Category: Travel

Saturday, May 11, 2024

Cross stitching as a hobby is a bit difficult for me to admit. Somehow it feels more geriatric than my knitting. But it’s one of the first crafting hobbies I had as a child, and recently when I needed a knitting break I went in search of a project that interested me. It had been so long that my first instinct was to go to Joann’s to look for kits and patterns, and I was surprised how limited the selections were these days. Then I got a clue and looked on Etsy, where apparently there is a cross stitch pattern for anything you could possibly think of. OK, well that’s not true because I have a dark and inappropriate imagination. But there are some good ones…

Alas I did not succumb to my basest instincts, and instead found a wonderful seller with patterns for every single US National Park. Score.

I purchased the Mt. Rainier pattern from their “Mini” (6″x6″ on 14 count) collection in January, then went to Joann’s (or was it Michael’s?) for the hoop, aida, and floss. I tend to be a pattern follower so I attempted to buy all of the prescribed DMC colors from the pattern, but when they were out of some I made substitutions of similar colors. I didn’t feel good about that, but that was pre-medicated ADHD-brained Stacy so I had to get everything immediately in order to get started on my new dopamine fix now, right now. #impulsecontrol #allornothingthinking

I just finished the project and am happy overall with the process and outcome. I’ve brightened this photo, but left contrast, color saturation, etc. without edits.

The aspects I’m not 100% in love with are the fabric, the thread saturation (that might not be the right word), and all of the color choices. I went ahead and did some YouTube viewing and ordered linen for my next project, which will be a first for me. I’m also going to experiment with 3 strands instead of 2 on the next one to hopefully get more color density (that seems like a better word). And for sure I will not automatically go with the pattern-prescribed DMC choices for the entire project.

I ordered the patterns for Olympic National Park and North Cascades National Park, and as soon as the linen is delivered I’ll be doing some floss shopping.

I could see us a few decades from now, when we return to a home base with walls, framing a whole collection of these as mementos from our many, many years on the road.

Sunday, May 5, 2024

Some life updates… neurodiversity, retirement planning, summer plans, travel plans (x2):

The Trendy Diagnosis

My suspected ADHD brain actually let me follow through on a goal I’ve had for awhile now. I got evaluated and officially diagnosed, so I am now a confirmed ADHDer! I also worked with a nurse practitioner to figure out the right medication and dosage for me.

Can I tell you that Adderall is a game changer for me? To folks unfamiliar with the ADHD brain this is going to make me sound unwell, but Adderall makes the voices in my head go away. I no longer have a continuous narrative loop in my mind telling me everything I should be doing and that I’m a loser for not doing all of the things. I also sleep a lot less, which has been a bit of an emotional adjustment since I really loved excess sleep. I think I loved it because it was the only time I couldn’t hear my narrator. But now when my mind turns on at 6:00 or 7:00 am I’m learning to accept it and not fight it.

And being on Adderall reminds me of when I first got on Bupropion (aka Wellbutrin) for depression – it didn’t cure my disorder, but gave me the mental room I needed make the life changes necessary to squash my ever-imposing chronic depression, and eventually get off the medication. Not a quick solution at all – I started that medication in 2011 or 2012, and stopped it just last year. So far with the Adderall support I’m learning about time blindness, and managing ebbs and flows of energy, and creating routines, and learning how to work through an all-or-nothing mindset. Maybe someday I can do these things without the pharmaceutical support, but I’m not in a rush.

FIRE-ing

Thanks to Uncle Joe a bunch more months counted towards my student loan forgiveness and moved up that timeline.

And the accounts keep growing. It’s starting to feel real that we are going to be able to start that full-time travel thing in the next couple/few years. So we have followed through and hired a fee-only financial planning company to help us sort out some details and learn some nuts and bolts. Scott has been sending them our information and was told he might have the best spreadsheet they’ve ever seen. That made Scott’s year, I think. We have a big 4-hour session in a couple of weeks to see what advice they have.

Summer Side Hustle

I will be “working” for a few days at the start of summer break. It’s 5 days. It includes field trips, and a baseball game, and two meals at a couple of Seattle’s best restaurants. I get to hang out with international visitors. I’ll be getting a paycheck. This seems too good to be true.

Another Country

We have a trip to Japan booked for July. Even though we aren’t full-time travelers yet, we still prefer slow travels on our trips. So instead of following a typical recommendation for a two week itinerary to catch a train to a new overnight stay every 2-3 nights, we are spending 7 nights in Tokyo and 9 nights in Kyoto. Those two locations have a lifetime of things to see in and of themselves, plus there are lots of day trip options from each. We know we will love Japan and want to return, so why try to cram everything into one trip? We shall move slow and smell the tea. Except when we are driving these.

I Prefer to Call Them Boats, I Don’t Care What People Say

A stranger (maybe a cruise employee I can’t remember) actually verbally corrected me when I called the vessel we were on last summer a “boat”. Cruise people are so weird. They get offended when you don’t call it a “ship”. Get over yourselves. Plus, when you have a (copied) Midwest accent it’s way more fun to say “boat” than “ship”.

We have an Alaska cruise booked for a week in August. I’ve only been to Anchorage on a short work trip before. Scott has been on three cruises before, including one last year that he did without me. First of all, we are not codependent and know how to enjoy ourselves apart. Second, he had vacation time he had to use up and I couldn’t take time off at the beginning of the school year. Third, he brought me home souvenir stickers and scouted yarn shops for me. So, anyway, this year I am going on one with him. It’s a week, and we don’t have to fly anywhere to catch it. We can take the bus or even walk if we want. Scott is treating me by paying for an upgrade to a balcony cabin AND we are going to buy thermal suite passes. This will not be a repeat of my bad attitude on the cruise last summer.

Thursday, August 10, 2023

Airalo. Yes. Technology that makes traveling so much easier. And it’s affordable.

I’m starting to hit those middle-aged years where I find myself avoiding learning new technology. When I was a corporate manager I had some older staff that I inherited and they would drag their heels when we upgraded software and it would drive me insane. But now I’m that older staff. Thankfully I work for a governmental organization now, so software upgrades aren’t really a thing.

But I’m dragging in personal life, too. I still haven’t tried any AI tools yet. I tried ChatGPT, had some static trying to set up my login, and then just quit and said fuck it. And even though I primarily use Instagram (which also is lately considered for “old people”), I still miss Facebook because honestly it had (and still has) easier usability. And just this week for the first time am I actively trying to change my habit of pulling out my debit/credit cards and instead using my Apple Pay. #boomerlife

So what inspired me to be such a trendsetter, you ask??? I can’t sleep on airplanes > I get off the airplane and I’m a zombie > the last thing I can/want to do is figure out where in the airport I can buy a SIM card > if I can figure it out I don’t have the brain power to figure out what to buy and manage that process. So, eSIMs to the rescue, and totally worth the new knowledge in my Swiss cheese brain.

Side note, I just wondered what SIM stands for and Googled it. Subscriber Identity Module. I never would have guessed that. Sounds like something from a dystopian future like Black Mirror.

I’m sure I learned about eSIMs and Airalo from a travel blogger/vlogger out there but can’t remember who. But huge thank you to them.

At first I was sure my phone was too old for this. I still have an iPhone XR. I’m old and I’m frugal so I don’t get new phones until I have to. But they have a great list on their website of which devices are compatible, and I was a winner.

Next I saw how cheap the coverage was for our next upcoming trip (that Iceland and Greenland trip we just finished). Iceland (our first stop) was $7.50 for 15 days worth of coverage (up to 2GB). And I found a referral code online that gave me $3 off my first purchase. So even if the whole thing sucked I wasn’t out much.

Then I dug around the internet and found reviews where people detailed their first experiences. Almost everyone said they had a hard time setting their eSIM up correctly the first time. The tips were to be in a stable WIFI environment for awhile when you set up your first one (like your hotel), turn your phone off/on after you download the eSIM, and to use the customer service link in the app to chat/message for help. So that’s what I did. Unfortunately in Reykjavik we were in an entirely off time zone for an active back and forth chat, but when I woke up in the morning I had gotten the answers from the customer service rep and was able to complete the setup.

By the time we got to Greenland I remembered everything from the Iceland setup experience and was able to complete my Greenland setup without the extra help. Quick and easy.

And zero complaints about the coverage in those two countries. Worked great. Even when we were on a cruise ship within view of land in Greenland I could get coverage!

The only thing that didn’t work seamlessly for me was SMS texting. Some yes, some no. I imagine it has something to do with Apple? I don’t know. But I could use WhatsApp at all times, so good enough.

So yeah, try it. Use STACY6621 for your referral code to get your own $3 off.

Now go enjoy some travels and GET OFF MY LAWN!

Monday, July 24, 2023

This is the day we traveled home from Reykjavik, so here’s the post-mortem on this trip.

The Wins

Scott still wins as best travel partner I could ever hope for or dream of. I am so, so lucky to have him as my life partner.

Reykjavik is a lovely city. I’m really glad we had some time here before and after, with the bonus day due to the cruise itinerary change. I don’t think it’s a candidate for a long-term stay during retirement but when we come back for a road trip we will definitely budget in some time here again – maybe a week? We love a city stay where we don’t feel the need for a car.

Both of our Reykjavik hotels were good and the breakfast buffets made us smile. Unless I could get a similar rate at a hotel up by Laugavegur, I would stay at the Storm Hotel again for sure. And using travel hacking/Hilton AmEx points to get a free stay at the Hilton was a big win.

Another food tour FTW! Wake Up Reykjavik knocked this out of the park. Highly recommended to anyone that will listen. This is the post where I detail what we did.

In addition to the hotel breakfast buffets and the food tour we also had good food and beverage experiences around town. I’m looking at you, Einstok, Te & Kaffi, Icelandic Street Food, Bastard, and Bjor Gardurinn.

Walking to/from the cruise port worked out really well for us on this trip. Obviously it saved us some money but there is so much sitting on a cruise that the walks also just felt really good. This won’t be a realistic option in a lot of cases, but in this situation the city’s walking culture, the weather, and the hotel locations made it work well.

Renting a car in Akureyri was the right call. Super simple and convenient to the cruise port (the Avis/Budget office) and we had a fantastic day of freedom in the countryside! Godafoss was a highlight of this trip. And I learned that driving on Route 1 aka the Ring Road is super easy – well signed, well paved. Well, at least the section we did that day. Confidence for a future Ring Road trip boosted! Here’s the post about that day.

The ATV tour we did in Isafjordur has put ATV tours on our radar for future vacations. We had so much fun! This is the post where I detail what we did.

I saw icebergs for the first time ever thanks to Greenland. Epic. The first picture is horrible because it was a frantic “THIS IS MY FIRST ICEBERG EVER!!!” photo, but keep scrolling the rest are better.

Overall the weather on this trip was better than we could have hoped for, with loads of sunny days and pleasant walking weather. We had that rain on our Nanortalik port stop day, and high winds kept us out of Djupivogur. Climate change made us miss two stops in Greenland. But overall I think we just really lucked out since all of our days in Reykjavik were super pleasant for long meandering walks, and on the day of our ATV tour in Isafjordur the tour guide said it was the best weather he had seen all summer.

Airalo FTW! I’m going to do a post about this app for eSims eventually, but this was my first time trying it and it was fantastic. The coverage was inexpensive – I paid $4.50 (incl. $3 off for first time user with a referral code) for Iceland for 15 days/2 GB and $8.10 for Greenland for 7 days/1 GB. And if we were on the boat and sitting next to a window with view of land the coverage actually worked from the boat! My referral code is STACY6621 if you want to try it and get your own $3 off. But more details to follow in a future post…

The Lessons Learned

I learned a lot about how I can make cruising work better for me in the future. I anticipate we will be on a cruise ship at least once a year for the rest of our lives, so this knowledge is good to accumulate. There will always be a bit of a discomfort just because I’m so introverted, but I know I can figure out how to enjoy them since I do love me some down time.

Unless there’s some sort of extenuating circumstance, I doubt we will ever go on the Norwegian Star (or any other Dawn class ships) again. Looking back on it I think my main complaint was the minimal natural light anywhere inside the ship. The windows felt small. And the sea weather wasn’t good for any outside time. It just felt crowded and claustrophobic.

We should have spent the money on Thermal Suite passes. In the moment the extra $500 felt like a lot, but considering the lack of natural light in the ship, how crowded everywhere felt, and the extra sea days I think it would have helped a lot to have these lounge chairs available (not my photo).

Although I’m a knitter which is the best downtime hobby in the world (I’ll fight you), I need to have more downtime hobbies because cruising is a lot of downtime. Especially if you’re introverted and a bit snobby when it comes to typical onboard entertainment offerings. My ADHD is pretty bad so reading books is like impossible. I could use downtime to be better about keeping up on this blogging hobby. I could. But what else can I get into with minimal packing needs that could hold my attention? Maybe Scott and I should learn how to play cribbage and a couple of other card games.

Next time I will take a closer look at the cancellation policies of any tours/activities we book for cruise ports if they are booked with a local operator (i.e., not thru the cruise excursions). We completely just lucked out this time that the kayaking operator in Djupivogur refunded all of our money when that port was cancelled due to weather.

I learned that I don’t think I like geothermal hot springs because of the smell. I think I’m willing to try one more time at another location to make sure, though.

Next Time Cruising

I’m very glad that whenever we cruise next with NCL we will have Platinum status. This will get us priority embarkation (which should improve my mood that day) and priority tender boat boarding (never again with a 3 hour wait to get off the ship). We will also get a free bag of laundry and an extra specialty dining meal.

On all future cruises I will be looking more closely at the common areas that are available on the ship. And I need natural light! We’ve begun looking at doing an Alaska cruise next summer, and the NCL Bliss has this observation lounge that looks perfect.

Unless it’s a particularly scenic cruise (like Alaska maybe) I’ll be fine with booking a cheaper interior cabin again. Especially if I book a Thermal Suite pass like I plan to on all future cruises. Again, the NCL Bliss seems to have what I’m looking for…

Next Time in Iceland

We definitely want to go back and spend more time on land in Iceland. That will likely look like a Ring Road trip with a side quest up to the Westfjords. Previous to this trip I assumed we would want to do a campervan trip but now that I’ve experienced the cold and the wind even in a warm summer month, I’m thinking this will be more of a road trip with scattered hotel stays. Being able to get warm every night and have hot showers will increase my interest in all of the outdoor exploration – hiking, kayaking, etc. – that Iceland really deserves. This next Iceland trip will probably happen post-retirement so we don’t feel rushed, and when we can again stack up points and miles for flights and hotel stays.

Overall Rating… Great trip! I’m glad I memorialized it here for future reminiscing. Peace out from Keflavik airport on our way home.

Sunday, July 23, 2023

This was Scott’s birthday! We made sure to book an extra night at the end of our cruise in town so he wasn’t spending his birthday traveling home from a vacay – how depressing is that?

We disembarked our cruise in Reykjavik with a plan to take a city bus to our hotel. But I failed to take into account that this was a Sunday and we would have had to wait an hour for the bus by the time we got to the stop. And we are too frugal to spend inflated prices on a taxi. So instead we walked the 2 miles dragging our luggage. But the weather was pleasant and the route was really pretty along the coastline trail.

Since we didn’t have any more Hilton points, I opted to book us in a local hotel called Storm Hotel for our outgoing night. Kind of on the outskirts of what I would call super centrally located, but definitely much closer to the action than the Hilton was. I failed to take any room pictures but this was definitely a great choice (bravo to me). Very clean, modern, quiet. Modest-sized room but this wasn’t a place we were going to hang out for long periods of time. Nice breakfast buffet – it couldn’t possibly compare to the Hilton’s buffet, but it was certainly good. Highly recommended.

We wandered a bit around town including another stop at Te & Kaffi – we loved their food treats!

We took a long walk out to visit the dedicated Omnom shop, which we thought was going to be like a big flagship store with free samples but ultimately we could have gotten the same selection at a lot of tourist shops around town. The chocolate was… ok. Still a lovely souvenir option for folks back home, largely due to the lovely packaging and portability.

We had lunch at Icelandic Street Food. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Soups were super yummy, affordable, and you got free refills! We were very very happy here. Scott’s even smiling at a receipt, and that isn’t normal.

After wandering around town for awhile and refreshing at the hotel, we hit up 3 spots to celebrate my man’s birthday.

First, Bjor Gardurinn which happened to be on the ground floor of the hotel across the street from our own. This is totally our jam. Large list of taps (mostly local, including their own house beer), lovely environment, and we got a brie snack. Again, highly recommended.

We, of course, had to make another stop at Einstok. We were so thrilled that their Reykjavik tap house is as lovely as their beers (more photos in yesterday’s post). Please start distributing in Washington State!

Finally, Bastard Brew & Food. Yes, I know that doesn’t sound very Icelandic. But they also had a great tap list, and check out these beautiful flatbreads!

We ended the night taking advantage of a hotel perk – a free beer. Happy birthday, my love.

Friday, July 21, 2023

OK, last sea day. We can do this. Tomorrow we get an extra day in Reykjavik, we can stretch our legs, and feel a little less like a pig in a trough.

But honestly, how can any day with this man be a tough one? He tried two new drinks today based on my recommendation for what I thought he might like: a lemon drop and a Midori sour. He’s got a sweet tooth but seems to handle this salty woman just fine.

And besides, Scott went ahead and defied the odds and won money at a slot machine on a cruise ship today. I guess our hotel bill in Oaxaca is gonna be just about covered!

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Originally, today was our port stop for Nuuk, Greenland. Then Plan B was to go into a fjord/glacier situation and then another smaller town south. Then Plan C was to skip the fjord and just go into the smaller today today. Well, ummm… not. The vast drift ice and currents just weren’t on our side. The captain said that they looked back at charts for the last 10 years and this is the worst year they’ve seen. I was disappointed that we had to miss Nuuk as it’s the capital and we had a full day planned there including a whale watching tour, a local yarn shop, and a brewery. Ugh.

Since the failure of the original itinerary, Plan B, and Plan C we are at a count of 5/10 sea days on a cruise that was originally supposed to be 3/10 sea days. But some good news in the mix… the captain is going to head back to Reykjavik a day early for an added shore day, so instead of 6/10 sea days we will stay at 5/10 sea days. Yes, we should have paid for the thermal suite on day 1 (or when booking, honestly).

At this point our sea days are pretty monotonous… sleep in, eat 2-3 meals at O’Sheehan’s, have a drink or two at Proof Whiskey Bar, have a drink or two at Gatsby’s, spend a little money on the slot machines in the casino, do some reading/knitting/spreadsheet work.

But Scott’s a happy boy on a cruise ship, generally. It’s his favorite way to travel. He says, “you can do as much or as little as you want”. It’s not my favorite way to travel, but there are appealing things about it when it’s set up right. So I’m going to consider this trip a learning opportunity, and we’ve already started talking about how we will plan cruises for the future. And since my love enjoys them so much, I can’t exactly call it a burden to plan one a year into our vacation planning. I mean… boo hoo for me, right?

And since my partner is so loving and easy going he’s fine with the types of things we are talking about to make future cruise trips work for both of us. For example, I will investigate the ship we are considering booking in a little more detail and make sure it has plenty of space and quiet areas for me to do my introversion thing in. And I will likely book us thermal suite passes on future trips. I used to think I would need a balcony room to make me super happy, but after this cruise in an interior cabin I think I’m ok with trading the cost of a balcony cabin for the cost of the thermal suite. We also have NCL status racking up, so within a couple more cruises we will have the status that gets you priority boarding and tender boat access (this means less lines for me to wither in), not to mention a free bag of laundry.

I think the NCL Bliss has our name on it for next summer…

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Today was supposed to be Paamiut, Greenland. But mother nature says no.

It was pretty early in the day that the captain came over the intercom system to let everyone know we would not be stopping at Paamiut today due to weather and difficulties navigating the drift ice surrounding the port. So today was a sea day, but I couldn’t be too sad with these awesome views.

The new plan is to travel up a fjord to see a glacier tomorrow, and likely replace the port of Nuuk with Qaqortuk. Bummer I will have to miss the yarn shop in Nuuk! But c’est la vie!

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Next stop – the first of three port stops that made me choose this cruise itinerary – Nanortalik, GREENLAND bitches! I appreciate an obscure destination. Although we were visiting with 2000+ other cruise ship passengers which would kind of negate the idea of obscurity, right? Whatever, it’s still cool.

But before I even saw land I saw my very first iceberg. MY FIRST EVER! I was inordinately excited about the idea of seeing icebergs for the first time ever when booking and anticipating this trip. So that would explain this truly horrible photo of an iceberg I took through a dirty window in a ship restaurant, and why I’m saving it here for all eternity as record of my FIRST EVER ICEBERG SIGHTING.

Don’t worry, the iceberg photos get a little better. Like these!

And then these shots of them with land that is green(ish). So epic.

As you can probably tell from the photos the weather wasn’t the best. It was really overcast, there was a little rain, and it was windy. The captain announced that they wouldn’t start the tender boat process to go onshore for a bit due to weather, and then when tendering started it was 3 hours before Scott & I were able to get on one. There were 4 boats in process, but there was only one small dock onshore for them to use and it took a really long time to get people on/off the tender boats.

My first honest thought getting off the boat was that we didn’t belong there. I mean this town is teeny tiny. The internet says that as of 2020 there were 1,185 inhabitants, and the number of passengers on this ship was north of 2,000. We might have seen 50 locals on-shore out and about while we were there. I know a lot of people didn’t disembark due to the tender boat slowness, but still. And there weren’t even many opportunities on land to spend money for the community, very few in fact. We tried to buy some Danish candy in the grocery store and then realized it was cash only. Hopefully NCL had to pay a hefty fee for this intrusion.

Regardless of my big feelings, I really did enjoy stopping here. It was really beautiful. It was raining on us for a lot of it, but my favorite color is gray so that just added to my enjoyment honestly.

After walking around for about 90 minutes, we then stood in the tender boat line for about an hour to get back on board. Despite the time inefficiencies and colonizer guilt I’m glad we walked around town, especially since (spoiler alert) this would be our only Greenland opportunity.

Bon appetit and good night from the buffet!