Listen to Trip Advisor

Ok, so this may seem obvious. I'm just finding I need the reminder myself.

1. Read Trip Advisor
2. Notice applicable information
3. Take information to heart

On the trip to Utah, Ruby's was noted as a family establishment. I read that. I thought about it. I decided it wasn't that big of a deal. When we got to our room there were screaming children running up and down in front of our room. Alot of screaming children. And the screaming continued for quite some time. I grumbled and my illustrious fellow Diva reminded me....trip advisor warned about that. Damn! She's right. They are right. I ceased my complaining...mostly.

Then we leave LAX 6pm on a Friday (not the brightest traffic move), spend the evening sleeping (or not) on the plane, have a hellish layover at Heathrow, land in Prague and then we navigate the bus and metro. We arrive in town. I'm really excited about The Green Lobster, it's right by the castle, looks quaint and adorable - the perfect place to spend my birthday. We jump of the metro to discover a long, and I do mean LOOOOOOOOONG wandering walk that leads in a bit of a circle. After a helpful Czech Starbucks worker pointed us in the right direction, we arrived at the bottom of a Serious Hill. Yes, you guessed it. Trip Advisor warned me about this. I read it. I thought about it. I decided it wasnt that big of a deal. HA! Hauling luggage up a big hill after almost a full day of traveling - Not Fun! And Fun is, after all, paramount.

So, You? You're smart. You actually listen to Trip Advisor. Me? I need this reminder.

Bryce Canyon National Park, Day II

I don't know about anyone else, but I wanted to go to Bryce to see the Hoodoos.

Hoodoos are tall, beautiful spires of red rock that rise up from the bottom of the dry basins. What separates Hoodoos from ordinary spires is their unique formation and thickness. The Hoodoos are formed by erosional patterns of alternating hard and softer rock layers that has taken place over the past 30 million years. Different mineral deposits cause variations in the height and color.


We saw some beautiful Bryce landscapes along the way.











Bryce Canyon National Park boasts an 18-mile paved road, which provides access to the 13 "lookout points". It is by far the fastest and easiest way to view the majesty of this beautiful park. Just be sure to actually get out of the car and peek over the edge of the canyon every now and then.

Bryce Canyon National Park, Day I

As my comrade noted in her earlier post, we went to Bryce National Park where we stayed at Ruby's. On the plus side, Ruby's is a stone's throw from the park, on the minus side it's a destination for families of extremely loud & obnoxious children and oblivious parents. After a two and a half hour drive from the Grand Canyon, I was in no mood for screaming bratlings. We dropped off our stuff and cruised on outta' there.

We trekked to the park after dusk to scope out the scene. There we saw two points of interest: Sunset Point, which we had arrived a little too late to enjoy, and Sunrise Point, which offered us hope for the morning. It seemed like a good idea to go get cozy in our room until the adventure began in the morning.

Wrong! After another failed attempt at getting settled in our room, we went back to the park to stargaze. Aside from nearly wandering off the edge of a cliff in the vast darkness, it was absolutely glorious! Interestingly, in most rural areas of the United States, 2,500 stars can be viewed on a clear night. At Bryce, 7,500 stars can be seen twinkling in the void.

We decided we couldn't bear being in the room at Ruby's without some booze. Conveniently, Ruby's has a huge general store on-site. My fellow Diva and I stocked up on Coors Original, cheese, and snacks and headed back to the screaming shack that was our lodging. That bottle of Tuaca we had been carting around came in quite handy! We spent the evening drowning out the noise - and our sorrows - the good ol' fashioned way: with lots of alcohol.

So, naturally when the alarm went off at 5:45 am, we chose to skip the sunrise in favor of sleeping off our booze-fueled stupor.

North Rim of the Grand Canyon

From Kanab, we high-tailed it over to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. In stark contrast to the overcrowded tourist-laden South Rim of the Grand Canyon, the North Rim is surprisingly mellow. In fact, only 10% of Grand Canyon tourists visit the North Rim. Too bad for the other 90%, because the North Rim is about 1,000-1,500 feet higher than the South Rim and offers the most majestic views of this astonishing slice of earth.

We did most of our exploring, hiking, and photographing at Bright Angel. Other than boasting one of the best views in the Canyon, Bight Angel is also home to the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and North Rim Visitor Center.

It's an amazing experience to stand on the edge of the canyon. For me, it truly put life into perspective. Our problems are not these monstrous beasts we make them out to be. Our problems are itsy bitsy teeny things in the grand scheme. Heck, we are itsy bitsy teeny things in the grand scheme. And I like it that way.

For breathtaking views and a quiet, peaceful haven, visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Road Trippin' through Utah: Part II

We first stopped at the most scenic canyon country in the United States, Zion National Park. Originally established as Mukumpuweap National Monument in 1909, Zion National Park was renamed and re-established in 1919. "Zion" means "a place of refuge", and it truly was. It's the oldest National Park in Utah and by far the most beautiful.

We took a short hike to the Weeping Rock, where Navajo sandstone meets the clay-based siltstone and retains water. As the water accumulates, it moves sideways and emerges from the rock as gently trickling springs.

We met a big, fat, hairy caterpillar there. I was hoping to encounter a mountain lion, but oh well, the caterpillar was fun too.

We spent the night in the horrifyingly scary town of Kanab. A word to the wise: skip Kanab if you don't want to sleep in fear of being robbed, raped, or beaten. The hotel was nice enough; it was just the people that were, um, creepy.


More good times to come: Stay tuned for Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas.

Road Trippin' through Utah: Part I

Every now and then even city girls need to get away. Recently, my comrade in global domination and I went national park hopping in my brand spankin' new Scion xD.

Of course, traveling to a state like Utah, forces a woman to take certain matters into her own hands. A bottle of Tuaca traveled from LA to Utah with us.

It was shortly after the devil took over my speedometer that we got pulled over for speeding. I did my best "Oh, Mr. Officer, please help - so lost - so in need of a big strong cop man to show me the way" and it worked. We got off with a, "yell at her if she starts speeding again".

Interstate Love Song

There's something to be said for the feeling of freedom that unfurls when pushing 90mph down an open road.

We made our escape yesterday: Buh-bye LA. Utah, here we come! It was amazing to watch the terrain transform as we crossed state lines. From the crusty dry flats of California to the scrub and cactus-laden land of Nevada into Arizona's monumental mountains and out to the rainbow-colored hillsides of Utah.

I love this world and all of it's wonders.

DK Travel Guides - Love 'em!!!

When you need to know where to go, look for this symbol:

  

Eyewitness Travel Guides

I'm a really visual person so I love these guides. Great maps, beautiful pictures and lots of great info. I've got a whole collection of them at home for easy planning, quick reference and plotting n scheming my next great adventure.

Knowing your Airline options - More stops added for Free

So you're getting to go on a gut busting, click a pic n dash, mad grand tour of Europe. Every day is a new city, a new adventure and you're looking for a way to squeeze in one more quick stop. Or maybe you're flying from the entirely wrong side of the continent you are on and you'd just like a break from the hours and hours and hours in the air.

Its time to explore the 24 hour layover rule. I'm doing my usual yesterday, wandering the internet for good air fare deals. I think I've found what I want. I'm about to hit Buy Now - then the thought of 18 hours of travel hits me like a ton of bricks. Wow, that sounds like no fun. So I check with my travelin buddy for this trip....did you say you wanted to see London? Yep. So instead of finishing my transaction online I go old school and dial the digits for American Airlines reservations.

Yes, its true you can stop in any city that is on your route for up to 24 hours of fun and exploring for no additional charge. Lets take a peek at what I did. The original plan was to leave Austria at 11am arrive in London at 1pm sit around for two hours and get on the flight home at 3pm. Which means I would have been in airports from nine in the morning for almost 24 hours. Instead we broke it up into something more manageable.

Now we leave Vienna at the same time a day earlier, and arrive in London at 1pm. Plenty of time for a few rounds about town on the tube and a boat tour for a river view of London before we grab some munchies at Piccadilly Circus and hit the town at night. Time for a proper english breakfast before its off to the airport for our non stop flight home.

Since this was my first 24 hour layover adventure, I went a head and booked with the reservation agent so there was a $20 per ticket charge. So this extra day in London cost me $40 this time. Now I know what the restrictions are and that I have to keep my layover under 24 hours. I will just use the multi-destination search option online next time and get the extra stop for free. You can too! Here's to seeing more and spending less. Cheers!

Cha Cha Changes - The Rule of the Travel Road

Yep, the only constant is change itself. The biggest fact of life on the traveling road: what ever your plan - Things Will Change. Alot of things will change. And that's the joy of traveling, being willing to do things different, do altogether different thing, roll with the punches and have fun while you're doin it.

Ahhhh, the tickets have been purchased. Its amazing how life can change so much with one little click of the mouse. Well, actually this time it was one little phone call. So now its real. No dreaming of getting back on the road and thinking of million places I may want to go someday. No. Now its real. Now its time to get focused researching where I really want to go. Lisbon is out, London is in, and its time to get cracking on finding all the culture, adventure, food, exploring and fun to be found in Austria and the Czech Republic.

When in Greece last year, we went to Rhodes for a few days - Amazing!!!! I'll post some pix from that in the next few days just for the fun of it. The Palace of the Grand Masters, the walled city of Old Town Rhodes, the Mosque of Suleiman, the Street of the Knights, it was like stepping into the past and walking thru medieval times. Ok, well, just as far as the architecture goes. The city was a bustling, exotic mix of shops, restaurants and people. Beautiful sparkling jewelry, unique items and stacks upon stacks of bright colored carpets called my name. I had heard of World Heritage Sites before that. Now that I've been its my new addiction(well, after National Parks). So I'm excited to be able to see so many more World Heritage sites on this trip.

Take a peek at the full list of World Heritage Sites. Its organized by country and includes both natural and cultural sites. There are 878 amazing sites of our human culture to explore all over the world. Find your call to adventure today.