When we got up this morning, we had a choice to make. We could do our normal Sunday activities, which would involve work, or we could have a bit of a family day.
Now, to be honest, family days are hard to come by, mostly because work is not only ever-present, but increasing and increasingly complex. At any given point, I’ve got at least three different sets of job responsibilities so taking time off isn’t easy. Continue reading “An Impromptu Day at the Zoo”
The theme for my weekend getaway with Aga-Boom was “Late.”
Here’s how it all went down: Continue reading “A Day in Spain spent Mainly on the Plane – Aga-Boom in Barcelona October 2018”
I’ll kill the suspense now and tell you we made the flight.
Of course, while we were in the middle of things, that outcome was never assured. And in fact, at points, it seemed like it was highly doubtful. Continue reading “The Flight Home – July 9, 2018”
Sunday was our last day in town and we had decided to try for the Natural History Museum. It fit our requirement of being free and had the added benefit of being one of my favorite places (plus, I’m working on a story set there, so, yay, research!). But first…breakfast and then a walk to the park.
Back at Valentines Park the day before, we had seen a small play area for kids but didn’t get a chance to stop by, so we figured we could do that this morning. Monki loved it. She only recently discovered the joy of slides and swings back at home, and was getting pretty good at climbing the stairs and waiting her turn, so this seemed tailor made for her. Continue reading “Dinosaurs and Technology – July 8, 2018”
So…Remember those clothes we took to the cleaner back on Wednesday when Monki got sick in the car? It wasn’t just a wash and fold, it was actually a dry-cleaner and they said they could get them back for us Friday night or Saturday morning. Since way back then we didn’t know what was going to be happening, I opted for the Saturday morning option. Now, here we were on Saturday morning, up and ready to go out for the day, except we had to wait until at least 9am so we could make sure to get our clothes. Continue reading “Park Life – July 7, 2018”
New day, new adventure. Once again, a jet-lagged baby was up early so we had breakfast and headed out to figure out how to get into the city. We found the Ilford station and a very nice and helpful station agent explained the advantage of Oyster Cards to us as a cost saving measure and with the help of Citymapper, an app Lin had recommended, we quickly and easily made our way to Westminster Underground station. The great thing about this app is it it not only tells you what time and platform your train/bus/subway is on, but also which exit to take in order to leave the station as efficiently as possible as well as GPS enable walking routes to get you to and from the stations themselves. Truly a great app for London (and I understand they have it for other cities as well). Continue reading “Into London Town – July 6, 2018”
Legoland is located over near Windsor Castle, where the recent royal wedding had been held, and about 50 miles from us. Thankfully, due to jet lag, Monki was up early, which meant we were as well, and after a brief English breakfast at the hotel, we were off on the day’s adventure. Continue reading “Brick by Brick – July 5, 2018”
This was the trip which almost didn’t happen.
We booked it a few weeks back, thinking it would be a nice getaway before Monki and I had our birthdays. The financial logic here was that before her second birthday, Monki flies for the infant rate of very little, as opposed to after her second birthday, in which case her fare rises dramatically. And that happens if her birthday falls within the travel period, so our hands were a bit tied as to timing. Continue reading “Like 4th of July in England – July 4, 2018”
Aside from the shows, though, Shanghai was a fun city, even though we didn’t really get the chance to see a lot of it. On Thursday, with one show under our belts, Zack and I headed out early in the morning to go to Disneyland Shanghai. To be perfectly honest, this was the one thing I was really looking forward to. Knowing we were going to have a heavy schedule, I was hoping to get at least a few hours to explore this version of the Happiest Place on Earth. I had already asked Zack if wanted to go with me and we invited Anton (our sound guy) to also come along, but he had “studying” to do (which is like kryptonite for teachers – can’t argue him out of it). Continue reading “Disneyland Shanghai – March 22”
We left Zengzhou on another bullet train (top speed 302kph) and 4 1/2 hours later we were pulling in to the Shanghai train station. Everyone remembered their tickets so we could get out, and we were off to our hotel for the night – A one-night stop kinda on the outskirts of town. The following morning, we went to the hotel where we would spend the bulk of our time in Shanghai, a nice, older place called the Pacific Hotel just across the street from People’s Square (and next door to the Radisson and Madame Tussaud’s). Continue reading “People’s Grand Theater – March 21-26”
It started when I got off the plane. Sure, the ride itself was normal – the long side, heading from Helsinki to Shanghai, I was seated next to a guy who decided my armrest was his property, but I just watched some movies and stared out the window. The flight itself was only 8 1/2 hours (it’s ten going back) but then going through customs and immigration was a bit tricky. I didn’t know the name of the hotel I would be staying at (the info was in my bag). When the officer asked, I just explained I was there with a clown show. “Then just put that,” he said. So yes, my official entry form states my residence is “clown show.” Continue reading “This is China – March 15-20”
Way back in 2007, just before my 40th birthday, I had planned an epic road trip on my motorcycle. Originally, the intent was to leave from Vegas and head up the coast, visiting places and taking my time, exploring the scenery. I wanted to take the Canadian highway and head up to Alaska and then maybe put the bike on a ferry and see how far I could get out into the Aleutian Islands. Continue reading “So I Went to Alaska…”
Once again, leaving Lithuania requires me getting up ridiculously early. This time it was the need to get to Vilnius airport by a little past 6am for an 8:10 flight, which, after changing planes twice, would ultimately land me in Tenerife later that day where I would meet up with the rest of the Aga-Boom gang for a series of shows in the FIC clown festival. The nice thing, though, was that I had a ride this time. Simas, Monika’s brother, kindly offered to give me a lift, so he was at our place at 5. So, while Rasa and Monki slept, I headed out the door for a 6 day trip. Continue reading “Aga-Boom in Tenerife – The Shows (October 20-23)”
I love postcards. I’m a fan in general of souvenirs but nine times out of ten or even 99/100 if I buy anything at all, it’s postcards. When I travel, I tend to get postcards everywhere then spend my time in the evenings at local bars or coffee shops (or on trains or busses) writing them out and sending them from my next stop. Continue reading “The Postcard Dilemma”
Sunday-Monday June 25-26
I’ve said it before, but traveling from Lithuania is not easy. At least not by plane. Very few places are accessible directly, and those that are, are usually through the low-cost airlines (let’s never forget Flights for 50p, shall we) and get you someplace near your destination (For example, going to Paris, Ryan and Wizz fly you to Beauvais, which is about an hour away). Anyway, for our flights to the US, where we are going to spend a week on vacation with family in San Diego then all head back to Vegas for mom’s Bat Mitzvah, we decided to do it in two jumps – Vilnius (not even from Kaunas, so that’s another hour added on to the journey) to Paris then Paris to LA. Continue reading “Coming to America – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 