Biking Long-Distance? Prepare Like a Pro

Posted on January 7, 2022 by David Cross

This week I have a returning guest author posting that will encourage some thinking for the new year as we look forward when we can safely travel during pandemic times.

Photo via Pixabay

You’ve come a long way since breaking out of your training wheels when you were a kid. You want to go on a real adult adventure on a pro bike, and you have the friends to enjoy your journey with, if you want to go accompanied.

Not sure whether you should travel solo or as part of a small group? Of course, when you have limited time and budget, you want to make the most of these two precious assets. The David Cross Travel Blog shares what to consider before your trip, whether you end up natural trail biking, long-distance cycling, or mountain biking to your end destination:

1. Where to Go?

The world is a big, big place and with every friend who tells you what a great destination so-and-so place is, you fill your head with the question of whether you should go to that very same destination. But will you be happy there?

Use that noggin of yours to meet together with that friend who has gone long-distance biking before, and present a good case and rationale for why that was the best route for her at the time. Take into account her age, level of maturity, socio-economic situation, and other factors so that you can compare them with yours. The idea is to evaluate whether you are facing her same issues and can see yourself going down her path and finding the same level of enjoyment. Did she have a successful emotional conclusion to her trip? That’s a very good sign if she did.  There’s every possibility that you will have a better time than she did–or a worse one, for that matter–but at least you will have some data against which to evaluate your cycling adventure.

2. Getting Your Gear, and Mind, Ready for the Trip

Plenty of information exists on the Internet that tells you what gear to take, how to pack, what’s affordable, and what’s not. We advise you to only take stock of information proposed by seasoned long-distance biking pros — straight from the horse’s mouth — in biking magazines, forums, community sites and the like.  Of course, you can grill your biking friends and acquaintances as to what gear works best, using the Internet to plug any gaps in your information. One good option is to call the park rangers at the natural site you plan to explore so they can fill you in on the details regarding terrain and relevant features along the route..

As for readying your mind for the long-distance ordeal, a little emotional relaxation can help a lot. Stepping back from the high-intense mind energy of putting your trip together through yoga or meditation can do a lot to calm your mind while also fortifying it. Taking internal pauses like this will give you perspective and can soothe all mind chatter connected to the trip.

3. Secure your home and valuables

After you’ve grilled your biking friends and acquaintances on where to go and what to bring, then it’s time to take some safety precautions.

Create a plan for how to protect your valuables on your trip. Pick up an anti-theft backpack so thieves will have a tougher time stealing your cash and credit/debit cards. For instance, the Pacsafe Metrosafe backpack is made from slash-resistant material and features hidden pockets and lockable zippers.

Despite your best efforts, at some point your valuables may be stolen, so you’ll need to have a plan in place if you need family to send you cash, especially if you’re traveling internationally. Whether you’re biking in Mexico, Austria, or France, there are low-fee money transfer services you can utilize. For example, if you need funds sent to Mexico, you can use a service like Remitly which will only charge $3.99 to send money (and no fee if you’re receiving $500 or more).

Take stock of your home and make sure it’s secure. Taking measures such as checking your alarm system a week before heading out the airport, asking a neighbor to keep a sharp eye out for strangers loitering near your property, and leaving your rinky-dink radio on, on full power — to ward off thieves — are all solid measures to adopt.  You may also need to find someone to help key an eye on your home for other reasons, such as checking the mail or taking care of pets while you are gone. 

A Final Thought

The answer to the question of whether you should travel solo, with friends, or with strangers can never be found on the Internet. It requires checking in with your internal guidance system, your intuition.  You have to make sure you are emotionally and physically prepared for the trip and have made arrangements to keep things running smoothly back before leaving.  Only once you’ve addressed these issues can you focus on the fun and exercise of your long-distance cycling adventure.

Good luck on your biking journey. 

 By Jesse Clark from Soulful-Travel.com.

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Looking Back on the Past 3 Years of Travel

Posted on January 2, 2022 by David Cross

Wow – it has been a challenging two years, yet I have been able to maintain and grow the blog despite the COVID pandemic and travel restrictions.

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels

I thought I would reflect a little on what has made the blog successful and exploring some of the statistics over the past 3 years. Some results were exciting and expected and some quite surprising.

Let’s start with the overall number of visitors and views.

2019 was a highlight year for travel for sure and the blog views and visitors grew accordingly. It was the highest volume in the nine (9) year history of the blog with over 7,000 unique visitors with over 13,000 views.

So, what was the hottest blog posting that was the most popular in 2019?

Lady Gaga of course! It was a great concert and the posting received a lot of traffic. Her videos became some of the most popular I posted on my YouTube channel.

The second most popular posting was the blogs I posted on China and our travel to Hong Kong. The Exploring Hong Kong posting was very popular (as expected) as we were visiting during the major protests at the time which captured a lot of news around the world.

Next, lets take a peek at where many of the visitors come from. 2019 was a year when I started getting many more followers from around the world and visitors from China quickly became in the top ten!

Let move on to 2020. The year of the pandemic due to COVID. The numbers pretty much dropped in half. As expected.

It became a year of mostly restricted and local travel in WA state since it was not safe to fly, travel or get almost anywhere due to the restrictions and lockdowns. But it was a good opportunity to explore and learn of many of the great places to visit in WA state that we had never visited before.

The number one posting was when we found a way to get married in Las Vegas the very day the whole state, city and country started locking down everything. A pretty funny story if you are interested in checking it out.

Taking at the country list, the stats were a little interesting for 2020. Of course the United States stayed on top, but started to get a lot smaller countries residents interested and checking out the blog that year.

Now, lets look at 2021. Truly a challenging year for the pandemic and limitations on travel despite many places opening that were not open before. The total numbers were really surprising and exciting. The number of visitors almost reached the peak of 2019 and were almost 100 short of being the top year ever. The number of views globally skyrocketed as well despite the limitations on travel and the smaller number of postings I was able to publish.

So, what caught everyone’s interest this year? A number of items. Some continued WA state local sites and places to visit. and unfortunately, I decided to share some realities of the need to get vaccinated, boosted and accepting that the pandemic is going to become a long term epidemic. We are going to need to receive vaccinations and prove we are vaccinated to travel for many years.

The number one posting was based on my veteran service and being awarded a certificate for my service during the Cold War as a US veteran.

I also started to get a lot of interest on posting about watches and this is something I might consider writing about more of in the future since watches became a very hot topic in 2021.

Surprisingly, my recent posts on visit to Hawaii in December did not catch that much interest for some reason. Not exciting? Who knows?

Looking at the country stats, I was surprised to see China staying on the top 5 of visitors to the site. Why India #1 this year? No idea why, but certainly intriguing.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the continued diversity and different countries that get added to the list. Pretty much every country in the northern hemisphere of the planet. Africa remains to be the largest gap which is not surprising. I may have to try some travel there in the future when we are able to help get the world vaccinated.

What is on the table for the year ahead? Always looking for some suggestions, but it will be a combination of an exciting, scary, interesting and challenging year ahead with Omicron kicking off 2022 as the number one topic on top of everyone’s mind. Stay tuned to this channel!

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Hiking Diamond Head

Posted on December 24, 2021 by David Cross

When the weather is great in Waikiki, where is the closest and best place to take a short hike with the best views?

No, not the beach in the morning!

How about trying to get some shots from above at Diamond Head?

It is a great hike, so here is a quick recap and recommendations.

  1. Take a Uber/taxi and have them drop you outside the tunnel and walk into the park. Otherwise, you will sit in long lines, with no major value and there will not be any parking available even when you get to the park.

2. Don’t go into the restricted areas. They will not be happy with you,

3. Arrive early, The lines for the ticket machines gets very long since they are very slow to connect and process your credit card. It is $5 per person.

4. Arrive early. Did I previously mention that? The paths get very crowded — so crowded that you need a mask to avoid mass infection risk. This is how it looks before 9AM.

5. The tunnels to the top are not too long, but if you are claustrophobic, going up is a little harder than when you come down and see the light at the end of the tunnel immediately.

6. Take a little bit of water to enjoy when taking some panoramic shots. The hike looks long, but it is only 45 minutes unless you are in bad shape or you arrive after 9:00 and the lines are stop and go.

7. The best shots will take some patience since it is so crowded and everyone wants space to take the best shots. But patience is a virtue and you will relish these views for a long time.

8. Check out the bunkers. They still have camouflaged paint from WWII and are still very valuable for watching and repelling potential invaders from North Korea.

9. At the end, pay the crazy ripoff price for the pineapple smoothie and enjoy a break in the shade. It is is a great ending to what seems like a very steep hike.

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Hawaii Botanical Gardens

Posted on December 23, 2021 by David Cross

Tons of great places to eat here in Waikiki and they all do not have to be famous name brands.

Last night, we had a great dinner at Zigu and enjoyed a relaxing evening in the hot tub, so we decided to spoil ourselves with a peaceful tour of some botanical gardens in the Honolulu area.

Today, we will share some of the amazing specimens that we saw in the Foster Botanical Garden.

It is only $5 and makes for a very peaceful and educational morning.

The only thing that interrupts the serenity is the very arrogant roosters that like to roam around. I have noticed that roosters are quite common around Waikiki and certainly are alarm clocks before the sun rises!

What is mind blowing in this park is the size of some of these trees. They make the redwoods of CA and cedars of WA state look tiny in some comparisons.

Some of these trees were planted 100 years ago by some of the founding supporters and garden inspirers.

Check out this “dual coconut” palm. It is like conjoined twin coconuts and they weigh almost 50 lbs when they fall from the tree!

and if course, I had to take a picture of the giant Lilly plant/flower, since Lillian was with me 🙂

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Oahu

Posted on December 22, 2021 by David Cross

Hawaii is not just Honolulu and Waikiki, it is also about the great islands. We decided to visit a few sites around Oahu since it was a little bit of a rainy day.

But first, I had to kick off the day with a run since, believe it or not, I have never run on Hawaii before! I must admit, that I found that the Honolulu area has more runners per capita than any other city in the world I have visited.

The coast is always amazing to check out even when it is raining. The advantage is there is no so many tourists and you can always get some great shots.

Of course, we had to checkout the classic Hawaii blow hole which is always intriguing no many times you have seen it. The Pixel7 Pro does not capture the windy audio very well does it?

We also choose to do a little hiking and checkout the Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse Trail which is a very easy but scenic trail to the east of Diamond Head and the main city.

It is about a 2 mile hike and has some great scenic views.

One unusual observation of the eastern side of the island was the numerous helicopter training missions that were occurring, both civilian and military. One person said that people often go out on the cliffs and rocks when they should not and get injured a lot.

We also checked out the Hoʻomaluhia Botanical Gardens. They are very scenic and have some great views, but you need to be very aware of all the wet and muddy trails.

It looks faded due to the distance and all the rain between the Pixel6 Pro and the waterfall

The park staff are amazing and very knowledgeable. Some of the panoramic views of the waterfalls when it is raining are not to be missed.

Here is the local dining recommendation that many not ever be aware of:

Check out Konos in Kailua. The bomber is delicious!

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Whales and You

Posted on December 21, 2021 by David Cross

We wanted to mostly relax and unwind this week in Hawaii, but after a day or two, you can resist exploring a little.

We decided to take a short and inexpensive venture for the morning and see if we might be able to do a little whale watching, We chose Whales and You which proved a good choice. They were a very fun and enthusiastic crew. We actually encountered some dolphins very early into the start and it was fun to hear the dolphins communicating under water with the deployed hydrophone picking up their sounds.

The good: we saw a lot of whales. All humpbacks and we might have seen 7-8 in total and maybe 1 baby whale once or twice.

The bad: they are quite distant and hard to capture photos unless your camera is turned and video recording the whole time. The boat does not get close to the whales and they are very protective of the natural wildlife.

The crew made everyone laugh and relax with various snacks and drinks at the end and even a local hulu dance to end the fun morning.

From there, once a great way to have a great lunch after the swells and waves? Check out the Hard Rock Cafe. It was hard to get into…not because it was crowded and full, it was the only have one (1) waitress available which limits how many people can be served.

For some reason, I always delight in visiting Hard Rock Cafe’s around the world, This visit has been far from the first. Sone of the most memorable:

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Waikiki Shopping District

Posted on December 20, 2021 by David Cross

We did not get a hotel right on the beach, we actually planned and secured and awesome deal 9 months in advance to stay at the Ritz-Carlton Residence in Waikiki (Honolulu).

Instead of eating in the expensive hotel restaurant, we walked across the block to check out a local favorite called “Eggs and Things“, Amazing, Show up early or you will be waiting for a long time to get in. The local Ahi based omelet was incredible.

The hotel is basically situated at the end of a long row of shops, restaurants and activities. It was delightfully decorated and clean end-to-end with a balance of local shops and also main line luxury brands,

Now, one major difference in all the high end luxury shops (you name it, they are all here) compared to the other major cities in the United States, there were no lines for any of them. They had almost no capacity restrictions or people in line to get in. You can actually window shop of browse when entering without any expectations of purchase!

The shopping was surprisingly much lower cost than the states and combined with a 4% sales tax, some purchases were actually affordable. But if you want to actually buy a luxury watch from a high end name brand — forget it. Almost all store windows were empty and they only had “exhibition pieces”. Not sure why the stores were even open if there is nothing to even buy.

We did walk down to the popular Waikiki beach and yep, it was crowded. Definitely popular with surfers, but I think they were a little disappointed in the waves which were less than 4 feet high. The one surprise was how many homeless people were spread out across every part of the city. It almost felt identical to San Francisco in seeing how many people were sleeping on every bench or doorway at night,

Oh yes, be prepared to wear masks all the time. Unless you are on the beach, I would say that a majority of people wore masks even on the streets. They are mandatory in all spaces, restaurants and stores. And restaurants and hotels are very strict about vaccination status. They will not let you check in, sit at a table or even return to the same restaurant without strictly checking your vaccination information and your ID. No ID, no service! Summary: time to get boosted!

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Travelling to Hawaii During Pandemic

Posted on December 19, 2021 by David Cross

I must admit, I have almost never in my life travelled during the holidays, but this year was a little different with the pandemic and the craving to get out.

Where did we choose? Hawaii! 9+ months ago, the deals and availability for places like Hawaii were astounding, We could not resist even though the restrictions and ability travel to Hawaii due to COVID were very uncertain.

Lets start with the travel experience and the process to get to Hawaii safely. Simple answer: you need to get vaccinated and if you are not, getting to Hawaii means you are going to be quarantined. I highly recommend getting all setup at the Hawaii safe web site in advance to avoid the crazy ligisitcs to get on the flight and into the state.

The traffic getting the airport was a little crazy, but not too bad.

We were really worried about the security lines as only I have TSA precheck, but with Clear pass, it was no problem at all. Through security in 10 minutes.

The airport was packed and this is where the lounge is a blessing. It was very full, but not uncomfortably full compared to the main airport.

The only downside is they would not let us eat some of the gingerbread treats despite the festive atmosphere.

Let’s talk about the flight. Some people were distressed that they changed the plane and all the seating assignments got mixed up. We could sit right next to each other anymore.

I could not complain a lot due the new seats on this Airbus 330. 😊

Now the seats and large screen entertainment is awesome, but the food service in first class was… I will let you judge.

At least they have some great wine on demand though! Who can complain, we are on vacation! 🤣

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Time to Get Boosted!

Posted on November 21, 2021 by David Cross

Yep – you guessed it, I got my 3rd COVID-19 vaccine shot (booster) Friday. Yeah! I am excited. Some mental relief. And everyone is asking – what are the side effects?

Photo by Anna Tarazevich from Pexels

Let’s start with WHY I got the booster. Multiple reasons:

  1. I am a world traveler and many countries (like Israel) are already requiring the booster shot to be obtained if your last vaccination was administered more than 6 months ago.
  2. Immunity degrades over time, even if you had been infected with COVID-19 and recovered. The challenge everyone faces, include the best doctors is nobody can definitively state when the immunity will degrade and the person is it at risk again.
  3. I am not a doctor, not a medical expert. I will not become an expert just by reading blogs or watching videos. The world experts recommend and guide us and I rely upon on those trained experts and not my own opinions or reading.
  4. I was vaccinated and I got infected with COVID-19 despite being an avid and aggressive masker, worked from home and stayed socially distant from almost everything. My symptoms were mild, but very present and I am strongly convinced they were only mild and manageable because I was vaccinated.
  5. The next wave of infections and potential variants is growing again. My risk of infection from another variant is statistically increasing.
  6. We are starting to go back to the office, perform business travel, visit restaurants, shop and be entertained. We are not as socially distant as we were a year ago.
  7. Given the above, I really do not want to increase the risk of dying. The global statistics are crystal clear, my best odds to avoid death due to COVID-19, is to remain vaccinated and boosted whenever needed.
Photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels

Now, I would like to share another story. I have not needed to visit or get treatment in an emergency room for a decade (being thankful of course).

But two weeks ago, I had such painful back muscle spasms after a lifting and twisting mistake, I was almost paralyzed in pain and could not walk or stand. I had to be wheeled into the ER (emergency room) and get some emergency treatment. I was worried I had a ruptured disc.

The wait was so long, I was in pain sitting in the wheelchair. The only way they could see me if I was willing to sit in a hallway for my exam and treatment. There were not going to be any exam rooms available. The unvaccinated COVID-19 patients were filling up every possible space. Even a young girl who had a broken leg and needed a cast had to be treated in a hallway with everyone watching because there were no rooms because they were all filled with infected patients.

I am VERY thankful for the great care at Overlake hospital, but it was scary and equally painful to see how frustrated and burned out the nurses were from all the unvaccinated patients filling every room in the ER with COVID-19.

I wish I could have left and not risk getting infected, but I needed care so badly, I had no choice. My treatment center for over 4 hours.

Hint: Yes everyone, not getting vaccinated is hurting other people.

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Yes, I know the side effects are not pleasant for some and it is uncomfortable, but lets talk about that next. If interested and doing your research on vaccine side effects, check out my posting on my second vaccine shot about 7 months ago with my side effects and how I handled it.

Here is the good news from my latest shot:

  1. It took almost 6-7 hours before my arm actually got sore. It is not very sore to the touch. It is mainly just a little uncomfortable to move around. I do not recommend any sporting activities 24-48 hours after the shot. I also might recommend to receive the shot in the arm that is not your primary/dominant arm and hand.
  2. It took almost 8-9 hours before I started to feel the slight hints of extra fatigue,
  3. No fever, no increased temperature.
  4. No aches, pains or joint inflammation.
  5. After a good’s night rest, I felt mostly normally and maybe a slight headache like you might feel from a mild hangover from the night before.
  6. 24 hours later, my arm soreness has 90% disappeared.

I am really pleased to say that each subsequent vaccine shot seems to have less side effects that the previous based on my experience and observation. Do not be afraid. It is OK. It is worth the mild hangover the next day for the safety and protection it offers.

Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels

Summary: I hate to say it and I know it will bother some people, but looking forward for the next few years, I believe the reality is the majority of the population are going to need to have semi-annual or at least annual COVID-19 vaccinations to remain safe, maintain employment and have access to various sites, events, travel and entertainment.

P.S. Tip: in Washington state, check out WAVerify as it will create a QR code for your vaccination record. Explanation if you want to learn more.

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Fighting the Cold War

Posted on October 31, 2021 by David Cross

I know this posting is sounding a little different, but I thought I would share a recognition that I just received in the mail this week from the Department of Defense. I don’t post very often about by military service since it has been over 25 years, and we did not have digital cameras back then and film processing was expensive!

It is the official Cold War Recognition Certificate. It is recognition of service members who were trained and served during the “Cold War” with the Soviet Union. When I went to boot camp and aviation training, we were trained to be ready and fight the Soviet Union. When I was in the middle of a Persian Gulf cruise/deployment, the Soviet Union fell apart on television and the rest is history…

Photo by Aksonsat Uanthoeng from Pexels

So, how does tie into my travel blog? Although it was not the start of my travel adventures as I was a big fan of road tripping in college, more on that another time… but it was the boom and catalyst for my passion and enthusiasm for international travel.

With 5 years of Active Duty service in 2 war/conflict zones, I was able to visit these countries thaanks to the 18 months I lived aboard an aircraft carrier:

  • Naples, Italy
  • Trieste, Italy
  • Rome, Italy
  • Pompeii, Italy
  • Venice, Italy
  • Palermo, Italy
  • Azores, Portugal
  • Ponce, Puerto Rico
  • Paris, France
  • Nice, France
  • Marseille, France
  • Abu Dhabi, UAE
  • Dubai, UAE
  • Jabaal Ali, UAE
  • Palma De Macro, Spain
  • Haifa, Israel

I only wish I had some photos from all those locations. So many memories and quite a reward for serving the country for 5 years.

Photo by redouan khoulassi from Pexels

For example, how many people have ever heard or visited Abu Dhabi?

Photo by Djé Marseille from Pexels

or know the culture and uniqueness of Marseille, France? I will never forget the “smash” sandwiches made with French fries.

If you are a US military veteran and served during the Cold War, you should apply for your certificate and be recognize for your service during this important era during the history of the world.

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