By now you’re probably getting tired of seeing these winter-esque pictures of the desert Southwest (believe me, I am too).
Just when we think it’s over another snowstorm pops up and we get dumped on again. Last night Mother nature served us up a full foot.
Being the hardy Minnesotan that I am, I refused to be homebound again today so I ventured out for a walk. According to my trusty Apple Watch walking in the melting 10-12 inches of snow is a pretty decent cardio workout. A thirty minute walk gave me all of the exercise I needed for the day.
I don’t want to jinx us but this really does appear to be the last of the snow. I do know that next year I'll be bringing snow boots just incase this is some kind of trend.
T R A V E L - T I P S
I've watched hundreds of hours of YouTube videos on travel these past few years I thought I'd pass along some of what I've learned to my readers. We have a full itinerary this year, with a new destination every few months. As we're trekking the globe I'll be sharing some travel tips in my blogs from time to time. As we go, please let me know if you have any questions about our destinations or anything specific to travel in general. I'll try my best to answer your questions.
Here are a few tips to kick things off:
Memories
As you travel collect business cards from shops, restaurants, and/or businesses you’ve particularly enjoyed. Use these business cards as bookmarks after you return home. Each time you read you’ll instantly be reminded of whatever special place the card came from. I've been doing this for years and it's like reliving a little bit of that past vacation every time I see them.
Keep The Dirt Out
Use disposable shower caps as shoe covers for shoes you’ll be packing in your suitcase. This will keep your luggage a bit cleaner.
Never Be Stranded
When traveling we use our phones' navigation almost exclusively. Google or Apple Maps have never let us down, even in the maze of narrow and twisted roads in old European cities. The trouble is these nav apps will drain your phone's battery in just a few hours. What happens when you're out exploring a foreign city on foot and your phone dies? One thing I never travel without is a power bank to charge my electronics.
Power banks are relatively inexpensive and can be a life-saver. This one from RavPower was around $40 five years ago and it can still power my iPhone about four times before it needs to be plugged in. The only downside is they can be HEAVY so they add some weight to your day pack but the extra ounces are well worth it. I wouldn't travel overseas without one.
Don't Over Plan
I've found, even on shorter trips, that planning out each hour of each day can make it feel more like a military drill than a relaxing vacation. I try to be very flexible and only plan one or two main things per day and allow spontaneity to fill in the gaps in between. Most often it's the spontaneous things that happen throughout the day, usually suggested by locals, are the most fun and memorable moments of the trip.
Keep More Of Your Money
Don’t use currency exchanges, they are a scam and charge exorbitant fees. Most shops and restaurants in most locations will accept credit cards and when the card is swiped the conversion from your home currency to the local currency (i.e. USD to Euro) will happen automatically. Check with your credit card before traveling to make sure you're aware of their fee structure.
A pro tip is to travel with a credit card that earns you extra cash or bonuses for what you spend. This way you're actually making money from your vacation. Since we always fly Delta I use the American Express Delta Skymiles card.
In the rare instances you need physical cash, use your debit card at a local ATMs. Check with your bank or credit union before you travel to make sure they don't charge a foreign transaction fee, most won't. This way you'll just have to pay the ATM fee, which is a few dollars compared to the much higher fee you'd be charged at a currency exchange.
All for now. Trust your instincts, invest in you, live boldly, and take chances.
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Poetry should move us, it should change us, it should glitch our brains, shift our moods to another frequency. Poetry should evoke feelings of melancholy, whimsy, it should remind us what it feels like to be in love, or cause us to think about something in a completely different way. I view poetry, and all art really, as a temporary and fragile bridge between our world and a more pure and refined one. This is a world we could bring into creation if enough of us believed in it. This book is ephemera, destined to end up forgotten, lingering on some dusty shelf or tucked away in a dark attic. Yet the words, they will live on in memory. I hope these words become a part of you, bubble up into your memory when you least expect them to and make you feel a little more alive.
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Let’s Keep In Touch
Excellent recommendations and great pictures!!! Do you use your cell phone camera or a special camera? Are they edited? The images look so sharp and amazing. Not planning so much, reminded me of a trip I took to an island here in Venezuela and I misplaced my suitcase. What at the beginning could have ruined the trip, turned out to be the opportunity to do things that were not on the itinerary. There is a saying: "Tell God your plans, so you can see how he laughs at them". The journey is not the destination, it is what you experience along the way. Keep enjoying and filling us with your experiences. Hugs, Eric.
Thank you Nancy! I just have the iPhone SE (2020) and use the native Apple photo editor to brighten things up. I like that quote! It's so true though, isn't it? Sometimes it's best to just "go with the flow". It's a good reminder of how we're not really in control of anything in our lives. Hugs to you!
I never get bored watching Snow fall or any picture related to snow fall ;) So, you don't need to worry about me ;) I'm loving it, I know it causing problems for you. Every snow storm you receiving is creating mess for you. Your travel life is disturbing. But take it as positive, you are going to get more time to spend with your family. You can play games with them ;) You can do snow removing exercises with them, it would be fun ;) I hope this snow storm cause no damage to your family and to the people living in your area.
I'm glad you're liking the pictures. It's really not much of a hassle for us. We were mostly trapped inside yesterday but I think by mid-day today we'll be able to get the car out. I heard a lot of chainsaws humming this morning. People were cutting up the trees that had fallen under the weight of the heavy snow.
Those photos look amazing, but I'm sooo sorry the weather's been so awful! I really hope it improves.
Those travel tips are great Eric, will certainly be very useful when we visit our son in May, so I'm making notes! Thank you🤗
Thank you Lizelle! It's okay, just so unexpected. I read an article in one of the local newspapers today that said this snowstorm is a once in a decade event! I'm glad you found the tips helpful. I'm such a geek when it comes to that stuff. Lol.
Hello dear friend @ericvancewalton good day
It's good that despite the heavy snow that has fallen, you still went out hiking, the walk would have been more comfortable with snow boots without a doubt, but you've enjoyed it, which is what matters
I appreciate you sharing this experience and travel tips
that you enjoy it a lot
I thoroughly enjoyed the walk, even with wet feet. I hope those shoes are dried out for today's walk! I'm glad you enjoyed it my friend. Have a wonderful Friday.
I used to collect business cards when I was a kid. I am not sure if I still have them, but I used to have binders and binders full of pages of business cards. For some reason I thought it was really cool. I guess I was always a nerd...
That's funny, my brother and I used to collect keys when we were younger. My Dad would sometimes bring them home from work. It made my brother and I feel grown up, I think. Lol. I'm right there with you when it comes to being a nerd.
All right, I don't feel so bad now :)
There are many things that are common in humans, one of which is to enjoy the scenery of natural beauty. The kind of pictures you are sharing of these beautiful snowfields is making everyone happy, I don't think there is a person in the world who doesn't like this scene. I know that people who have houses in such places have to face difficulties in many things because I think by limiting it to two to three weeks in such places, it becomes much more difficult for people who don't live in such places. But as far as these pictures and scenes are concerned, they are very beautiful.
The sun is making all the snow disappear today. It looks like this will be the last of it. Thank you!
Yes, nature loves to surprise, but how beautiful. I'm glad you're all right. Traveling is cool, especially at an age when you begin to appreciate and admire all the beauty of our planet.
You definitely appreciate these things more when you reach middle age!
Winter and snow transform anything into a scene of beauty and a landscape that we don't recognize anymore. It simply has an enchanting effect on everything it touches.
It definitely adds a whole new element.
I was very amazed to see the view of the trees covered by snow. It's a very beautiful photo. I have never seen and felt the cold of snow directly. I think you are very lucky to live in the four seasons, Eric. God bless you.
One of the trees was so heavy with snow that it bent over onto our house! Thankfully the sun melted it this morning. You should experience snow at least once. Bless you as well Eliana!
I love the beautiful captures of the snow which is amazing with the lovely shots taken.
Thanks!
Over planning is never the best solution and instead when trying to plan on a positive move it is also required to take a rightful decision to get a good results.
Very true!
If I was there I'd be looking into renting a side-by-side offroad vehicle... maybe they'd cut you a deal too? A foot of Sedona snow is preferable to a foot of MN snow.
It would be fun! The roads were nearly impassable. With the intensity of the sun though I think it'll be gone by mid-day but the mud will still be there for another day or two. : ) BTW, the new mayor is trying to ban off road vehicles here so if you enjoy doing that you may want to make sure to do it this year if you come down.
I think snow would be the last thing I would want during my holiday :) We are going to warmer days day by day. However, March is known with its surprising freezing days :)
Walking in the snow has its own fun because when it is snowing, people are having a lot of fun. In today's era, the way in which tension is running in human's life, one must go in such a way, it has become very necessary for the mind refreshment. I also bought Danny's power bank and when I did it with my friends, he was very supportive because the whole way, when a person is not sleeping, the person keeps watching YouTube. The way we see it nowadays is that people turn on link's in the airdrop cycle which can cause them to take a lot of damage. I also opened a similar link by mistake last year when I was using Ronin network and my nfts disappeared from there.
We pay directly on Binance in our country when it comes to selling and buying crypto though
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