Owner: Rambling Traveler URL:http://www.ramblingtraveler.com Join Date: Thu, 24 May 2007 09:48:24 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: RamblingTraveler is about travel- the places I've been to, good websites to check out and interesting books to read. Site statistics:Click here
Walking Around Quebec City 2007-05-23 08:16:00 Doug and I decided not to carry a map while we walked around the old city, so before we left our room, we reviewed the map one more time, figuring out the general area we wanted to explore. Of course, by the time we got to the street, I forgot what was where. Add that to the reasons I won't travel alone. I have a horrible sense of direction. I need Doug to help me navigate, otherwise I'm that tourist on the corner with the map spread open. I don't know how he does it, but Doug can look at a map once and know exactly where to go and how to get back.That talent came in handy, because we walked a lot during our four days in Quebec
City. We had fun walking around the upper town, exploring rue Saint-Louis, Sainte-Anne, Garneau, Couillard, rue Saint-Jean and several other roads. On rue Saint-Louis, we walked by Maison Jacquet, the oldest house in Quebec City.We also explored lower town, walking down Cote de la Montagne, then along rue du Petit-Champlain, Sous-le-Fort, and Notre-D Read more:Walking
Le Chateau Frontenac 2007-05-22 09:45:00 We were lucky enough to stay at the Chateau
Frontenac during our stay in Quebec City. While we were there, we toured the hotel with Gaston, a tour guide who played the part of a porter from the late 19th century. He had several interesting stories about the hotel and its guests. Some of what we learned:The Chateau was built for the Canadian Pacific Railway in the late 1800's. Several luxury hotels were being built at the time, including Banff Springs Hotel and Windsor Station in Montreal. The railway wanted to encourage the wealthy to travel on its trains to visit those destinations, and the hotels were the lure.The brick used for the hotel came from Scotland. It was used for ballast in ships coming to North America to get timber. When the ships arrived, they dumped the brick to make room for the timber. People used the free brick to build homes, and the builders of the Chateau did the same. The other stone used in the building is local blue limestone.This is where the Quebec Conf
Friday Photo Post: Quebec City 2007-05-18 07:03:00 Wow. Quebec
City is beautiful. At least the old city is, which is where we are staying and the only place we've seen so far. We arrived at the Chateau Frontenac in time for high tea and an interesting tour of the hotel. With a bit of time before dinner, we went outside to explore the area.It was chilly, in the 40's, but it was sunny, and I still wore my sandals. It was fun to come across this street, where yesterday's picture from flickr was taken. The sun was in a bad place for the shot, so I angled it, but I'll try to get another shot later on when I have more time.I love it when Doug travels to fun places for business and I get to tag along. Read more:Friday
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From other Travel Blogs... 2007-05-17 04:57:00 First off, congratulations go out to Our Man in Granada for winning the Budget Travel
Online writing contest. His article on Vietnam is a great read, and his win is well deserved. Congratulations, Steve!Jas from Through the Lens did a post for Brave New Traveler this week, sharing 6 Quick Tips for Shooting Better Action Photos.At Around the World in 80 Days, Mark writes an interesting post about biking through Normandy and Brittany.There were some posts about Cambodia, with The Lost Girls reporting on their visit to Phnom Penh and the Guardian Unlimited also writing an article about traveling to Cambodia.The Guardian Unlimited also has an interesting article about Romania, Lost in Transylvania.For even more articles, check out the section marked From Other Blogs
in my sidebar.Thank you to luciano 46 at Flickr who is sharing this photograph under a creative commons license. I chose his picture of Quebec City because that is my next travel destination.
Minnesota Fishing Opener 2007-05-15 07:49:00 Golden Shiners on a Lindy Rig with a 6 1/2 lb test line, slip bobber and red hook... Confused yet? I was when I was told this was how to catch a walleye on Gull Lake (thanks, George!) My youngest son actually used a floating red jig instead of the red hook, but he still managed to catch his first walleye this year. That seems to be some kind of right of passage in the Cashman family. He still has to learn how to filet the fish, but that can wait a couple years.Fishing
opener is serious business in Minnesota
, and this year was better than most. It was unusually warm, with temperatures in the mid 70's, compared to previous years' temps in the 40's and 50's. Fishing is much easier when you aren't wearing winter coats and your fingers aren't too cold to put the bait on the hook. According to the guys, it was a good opener for walleye, perch and crappies. I stayed home, and it was an incredibly relaxing and quiet Mother's Day weekend.Thank you to Don Cashman for the pictur Read more:Opener
Roam Around The World 2007-05-14 11:28:00 Rambling Traveler was invited to participate in this week's Carnival of Cities, titled Roam Around the World
, hosted at The San Diego Beat. I hadn't looked at blog carnivals before, so it was interesting to read about it, and look through previous editions.Carole from San Diego Beat put together a great list of articles, with pictures, from different cities around the world, including my story on Afton Alps State Park. For our listening enjoyment, she also included a video of the B-52's singing "Roam" to listen to while we read.There are some familiar blogs, and several that I haven't seen before. Check out today's Carnival of Cities, I think you'll enjoy it.
From ProBlogger's Group Writing Project... 2007-05-14 07:40:00 Darren Rowse at ProBlogger had a group writing project last week, and several travel articles were submitted. Here are some of my favorites:Five gems, what makes a good pub? by Pints of AleFive Travel Blogs You Gotta Read by Sheila at Perceptive Travel BlogTop 5 Reasons Why We Travel by Timen at in my All StarsTop 5 Reasons to Make Nova Scotia Your Next Travel Destination by Blogging Nova ScotiaMy Top 5 Future Photowalking Locations by Photowalking.org5 best places to go while visiting Acadia National Park by AcadiaMy Five Most Awestruck Travel Experiences by Exit Row SeatTop Five Strategies for Traveling Light by Graham Barker: The BlogTop 5 DC Things To Do This Summer by DC365Top 5 Italian Words You Really Don't Want To Mispronounce at Bleeding EspressoTop 5 Things To Do In Istanbul by Let's Meet Where the Continents MeetCheck out ProPlogger's full submission list for articles on several other subjects, including personal finance, photography, and of course, blogging. Read more:Group
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Friday Photo Post: Education Raptors 2007-05-11 07:14:00 These are some of the education raptors we saw at the Spring Raptor Release. A Great Horned Owl, an American Kestrel, and a Bald Eagle were among the several birds of prey that were there. Read more:Education
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From other Travel Blogs... 2007-05-10 11:53:00 Thinking of taking a RTW trip? The Lost Girls have a 3 part series detailing the expenses for their round the world adventure, including total costs, breakdown of flight, gear, accommodations, and breakdown of food, travel, entertainment.Timen at in my All Stars shares Top 5 Reasons Why We Travel
. He does a great job of explaining our need to get out and see the world.National Parks Traveler has another guide to the parks, this time it's The Essential Glacier with tips for visiting Glacier National Park.Conor is having a party! The place to be: New York City on June 21st. Conor's Mildly Thrilling Tales and Next Generation Nepal don't have any more details on their sites, but we'll keep you posted when we find out more. It's sure to be a great time, though, and a chance to help raise money for Conor's orphanage.Backpackers.com has a post about Geobeats, a website featuring video travel guides. I ended up spending far too much time at Geobeats, exploring all the videos. Read more:Blogs
Traveling Alone 2007-05-09 08:02:00 A quote about traveling alone was recently posted on Vagablogging :"It seemed an advantage to be traveling alone. Our responses to the world are crucially molded by the company we keep, for we temper our curiosity to fit in with the expectations of others. They may have particular visions of who we are and hence may subtly prevent certain sides of us from emerging… Being closely observed by a companion can also inhibit our observation of others; then, too, we may become caught up in adjusting ourselves to the companions questions and remarks, or feel the need to make ourselves seem more normal than is good for our curiosity."--Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel, (2002)Several other sites also mention the benefits of solo travel, including Ubertramp, who has written about the pros and cons of traveling alone. It sounds like an incredible experience with amazing benefits, but I keep coming back to the idea that I want to share my experiences with someone else. I don't doubt that I Read more:Traveling
What Are Your Top 5 Travel Dreams? 2007-05-08 06:54:00 Every traveler has one. It changes depending on our mood, what we've been reading, and who we've talked to, but it's always there. The List. Sometimes we write it down, sometimes it's only in our heads, but it's there. We talk about it, "it's on my list" and "that's getting bumped up on my list", but on all the travel blogs I read, I haven't yet seen anyone's list.It's the list of places you want to travel to. Your list might have 5, 10, 100 or a 1000 places to visit, but I'm just talking about the top 5. The places you really want to see.In the spirit of sharing, and because when you put something in writing, it's one step closer to doing, here are my Top 5 TravelDreams
:1. See Machu Picchu. I was in high school the first time I saw a picture of the incredible ruins, and they have been on my list ever since.2. Do a canopy tour and ride a zip line somewhere in Central America.3. Explore the fjords in Norway.4. Scooter across Italy like Peter Moore, author of Vroom wit
Spring Raptor Release 2007-05-07 07:24:00 This weekend, The Raptor Center had its Spring
Raptor Release
at Carpenter Nature Center in Hastings, Minnesota. We had a chance to see some of the eagles, hawks, falcons and owls that are permanent residents at the center due to injuries that prevent them from living in the wild. They are education raptors and are used to teach groups about birds of prey.We also saw the release of 4 raptors that had been treated for injuries and were able to leave the center. If you click on the above picture, you can get a good look at that eagle's expression. I love that look, "What the...?!" They are getting ready to hand him over to Ken Speake, a much loved local t.v. news reporter who recently retired from KARE 11. Ken released the eagle, and it flew off to cheers from the crowd.These release picture were taken about 150 feet (45 meters) away from the stage using the 10x optical zoom on my Olympus SP-510 UZ. Although there weren't any Harris Hawks like the ones at our hawk walk, we h
Friday Photo Post: Kauai, Hawaii 2007-05-04 07:39:00 My brother took this picture in Kauai
, Hawaii
. It was taken with just a 2mp camera, but it reminds me of the HDR photography that Trey Ratcliff does. I can only imagine what it would have looked like if Scott had used a higher quality camera.When I asked him if I could use the photograph, Scott told me he was also doing a FridayPhoto
Post on Hawaii on his blog, Moving to Freedom. Coincidences like that make me smile.Scott Carpenter shares his photographs under a creative commons attribution-share alike license. Read more:Friday Photo
From other Travel Blogs... 2007-05-03 08:59:00 A few of the articles I enjoyed this week:I've been thinking about doing the Coast to Coast Walk in England, just trying to decide if it should be with or without the boys. Guardian Unlimited has two articles by Martin Wainwright, Britain's Top 10 Coastal Walks and Sea Cliffs to Shingle: Coast to Coast Walk, that caught my interest. I've also mentioned walking along Hadrian's Wall. Maybe I'll be planning a summer of walks, because there are too many to choose from.David at authorblog shares a beautiful picture of Algonquin National Park. I mentioned the park in my post about Camp Tamakwa, and this picture has me bumping the park up higher on my list of places to visit.You can watch a video about Cafe Chavalos, a job-training program that gets young men off the street and teaches them how to cook and work in a restaurant, on Our Man in Granada.Willy Volk at Gadling writes about Cool Capitals, a fun site with interactive maps of some of Europe's capitals.There is also some g Read more:Blogs
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Tips for Traveling with Children 2007-05-02 08:00:00 I mentioned that we've traveled with our 3 boys since our youngest was one year old. How did we make it work? It all comes down to keeping them occupied, not letting them get hungry, and keeping your own positive attitude.On the road:1. Start with shorter trips, distance and time-wise. We drove 3-4 hours to different destinations for weekend trips (Itasca State Park, North Shore of Lake Superior)2. Make frequent stops. When we moved on to longer trips (7-10 days in the car), we stopped often to let them stretch their legs. We planned stops that would be fun for them, places to run around and climb on things, anything to wear off some energy. During our trip around Lake Michigan, we added a stop at Six Flags to our itinerary of state and national parks.3. Plan car activities appropriate for their ages. We packed a basket with healthy snacks and things to do. You can't spend the entire trip talking to each other, so we also splurged on a 9" portable t.v. with a vcr (it was awhile Read more:Children
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Don't Wait to Travel 2007-05-01 20:24:00 This weekend, Paul at TravMonkey wrote about why you should go traveling. His reasons are aimed at the young and unmarried traveling long term, but even if that doesn't describe you, I would encourage you to get out and see the world.Too many times I hear of people who put off travel until their retirement, and then something happens to prevent it. Don't wait until you have more time, it might not happen. Live your life in the present, and plan now that trip you've always dreamed of. If you absolutely can't make it work, plan a different trip that will work.If you have children, don't wait for them to move out, take them with you. We started traveling with our boys when our youngest was one year old. Mostly road trips at first with an occasional plane trip in the United States, then an incredible trip to Ireland for 2 weeks. Not only was it wonderful for me, but it was an experience the boys will always remember. I love sharing memories of our trips. The picture above is f Read more:Travel
Are you a Flashpacker? 2007-04-30 13:00:00 I keep reading about Flashpacking, most recently on Backpackers.com. Intrigued, I did some more research on "the kind of backpacking that doesn’t have the pesky constraints of a shoestring budget." Guardian Unlimited had an article back in June 2004, and many stories have been written on other sites since then.From Blogging Abroad: "This isn’t about backpacking-lite. As much as their low-budget cousins, Flashpackers are looking for authentic and challenging experiences, and they’re quite happy to rough it with the best of them if that’s the best way to achieve that goal. But unlike your average gap-year student, they can afford to splash out on some luxury when the going gets tough — and just as importantly, they will spend what it takes to get the experience they’re after." For me, "when the going gets tough" means 3 days without a shower, and I'm not afraid to admit it.A flashpacker is someone who wants the independent experience of backpacking, but has enough money t
Friday Photo Post: Up at the Lake 2007-04-27 08:30:00 This weekend we are heading up to the cabin to put the dock in the lake. During the summer we sit on that same dock and watch incredible skies like this. It is a great way to spend your time, listening to the water lap against the rocky shore and the loons calling out. Eagles fly above, blue heron visit the empty dock one cabin over, and an occasional otter plays in the water. The boys will go swimming, fishing, or take off in a kayak or paddleboat.Going "up to the lake" is a tradition for many people in Minnesota, and driving in the mass exodus on Hwys 94, 10 and 371 is the price you pay for the chance to spend time on a lake up north. We are lucky that Doug's parents have a cabin on a lake outside of Brainerd so we can sit on that dock up north.Doug's dad took the picture of the storm clouds. We arrived the next day, so missed the show, but I love this picture. Read more:Friday
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From other Travel Blogs... 2007-04-26 20:54:00 Some good articles for you to read:The Daily Transit has a good post about Why We Travel
: Reason #1. I'm looking forward to reading his other reasons.Timen at in my All Stars shares an incredible video, A Story of Healing, about a surgical team traveling to Vietnam to do plastic surgery on children with facial malformations. For more information about Interplast, check out their blog, So No Child Must Wait.Interested in backpacking? Check out Road Junky's post, Top 10 Backpacker Destinations. If you go to Nicaragua, say hi to Ourman, or if you go to Nepal, say hi to Conor.David at authorblog had a post about Anzac Day in Australia. It was striking to me because I had never heard of Anzac Day until the night before David's post when I was reading The Wrong Way Home by Peter Moore. In the chapter I was reading, Peter had arrived in Turkey too late to go to Gallipoli for Anzac Day. Has everyone else (non-Australian) heard of Anzac day?The Lost Globe has a fun list of quizzes you Read more:Blogs
5 Reasons Why I Travel 2007-04-23 08:18:00 When Mike at Vagabondish started this meme, I was interested in reading the reasons other people came up with. Other people. People other than me. Not me. Paul at The TravMonkey decided he wanted to read mine. Hmm. Thank you, Paul.Although I'm not planning a trip around the world, I do love to travel. I have a long list of places I want to visit and things I want to do, some for a week or two, some for a few months. Here are the 5 reasons why:1. People- When I was 8 years old, a cousin from Norway came to America with a friend of hers. I was fascinated by them, their language, and where they came from. Since then, I've wanted to meet people from other places and see how they live.2. History- Not only do I want to meet people now, but I like to learn about people from the past. With the little traveling that I have done so far, Tulum, Mexico; Ephesus, Turkey; Delos, Greece; Venice, Italy and several old castles in Ireland stand out in my mind. In the United States, Me Read more:Reasons
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From other Travel Blogs... 2007-04-19 09:24:00 It was another good week for interesting travel articles. Here are some of my favorites:1. Timen at in my All Stars has launched the Trusted Travel
Blog Network. Check it out, and be sure to nominate your favorite travel blogs.2. Gadling had several good travel articles, including Do It Yourself Volunteering and Spanish Immersion in Guatemala by Jamie Rhein, and Talking Travel With Matthew Polly by Justin Glow.3. Conor Grennan from How Conor is Spending All His Money shares another great story about his orphanage in Nepal with Sock Puppet Photos.4. Ian at Brave New Traveler started a Flickr Photography Pool and invites you to share your travel pictures.5. Ubertramp has more travel tips with How to Choose a Backpack.6. Learn about Nicaraguan Communications at Our Man in Granada.7. Smarter Travel has an interesting article on Taking the kids to the Galapagos Islands.8. National Parks Traveler has some good advice for visiting Arches National Park near Moab, Utah and Acadia National Par Read more:Blogs
Great Turtle Race 2007-04-12 08:37:00 Every Wednesday during the summer, Nisswa, Minnesota holds turtle races behind the Chamber of Commerce building. I thought that was pretty exciting, but Our Man in Granada is organizing his own turtle race, via the Great
Turtle Race site.He points to a post by Justin Glow at Gadling about 11 leatherback sea turtles in Costa Rica. The turtles have been outfitted with satellite tags and updates will be given on their progress in the 14 day swim to their feeding grounds near the Galapagos Islands.As of this morning, Our Man has 6 turtle jockeys out of the 11 needed. Rambling Traveler has signed on with Drexelina, the dragon turtle.Above photo from paullovesjam on flickr.
Bloggers Choice Awards 2007 2007-04-11 16:02:00 Rambling Traveler has been nominated for Best Travel Blog on the Bloggers ChoiceAwards
! If you like this site, please show your support by giving it your vote. Several of my favorite travel blogs are also listed, like Brave New Traveler, Go Backpacking, Ubertramp, and The Lost Globe.The great thing about awards like these, though, is the opportunity to find blogs you haven't seen before. Looking at all the nominations, I have a feeling that I'll be spending the next few days reading.
Rick Steves on Faithful Travel 2007-04-10 08:15:00 I've read some criticism of Rick Steves and his tours, but watching this video he did on faithful travel, I find a lot to admire about him. I usually don't watch videos over 5 minutes on YouTube, but this one held my interest for the full 12 minutes and gave me a lot to think about.Rick talks about how difficult it is for most Americans to go outside their comfort zone and travel in developing countries, but how important it is to see what is going on in the world. If you do visit a developing country, he hopes you will travel with an open mind. When you return home, remember your experience and let it influence how you live.Rick would like to see people become more active citizens, helping to support peace and justice in the world. He doesn't give specifics, but I imagine this can include charitable giving, volunteer work, and political activism. I don't think anyone can criticize that. Read more:Faithful
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Friday Photo Post: More from Quebec City 2007-05-25 07:58:00 This little boy was quite entertained by the street performer. His reactions kept the rest of us entertained, too, although the busker was a lot of fun even by himself.I liked the signs on this part of rue du Petit-Champlain. I wonder if that photographer has a photo of me?Looking at art on rue du Tresor, otherwise known as Artist Alley. Read more:Friday
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Travel Photography: Tips From Other Blogs 2007-05-24 15:14:00 I've decided to separate photography tips and blogs from my regular "From Other Blogs
" feature. Here is my first installment...I've got a new blog on my reader. Backpack Planet has just a few posts so far, but they are really good. On Monday, he wrote about Travel
photos: storing your shots when on the road. I'm looking forward to reading more.Digital Photography School also shares some great tips in an article about improving your landscape photography.In an effort to get all the photography articles in one place, here is a list of posts that I previously shared in From Other Blogs:Jas from Through the Lens did a post for Brave New Traveler this week, sharing 6 Quick Tips for Shooting Better Action Photos.Ian at Brave New Traveler started a Flickr Photography Pool and invites you to share your travel pictures.Travel Photography- Getting More Variety in Your Shots by Darren Rowse at Digital Photography School.The Ultimate Guide To Memorable Travel Slideshows by Brave New TravelerI
From other Travel Blogs... 2007-05-24 10:10:00 The Frugal Travel
er starts an American Road Trip with Finally, Exit From New York.Roger Johnson and Haley Chamberlain have started their 50 States in 50 Days road trip. They aren't writing in a blog format, and there isn't an RSS feed, but it's still fun to see where they are and what they are doing.Dave writes about Budgeting for a Trip Around the World on GoBackpacking. Be sure to follow the link to David's 'Round the World Plan for a detailed budget spreadsheet.Steve from Our Man in Granada is writing his guest posts on Budget Travel Online this week. Read about Our man in Granada, Meeting the Chavalos, and How I wound up living overseas, and watch for more articles today and tomorrow.DC365 recommends taking a Spy Tour of the nation's capital with Spies of Washington Tour.Conor at Conor's Mildly Thrilling Tales writes about Searching for families in Nuwakot. Part of his mission in Nepal is to reunite the orphans with their families. This last trip was successful, they fou Read more:Blogs
Living and Traveling Simply 2007-01-29 08:05:00 The idea of living and traveling simply appeals to me. Getting down to the basics without all the extras. When we traveled to Ireland for two weeks, we each had one carry-on bag (all backpacks except for my small suitcase.) I also brought a bag with my laptop. We had more than enough clothes to wear and things to do. There was so much freedom in that. It’s less to keep track of, take care of, and move around. We don’t live as simply as we could, but on a regular basis, I will do a clean sweep of the house, especially after reading Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin or The Simple Living
Guide by Janet Luhrs. These books are about being fully aware of the choices you make and why you make them. For people who go to the store to buy shampoo and conditioner and walk out with a shopping cart full of merchandise and less money in their bank account, these books are an eye opener. To help with the cleaning out, I sometimes read one of Don Aslett’s books, usually Clutter's Las Read more:Traveling
Catherine Watson and the Sunday Travel Section 2007-01-21 13:30:00 The Minneapolis Star Tribune has a SundayTravelSection
that I've read for years. Growing up, those articles gave me a fascination for other places and a strong desire to travel. After reading the stories, I would check out travel books from the local library (this was before the internet) and order travel guides from the different destinations described in the paper. I kept my favorite articles for years, planning travels of my own. Most of these articles were written by CatherineWatson
, the travel editor of the paper from 1978-2004.Michael Yessis at World Hum interviewed Ms. Watson in 2005, when her book, Roads Less Traveled: Dispatches from the Ends of the Earthwas published. In the interview, he asked about her travel philosophy. Her reply is worth reprinting here:Go everywhere you can.Be passionately curious.Talk to everyone who’ll let you, especially the quiet people.Stay till the bitter end. If the ceremonial lasts all day, so do you—you never know what’ll happen a
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