Discovering Charlottesville

Rob and I recently planned a little getaway to Charlottesville, VA. Charlottesville is a charming little city about 100 miles south of Washington, DC. The area is rich in history and offers tourists a wide variety of things to do and see. Charlottesville and neighboring Albemarle County were home to three of our founding fathers that later became our 3rd, 4th and 5th Presidents (Jefferson, Madison, & Monroe – to save you the effort of having to Google it!). Of those 3, Thomas Jefferson definitely had the greatest impact on our nation and his spirit remains very much alive in Charlottesville! Everywhere you turn in this region, you are reminded of one of the world’s most important historical figures.

Charlottesville is home to Monticello (Jefferson’s residence) as well as the University of Virginia, both of which were designed by Thomas Jefferson himself (both have also been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites). Not far from Monticello is Ash Lawn-Highland, home to President James Monroe (they were practically neighbors and apparently very good friends). In addition to its historical sites, Charlottesville also has an active entertainment scene, plenty of outdoor activities around the Blue Ridge Mountains, and more than 20 vineyards along the Monticello Wine Trail. What more could you ask for in a charming little city? We only stayed in Charlottesville for two nights, so we knew we wouldn’t have time to see all that the city had to offer. But to get a good feel of the area, our plan was to stay at a cozy B&B, visit a local winery, and tour Monticello. I will cover the details of our trip in subsequent posts. Stay tuned…

Turkey

Preparing for Protests in Turkey

Our trip to Turkey is exactly one month away and I could not be more excited! However, due to the civil unrest that broke out in Turkey a couple of months ago, many people have asked me if I am worried about traveling there during a somewhat tumultuous time. The short answer: No, I am not worried.

Anti-government protests erupted in Turkey in May and resulted in thousands of injuries as well as at least five deaths. The protesting began in Istanbul and quickly spread throughout other cities in Turkey. While the situation has calmed down tremendously since June, there are still sporadic pockets of civil disobedience throughout the country. But I am not deterred! Someone find me a “Turkey or Bust” bumper sticker pronto! I am happy the situation appears to have quieted down considerably, but I think it is safe to say that I would still be packing my bags even if it hadn’t.

Sound crazy? You might think I’m off my rocker, but I’m chalking it up to the fact that my husband and I are pretty savvy travelers with a keen sense of situational awareness. There are very few places that I would be afraid to travel to, especially when there is a coveted new passport stamp on the line! With that being said, I do believe traveling “smarter” can go a really long way. So that is why I just enrolled in STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program) through the State Department. STEP is a free service for travelers living in or visiting a foreign country that allows the State Department to better assist you in the event of an emergency. The program also provides travel alerts and warnings that pertain to any country you are visiting. In short, this program will help you stay informed, stay connected and stay safe! If you have an upcoming foreign trip planned, you can enroll in STEP here.

Photo from theblaze.com

General, Military, United States, Virginia

USS Arlington LPD 24

This past weekend, Rob and I took a day trip to Norfolk, VA for a very special military ceremony. The US Navy commissioned the USS Arlington on Saturday, April 6th. The USS Arlington is one of three namesake ships to commemorate the victims and heroes of 9/11. The USS New York was commissioned in 2009 and the USS Somerset is scheduled to be commissioned next year. The USS Arlington LPD 24 (landing platform/dock) will transport troops into war zones around the world and will be a constant reminder that the American spirit cannot be broken.

The ship’s name plate was made out of steel recovered from the Pentagon after the attack (top left picture below).

Members of the Arlington County Fire Department, Arlington County Police Department, and families of the victims that died at the Pentagon were invited to attend the ceremony. Rob was a first responder at the Pentagon on 9/11, so it was very special for us to attend such a meaningful ceremony honoring all of the heroes and victims. Members of the ACFD attended the event looking sharp!

The Commissioning Ceremony

The commissioning of a naval ship is a time honored tradition hundreds of years old. The ceremony marks the transition of the ship into active duty. The national anthem was played and then a representative read the commissioning directive. The American flag and commissioning pennant were then raised and the ship officially became a member of our naval fleet. The commissioning pennant is the very thin one at the top (center) of the picture below.

And seen again in the bottom right of the picture below (look closely, it’s as thin as the ropes that raise it!).

The prospective commanding officer read his orders, officially assumed command, and set the first watch. Then the ship’s sponsor (Joyce Rumsfeld) gave the first order: “Man our ship and bring her to life!”

At that point the crew rushed on board the ship and lined up along the railings.

The ship’s engines were turned on and they sounded the mighty horn!

Then the crew saluted as the colors were retired.

The Tour

After the ceremony concluded, we were allowed to tour certain parts of the ship.

Rob in control of the bridge.

Four types of aircraft on the deck.

Although we didn’t get to see it, the ship has a “tribute room” to honor the 184 people killed at the Pentagon as well as the emergency personnel that responded to the attack.

I’m sure many of you are wondering if they smashed a bottle of champagne on the ship. No, wrong ceremony. But that did in fact happen at a different ceremony! The christening took place in March of 2011 and Joyce Rumsfeld had the honor of smashing the champagne bottle.

Destinations, General, Sweet Deals, Turkey

How to Fly to Turkey for Free…(well, almost free)

Photo from rasktravel.com

About a week ago, Rob and I booked an 11 night travel package in Turkey and we got a really great deal. While the price of the package is quite amazing considering all that is included, the price tag on our airfare is even sweeter! Two non-stop, round-trip tickets to Istanbul for…wait for it….$140 total! How is that possible you ask? By getting in on the credit card deals that offer big perks for travel.

I started to learn about the credit cards that offer huge mileage/points sign-on bonuses about 18 months ago and I immediately knew that I needed to get in on the action! I quickly cashed in on deals earning me 50,000 points with one company, 75,000 miles with another, etc. I started to follow The Points Guy for tips and tricks on how to maximize the most out of all these credit cards and find out which ones were worth the effort and which ones were not. For someone with a passion for travel like myself, these credit cards were just the ticket (pun intended).

In the last 18 months, Rob and I have used our miles/points for a variety of different flights. For example, we flew to Colorado for free using my Southwest points (I had earned 50,000 Rapid Rewards points for signing up for the Chase Southwest Premier credit card). We flew to Nicaragua using my American Airlines miles and only had to pay $65 in taxes (I had earned 75,000 bonus miles for signing up for the Citi Platinum AAdvantage credit card). And just yesterday, I purchased our tickets to Istanbul for only $140 using my Chase Ultimate Rewards points (I had earned 50,000 bonus points for signing up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card). These flights should have cost us about $1,600, but my points covered almost all of the hefty bill. It was somewhat disheartening to watch all of my Ultimate Rewards points vanish in one fell swoop, but what would be the purpose of earning all those points just to watch the number grow and never use them? No, this chick will continue to wipe out her rewards balances to make her travel dreams come true!

Offers like these could make your travel dreams a reality too! However, these offers change often, so be sure to stay on top of the best deals by following sites like The Points Guy.

Destinations, Goals, Turkey

We are going to Turkey!

Rob and I will be traveling to Turkey at the end of August! I found an incredible deal on Travelzoo for a 13 Day Turkish Treasures vacation package by Gate 1 Travel. Our package includes 11 nights at 4 star hotels in Istanbul, Canakkale, Izmir, Antalya, Cappadocia, & Ankara, as well as a ton of included tours and meals. This package can be booked to include airfare, but we purchased the land only package and plan to use reward points to purchase our airfare, making this vacation incredibly affordable! (Less than $1000 per person!)

This vacation will complete # 5 for my goals for 2013. Turkey is also on my Top Ten Wish List, so I will get to scratch that off the list as well! If you have ever traveled to Turkey, please feel free to leave any tips and suggestions for us!

Photo courtesy of Gate 1 Travel

Destinations, Nicaragua

Should You Travel to Nicaragua?

When talking to people prior to our trip to Nicaragua, I got the same question over and over again, “Is it safe there?” To which my reply was always the same, “It’s safe enough.” When I say I want to see the world, I really mean I want to see all of it, not just the places that have a Four Seasons. With that being said, there are many things a tourist can do to travel safely. Here are a few tips should you ever decide to visit Nicaragua:

Language: I have been to several Spanish-speaking countries before, even though I do not speak Spanish. During my other travels, I never felt like it created too much of a problem with communication as many of the locals spoke a fair amount of English. However, that was not the case in Nicaragua. Luckily, Rob and Tami both spoke Spanish so it was not an issue during our vacation. But, if you don’t speak Spanish, and neither do your travel companions, Nicaragua might not be the best choice for you.

Transportation: As I mentioned in a previous post, police corruption is definitely an issue in Nicaragua. This can make driving in a rental car a bit stressful; and let’s be honest, not everyone can afford to charter a helicopter! A good solution to this problem is to hire a driver rather than renting a car. This can be done at a reasonable cost. You won’t have the same amount of flexibility as you would with your own rental, but you also won’t have the headache of paying off the police for your traffic “violations.”

Safety: According to Wikitravel, Nicaragua was rated the safest country in Central America. I definitely felt much more “at ease” in Costa Rica, but I still thought Nicaragua was fairly safe. With that being said, common sense and good situational awareness will go a long way! Previously, I mentioned our neighbors at Playa Coco were robbed by a guy with a machete, but I doubt they were savvy travelers. Walking around after dark, in an isolated area, is just asking for trouble no matter what country you are visiting. Don’t make yourself an easy target.

Our trip to Nicaragua was an adventure, to say the least. The country really does have a lot to offer for tourists, so don’t write it off just yet.

Destinations, Nicaragua

Travel to Playa Coco in Style

Who wants to deal with police corruption while driving on Nicaragua’s roads? Not me! Next time, we are ditching the rental car and fueling up our chopper!

Oh, I’m sorry…did I forget to mention that Rob and I won the lottery and we now own a helicopter? That’s right, I did forget to mention it. But, only because it never happened (a girl can dream though).

Apparently, a very wealthy Nicaraguan man owns a townhouse at Playa Coco and he likes to spend his weekends there. Driving back and forth every weekend would be such a drag. I can totally see why he would opt for this mode of transportation instead. The word on the beach was this guy owns the largest cigar manufacturer in Nicaragua. He even had his own weekend staff to see him off. Whatever. I’m over it. I don’t like the guy anyway because he doesn’t like to share his hammock!

Hammock story: Rich guy’s staff sets up his hammock whenever he visits Playa Coco so that he can lounge on the beach, smoking his cigars, swinging in his hammock. I didn’t realize the hammock was not part of the “communal” property (like the pool), and I decided a nap in the hammock was just what the day called for. Unfortunately, I was quickly signaled to back away from the hammock. Then, the hammock disappeared just as quickly as his departing helicopter!

Destinations, Nicaragua

The Land of Volcanoes

Nicaragua is often referred to as “the country of lakes and volcanoes.” As you can see in the picture below, there is an impressive line of volcanoes that runs from north to south along the western side of the country. This picture shows Nicaragua’s share of the Central American Volcanic Belt. Some of the volcanoes are dormant, while others remain active. These volcanoes offer interesting opportunities for tourists. You can hike to the top of these volcanoes, swim in crater lakes, and there is even a thing called volcano surfing!

The two closest volcanoes to Playa Coco are located on Ometepe Island inside Lake Nicaragua. Concepcion is an active volcano and Maderas is dormant. People actually live on this island and there are even coffee and banana plantations amidst these two volcanoes. The last violent eruption of Concepcion occurred in 1986, but there have been less catastrophic eruptions as recent as 2009. Tourists are able to climb both volcanoes, but each have extremely high difficulty ratings. It is estimated to take about 10 hours to climb and descend Concepcion and the tour books recommend that you start no later than 6 a.m. The only problem there is that the earliest ferry to the island leaves after 7 a.m. So they recommend that you take the ferry the previous day and then spend the night on the island. I could be wrong, but I don’t think there are any hotels on the island and we forgot (a.k.a. didn’t intend) to pack a tent. Of course, Rob was all about doing this little adventure anyway, but there wasn’t much he could say to convince Tami and I to join him!

(Editor’s note: That Lake Nicaragua is super scary! Bull Sharks and active volcanoes, oh my!)

Concepcion (left) and Maderas (right) on Ometepe Island

Concepcion Volcano (I really wanted to befriend this pig!)

Maderas Volcano

As mentioned in an earlier post, the Mombacho Volcano is close to Granada and borders Lake Nicaragua. Mombacho is dormant and it is the second most accessible volcano in the country. There is a paved road so visitors can drive to the top of the volcano. We attempted to visit Mombacho after we departed Granada, but unfortunately, the park was already closed for the day (darn Sunday hours!).

View of Mombacho from bell tower

View of Mombacho from downtown Granada

The Masaya Volcano is active and it is the most accessible volcano in the country. There is a national park (Nicaragua’s first and largest) around the volcano and a paved road leads directly to the Santiago crater. The park actually includes two volcanoes (Masaya and Nindiri) and five craters, but the Santiago crater is the most active crater in the park. The Masaya Volcano is currently going through a cycle of passive degassing, which means sulfuric gas (among other gases) is continuously emitted from the crater. The cycle started in 1993 and still continues today.

Volcanic passive degassing

Looking into the Santiago crater

The volcano has erupted several times throughout history (most recently in 2003) and it was feared by the indigenous people as well as the Spanish conquerors. The Spanish baptized Masaya “La Boca del Inferno” (The Mouth of Hell) and they planted a cross above the crater to exorcise the Devil.

Overlooking the Santiago crater (sporting the provided yellow hardhat)

Check out the video below to see this awesome smoking crater!

Destinations, Nicaragua

San Juan del Sur

As I mentioned in an earlier post, San Juan del Sur is the closest town to where we were staying (Playa Coco). Once a sleepy fishing village, San Juan del Sur is now a tourism hotspot and considered the quintessential surfing town in Nicaragua. It is set aside a crescent-shaped bay and it is home to the Christ of the Mercy statue. The Christ of the Mercy is a giant statue of Jesus Christ that sits above town on the northern end of the bay, and it is the biggest statue of Christ in Central America (just in case you are a big fan of Christ statues).

There are many activities to do during the day, but San Juan del Sur also has bustling nightlife. The nightlife in Playa Coco is pretty much nonexistent, so we decided to spend an evening in San Juan del Sur so we could do some bar hopping. There are a ton of beachfront bars and restaurants and many of them offered sweet happy hour specials (we basically would have been losing money if we didn’t take advantage of these deals!).

After quenching our thirst on several tasty beverages, it was time for dinner. We picked a seafood restaurant along the beach so we could watch another beautiful sunset.

Destinations, Nicaragua

Visit Granada…But Don’t Feed the Children

When planning our trip to Nicaragua, I was told that we had to visit Granada. Granada was founded in 1524 by Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba and it is considered the first European city in mainland America. Granada is Nicaragua’s 4th largest city and it is rich with history and beautiful architecture. I was excited to visit Granada, but after our driving experience on Day 1, none of us were looking forward to the 2+ hour journey to get there. However, after establishing a better road strategy we managed to make it to Granada without getting pulled over!

We arrived in the historical center of the city and immediately began to appreciate the colorful buildings and colonial architecture. We walked around the Parque Central (town square) to get a nice view of the Cathedral and the streets lined with horse-drawn carriages.

View of Cathedral from Parque Central

For lunch, we decided to eat in the Parque Central at what appeared to be a popular outdoor restaurant. The food was delicious and very inexpensive. I ordered gallo pinto (rice & beans) with pork for about $2.

Eating in the middle of the town square had its downsides though. We were constantly bombarded by street vendors selling food or crafts, and children begging for money and/or some of our food. I had some leftover food, but I didn’t give it to the begging children. I gave it to this beautiful (well-mannered) guy…

I was getting some strange looks from the kids (and other bystanders) when I fed the dog rather than the children! I may not speak Spanish, but I am pretty sure I could read their thoughts….”WTF! You are going to feed that mangy mutt instead of giving your food to me?” Short answer…yes, that is exactly what I am going to do. I’m sure a lot of readers will think I am heartless, but I really don’t even feel bad about it. And, as it turns out, according to Wikitravel, I actually did the right thing:

“Social workers in Granada strongly advise to not give money or food to begging children. In Granada the homeless situation is not nearly as severe as in other poor cities. Orphanages and charity organizations take care of homeless children, and poor people have access to charity kitchens. The kids that beg and sell items to tourists do this to make easy money, and are being exploited by adults. Anything you give to these children keeps them from the place they belong: in school.”

(Even without Wikitravel’s blessing, I still prefer dogs over children.)

After lunch we decided to walk down to the waterfront. Granada is located along the coast of Lake Nicaragua, one of the world’s largest fresh-water lakes. Fresh-water lakes sound safe, right? WRONG! Lake Nicaragua is home to the Nicaragua shark (a.k.a. the Bull Shark) and they are extremely aggressive. Don’t believe me? Check out this article that lists Lake Nicaragua among the Top 10 Shark Infested Beaches in the World!

On our walk back to the Parque Central we passed the beautiful Guadalupe Church.

Guadalupe Church

Then we stopped at Lilly’s Café for a refreshing smoothie. Lilly is an expat that has been living in Nicaragua for about 20 years. We had a nice conversation with her about what it is like to live in Nicaragua. Despite the issues with police corruption, she seems to be extremely happy living there. Before we left, Lilly recommended we go to the La Merced Church and climb the Bell Tower of Iglesia for the best view of the city and the Mombacho Volcano. There was a $1 entrance fee to climb the bell tower, but the view was more than worth it.

La Merced Church

View of Cathedral and Lake Nicaragua in the background

Mombacho Volcano

We enjoyed our visit to Granada and amazingly we made it all the way back to Playa Coco without getting pulled over!

Where In The World Is Dayna…

Bordering on Travel Junkie?

Category Archives: Destinations

Discovering Charlottesville

Preparing for Protests in Turkey

USS Arlington LPD 24

How to Fly to Turkey for Free…(well, almost free)

We are going to Turkey!

Should You Travel to Nicaragua?

Travel to Playa Coco in Style

The Land of Volcanoes

San Juan del Sur

Visit Granada…But Don’t Feed the Children

If you enjoyed this post, please share it:

If you enjoyed this post, please share it:

If you enjoyed this post, please share it:

If you enjoyed this post, please share it:

If you enjoyed this post, please share it:

If you enjoyed this post, please share it:

If you enjoyed this post, please share it:

If you enjoyed this post, please share it:

If you enjoyed this post, please share it:

If you enjoyed this post, please share it: