Missing Connections, but making it work: a story.

For the vast majority of flights, we choose to fly nonstop and direct.  The stress of making connections and risk of losing luggage are not the most joyful aspects of traveling so avoiding them is worth it, even if it requires a slightly more expensive ticket.  If we have to connect, we pick a city with lots of options or for instance if  I'm flying to Europe, I prefer to connect in Europe (at least you've made it across the pond) then getting stuck in Atlanta or New York, for instance.

But sometimes connections are inevitable.  We had a wedding in Austin and made the decision to fly out  of DCA rather  than taking a nonstop, direct flight from BWI or IAD.  This ended up being a mistake, but we made a bad situation better with some quick thinking, here's the story:

A pleasant surprise duirng our
ORD lay-over: Rick Bayless grub!

We arrived at DCA only to learn the flight to DFW was delayed by TWO HOURS because...a pilot called in sick! A long line snaked from the counter as the airline officials started calling out connections that were going to be missed because of the late arrival in Dallas.  I heard Austin being announced and my heart sank.  We joined the long line and on impulse, I made the decision to call American Airlines while waiting to speak to the person at the desk.  The call was patched through immediately and she informed me if we took the next Dallas flight we could get to Austin by 7:30 p.m., meaning a major lay-over in Dallas (it was only about 8:30 eastern time at this point).  I asked her to see if there other ways of reaching Austin and suggested Chicago perhaps knowing flights to ORD happened quite often, in fact one was boarding as I was talking to her.  She confirmed that if we made the ORD flight that was boarding right then, we could make a 12:30 flight from ORD and get to Austin by mid afternoon.  The problem was the flight closes 15 minutes before it departs so she couldn't access the flight to add us, but she confirmed there was room.  I asked her to stay on the line and charged towards the ORD flight.  They were in the final boarding call and although one official basically told us "screw you," but another official calmly added us and apologized that we wouldn't sit together on this leg.  I was so grateful for the American Airlines official on the phone as well as at the desk for making it all work for us.

We did face about a 3-hour lay-over in Chicago, but it was better than the multiple hours we would have been sitting in DCA and then DFW.  Life got a lot better when we discovered a newly opened Rick Bayless tacqueria at ORD.  We wandered around the airport and discovered a very pleasant indoor garden space.  We also ended up getting seats next to each other on the leg from Chicago to Austin and we arrived by 3, allowing us to go for a walk, take a shower and grab a beer!

The lesson to this story: use every available option.  I ended up having amazing luck calling the American Airlines reservations department.  I also knew the other major hubs for American so I could help guide our choices.  I also had to be a bit pushy.  Maybe some would have heard the final boarding call and said, oh well.  I, on the other hand, thought: we can still make this happen!

The du Pont gardens: Winterthur and Longwood

Although just in our 30s, Kevin and I are avid fans of gardens as well as gardening (although we lack any serious space).  Friends raved about their recent visit to Winterthur and several travel articles made me curious to see Longwood Gardens so I plotted a May visit to these two gardens. 

The Quarry Garden at Winterthur.

About 2.5 hours from our home, we drove up on a Saturday morning with plans to visit Winterthur in the later morning and early afternoon and then head to the hotel and see Longwood Gardens on Sunday. 

Although in the 60s, the skies were a gloomy gray, but luckily, we didn't encounter any rain.  Winterthur allows picnics so we packed our lunch and ended up having a lovely meal among the blooming azaleas.  They offer a garden tour tram, which is operated by a friendly and informative driver.  It's good to take because it allows you get oriented with the 1,000 acre garden and the different sections of it.  The general admission price gives you a chance to tour the building, which from the outside is not really impressive.  Henry Francis du Pont, who really made Winterthur what it is today, was interested in gardening, breeding cattle, and collecting early American furniture.  He actually purchased entire rooms of homes that were being torn down and installed them in his spaces at Winterthur.  I have to say, I'm not a big antique furniture person so I didn't find the house tour that interesting and the gardens were good, but not amazing.  Still, it's worth a visit.

We headed to our hotel, the Inn at Montchanin Village to relax and allow me to get a massage at the hotel's spa facility. This hotel used to be housing for families who were employed at the Gunpowder Company.  The housing has been carefully restored and converted into a series of hotel rooms.  Besides taking advantage of the spa, we made dinner easy and walked to the hotel's restaurant Krazy Kat.  The food and service were excellent.  I had squash blossoms, which you rarely see on menus.

The next morning, we enjoyed a great diner-style breakfast at Lucky's Coffee Shop and took a small walk on a river trail in Brandywine Creek State Park.  We then headed over to Longwood Gardens just 10 minutes away in Kenwood, Pennsylvania for a 10:30 timed entry. 

The amazing and expansive conservatory at Longwood.

If you like gardens, you'll love Longwood.  Unlike Winterthur, the gardens are the focus and they are impressive.  Pierce du Pont, like Henry Frances du Pont, had a clear vision of his gardens becoming public space for all to enjoy. The glass conversatory is one of the largest I think I've ever visited and filled with rooms that delight and surprise.  The Italian Water garden is lovely and I was quite fond of all the formal, flower garden walk. 

Despite the cloudy conditions (which you really can't plan for), the weekend was really lovely and relaxing.

A Peek at the Baltimore Beer Scene.

As members of a DC-area beer club, we headed north to a city 40 miles away to explore its beer scene.  Baltimore and Washington, DC, couldn't be more different in some ways.  But both have vibrant and emerging beer scenes.  Here's a step-by-step look at our pub crawl:

The Ravens tailgate bus was not a fan favorite at Max's.

Stop 1.  After a minor diversion at the Fells Point Pirate festival (no joke), we started our beer tour at Max's Taphouse.  Although we weren't impressed by the Ravens decor, being fans of other AFC North teams, we were impressed by the 140 rotating drafts available.  Its location, in the heart of Fells Point, is also a plus.

Mahaffey's: The greatest neighbor
bar in Baltimore.

Stop 2.  Mahaffey's Pub has the best happy hour on the planet if you are a beer lover.  3 pints of craft beer for $5.  The catch?  You have to order 3 pints at a time.  Well, that's no problem for a party of 8!  Although several of us had already been to this Canton neighborhood bar, we demanded a return trip because, well, it's just an amazing deal and one to savor. 

Stop 3.  As the day wore on and our bellies became full with craft beer, we made one final stop before a scheduled rest period at our hotel.  We circled back to Fell's Point to lounge outside of Ale Mary's.  I enjoyed a good white ale before catching a cab back to the hotel.

Enjoying an al fresco beer at Ale Mary's.

Stop 4.  After a needed break, we all convened for dinner and more beer (for those still able to indulge, let's face it many had turned to wine and water at this point...we're not in our 20s anymore!).  Another stop familiar to some, but not to all in our group:  The Brewer's Art.  This place brews their own beers and turns out gourmet food from its kitchens.  It is set in an old bank in the Mount Vernon neighborhood.  Very classy, very cool.

Stop 5.  The next morning, we had lunch/brunch at Alewife, which is closer to the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore.  Great beer list and pleasing pub food.  I should note that only two people ordered a beer so it is probably worth going back and not making it the last stop!

St. Mary's City.

A replica of the former chapel, St. Mary's City.

I'm not sure what we were expecting.  Perhaps the lesson here is to do a little bit of research before a proposed daytrip!  But, St. Mary's City was just not what we thought it was.  Instead of a historical, yet working city, we found a Williamsburg-like experience--a sort of hands-on-history tour of one of the first settlements in the United States.  (Actually it was a former capital of the Maryland colony.)

Recreated barns and houses, St. Mary's City, MD.

Here's the question I have for myself after the visit to St. Mary's City: why didn't I do some research?  Why did we assume it was something it wasn't?  We envisioned walking along a main street and eating lunch at a little restaurant.  Instead, we found interpretive trails through replica buildings and footprints of other buildings marked off so we had a virtual sense of the former village.  I'm not complaining here.  I'm just blogging about this as a lesson: know where you are going!  This sort of trip would be great if our parents were in town.  It was the off-season sort of so we had the recreated settlement to ourselves mostly. 

A small graveyard attached to an old church,
overlooks the Chesapeake Bay.

Still, I think we returned home thinking we wasted an afternoon.  Weekends are so quick, so fleeting that a disappointing daytrip can make you feel that you didn't get the most out of your free time!

Spring Visit to Richmond



The renovated capital building, Richmond, VA.

The Jefferson Hotel, Richmond.

Just two hours south of our how on 95, we have driven through Richmond plenty of times, but  never took the time to stop and explore this former capital of the Confederacy.  A really hot special from The Jefferson Hotel and a weekend forecast that promised plenty of sunshine finally tempted us to visit our state capital. What we discovered: Richmond is a charming, southern gem of a town. 

Here are the highlights:

One of the charming streets we explored in Richmond.

• The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  This lovely and free museum has an impressive collection of furniture and a nice selection of art from all the major movements.  Set in a lovely section of Richmond, the building fuses old and modern architecture and lives on a stunning campus surrounding by interesting sculpture and landscape.
• The Museum of the Confederacy. Although the museum is a little dated,  I am glad we visited.  I was especially impressed  by the tour of the White House, adjacent to the museum. We had a really fantastic guide who provided some really interesting details about life in the 1860s.
• The Hollywood Cemetery.  This 19th century cemetery is quite lovely to stroll around in and visit the graves of several U.S. Presidents as well as people connected with the Civil War.  Perched above the James River, it was particularly stunning when we visited--the dogwoods in full bloom.
• Exploring the Neighborhoods of Richmond.  From Carytown to Oregon Hill to Shockoe Bottom, we were struck by the bohemian, independent vibe and enjoyed wandering.  Lots of great little boutiques and restaurants to try.  We had a very lovely meal at Acacia, which is on the edge of the Fan District.

Playing Tourist: Some Tips.

Ah yes, it's cherry-blossom season in Washington, DC.  Spring is a lovely time in the Nation's capital.  Blooms everywhere, lots of pollen, too.  Oh and one other thing that comes out in hordes this time of year: tourists.

Experiencing tourists from the flip-side, as someone living and commuting with them, I have learned some good lessons on how to be a better tourist when I travel, especially when it comes to using the local transit systems in a strange city:

1.  Avoid Public Transit During Rush Hour.  Enduring cranky office workers who just want to get home is not exactly fun.  Plus, it's of course more crowded and the crowds are experienced public transit users who have little patience for you as a novice on their turf.  If you can, travel on transit slightly before or after the major rush hour times.

2.  When on Public Transit: Observation and Research are Key.  Every transit system has its quirks.  So do a little homework before you leave for your trip so you have an understanding of how fares work (zone, flat rate) and how the system operates (do I need to know the last stop to figure out direction, hours, etc.).  When you start to use the system, pay attention to locals.  Are they walking up the escalators?  On the bus, do they need to signal when it's their stop?

3.  Be Courteous.  Yesterday, a group of tourists were toting around a screaming infant.  It was the middle of rush hour on a packed train and they were just ignoring the fact that their baby was screaming their lungs out.  Hey, I'm not one to offer parenting advice, but it's royally unfair to force everyone else listen to screaming baby.  Also, if a train is quiet (as the Metro is during morning rush hour) keep your voice down.  No one else really cares about your conversation and office workers may be trying to catch a few more moments of sleep or peace before sitting at their desks.  When on a subway, if you do not have to get off anytime soon, move away from the doors so people can easily exit. 

Breaking Up a Journey into Distinct Legs = Sometimes a Good Thing.

We overnighted in the aptly named A Stone's Throw Away

Call me paranoid, but when I learned that the flight from Cat Island would arrive in Nassau just 90 minutes before our international flight back to DC (on a different airline and in an entirely different terminal), I had visions of missing the flight and rushing around to find a hotel, of learning that the next flight out was entirely booked, etc.  So I made a decision.  A decision I would recommend to anyone with a tight turnaround in a foreign airport with flights on different airlines: we flew in from Cat, overnighted in Nassau and then calmly flew home to Washington, DC the next day. 

Like many airports, the Nassau airport has an older terminal for all of its domestic flights and a completely separate space for its international flights.  Plus, the tiny hopper flight we took to Cat Island was operated by Sky Bahamas and we needed to get on a US Airways flight back to DC.  Ironically, we ended up getting into Nassau a full 30 minutes early and would have probalby had time to make the DCA flight on the same day, yet, we took the opportunity to explore Nassau by hopping on a local bus and going down to the center of the city where all the cruise ships arrived.  It's fantatically touristy, but we enjoyed the people watching and the 30-minute bus ride gave us a good, local view of Nassau.  We then spend the afternoon on the hotel's lovely deck admiring the ocean and sipping beers.  In the evening, we walked down the street for dinner on the beach.  Really, a lovely day and a nice way to cap our trip.  Our Hotel, A Stone's Throw Away, was literally a 3-minute drive to the airport and they offer a free ride so it was so simple.  Having a final day on vacation and to catch our breath sort of summed up the purpose of the trip.

This wasn't our first time breaking up legs of a journey.  On our way to Greece last year, I blogged about our stopover on both ends of our trip in London.  It would have been impossible to get from London out to Stansted, but we really wanted to limit our flights to two:one from DC to London and then one from London to Rhodes.  Stopping over in London made the trip calmer and offered a few days in an entirely different climate, too!

So, consider breaking up that journey and exploring a new place along the way. 

Cat Island: Things to Do.

Visiting the Hermitage on Mount Alverina is a must do.

When we booked our trip to Cat Island, I envisioned doing little beyond beach walks, making a dent in my reading list, and plenty of sleeping and napping.  After all, the island is sparsely populated and the point was a peaceful trip, full of limited human contact.  Beach trips, at least for us, tend to be low key.  

So we were surprised to find ourselves on the go the whole time.  Sure we got plenty of naps in and books conquered, but we also found ourselves breathlessly peddling up a sandy hill trying to reach the Atlantic Ocean or another time,  paddling furiously against the current of Pigeon Creek as sea turtles darted by.   The trip was unexpectedly active and we joked about about all the activities we crammed in...here's a sampling for those planning trips to Cat:

1.  The Hermitage on Mount Alverina.  The tallest point in the Bahamas at just 206 feet, Como Hill is worth the easy trek.  A Catholic missionary named Father Jerome--known for constructing many churches on Cat--built the lovely structure and lived there until the 1950s.  The hike takes you past memorials of the stations of the cross.  The views are pretty spectacular.

The old church found during a rain storm that sustained
damages from Hurricane Irene in 2011.

2.  Canoeing.  Our rental included a canoe and access to one of the interior waterways filled with mangroves, but also deep channels that lead out to the Exuma Sound.  We waited for the tide to roll in and dragged the canoe out to the deeper channel.  Although fighting the current and the brisk wind made canoeing tough for rookies, we were rewarded with sea turtle sightings!

3.  Biking.  Our rental also came with two bikes and we took advantage of them, exploring Bennett's Harbor, Alligator Point and biking the Atlantic side of the island near The Bluff settlement.  During our ride to the Atlantic, a sudden rain shower forced us to turn into a churchyard and seek shelter.  As we waited out the storm, we discovered a book detailing attendance.  The last entry was the week before Hurricane Irene, which did terrible damage to the island.  The island is still recovering from that storm.  As we stood there, under the new roof, I felt hopeful a new entry would not be too far off.

Alligator Point is one of the beaches we hiked to and found
ourselves completely alone to enjoy the beauty of Cat.

4.  Resort lunches.  We made most of our meals at the beach rental, but it was nice to have a few meals out and we drove up to Shana's Cove one day as well as lunching at Fernandez Bay Village Resort.  We also had an amazing lunch of conch ceviche and fried fish at Yardee's--a conch shack in Bennett's Harbor.  It's a must-do on Cat.  The open-air communal tables filled with friendly people chatting and waiting for their food or just shooting the breeze was an absolute delight.

5.  Hiking.  We did some serious hikes from walking out to the beaches near Man-o-War Pointe at the north end of island to our 3-mile trek to the deserted beaches near Alligator Point, you can easily find yourself alone with nature.  The chance to be so isolated, surrounded by perfect beauty was a special experience and one you can't find in many places anymore.

Just Back: Cat Island, Bahamas

Biking out to Alligator Point, Cat Island

The waving at first is a little unnerving.  Everyone waves to us or honks their horn.  Why? Do we have our brights on?  Are we not driving on the proper side of the road (it is the Bahamas where they do drive on the left hand side, after all)?  It's all very perplexing to a DC couple thinking every action has a secret agenda.  Um, maybe people are just this nice?  Maybe it's part of their culture to wave and greet everyone friend or stranger?

The friendly people is just one of the many discoveries you will find on Cat Island.  Strings of endless, sugary pink beaches, empty of people, is another. The island is 50 miles long and at times, 4 miles wide and is home to less than 2,000 people.  It's a peaceful place--full of old churches and nature surrounding you from all sides.  People do not lock their doors on Cat Island (our rental didn't even have a lock to lock!).  Some days, we saw more sea turtles and fish than actual people.  As I marveled at one point, I can't believe a place like this still exists on this crowded planet.  And it's so easy to reach: several flights from Nassau are offered every day and service two different airports on the island.  I'll write more in coming posts (and here are some photos of our trip to tide you over) about things to do and the wonder of visiting a Bahamian Out Island.  But let me leave you with a friendly wave, urging you to go discover the wonders of Cat Island.

Packing Food--some strategies.

This Saturday, the Traveling DINKs leave for a week on Cat Island.  48 miles long and 4 miles wide and home to just a few thousand people, Cat Island is a pretty quiet place.  Although there are a few small resorts, there are no five-star restaurants on Cat Island, nor are there grocery stores of the ilk we are used to frequenting.  We are not going to Cat Island to eat (our recent trip to New York covered that!).  We are going to relax, gaze out at the ocean (maybe swim and kayak in it occasionally), and take some great hikes and beach walks.  However, we do need to eat and although we will get some basics at the grocery stores on the island, we want to have some basics available for the first few meals and we also may want a few items we might not find on Cat.  Our trip to another out island Eleuthera a few year ago left us with some good tips on how to fly with food:

1. Pack lightly.  If you need to bring food, be careful on weight limits.  Check your airline to see what the maximum weight can be and go easy on the other items in your bags.  (Do you really need two jackets when one will work?)  Choosing light foods--oatmeal, pasta, cereals--are also smart choices.

2.  Know the rules.  Carry-on food must be liquid free.  For food items you are checking in luggage and you are flying internationally, be sure you do the research to ensure you are allowed to bring the food items into that country.  Most governments have helpful custom sites with this information.  If you are going to a resort or renting a house, you can also seek that information from those sources.

3.  Know what's already there.  We queried the caretaker to learn that salt/pepper and coffee filters are all provided.  We also know there are several shops are available.  When we traveled to Symi this past summer, we knew there were larger grocery stores because that island enjoys a daytripping population, so the need to pack food wasn't so important.

4.  Understand you aren't at home.  I am probably going to have to forgo my FAGE Greek yogurt next week.  I doubt I'll have good berries or salmon while on Cat Island.  But realizing you are privileged to visit a special place like Cat Island and that you are NOT at home are important reminders.  You eat differently when you travel and well, that's okay.

Wish us luck as we start to pack up our loot, here are some items we are definitely bring (if you're curious):

1. Ground coffee
2. Boxed wine (oh yeah!)
3. Pasta and rice
4. Granola
5. Instant oatmeal packets
6. Canned tomatoes, beans, soup
7. Peanuts
8. Several Trader Joe's packaged meals (Indian Chole, etc.)

2012 Travel Plans

I am a planner.  I can't help it.  Because Kevin has to squeeze out every day of vacation strategically, we take this time of year to chart our travels.  Without the dog, I anticipate we'll explore some weekend places that weren't as dog friendly.  We also have a few big trips on the horizon. Here's what we know so far:

One of the many gorgeous beaches of Cat Island.

1.  Cat Island (late January).  One of Bahamas Out Islands, Cat island has a small population (less than 2,000 according to Wikipedia) and yet is 150 square miles so the sparsely population paradise is a beach lover's dream.  We traveled to Eleuthera another Out Island a few years ago and basically loved every moment.  We're renting this beach house and plan to hike, kayak, read, cook and do a lot of chilling. 

2.  Weddings (April and June).  We have two of them in 2012.  One in Austin, Texas in late April and one in Raleigh, North Carolina in mid June.  We plan on bookending the weddings with a few days to explore both locations and take a beach trip with the family after the North Carolina nuptials.

3.  Anniversary (early June).  This year the Traveling DINKs celebrate TEN YEARS of wedded bliss.  This is crazy stuff, people.  And to celebrate this big event (June 1), we will treat ourselves to a meal at the Inn at Little Washington.  We plan on staying nearby at The Blue Rock Inn and visiting a few vineyards, taking a few proper hikes.  Early June is really one of the few windows of time that is nice in the Washington, DC region so it didn't make sense to travel somewhere too exotic and miss the fine weather.  (Now I have probably jinxed it and it will rain the whole anniversary weekend.)

4.  Boston-Hartford-Providence (late June).  June is going to be jam-packed for us in 2012.  I have a meeting in Boston so we are making a long weekend of it and visiting a relative in Hartford and then swinging over to Providence, Rhode Island for a few days.

5. Lyon and other locations in France/Switzerland TBD (late August).  A meeting takes us to Lyon, France in late August, but we have yet to fully construct a trip around the event.  We are either going to fly into Geneva or Paris and then take some time to visit either Dijon, Loire Valley, or Provence.  Stay tuned.  This is going to be an amazing trip!

6.  San Francisco and the Big Sur (early November).  Another meeting takes us to San Francisco so we plan on wrapping in some time to visit Hearst Castle and probably as far south as San Luis Obispo.  This trip is still so far out that we have not firmed much of it up just yet.

7.  Weekend Jaunts (throughout 2012).  We know we definitely want to visit Richmond (yeah, honestly we've never really explored this city just two hours away), the Northern Neck and probably a beach or bay trip.  A lot of these trips will be more last-minute variety (again the luxury of being dog-free for the moment) and be based on the weather conditions.

8.  Ohio (summer of fall 2012).  I am sure we will find ourselves back in the home state to visit family, friends and maybe take in an Ohio State game. 

I'm sure more travel plans will pop up, but it looks to be a full and fun travel year!