Toronto, ON, Canada

This trip was my first since undergoing gastric bypass about 2 months ago. The surgery had some minor changes in how I approach my trip.

But lets start from the beginning.

I booked the City Sightseeing Tour through Trip Advisor for two days of bus touring. Upon arriving in Toronto, I went right to their stop number 1 (at the corner of Yonge and Dundas) and boarded the bus with the plan to sit through a whole circuit and see what looked good to me. This ended up working out great. I saw a few sights to come back to, and I realized how walkable the city really is.

After taking the bus for a full rotation, I went to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). The architecture of the building is fascinating but what's inside left something to be desired. There was a lot to see, but it was mostly stuff I would see elsewhere. The only exception was the First Nation Canadian art, and I took an opportunity for a free guided tour through that gallery.

From ROM I walked back to Union Station. The bus ride was over 3 hours, and then I spent about 3 hours in ROM so that was my day right there. I took the Union Pearson Express (UPE) back to the Toronto Airport then back to the hotel.

The second day was a lot more mild (after all we have an 8 hour drive tomorrow and I was feeling very unorganized). I again took the UPE into the city, and then walked to the Hockey Hall of Fame. The differences between the Hockey and Baseball (which we had stopped at on the way) were striking. Baseball showed how all encompassing in culture the sport has become through many different exhibits. From the sport's early days as charity and social clubs to more modern fundraisers and Latin American involvement, I understood how important baseball is to American history. With Hockey it was all about the sport. There was very little to the social impact of Hockey which I found disappointing.

The City Sightseeing tour included a boat tour which I decided to do mostly for the awesome photo ops. It did not disappoint. The boat went through the Toronto Islands while a tour guide pointed out certain things to look at.

Two days in Toronto were adequate, I believe. There were a lot of places to eat and shop which don't get my attention anymore. I believe I hit all of the places I wanted to go to, but I will likely be returning in two years.

Because things change over three years time...

I've recently gotten into blogging again since I had gastric bypass surgery in May. Several friends suggested I start a blog about my experience because I seem to know so much, but I still think all I'm doing is following directions.

So last we talked I went on the amazing cheap Hawaii trip.

Since then I met and married my husband so now we are a pair of history geeks traveling. A big hold up in my travel documentation is that I'm traveling less and I'm going to the same places over and over again.

Together, my husband and I have gone to the Houston area a few times (he has family there), Disney, and Hawaii. We have also done smaller trips to Virginia.

We're about to embark to Toronto and Cooperstown which is going to be a lot of fun.

Right place, Right time, Right mindset

The day after Christmas is typically one of the slowest days in the office. Most of the day was spent reading obscure news stories, talking over pods, and doing anything to pass the time until the end of the day. This day was no different, until at about mid-day someone posted on Facebook that Delta airlines had floored their prices and it was most likely due to a glitch so action had to be taken immediately. Without thinking, I was booking a once-in-a-lifetime fare to Hawaii. Having friends out there, I knew at the very least it would be a great time to catch up with them, so it was icing on the cake when a guest room was offered. The trip still is going to cost me close to $1,000 but in perspective, that amount would have barely gotten me on the plane. $1,000 is a lot for what is going on in my life, but when is the next time I'll be able to go Hawaii for this cheap? How often does life pass us these opportunities? Well, with the right mindset, these opportunities can be taken as well. The Hawaii trip was a crazy series of events, but I would like to share how I travel. First of all, to participate in "guerilla travel" a fund must be established. I keep mine at about $1,000. Now, there are those who think keeping a grand aside when there are debts to be paid is absurd, but there is FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and the fact is the youngest you will ever be is right now. My fund will not get me a dream vacation, that is for another section, but when an excellent airfare is found, that $1,000 will get me started, if not get me through the whole trip. With some money aside, we play the waiting game. If a computer glitch occurs again, then the timing is obvious. Other times things are not so obvious. Using rumors and thorough research, I take not of how fares seem to be fluctuating and I make an educated guess at the most appropriate time to buy. Indicators might be a noticeable drop in prices, and booking no less than six weeks out for the most part. Rumors are that the best time to buy is on the Tuesday six weeks out from travel. My biggest piece of advice: don't be married to where you want to go. If you dream of places to go for years, then my philosophy will not help you. I want to see the world and I have minimal preference to where I go first. I will go where my money will take me, but I'll research a few different options for trips and explore several different areas: 1) How much will my time on land cost me? How much will a tour cost (if I am going that route)? Hotel? I also go on to the Government travel site to see per diem for the area to judge my approximate costs. Note: I use Contiki for tours, and there are sometimes deals on the site. This holds weight in my decision. This also ties in with my not being committed to a place. 2) What will my mode of transportation be once arriving? What are my living arrangements like and am I comfortable with them? 3) What will my airfare be? Note: This is third because in the end the time in the air is the least. Something to note is that my standards are low with most of the trip, specifically internationally. I enjoy hostels and being paired with people during tours. To me the living arrangements are so at the bottom of my list of major things to consider but safety must be considered. I recommend Hostel World when looking for a good place to stay abroad. When it comes to some vacations, my budget gets higher. I try to go away every other spring to a crazy place. I have aspirations as to where I would like to go, but I make sure I am not disappointed if another trip is more affordable. After all, I want to see as much of the world as I can.

Disney with Dietary Difficulties

We all have that reason we need to getaway. 

After weeks of tossing back and forth the idea of doing a 5k in Disney, I got a text saying "I signed up for the race and you should too". Having run 5Ks before and looking toward the 10k or even 10 mile goal, paying airfare to go to a 5k seemed silly, but sometimes you need that girls vacation and this was that time. 

Between planning and going, the government furlough happened almost ending this trip before it began. Luckily, the promise of back pay came with enough time to commit to going. 

As we arrived at Disney at the Shades of Green resort, anticipation built about how awesome of a trip this was going to be. The group decided this was the night to get dolled up and have a night on the Boardwalk. This is where the trip got interesting, and would stay hilarious. 

Traveling all day none of us even thought to eat much beyond a salad between flights. We started to think about getting out when the thought occurred "Can we check the menu?" The Disney parks app made this easy but we couldn't clearly see if a restaurant would cater to our dietary needs, with a vegan and a gluten free. We left without a plan for shuttle purposes. 

Three walks up and down the Boardwalk reading the menus we didn't know what to do. As a gluten free member of society I am cool with excluding parts of a meal and living like that, but the vegan was more difficult (in her defense sometimes my needs were difficult to satisfy). We finally decided the least evil place was Cat Cora's place. As we checked in with the hostess, we were asked about food issues and those issues were relayed to the waitress. As the waitress was getting our drink order, the vegan and myself were analyzing the menu with replacements and "Gee I hope they will do that". The waitress returned and told us the chef would be to the table shortly. The chef came out and gave us so many options. It was unbelievable, I've never felt so cared for in a business for my allergy. 

But that was only the beginning. Every place we ate at addressed our specified needs to the letter, and would make custom meals for us. It got to the point that the one person without any dietary concerns was feeling left out! 

One meal gave me some grief and ironically it was the meal in Animal Kingdom where there was an "allergy cart" nearby. 

Disney was a great time and to not be left out for once felt great. The one bad reaction could have been left out, but it's (sadly) become commonplace and one bad time over a week was not bad odds. 

The moral of the story is that if there are needs, make them known and Disney will make your visit most magical. I never thought of my allergy as a "make or break" of a good time, but as I succumbed and was unable to enjoy my final afternoon in the park, I realized how important it is to make your needs known. 

2013 on to 2014

I owe my readers some time. 

2013 was a great year, and an even better year for my travel habit. The year started off with a quick trip to Orlando, then a two week adventure in Spain. This was followed by a second trip to Orlando that allowed me to go to the Wizarding Wold of Harry Potter, then an impromptu trip to San Antonio and Austin for the Fourth of July. In August I ended up spending two weeks in Albany, Georgia where I got to hear Mr. Jimmy Carter preach Sunday school. In November I made the hat trick with trips to Orlando but this time it was strictly for pleasure and two friends and I went to all four parks and experienced RunDisney. Finally the year drew to a close with an impending purchase of a house. 

But that's not going to slow me down!

Ok maybe it will. But, in the last year I've learned invaluable lessons on finding your best deal in unlikely places and at the perfect times. For example, a hotel room split three ways, four days at parks, and airfare to Orlando barely broke $700. 

This year is two days deep and so far a trip to Hawaii has been planned and paid for while a trip to San Francisco has been discussed. Certainly other opportunities will cross my path. 

Til then...

Don't fake it, because you won't make it

In mid-December I found my mind coming across an interesting fact: in January, it will have been two years since my feet left American soil. Of course this was unacceptable, so I booked a trip to Spain. These are my antics. Nah. You're going to have to hear a little bit more about my philosophy on travel and money before you get the run down of what happened to a History Geek during two weeks in Spain. For new readers or readers that don't know me in real life, it's a reaching aspiration for me to be paid to travel one day. To a degree my dream is already there with work paying for travel, but I don't mean domestic, large cities, and 80% of my visit in a windowless defense contractor office. I mean pay me to grab my back pack and wander the scenic byways of the world. It's really part of the reason I write this, to hone my craft to even at its root see what kind of travel writer will I be? Will I go to the deepest darkest trenches of the world? Stand on my head at a mountains' peak for a new perspective? Write poetry from strong emotions taken out of viewing architecure? I really do not know. But I do know a few facts that have decided what kind of traveler I am: I have a job but still essentially live pay check to pay check. I'm single and do not have offspring yet, although I know one day I want both of these facts to change. Taking two weeks off from work is bold and is probably the maximum amount of responsible leave I would take at this point. These three facts have lead into today's rambling: what kind of traveler you are. I looked at what my life is and what I want it to develop into, and then I assessed prices and available tours, followed by deciding where I even wanted to go. Note, that the "where I wanted to go" really was a third option in my mind. I am a lonesome traveler. I enjoy taking in what I am seeing and being very internal about my thoughts, taking photographs, living the local culture, and not really sharing my experience with others. My list of approved travel buddies is maybe five people long, and I do not think of myself as a lonely person. I just truly believe that you are not yourself when you travel. Nor should you be, you are there to experience something different. On a random Monday I'm not going to call a friend to check out the Cathedral in Baltimore followed by cracking a dozen crabs and smoking some hookah while slamming back a few Natty Bohs. But on a travel Monday, this is totally me, just replace crabs with local fare, hookah with local activity, and Natty Bohs with a regional wine. However, I know I live in a rather unsafe world so I have come to trust Contiki. Contiki is NOT paying me to write this, but on my two tours with them I have always ended up in a safe hotel and enjoy the flexibility of the day (and night) with the safety net of a group of fellow travelers to fall back on. And if I decide that the "lone wolf" traveler thing isn't for me one day, I can find a new person to go with. After looking at my work schedule I saw that Contiki was offering a few tours during the time I felt comfortable leaving work for such an amount of time. What it finally came down to was flights, and this is how going to Spain for two weeks was finally born. I had started a savings fund for this trip and tax returns were around the corner, so I came up with a financial plan while putting this trip on a credit card.

My itinerary really took me all over Spain and that is for another post, but this is the way to do Spain. I feel Americans think we're special because state boundaries dictate culture. I'm Jersey-raised so I fist pump and Baltimore adopted so I love Old Bay on everything. Spain is so much more diverse. I'm probably going to make one long post on two weeks in Spain because to me it is an experience not to be shortened. 

Brown v. Board of Education NHS

Day Two of my Kansas weekend. I opened my National Parks Passport Book and found one more site within driving distance, and its a period of history that interests me. Double win. The Brown v. Board of Education site is in the former Colored Elementary School (Monroe Elementary) in Topeka, KS. What is to be noted is that Topeka had the "Separate but Equal" thing kinda down, with the exception that separate but equal was total crap. Anyway, kids that went to Monroe were getting about the same education as the child that went to the white school. But Civil Rights Activists thought they had a better chance of getting their agenda to the Supreme Court if they went to a more equal, less racist school district. They were less likely to win in a state like South Carolina where Jim Crow was strong. So, Brown v. Board of Education began. The auditorium is now an interactive film about civil rights with several stories screenwritten as a grandfather talking to his granddaughter. Along with the film, there are displays and a few statue type things. The Park Ranger will direct you to one exhibit first (Education and Justice), and that covers the time-line of civil rights with other assistive tools about what was segregated and civil rights leaders you may not have heard about. One thing that should have been very serious but ended up not being executed too great is a tunnel of insults that were recorded when the first students broke segregation barriers. It just didn't really flow. The second part of the exhibit is entitled The Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education and it covers what came before and what has come after Brown. The time line really struck me because how many race related events have taken place not only since Brown, but even in my life time. This was a great exhibit. The one thing I would have done differently was I would have started later. Note for my future travelers: Nothing is really going on in Topeka before 1pm. After I finished at the site, it was about 11:30 and I wasn't about to just hang out, so I just drove the hour and a half back. Still, a great morning.