TRAVEL PHOTO FRIDAY

Today’s photo proves that you can find opportunities anywhere without really trying. We were on our way back to our rental in Honolulu, Hawaii when we happened upon five men who were kayak racing down a canal. The canal just happened to be parallel to Pinky’s Pupu Bar where we were enjoying an Aloha plate, [...]

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Enjoying a Rainy Day in Van Dusen Botanical Gardens in Vancouver

The rain brought with it silence and solitude as we walked along the massive pathways that guided us past a menagerie of trees, shrubs and perennials.

It was the cusp of late winter dawning in to early spring and the gardens took on an interesting profile.

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When carving your path in life, make sure that you’re the sculptor

Everybody has a story. Each story is a mix of varying parts of happiness, sadness, hope and regret. It’s rare to find anyone who is completely happy with their lot in life, but the smart ones know that complaining never helps nor does it make anything better. If they are dissatisfied with the path they’re on, they’ll strive to make changes that will take them on a different route.

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How does spending the night in an Igloo sound?

  If you are a true nature lover at heart and can think of nothing being more exhilarating than spending your time surrounded by the snowy white chills of winter, then you should listen up. Whether you are into snowboarding, back country or alpine skiing, sledding, snowshoe-ing or ice-fishing, nothing is quite as novel as winding down [...]

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Where I am likely to vacation (i.e., run for my dear, sweet life) when the Zombie Apocalypse finally hits….

I think there’s a great possibility that people could wake up one day with a thirst for someone else’s flesh and brain matter. Before you laugh, have you seen the way our own (American) Congress has been acting up lately? Scary, huh? Or………. I could be watching too many episodes of The Walking Dead. So, there’s that.

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A Review of Gatlinburg Falls Resort in Tennessee

I have always believed that you can find little hidden treasures close to home. I think Gatlinburg Falls Resort is one such treasure. It is located approximately six miles from the little town of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee with only the Smoky Mountains National Park separating the two.

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Candid photos I’ve taken on trips that have inspired, surprised and puzzled me

I’ve noticed that one of the things that I tend to do while I travel is to snap photos for no good reason. Usually, I am on a tour bus or casually walking along a city street that I decide to immortalize my surroundings by capturing random scenes through my camera lens.

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Why I could easily make Santiago, Chile my home

There are some places where you never feel as if you are a stranger. Even though, you’ve never seen the place before, you feel some kinship….some familiarity. You can find yourself walking down avenues and boulevards that you may have once dreamt about, but it was never real until now.

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In search of artistic Sedona, Arizona: A walking tour of Exposures International Gallery of Fine Art

It doesn’t take long to figure out that fine art is not in short supply in Sedona. As you drive through the city’s main thoroughfare on State Route 89A, it becomes quite evident that there is a profound respect not only for nature’s creations but also for those that are meticulously crafted by the hands of men.

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The Newbie’s Guide to the U.S. Global Entry Program

Nothing makes the heart sink faster than seeing long lines at airports, especially when those long lines resemble a cesspool of copper headed snakes and are just as pleasant. You know the drill….whether it’s waiting to go through the tiring TSA lines or through passport control/immigration, we have been conditioned to the art of the wait.

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A Review of my overnight accommodations on Megabus UK

I’m always up for any alternatives to expensive airline or rail tickets. Earlier, I’d written about the Chinese bus companies that had cropped up to go into head to head competition with the transportation stalwart, Greyhound. Roughly six years ago, another company begin to make waves in the U.S. by offering newer, comfortable luxury buses with free wi-fi service (though not available on every bus) and a small but functional restroom in the rear.

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The Top Five Things to Do in Amsterdam in 24 Hours

I have to admit, before my visit in November, my impression of Amsterdam was that it was a party town, a place to score mary jane and watch lots of live porn. Mind you, this was coming from a very uninformed point of view. The Amsterdam that I actually witnessed is the polar opposite.

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A Review of two sisters, The Hotel Taylor and Hotel L’Annexe in Paris, France

There is nothing more comforting when you visit a city far away from home than knowing that your newer and more temporary digs offers you that same warmth and familiarity. I felt that way as soon as I found my way to the second and third hotels that we would be staying at in Paris, France.

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The Black Beauty Problem in Paris

Perhaps one of the worst kept secrets in the United States is the amount of money black women spend on their hair. I was once a slave to that multi-billion dollar industry, so I can testify how people have literally built fortunes on a societal construct that caused black women to do whatever it took to get their hair ‘right’

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A Review of the Hotel Paradis in Paris, France

There’s one truth about large cities. There are lots of hotels. Lots. There will never be a shortage of them but there always seem to be a shortage of recommendations of which may be the best ones to stay at. I had the chance to stay at a hotel in Paris called Hotel Paradis. Paradise. That’s a lot to live up to and I was anxious to see how close the experience would come to it.

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