Cruising to Bermuda We sailed to Bermuda from NYC on the Disney Magic, docking at 10am and boarding to leave at 4pm the following day. Much of our planning revolved around considerations for weather and the fact that we arrived on a Sunday. Bermuda was sunny with a high in the mid-80s during our first… Continue reading 24 hours in Bermuda
Departure from NYC The Manhattan Cruise Terminal was a breeze for us compared to Port Miami, although the size of the ship may have accounted for that also. We arrived at the tail end of our 11:30am-12pm boarding time and walked through security/check-in and onto the ship with no lines. We spent the afternoon on… Continue reading Cruising on the Disney Magic NYC-Bermuda
Disney Cruise Line's Castaway Cay in the Bahamas, June 2022 Castaway CayBahamas We spent our second full cruise day at Castaway Cay, Disney Cruise Line’s private island in the Bahamas. As we got off the ship we were given towels. Disney Characters and other photo options along the way made the ¼ mile walk to… Continue reading Excursions on the 5-night Disney Dream Cruise from Miami
Atrium Lobby on the Disney Dream, June 2022 Inside the Disney Dream Our port arrival window at Miami Cruise Terminal was 11:15am, and within an hour we had boarded the ship through the Atrium Lobby. We were required to check in on deck four and watch a video about emergency procedures. A few locations were… Continue reading The Disney Dream, June 2022
This is the "will they or won't they get together" story of a woman and her missing luggage. In 2003, I embarked on a two-week European vacation with two of my fellow Muskingum Alum/sorority sisters/Virginia transplants. Thankfully I documented the entire adventure during and after the trip, so I’m able to share an over-detailed account… Continue reading Girls’ Trip to Europe- Part 1- 2003
Melbourne Melbourne (pronounced somewhere between Mel-Ben and Mel-Bun in American) was meant to be a short stop that turned into a ten-day stay. My hosts were another YMCA Camp Kern friend, Steve Hepworth, and his lovely parents. Stephen still remains one of my most beloved friends due to his unfiltered, honest and wildly funny personality.… Continue reading Victoria, Australia, 2002
Perth Cottesloe Beach, Perth, Australia Ord Street Temporary Home, Perth, Australia Kings Park, Perth, Australia My first two weeks in Perth (pronounced more like Pear-th in American) were spent acclimating to Australian culture. I was lucky to have local guides in my friend Louise and her (then boyfriend, now husband) Louis. From Louise’s house I… Continue reading Working Holiday in Western Australia, 2001
The El Yunque Rainforest is the only tropical rainforest on US lands, and being there was like being in another world. Coqui frogs were the most vocal animals that we heard (males are the only ones that call and they are even more active at night.) The tree snails’ shells were the size of our palms.… Continue reading El Yunque Rainforest, Puerto RIco, July 2021
The Hyatt Grand Regency is on the western side of a peninsula on the coast of Rio Grande. Because it’s right at the end, we could see the sunset and sunrise from opposite ends of the beach. The mountains of the El Yunque rainforest make up the southern backdrop. The large property is spread out… Continue reading Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve Puerto Rico, July 2021
It can be hard to get to Vieques, but so very worth the trouble. We knew that the journey might be difficult in advance, and expected delays and stress at the ferry terminal at Ceiba. (We could have opted for a flight from San Juan, or a puddle jumper from Ceiba, but we chose the much… Continue reading Vieques, Puerto Rico, July 2021
Old San Juan dates back to the 16th Century and some of the buildings that remain are over 500 years old, and the two original Forts, the Castillo San Felipe del Morro and the fortified walls still surround this section of the city. Old San Juan would be roughly a 15-minute drive from the airport,… Continue reading Old San Juan, Puerto RIco, July 2021
Our trip to Spain in 2011 was an adventure of mishaps, starting with realizing we didn't have a charger for the new camera we had purchased for the trip. Many of our "better" photos by our halfway point in Granada were taken as quickly as possible to conserve battery, while others were with an early… Continue reading Granada, Spain 2011
The year was 2000. The internet had just progressed from dial-up to broadband. Cell phones weren’t widespread. My rural Ohio alma mater, Muskingum College, still had a card catalogue in the library. So, it was at the beginning of the digital age that twenty Muskies booked a spring break trip to Cancun with estudenttravel.com. We… Continue reading Cancun, Mexico, Spring Break 2000
Quebec City, Canada marked our first (and only to date) full family trip outside of the US. Quebec city was built beginning in the early 17th century by the French, so it is the closest an American can get to feeling like a trip to Europe without a long flight. Old Quebec The Hotel Port… Continue reading Quebec City, Canada, 2018
Remember the movie Crocodile Dundee? My 2001 four-month “Working Holiday” in Australia was in some ways the same story, in reverse. The lead as a small-town girl from Ohio who had only experienced large cities on a tour group’s detailed itinerary. I had only flown twice, once to Florida, and once to Cancun, Mexico, back… Continue reading SYDNEY TO PERTH, Australia 2001
Muskies in Spain We capped off our Spain trip with Barcelona, which included a reunion with two of my fellow Muskingum University Alumnus/XAN Sorority Sisters, Mandy and Kiersten. Mandy joined us from Ohio and Kiersten from London, where she was living at the time. It was their first time meeting Alex, and he humored our… Continue reading Barcelona, Spain, 2011
In 2012 we took our last overseas vacation as a family of two. Compared to the Bahamas and Jamaica, Aruba felt much more accessible without staying at an all-inclusive resort, and relying on tours to venture outside the resort. We used public buses, taxis, and drove rental cars. The island is small enough for us… Continue reading Aruba, 2012
