visiting big, multi-cultural, cities with great architecture, museums and shows.

Even when they are cold and rainy.

Having said that I should clarify I have no desire to live in cold and rainy cities. In fact, I once lived in Seattle and in just under 18 months I had an ulcer and was scheduling time with shrinks. Those almost relentless titanium colored skies induced night terrors. 

Well this weekend we took our retreat to New York City. We stayed in the lovely old Lexington Hotel. This is where Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe honeymooned. We walked all over midtown (taking in Rockefeller Center and the reconstruction of St Patrick's). We enjoyed two Broadway plays (No Man's Land and Jersey Boys) complete with celebrity sightings. We ate great food (Italian, Japanese and Greek). 

First stop was the 22 acre Rockefeller Center. Rockefeller Center's first 14 art deco building's were constructed from 1930 to 1939. Today's completed complex includes a total of 19 commercial buildings. Rockefeller Center is home to the former RCA Building (now NBC), amazing artwork, the Rainbow Room and the Radio City Music Hall. 

Ice Skater's in Front of Paul Manship's Prometheus  

A Small Section of Josep Maria Sert's Stunning American Progress Mural

Don't miss a chance to glimpse the lobby of the former RCA Building (30 Rock). The story of the mural is pretty amazing. The Rockefeller's initially attempted to commission both Matisse and Picasso to create the lobby artwork. They felt there were no American painters at that time up to the challenge. After Matisse and Picasso both declined a third option, Diego Rivera was championed by John D. Rockefeller's wife Abby.

Rivera submitted a template for his proposed mural Man at the Crossroads. Rivera then went on to paint a mural where he added scenes from Moscow's May Day and the face of Lenin. The finished product was reviled by John D. Rockefeller.

John D. Rockefeller's son Nelson Rockefeller. who was now president of Rockefeller Center, initially had Rivera's mural papered over. Then, nine months later Rivera was paid and his mural was destroyed. At that time Sert was retained to paint the much larger mural that exists today.

Another major event was seeing the last evening performance of Harold Pinters No Man's Land at the Cort Theater. 

Lets just say that I'm sure the drama majors in the audience loved it. 

Waiting at The Stage Door of The Cort Theater

After the play we joined a small crowd at the stage door to wait for Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and Billy Crudup to depart the theater. All (especially Crudup) were thoughtful enough to spend some time autographing playbills. 

Sir Patrick Stewart

Sir Ian McKellen

Billy Crudup

A Few of Tom Otterness' Life Underground NYC Subway Sculptures

When our subway train stopped for a moment I caught a glimpse of a few of Tom Oterness' bronze sculptures

Trinity Church

The first Trinity Church was built in 1696 and was destroyed by fire. The second Trinity Church stood from 1790 to 1838. The third Trinity Church (the one we see here) was completed in 1846. George Washington attended services at Trinity. Alexander Hamilton is buried in the small cemetery that surrounds it. Truly inspiring when one realizes a church has stood on this site through our nation's entire history up to and including the 9/11 holocaust. 

Today, I take some pleasure knowing that the unindicted criminals of Wall Street must walk past this humble little church each day.

Santiago Calatrava's New WTC Transit Center 

Rises Like Some Sort of Steel Dinosaur 

(Directly Across the Street from Trinity Church)

We also spent our last evening visiting the 9/11 memorial. This visit unleashed emotions I didn't know existing within my soul. Every American is a resident of NYC when it comes to this sacred ground.

One of Two Cascading Fountains

(Each Located On The Site of The Original WTC Towers) 

WTC Tower 1 Nears Completion

Au Revoir New York.

Until we meet again.


Roadboy's Travel © 2014

A Day At The Arizona Renaissance Festival

Jousting on Horseback, Lots of Cleavage and Big Turkey Legs!

From Merriam Webster

the Renaissance : the period of European history between the 14th and 17th centuries when there was a new interest in science and in ancient art and literature especially in Italy

While the "new interest" may have been found "especially in Italy", it seems we Americans are totally fixated on the Renaissance in England. In fact, there are over 50 Renaissance festivals  / fairs held in the US annually. Some are relatively small and some are huge. Some are newcomers and others (Irwindale CA) date back over 50 years.

Here in Arizona the annual Renaissance Festival began in 1989, takes up 30 acres and is held during February and March in Gold Canyon. 

I have lived in the Copper State now for almost 20 years and, until this year, have never gone to the festival.  

Mostly because I can be such a pretentious and arrogant twit. 

I just figured it would be a magnet for the same folks who attend ComiCon's. Except (I assumed) they'd be favoring 17th century garb designed to showcase lots of cleavage.

And, indeed there was a lot of boob and a full legion of StarWars storm troopers inexplicably walking around (yes, Virginia, even in the Renaissance......?!). 

But, mostly there were lots of folks having a great time.  

The grounds are huge and you should plan to spend most of a day. There are 13 stages with rotating performances of drummers, magicians, flamethrowers, jugglers, you name it. Besides the shows and meandering performers, there are some really amazing craftsman present. This is a stupendous place to discover some really cool one-of-a-kind handcrafted items to stockpile for Christmas gifts (like hand turned magic wands and exceptional leatherwork).

Tickets may be purchased in advance at Fry's.

While the Highway crowds leave no doubt that lots of folks have the same plans as you, take heart the crowds are easily absorbed in all those acres.

Parking is free and there is a lot of pretty decent food too......

The Festival Entrance

Lots of Magic For Children

Loved the Living Tree

Mother Goose's Duck

Amazing Handicrafts

Rocking Horse on Steroids

Lady Tess 

Fashion Advisor to Nobility

The Coolest Briefcase in the World

Some Jousting

Adding Some Fire 

So even jaded Roadboy strongly advises that the Arizona Renaissance Festival is not to be missed. Take a hat, slather on sunscreen and wear comfortable shoes!

Roadboy's Travel © 2014