While I’ve written about my various trips with Aga-Boom on here, my personal blog, before, this time I’m writing about the trips for someone else. My latest David Magazine piece, Clown Trip: Breaking the Language Barrier One Smile at a Time, takes the wider perspective and involves what it means to make people laugh without language.
Category: Travel
A Day in Spain spent Mainly on the Plane – Aga-Boom in Barcelona October 2018
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”
The Flight Home – July 9, 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”
Dinosaurs and Technology – July 8, 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”
Park Life – July 7, 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”
Into London Town – July 6, 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”
Brick by Brick – July 5, 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”
Like 4th of July in England – July 4, 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”
Disneyland Shanghai – March 22
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”
People’s Grand Theater – March 21-26
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”
This is China – March 15-20
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”
Immigration and visas
Living as a foreigner in a foreign country has certain pluses and minuses and these are going to be different for everyone involved, but one thing remains the same for everyone – dealing with immigration to ensure your resident status.
In the seven years I’ve lived in Lithuania, I’ve had to deal with it every year and every year, it’s been a different experience. This year was the most harrowing of all, though. Continue reading “Immigration and visas”
So I Went to Alaska…
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…”
Travels with Monki | David Magazine
My latest piece for David Magazine. Here, I kind of distill the essence of our recent summer trip into one, relatively short essay about taking Monki to theme parks.
The Postcard Dilemma
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”
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 