Washington, D.C. or Bust!

Tomorrow I leave for a long weekend in Washington, D.C.   My boyfriend and I are attending a wedding this Saturday and are using the occasion as an opportunity for a ‘mini-vacation’.    I couldn’t be more excited.   Some of my best vacations have been long weekends spent on a quick getaway.   I am looking forward to the museums and culture and just relaxing and spending time with my boyfriend away from the hustle and bustle of our everyday chaotic lives.
Be sure to follow me @passporttweets (www.twitter.com/passporttweets) for updates and postings throughout the trip and expect a detailed post or two upon my return.

Tips for Traveling During the Busy Seasons

Summer and the holiday season are two of the busiest travel times of the year.  Everyone seems to travel because of the vacation days from school and work, the favorable weather, and the desire to spend the holidays with friends and family.  It is inevitable that at some point you, too, will be traveling over the long weekends in summer (Memorial Day, July 4^th, Labor Day) or during the winter holiday season (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s).  To better prepare you for that time, here is a list of tips for traveling during the busy seasons…

First and foremost, when initially planning the vacation, consider traveling somewhere the holiday is not celebrated.  If you travel over July 4^th, you will find crowds all over America, so why not take that trip over the pond and visit Europe or head north and travel to Canada.

If your destination will be crowded while you are visiting, plan ahead.  Buy venue tickets, reserve necessary rentals, and book dinner reservations before you begin your trip.  Typically, these activities are tasks you would complete upon arrival at your destination; however, to avoid a sold out show or undesirable reservation times – plan ahead.  If you need help doing this, call the hotel you have booked and speak with their concierge.

Another thing to consider in the planning stages of your vacation is the actual times you will be traveling.  You have decided the days, but what time are you starting the road trip or booking your flight?  Avoid peak travel times over busy travel dates. Most of you seasoned travelers understand this concept, but for you less seasoned travelers, keep reading.  This means do not plan to hit the road at 5pm the Friday of Memorial Day weekend.  Consider leaving a few hours earlier or later than the rush, but be sure to check that while en route you will not end up in another major city during peak travel times.  If planes or trains is your mode of transportation you can still apply the same concept.  Try the earliest flight to your destination (anything before 8am) or the latest (anything after 8pm – red eyes are even better!)

So now you have established your travel itinerary and it’s only days before your trip begins and packing is your focus.  Be sure to pack smart when traveling during the busy seasons.  What does it mean to pack smart, you ask?  Pack an extra outfit.  You have no control over weather or mechanical delays or extended layovers, but you can be prepared for them.  My best suggestion is to actually include your “emergency outfit” in your carry on just in case your checked luggage is lost or delayed.  Pack snacks, especially if traveling with children.  If you pack a box of granola bars, trail mix, dried fruit, etc. you will not only save time, but money too!  Having the snacks on hand while traveling saves you the time of searching for a vendor to buy overpriced food from wherever you are and saves you the time of waiting in their most likely long lines.  Finally, packing smart implies packing to travel regulations.  Lines are long enough during the holidays; you do not need to get held up in an airport security line because your shampoo was a 3.5 oz bottle and not 3 oz.

Once you have arrived at your destination and your vacation is in full swing there are still a few things you can do to try and avoid the large crowds.  When visiting places like amusement parks, museums, etc., avoid peak venue times.  Most amusement parks or museums are not crowded at opening or in the late afternoon/early evening dinner time frame.  Work your schedule around these times.  Family friendly amusement parks also seem to die down mid-afternoon when toddlers need naps.  Another smart move is to check with the venue and ask if they have extended hours for the summer or the holidays.  Walt Disney World and the Smithsonian are two great examples of venues adjusting their hours of operation for the heavy traffic the summer and holiday seasons bring.

My final crowd avoidance tip is one that I have actually been guarding as bit of a secret for some time now.  It seems rather simple, but I can vouch for its effectiveness: Veer left in crowds and lines.  As Americans, we are trained to favor our right side.  Most of us are right-handed; we drive on the right side, etc.  This has become an subconscious decision for us now as adults.  This is why if ever presented with multiple lines for the same end result, the right tends to be longer.  So I advise you to make it a conscious decision and head to the left.  Silly, I know; but it works!

Travel Reads

So it’s summer and you want to travel, but you don’t have the vacation time or the funds. Or maybe you are traveling somewhere this summer, but not to a place as exotic as you’d like. And finally, hopefully, the case is you are traveling to an amazing destination, yet you may have some lengthy plane rides and layovers ahead of you…What one solution can overcome all these problems?
My favorite cheap and easy “go-to getaway” is a good travel book. I have compiled a simple list below of some travel reads that I either have read and recommend or a source I trust has read and recommended to me. I welcome you to read the list and read one for yourself and please leave a comment about other travel books you recommend. I know my list is by no means complete and comprehensive; however, I do think it contains a wide variety of writing styles bound to please most.  Expect future posts with reviews on travel reads both on and off this list!

Recommended Travel Reads:

On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Naples ‘44 by Norman Lewis
The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner
Without Reservations by Alice Steinbach
The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Travels by Michael Crichton
McCarthy’s Bar by Pete McCarthy

Travelers Night In

I must share some news.  Zip, Set, Go hosts a weekly “Travelers Night In” forum on twitter every Thursday at 3:30pm ET.  Every week the hosts ask participants, who by the way can be anyone with a twitter account following #TNI, 10 questions of a particular designated theme within a 90 minute period.  Anyone and everyone is encouraged to respond, listen, and re-tweet their favorite responses.  I had the pleasure to partake in my first TNI 2 weeks ago when the topic was “Worst of Travel”; today’s topic is “Budget Travel” and I couldn’t be more excited!  So anyone and everyone should jump in, log on, and participate – It’s a great way to converse with fellow travelers and be entertained by some crazy travel stories for 90 minutes.  Hope to see you there this afternoon!  I’ll be @passporttweets.

La Noche en Miami

After flying into Ft. Lauderdale, my boyfriend and I drove to downtown Miami where we stayed for the night. We arrived around happy hour and made our way to the hotel bar for a couple drinks and some conch fritters. The relaxed and friendly feel of the bartenders was infectious and the food and drinks were delicious.

A couple drinks down, it was time to ready for a night in South Beach. We consulted the Concierge and a few other hotel employees as to our best options to travel to South Beach from downtown Miami. We finally chose to drive ourselves when told it would be a 40 min plus bus ride if we took public transportation. We were also assured that there would be plenty of parking options in South Beach. The drive took maybe 10-15 min and we only had to circle a couple blocks to find metered parking just a block away from Washington St. However, I must caution: we assumed the metered parking was free at night (it was after 8pm), but apparently these particular meters ran well into the night and when we returned to the car we were surprised to see a ticket on the windshield. The upside? The ticket was only $15, probably comparable to paying for one of the nearby parking garages.

Our first act of business in South Beach was to walk around Lincoln Ave which is closed to vehicular traffic and easily reminds one of European streets fluttering with activity from all the boutiques and cafes. This was definitely the “hot spot”, it was a Wednesday night and every cafe/bar/restaurant had a slight wait for a table, every store had shoppers perusing the shelves and racks, and couples strolled through the area hand in hand while little Fido scurried about.

After walking through Lincoln Ave for about an hour, we stopped at Sushi Samba, a little sushi/Latin cuisine fusion restaurant. We split a roll and ordered a round of drinks. I had a capirinha which was very tasty, but a little strong.

Of course we had to swing by Ocean Dr. to make our night in South Beach official. Before doing so, we made a quick stop at the Walgreens at the corner of Collins and Lincoln for a few provisions. This place was packed and it was well after 10pm! I only mention stopping at Walgreens, because this one had it all…if you find yourself staying or visiting the South Beach area and need anything from band-aids to beer, I encourage you to shop at this Walgreens.

On Ocean Dr. the smell of the salt water and fish made me smile and the beauty of the palm tree lined street looked like it came straight from a movie. The crowds were a little more scarce on Ocean Dr., perhaps because less of these establishments had patio space because Ocean Dr. is not shut down to vehicular traffic as Lincoln Ave. is and it could be because of the time of night we got to Ocean Dr. – had we gone here first I’m sure we would have seen large crowds like we did on Lincoln Ave.

We followed the murmurs of a crowd and stylings of a DJ to Clevelander – an outdoor bar with a dance floor and stage set over a pool. This bar was definitely well designed there were 3-4 complete bars staggered around as well as various seating options plus the DJ and dance floor set over the pool! We ordered our drinks and were happy to learn, after receiving our check, that we had come on “$8 beer night”. I know I tease, but you must keep in mind the excessive charges for typically cheap drinks while budgeting your trip to South Beach.

While sipping on the $8 Presidente in my hand I started to notice that the crowd I had been mingling with all night was older than I had thought. There were barely any college students, let alone 20-somethings. This was like an “adult spring break”. We were surrounded by young professionals and middle-aged couples and divorcees. I even spotted a couple on the dance floor that had to be in their late 50s/early 60s. I think this is great, South Beach is a place for a mature crowd to act not as mature and let their hair down and have some fun, which I must say is certainly better than being surrounded by a crowd of college students trying to test their tolerance while fist-pumping and practically having sex on the dance floor. I have been told by friends and locals, that if the latter is more your scene, you can easily find it at the clubs in South Beach – just follow the mixings of the DJ and slurred speech of college students. There were actually rumors that the “Jersey Shore” cast was in South Beach filming the same night we were.

Before returning to the hotel, we made one last stop at a little acid Jazz/Jazz-Reggae club, Jazid located near the intersection of 13th and Washington. There was no cover and a live band right next to the door. The music was great, atmosphere relaxed, and drinks were slightly less expensive than on Ocean Dr. There was even an upstairs that had an impressive DJ playing some great old-school hip hop (think: Biggie Smalls), you just had to make your way through the crowd to the stairs and venture behind the curtain (I will warn you that behind the curtain there was a large cloud of smoke..in a Jazz/Reggae bar, behind a thick black curtain…I’ll let you put two and two together.) It clearly was a place even the locals would frequent and it certainly was one of a kind. I would definitely recommend stopping by Jazid for a round of drinks if in the South Beach area.

Overall outlook on my first visit to South Beach: laid-back, expensive, plenty of options for drinking and dining, young professional crowd, MUST SEES: Lincoln Ave., Ocean Dr., Jazid

Destination # 1

Destination #1: Florida
Tomorrow, I leave for Ft. Lauderdale and will spend time in Miami and Marco Island.  I am writing this during a packing break…I am fully prepared with my travel size toiletries, sundresses, new sandals, sunglasses, and swimsuit!
My flight is booked on JetBlue.  This will be my first time flying with them but am excited to see how they measure up… So far the ‘first bag is free’ policy is a plus and I hear they have individual TVs and good in-flight food.  Check back tomorrow and through the weekend for posts about the trip with different advice, recommendations, and reviews and follow me at @passporttweets on Twitter for real time posting while I’m in Florida!