Return to Vegas!

Posted on March 20, 2022 by David Cross

It has been almost exactly two years since we flew down to Vegas right before the pandemic lockdown and got married. It was quite a story and challenge to say the least, but we wanted to celebrate our anniversary and see what it might be like to return to travel and see how Las Vegas and other travel elements might have changed…or not!

First observation: everything is crowded, the airports are full and the airline lounges are packed! If you want to get into an AMEX Centurion lounge, there is a very long line and in some cases, you might be lucky if you can find a seat in the Delta lounge. The food is really good and plentiful in the Delta lounge though!

What was the first major observation in Las Vegas? It is a very different culture compared to Seattle with mask wearing. You can tell who is not a native to the area compared to those that are from different states in who wears a mask and who does not. I will leave it at that…

We were very pleasantly surprised with a very friendly welcome at the Four Season…

and a (free) room upgrade. A full penthouse suite! You have to love all the benefits and recognition when using the Platinum American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts program!

We also tried out some new restaurants which is always one of the highlights in Las Vegas.

One we tried out was Mott32 and it was one the best Asian restaurants I have tried out in years. Amazing delicacies and service. Hint: if you are visiting on a weekend, make reservations a few weeks in advance as the hot is hot again!

We also tried out the Bugsy and Meyers steakhouse in the Flamingo which was pricey, but quite good! They have some very different styles and flavors that are reflective of its mobster historical theme.

The steakhouse was a very convenient location for a show that we wanted to check out that evening.

What was the major highlight this weekend? Meeting this guy. Recognize him?

Yep, it was Wayne Newton.

He told some great stories of his childhood and how his career progressed from start to finish. Here is one example where he played a steel guitar like he played when he was a kid.

At the end, of course he sang Danke Schoen and told the story behind it, but it was impressive to see how many instruments he still plays with a passion after this many years.

It was a very fun and entertaining show and I chatted with him for a few minutes on his continued support and celebrity sponsorship with the USO of which I am also a huge supporter after my military experience and appreciation for the USO when I served 25+ years ago.

Running

Did I go running, of course I did! I always go running when I travel. For those of us that live at sea level, be prepared that it is much dryer and higher elevation, so your experience will be slightly different…

Check out some of my most memorable locations!

Future Travels

What is next? We are planning an international vacation this summer and that will be exciting. Stay tuned!

I know some people are starting to plan their trips and vacations again. If you are thinking of going international and you may need a visa, I recommend checking out iVisa which is my choice when planning and booking my business and personal travel with my family!

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4 Cities to Consider Visiting for Your Next Self-Care Trip

Posted on February 27, 2022 by David Cross
Image from Pexels

Though “self-care” has become a social media buzzword, caring for your physical, mental, and emotional health is not a trend: It’s a human right. If you’ve never traveled to seek opportunities for self-care and enrichment, consider the following four large cities in the United States that you can visit for a weekend, an entire summer vacation, or forever.

1. Seattle

One of Seattle’s main attractions, for people who love rain, is the weather. According to Vacation Idea, Seattle has about 150 rainy days per year with moderately dry summers. You’ll be able to soothe your soul by sitting in one of Seattle’s destination coffee shops with a good book while you listen to the rain pattering down the windows or spend time hiking with a loved one on Cougar Mountain or another of Seattle’s trails.

If you’re considering moving to this area of the country, check out a few online listings for Seattle apartments and visit them in person while you’re in the city. Start your search by including the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and desired amenities and refine it with 3D tours that will allow you to see if the space is right for you.

2. New Orleans

If you love jazz and Cajun food, you won’t be disappointed with your self-care trip to New Orleans. As one of the most colorful and personality-packed cities in the U.S., you can find Food-Network-approved restaurants, music, and live theater to stimulate your senses after a mental or emotional dry spell. Though living in New Orleans isn’t for everybody, many residents love the weather, the lower cost of living when compared to other metropolitan areas, and, of course, the food.

3. San Diego

If you love the idea of visiting a coastal city but the thought of spending time in rainy Seattle doesn’t excite you, consider San Diego. It’s just two hours south of Los Angeles, and it features stunning ocean views, all the sushi bars you could ever want, and a world-class zoo and aquarium. Active-duty Navy members and veterans may wish to live in a seaside city such as San Diego with a Naval base, great weather, and high-quality educational opportunities.

4. New York City

Self-care may look like relaxation to one person and stimulation to the next. If you fall into the latter category, you might feel like you’re wasting away in a small town in the middle of the country. Pack your bags and visit the Big Apple to frequent the theater and restaurants or simply to ride the subway around town as a mental refresh if you’re coming from a small town.

If you’re looking for a weekend getaway that helps you reflect 0on the history of the country, visit the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 Memorial Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art. You can purchase a tourist pass if you’re thinking about participating in these types of activities and events to save money. People thinking about moving to NYC may wish to visit several types of neighborhoods to assess them for safety, walkability, and convenience.

These cities are large and diverse enough to provide wonderful and relaxing experiences for people of all types. Consider visiting one of these cities for your next vacation, and you might discover a renewed love for travel and a passion for taking care of your mind, body, and spirit.

Thanks to Justin Bennett for this nice guest piece when everyone is starting to plan some travel and vacations again when the vaccine and mask mandates are being removed. If interested, check out his web site: healthyfit.info.

Travelling and need a visa? Check out iVisa which is my choice when planning and booking my business and personal travel with my family!

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Great Tips for Cash-Strapped Travelers with Big Dreams

Posted on February 6, 2022 by David Cross

This week, Jesse Clark returns based on popular demand as a guest author. Based on some analysis and discussion on my previous posting on when to plan travel due to COVID, it is starting to look like the Omicron wave is starting to subside and catalyze travel planning for many!

Tips for Budget Travelers

After the last year, many travelers are itching to finally take a vacation. Of course, COVID hasn’t been kind to many of our wallets, so you may also be worried you can’t find an affordable way to make it happen. Rest assured, there are plenty of options at your disposal. With a little spending savvy, you can enjoy a weekend or week away with the entire family. Keep reading for tips from David Cross Travel on how to save money — and headaches — when you go.  

It’s Time To Prepare

Spending a little more time planning can save you a lot of money once you get on the road. Here are some tips for the weeks and months leading up to your vacation.

  • When you’re on a tight budget, saving for your trip is the key. Start by opening a dedicated savings account and setting a goal.
  • If you’ve recently refinanced your home, you can use some of the cash payment you received for your vacation.
  • Your accommodations are your biggest expense. Choose wisely. If you’re okay with basic accommodations, a budget hotel room can save you hundreds of dollars per night.
  • Consider RV travel instead. For as low as $300 a month, you could own an RV that opens up a world of travel destinations around the country for your family to enjoy. 
  • Think ahead, and know where the kids can eat for free on your vacation.
  • The unexpected can happen, and travel insurance is an expense worth incurring. This is especially true in the times of COVID.

Getting There

How you travel sets the tone for the entire trip. Before you hop on a discount bus for 12 hours to save a few dollars, consider these options.

  • Road trip! Save up to 20 cents per gallon on gas with a club membership at Costco. 
  • Is driving not an option? Fly the friendly skies on a budget. If you are flexible about your destination and timeline, you can save even more.
  • Kids ride half off on Amtrak. The novelty of a train ride is something everyone should experience in their life. Plus, no one has to drive!
  • Cruising can take you places and is often cheaper than flying. Just remember — you have to purchase everything on board the ship for the most part, and high prices for food and beverages could significantly increase your overall costs.

What To Bring For The Trip

Whether you’re headed to a theme park or heading to the beach with your better half, you can look out for your budget by purchasing certain necessities in advance. Here are a few examples.

  • Heading to the beach? Pick up a pop-up tent to avoid lounger rental fees. If you can buy one in the off season, you will pay even less.
  • No matter where you are going, leave the jewels and valuables behind (unless you want to buy them again). If you want to get dressed to the nines, consider costume jewelry that you won’t mind losing.
  • Pack light, and avoid checked baggage fees. Of course, if you’re trying to pack in a carry on, comfortable, versatile travel clothes are a must.
  • Travel-sized toiletries are cheap and won’t take up space in your bag. Just be sure to purchase them in advance online or at a local big box store, instead of at a gas station or airport kiosk. 

Will you spend money to travel? Yes, of course. Does it have to be a huge dent in your bank account? Absolutely not. Use these resources to help you book the family vacation you all need to get away.

Feel free to check out David Cross Travel for posts and subscribe!

 By Jesse Clark from Soulful-Travel.com.

Travelling internationally and need a visa? Check out iVisa which is a great choice!

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Gambling with COVID Travel

Posted on January 16, 2022 by David Cross

The Wall Street Journal recently had an article titled “How to Play Travel Roulette”…and that certainly provoked a lot of thoughts on my planned and desired travel for 2022.

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich from Pexels

Summary: With Omicron running rampant around the world, vaccinated or not as well as masked or not, it is hard to predict what might be possible in the next 3-6 months.

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

What do we know so far?

  1. Major in-person conferences like the RSA Conference in San Francisco which was planned for February has been postponed and re-scheduled for June.
  2. Various local in-person venues and concerts at the Seattle Symphony are now being cancelled with one major artist (Itzhak Perlman) being postponed from late January until April.
  3. Cruise lines like Norwegian and Royal Caribbean are cancelling voyages until as long as April. On cruise was just cancelled in the middle of the cruise due to COVID!
  4. Looking at the CDC map, it appears that most countries risk are high or very high with the exception of India and China, two of the most populous nations.
  5. Major companies were all planning to allow people to return to the office in January and February and according to the WSJ, all those plans have been scrapped.
  6. Many airlines are now starting to cancel flights and routes. The points guy blog noted some this week already.
Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich from Pexels

But on the good side, some airlines like Delta are providing much more ticket flexibility for changes, etc. Tour companies like Abercrombie and Kent have book with confidence flexibility.

What is next? How to make a choice? When could or should you plan travel?

It is appearing to best estimate a trip at the base of the infection curve based on the released UIUC model that was built based on the collected COVID infection data. What do I mean by that?

I am sure you do not like my simplistic drawing above, but take a look at this ABC article that shows the “waves” in Washington state. Once an outbreak starts, it takes about 2 months to reach its peak as per this NYT article. The decline starts from there.

You want to carefully estimate, and I hate to say “predict” on when you believe the Omicron wave will end and have a lull before the next wave starts. They seem to be very consistent over the past 2 years.

Now the waves to start and stop at slightly different dates by states and countries as noted in this article, so you also need to monitor and track that carefully on a per destination basis. It is starting to look it has peaked in the UK based on this article which was a few weeks ahead of the United States.

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk from Pexels

Conclusion: if you need and want to travel in the upcoming months or summer, you will need to map out the current and expected upcoming waves and target your travel dates and destination carefully based on the COVID infection data to have the best “luck” in exploring and attending in a safe and open way.

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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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