Ooooooooklahoma!

Greetings readers! I've been back a little over a week from my 3 day weekend in the state of Oklahoma where I got to visit the cities of Oklahoma City and Stillwater. I had a really great time in this state and have truly fallen in love with Oklahoma City. I sincerely hope everyone gets a chance to visit someday, but just as I did for Las Vegas, I want to give you guys some tips on surviving a touristy visit to OKC.

YOU NEED A CAR TO GET AROUND

You all know I am the Queen of Public Transportation. In nearly every state I've been to I've used a bus or train or subway or SOMETHING to get around at some point. Now, I was in Oklahoma for another sorority event (more on that later) and I met up with a soror in OKC who rented a car. That was how I got around Friday and Saturday (even though that had its own problems-- our car stopped AS IN TOTALLY CUT OFF on the highway headed to Stillwater! Apparently Chevy Malibus are not safe vehicles) but Sunday I was on my own. Sundays in general suck for public transportation, but it was even worse because NO buses run in OKC on Sundays- at least not near the airport or among the museums I visited- and Sunday was my super tourist day seeing as my flight didn't leave until 6:16pm to come home.

So how did I get around? Thankfully I hadn't spent all my money and gone tchotchke crazy while I was there, I took a cab everywhere (to the tune of about $100 when all was said and done). Perhaps it was fate though because my cutie cab driver Dan was super nice, NOT CREEPY (a big plus!), and stuck with me the entire rest of my stay in OKC. He picked me up and took me everywhere I asked. The coolest thing was he of course accepts cash, but also has a WORKING card machine in his Lincoln sedan, and he accepts BITCOIN! How awesome is that? He is officially the first cab driver I've ever seen in life that takes Bitcoin. If you need a cab while you are in Oklahoma City please give him a call or text at 405-838-5242 or follow him on Twitter. He was absolutely divine.

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

The entire weekend I was there the weather was over 100 degrees. I'm talking 103 and 105 friends. This Yankee chick was not pleased to say the least. With a very bold sun and little to no shade to be found anywhere, you are going to sweat, and when you sweat as much as we did, you are gonna need water (or Gatorade, or anything cool and liquid that isn't alcohol) to stay hydrated.

The Oklahoma state meal
photo from http://www.mysanantonio.com/food/slideshow/State-foods-and-drinks-85355/photo-6270094.php

COME HUNGRY

I didn't get to eat nearly as much food as I would have liked, but what I did get to eat I'll highlight on a later post. I was a bit disappointed by not being able to see all the restaurants I wanted to because everything I read about Oklahoma mentioned great barbecue, onion burgers (I did have one of those), and the super full plate that the official Oklahoma state meal consists of. Do me a favor, go, get some chicken fried steak, and tell me about it!

RIDE THE BRICKTOWN WATER TAXI

$9.50 gets you all day access to this fun and potentially romantic attraction in the heart of the city's Bricktown neighborhood (where you'll find lots of shops, restaurants, and a few sports stadiums). Unfortunately because we had to get to Stillwater we weren't able to ride at night (and it was super duper hot out) but I still really enjoyed myself. Our tour guide was super knowledgeable about Oklahoma and OKC and gave us all sorts of fun historic tidbits (like the difference between a Boomer and a Sooner... and why there was a slight beef between them for decades). This is told around the part of the tour where you pass the famous Land Run Monument.

Detail of the Land Run Monument

I won't bore you to death with details, but I WILL let you look at my YouTube videos so you can get a sense of it for yourself.

Many blog entries to come about my time in Oklahoma, just have to get the time to type them out. In the meantime please feel free to visit my Facebook page and browse my photos and give me a "like" while you're at it. Thank you so much for following me on my travels, and as always, I will see you on the next adventure!

Tips for the Strip

I was in Vegas for 5 days.In that time I did a lot of bus riding and a lot of walking along the famous Las Vegas Strip. This is the part of Vegas everyone thinks about when they think about "Vegas". And it is pretty impressive. Huge casinos/mini worlds with bright lights loud noises all around. It was tacky and elegant all at once, if you can imagine that. This post is going to highlight some features of the Strip and give you a few of my suggestions if you find yourself on your first trip to Vegas sometime soon.

The Las Vegas Strip at night
Image from Wikipedia

First and foremost. I don't care how close you think that next building is-- understand that it is NOT. Vegas blocks put me in the mindset of New York City, in that the blocks were long, crowded, busy, and did I mention they were long? Look, I am an AVID walker...and even I was getting frustrated with how long it took to get to places. Even crossing the street could be a lengthy process- because of the large numbers of people walking around, they have installed escalators to take you up and over streets. Which I guess helps drivers, but easily adds time on to your already lengthy walk.Do yourself a favor, and pay the $20 for a 3 day pass to ride the Deuce Bus.

It felt like Christmas every time we saw one of these babies!

With temperatures that easily rise to over 100 degrees in the day time, these frequent, air conditioned beauties will be your best friend! They don't always stop directly in front of where you want to go, but they get you a lot closer, a lot faster than your feet alone will. At most stops there is an actual employee standing there to give directions and help orient you. Quite a few times my sister and I rode just to see the sights. The express version of this, the SDX, skips a lot of stops and gets you out to Downtown Las Vegas (read: old Las Vegas) a lot faster than the often sluggish Deuce will. 

The Las Vegas Monorail

Another transportation option is the Las Vegas Monorail. It doesn't stop at every casino, but it's even faster than the express Deuce. We rode it from our hotel (the MGM Grand) to Harrah's where we could transfer to a free shuttle to get to the Rio (which is off the Strip) and see Penn & Teller perform. This baby costs $5 each way to ride, though it's cheaper if you buy your tickets round trip ahead of time.

Another option is to hail a taxi. Let me go ahead and tell you that your best bet for catching a taxi is to hoof it to the closest hotel to you, and waiting in line with everyone else- it's nearly impossible to get a cab off the street! I will say every last cabbie we had was friendly, and the rides were reasonable. I don't think we paid more than $10 to get anywhere, and most of the cabs had the machinery to take credit cards (a huge plus for me as I rarely carry cash!)

The Luxor

There were lots of beautiful buildings along the strip, but my personal favorite was The Luxor Hotel and Casino. Shaped like an onyx pyramid, and for some reason beaming a bright light up into the sky, my sister and I came here often- especially when we found out both the MGM and Luxor (and a host of other properties, including New York New York with it's awesome looking roller coaster that I didn't get to ride...) are owned by the same company. The main perk of the Luxor? They not only had the best tasting food from the casinos we tried, they had the most AFFORDABLE food on the strip! Whereas a breakfast buffet at MGM cost us nearly $40 each, at the Luxor, we paid $18 for the buffet- and they have a non-buffet menu with prices starting at $9 for pancakes. Our wallets were very pleased when we found this place!

The famous "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign

Then there was that Vegas icon I talked about on my post on the Neon Museum- the famous "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign. Remember how I said that no matter how close things look, they are much much farther away in reality? My sister and I walked for nearly 40 minutes down Las Vegas Boulevard to get a picture of/with the sign. I went at night, following other travelers' advice that said it's let's crowded than in the day- but I paid the price for avoiding the confusion. Because the night is SO dark and the sign is SO bright, it was nearly impossible to get a good picture. There were "professional" photographers there, but they were so busy arguing among themselves they didn't even bother to try and help us until we'd already taken our shots. Take my advice if you wanna see it. Get up early, ride the Deuce to Mandalay Bay (the last stop in that direction) and be prepared for another 20+ minutes of walking. Take the pic early, then scramble back up to the Luxor before it gets crowded for breakfast.

The beautiful Bellagio

My favorite thing of the entire Strip experience, was getting to see the magical Bellagio Fountains. I have been amazed by them, seeing them on different shows about travel, engineering, and the wonders of water. I was impressed by my hotel and all the attractions of Vegas, but when you reach the part of the Strip where the Bellagio is you are quickly reminded that not everyone comes as a budget traveler lol! In the summer, the shows run every 15 minutes, and I was able to catch on of the longer performances, "Luck be a Lady" by Frank Sinatra. You can see my YouTube video of it below:

Well folks, I still have a few more entries for Nevada, and soon I'll be off to OOOOOOOOOklahoma! (Just bought my plane ticket this morning!

As always, thank you for reading my blog, and I'll see you on the next adventure!

Little Red Corvette (And More)

I have professed to be the Queen of Public Transportation many times on this blog. That was largely due to the fact that I didn't have a driver's license until very recently (as in less than a month). Since I started taking lessons (in the middle of the polar vortex!) I've become slightly more interested in cars. I say slightly because other than super old cars that are cool for the fact that they ARE super old, I'm not the girl who gets excited about seeing a BMW or Corvette or Mercedes (in fact, thanks to a jerk I was seeing at one point, I actually kind of HATE Mercedes vehicles now...but I digress.) To me, I couldn't drive them, and even if I could, I couldn't afford to fix them if I accidentally messed them up, so, meh.

While I'm still getting comfortable in Hondas and Fords, I have started to at least educate myself on different car brands so that whenever I go in to purchase my first vehicle (which will NOT be a luxury car), I'll have some background information. I give this whole story to prep you for what was probably the shortest excursion during my time in Vegas: a visit to the Las Vegas Car Museum.

First car I saw in the "Museum"

Now, knowing that cars really aren't a big deal to me, understand that I DO respect the engineering and artistry it takes to make a vehicle. My sister and I had a Groupon where we got in for $10 ($5 each) so the price was wonderful. If you are a car nerd (and I know many people are) you'll like this place. There were all sorts of fancy, expensive cars around that made you afraid to breathe around them for fear your breath would scratch their finishes. I'll just leave you with some pics so you get the gist of what I saw:

So, I went, I saw, and was not disappointed, but didn't leave with that "wow!" feeling I get after finishing an excursion. Two things I think anyone visiting should know:

1. First and foremost, the LVCM is inside of the Dal Toro Restaurant which is inside the Palazzo. Maybe this place is new (or only recently promoted as a museum) but on the street no one even knew it existed when we were asking for directions. While we didn't eat at Dal Toro, it was a beautiful restaurant, and looked like it served great Italian food.

2. Calling this place a museum is a bit of a stretch. Yes, they have a collection of really fancy cars. But there were no signs or anything to let me know what I was looking at or why it was special other than it looked cool. The back wall of the place is actually a gate to a garage, and we heard plenty of engines vrooming while we took our photographs. In actuality, this place is also known as Celebrity Cars Las Vegas, which rents and sells these vehicles to the rich and famous. I'm guessing what they are calling a museum is actually a showroom for clientele to pick from, and they've opened it up to the "regular" public by calling it a museum. None of the cars on the museum site were there when I went to visit, which further makes me think this is more showroom than anything else.

And you know, that's fine. For $5 I'm certainly not complaining, but it would have been nice to actually learn a little bit about the cars, be it by an employee standing around telling us (we were the only people there), or by having a booklet or something available for those of us not there to transact. If you have a spare 30 minutes and want to see some cool looking cars (especially if you already know a little about them), then go for it. The air conditioning as a break from the 100 degree weather alone was worth my money! But if you are looking for an in-depth look at the history and story behind these fancy machines, I'd keep going.

More Nevada posts to come! You can look at all of my Nevada photos (including for outings I haven't officially blogged about yet) on my Facebook page. I have a few photos and a video on my digital camera I need to upload- one of these days I'll remember to bring the cord with me so I can do so!

As always, thank you all for reading, and I'll see you on the next adventure!

Tips and Advice Solicitation

Hello readers! I am still on non-travel mode as I get through the holiday season, but I am already planning and working towards my trips for 2014-- and my calendar is quickly filling up!

I wanted to try something different though. I wanted to hear what YOU would suggest as great things to see or do in the states I will be traveling to. So far (barring any major catastrophe), I am going to:

Atlanta, Georgia in January 2014
Dayton, Ohio in April 2014 (though it's for a conference, so I'm not sure how much free time I will have)
Las Vegas, Nevada in May 2014
Charlotte, North Carolina in July 2014

I'm also seriously trying to fit in South Dakota in August 2014 and New Orleans, Louisiana at any point during the year.

So- what should I do? Where should I visit? Any advice or things to watch out for? Keep in mind that although I am planning on relinquishing my crown soon (I am taking driving lessons!) I am still the Queen of Public Transportation, so I most likely will not be able to go way out into the boonies without a little help. (Before you say anything, South Dakota is thus far looking like a trip with people who do indeed drive lol).

Tell me on my Facebook wall, tweet me, or simply comment below!

Thanks guys, and I'll see you on the next adventure!

Saxman...No Charlie Parker

I was originally going to write this entry about a place I visited in Skagway, Alaska, but I see for some reason the photos from that city were not uploaded onto my Facebook photo album. I'll look into that later, but in the meantime I wanted to get an Alaskan entry onto the blog.

Charlie "Bird" Parker, Picture from Wikipedia
Just in case some poor soul doesn't "get" the title of my entry

Saxman Native Village was my only tourist stop in Ketchikan, Alaska. It was important to me to spend at least part of my trip learning about the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest. I was especially interested in learning more about totem poles, and this port offered the most options to do so. Carnival offered several excursions to visit the handful of parks that had totem poles (some authentically made by Native Alaskans, others reproductions made in the 1930s during Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration). The problem I had was that I wasn't sure I wanted to pay that much money, with prices starting at $40 and up. Good ol' Trip Advisor came through and several of my fellow travellers gave advice that there is a bus that costs $1 each way to many of the parks, and that admission at each park ranged from free to $10 depending on which one you decided to go to. $2-12 bucks sounds a lot better than $40+, so as the Queen of Public Transportation, I convinced my godmother to hop on the bus with me! The buses run on time and only every hour or so, and we'd missed the bus going to Saxman by about ten minutes, so we caught a cab for the three miles or so trip there. We paid a man in a booth $5 to enter the site, and I paid an additional dollar for a "guide" to the meanings of the totem poles.

If you choose to catch the bus to Saxman, look for this eagle statue.
The bus stop is right next to it.

First, I wanted to point out that the totems at Saxman are all Native made- no reproductions- and were carved at different points between the early 1800s and the 1940s. You can read a description of them here but hope you will still buy a guide on site as the money goes towards helping preserve the poles and the village. My favorites were the bird poles, because to me they looked more serious than some of the other shapes (such as frogs, beavers, and random people- oh yeah- and Abraham Lincoln).

One of the bird-shaped guard poles

The view walking towards the Village

For $5, we got the privilege of walking around, taking photos, and shopping at the gift shop. We were not permitted to enter the Clan House to watch dancing or into the carving station to learn about the traditional tools and methods used to create the poles. We were told that even though the Natives own the land, they lease out tourism rights to various companies and have agreed to not let non-excursion paying guests participate in activities other than taking photos. While I understood the rationale, I was a little bit disappointed.

The Clan House

Looking down to the gift shop and lake from in front of the Clan House

Unrestored beaver totem inside the gift shop

While not bad for less than $10 (if you don't count the cab ride which only totaled $15 with a generous tip), I would have been extremely upset had I paid $40+ to come here. There simply wasn't THAT much to do. I really wanted a mini bird totem to take with me, but the gift shop on site was even more overpriced than the shops near the cruise ships. One highlight, that only a few people who know me personally would understand, was a magnet of a bear totem image decorated in orange and brown. See, my high school (which is now sadly closed) had the brown bear as a mascot, and our school colors were orange and brown. Even though I graduated in 2001, I still have love for my alma mater!

David B. Oliver High School February1925- June 2011
Bears For Life!

Well, things are slowly coming together back at home. Again, I'm 99% sure I am done traveling for 2013, but plan to have a very active itinerary for 2014 and 2015 (it will be August 2016 before you know it!).

Thank you everyone for following along. More entries to come, and I will see you on the next adventure!

My Alaskan Cruise Videos

You guys know that I have a TON of blog posts to type up for my EIGHT days spent between Washington and Alaska. However, I'm dumb busy at the moment and probably won't get to it until next week. As a teaser, I wanted to leave you all with a few of my YouTube videos. You can see them all on my YouTube channel, but here are some highlights for now:

Live at Dawes Glacier

Riding the Seattle Monorail

Drilling in an Alaskan Gold Mine

My pictures from both states are also up on Facebook (but the captions are yet to come...stay tuned!)

As always, thank you for following me on this journey. It really means a lot, and I am honestly excited to complete it!

Bus Balderdash Update II-- Greyhound (Technically) Responds

I debated about even posting this update because it was so lame. By now I've paid for and rode all the buses I was referring to in the earlier posts, but about a week ago I got a (terrible!) letter from Greyhound regarding my complaint (from what, almost two months ago?)

The letter didn't even make sense, and seemed to be a bunch of cut and paste responses from other letters, and never really addressed the specific concerns I had.

Yet another fail for Greyhound. Meh.

Cleveland's RTA...An Ironic Name For Service

I debated on doing this blog entry for a number of reasons. Mostly, I don't want to come across as a complainer, but I eventually decided to just go ahead and give my impression with the RTA service in Cleveland

http://subwaynut.com/cleveland/

THE GOOD

The first observation I had about the system was before I even got to the city- Google maps showed me exactly how extensive Cleveland public transportation is. I was actually a little jealous because I think it's a system quite a bit more advanced that the one in place here in Pittsburgh. It was very easy to get around the city as far as routes go, and I never had to walk further than a block or two to get back to a subway station. Every employee I encountered was also very helpful and friendly- even when I called in to the customer service line a little annoyed and frustrated with my transportation situation. The subway stations themselves were very clean and artistically designed well. And, my all day pass was $5.00- quite a bargain! Very scenic rides, and there weren't any problems with crazy or rude passengers

http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_mel/4899698815/
North Coast Station, near the Rock and Roll HOF and Browns Stadium

THE BAD

First and foremost, every rail car I stepped on smelled faintly of pee. As in urine. As in "OMG did I pee on myself and I don't even know it?" I'm not sure what the fix of that is, but I was pretty grossed out by that. Also, The stairwell at W.25-Ohio City Station was extremely narrow for the elevator to not work properly. Keep in mind, it was towards the end of my day by the time I interacted with this station, but anyone with eyeballs can see that teeny staircase isn't really big enough to be two ways. Also, for this to be "rapid" transit, the trains I was on often took breaks and stops on the tracks and didn't seem to be moving very fast at all. I found that really ironic. It was also a little difficult to figure out where to go once you are in the system. At Tower City, signage explaining how to get to major Cleveland attractions would have been helpful. Yes, the people at the information desks were polite and informed, but sometimes a sign with an arrow works even better.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:West_25th_Cleveland_RTA_station.jpg
RTA Station closest to Sokolowski's

THE UGLY

So, let's discuss the fact that many of the stations in RTA (but not all) look like really cool geometric green houses. Cool right? Actually, the complete and total opposite. While I'm sure it helps for harsh lake side winters, in 90 degree weather, standing inside a giant metal and glass box is the exact opposite of something you ever want to actually do. Can there be a better ventilation system? A fan? Something? Speaking of greenhouse stations, the North Coast station was COMPLETELY abandoned the day I went there. I mean NO ONE was there-- not employees, no passengers, no anyone except me feeling foolish and a little worried that maybe I had stumbled across a condemned station or something. That's when I called the customer service line to make sure I was where I was supposed to be (I was). But I mean, that's a pretty scary thing to have an entire station with no one there to help or answer questions. Not even a fare machine! And the worst part was how tardy all the trains ran the day I came to visit. I plan my trips based on precise schedules, with only a few back up plans, because I expect transportation to run reasonably on time. At one point, the train I was waiting for was nearly 20 minutes late. Twenty minutes isn't a lot in the grand scheme of life, but just 5 minutes can make the difference between being on time or making a connection, and being stuck someplace you are trying to leave.

My advice? Go ahead and take the RTA. Just leave plenty of wiggle room on your trips, and bring a bottle of water to counteract all the sweating you're going to do.

She's So Fly! (Ohio)

Logo of the IWASM of a glass window

My first official museum gig (if you haven't learned by now, museum (and other cultural non-profit) work is what I do for a living) was at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.  I didn't grow up with any inherent interest in planes or military history, but my nearly two years there certainly sparked one. It's amazing how beautiful not only the air and space craft can be, but also interesting to see the pop culture that sprang up around aviation and space travel. I (being a black woman) am particularly interested in how women and racial minorities have contributed to our ever developing knowledge of flight and space. I'd heard about the International Women's Museum of Air & Space Museum doing some research at work at the time, and said that if I ever got the chance, I wanted to take a gander at what they had to offer.

Illustration of a purple flight suit worn by Harriet Quimby-
not very practical now, but pretty dope she wore pearls to fly in!

If you are ever in Cleveland, you HAVE to check this place out! It's right down the street from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (which I didn't visit because per my own rules set forth in the first few entries, I'd already visited there in 2006 or 2007 with some friends), the Cleveland Science Center, and the Browns' football stadium. That whole stretch of lake front touristy stuff could take your entire day up easily, but make sure you keep trodding down along the road to the Burke Lakefront Airport, that is the host building to this wonderful collection.

I was confused at first, because there is no clear marked "entrance" to the museum (it literally takes up the lobby/waiting area of most of the airport) so it was difficult to learn where to start. I eventually just picked an end and worked my way down, taking notes and pictures as I went. Of course you have your "celeb" aviatrixes like Bessie Coleman and Amelia Earhart who are among the more famous of their peers, but there was a lot of detailed information about the personal lives and accomplishments of not-as-well known women such as Amy Johnson and the Mercury Women. I loved that next to the Quimby flight suit (yes, they re-created it using the above picture as a guide) was the launch/re-entry suite worn by Wendy Lawrence. It sort of juxtaposed the past with the present to show how far women in flight have come.

Wendy Lawrence's launch/re-entry suit

Of course, every aviation based museum has at least one plane on display, and the IWASM doesn't disappoint. The absolute cutest plane, the "Pretty Purple Puddy Tat" is on display. It took me back to my time at NASM, when you are just amazed at the craftsmanship of these machines, and stand in awe next to them. There are also "retro" flight simulators on display as well.

The Pretty Purple Puddy Tat

Now, to be fair, the museum does need a little upgrading. Betty Skelton and Sally Ride both have passed within the last two years, and no mention of that is in the museum. It also was VERY hard to photograph some of the displays because of the smooth and rounded cases they were in. But a woman (I regretfully forget what her name was!) told me that not only are they aware they are in need of some exhibit improvements, but they had four interns helping them out to get the improvements done. Kudos!

The tiny gift shop was jammed packed with neat trinkets related to aviation and women, but also had some hefty sized plane models (which I think were a part of the offices also located there and not for sale) and a case full of old aviation trophies. While I didn't purchase anything (I was on a super tight budget for my day trip) I would think anyone would be able to find something they'd like to have.

All of my pictures are up on Facebook so you can see what else I saw at the museum and in the rest of the city. More blogs coming soon!

See you on the next adventure!

26 Secrets to Save on Travel

Yahoo! often has publishes articles on how to save money on vacations and travel. While it usually tends to focus on expensive and very long international vacations, I found one article that had some really great suggestions for sites and apps to check rates and fares. Below are some highlights from the article, but I encourage you to check it out for your self!

26 Secrets to Save on Travel (highlights)

1) Fly when no one else wants to. Fares rise and fall with air traffic -- so says the law of supply and demand. In general, plan to fly on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday afternoon to bag a cheaper plane ticket. If you're taking a weeklong domestic trip, depart on a Saturday and return on a Monday and you'll score a 16% discount on your airfare, according to Kayak.com, the travel Web site. For weeklong international trips, departing on Tuesday and returning on Wednesday of the following week saves 21%, on average. **Quite true! In planning my trip to Washington/Alaska this August, I am finding that flights to Seattle are up to $100 cheaper coming back (on a Tuesday) than heading out (on a Monday morning).

5) Make sure you're buying at the right time with Bing Travel's "price predictor." Just enter your itinerary, and the site will return a list of fares with a recommendation to either buy now -- because it expects the fare to rise -- or wait for a soon-to-come fare drop. And note that domestic airfares are cheapest seven weeks before departure, according to CheapAir, an airfare booking site.

8) Keep an eye on fares, even after you book. You have the right to change or cancel your flight plansfor free within 24 hours of booking, thanks to rules introduced by the Department of Transportationin 2012. So if you find a better fare within that window, you can snatch the savings with no penalty. After 24 hours, if you find your booked fare has dropped, some airlines may be willing to refund you the difference. Use Yapta.com to track any price changes on nine major airlines and score any cash back you deserve. 

16) Switch hotels mid stay. Say you're booking a hotel for a five-night stay starting on Saturday night. If Saturday and Sunday are more expensive than Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, you'll typically pay for all five nights at the highest price. Consider switching hotels midway through your trip if you can find a comparable hotel for a cheaper weekday rate. 

 21) Price it a la carte. To see if a package makes sense, research prices for all of the elements before you commit. For example, a cruise package typically charges per person for hotel rooms at the port of departure. See whether you would save by reserving a double-occupancy room outside of the package. If you can, consider dumping the package or opting out of the hotel portion. **I do this ALL. THE. TIME! I always research how much things cost seperately to a) help set my travel budget, and b) see if there are any specials for bundling things together- or if the bundle I'm eyeing is really worth purchasing. This isn't just for flights and hotels though. If you know a handful of the sites you want to visit charge admission, see if the regional tourism office offers a discount rate or package deal. Most of the time, they do, and can recommend other spots you may have overlooked!

Sometimes it's better to shop around for your trip elements!

That's it for now. I am so excited about my trip to Cleveland later this month! I'm even more excited about knocking FOUR more states off of my list by the end of this summer! 

See you guys soon!

Bus Balderdash (Update 1- Peter Pan Responds!)

I received a response from Peter Pan (which tells me my written letters arrived at their destinations!)

In a nutshell, their response was that they apologize for the rate discrepancy, but that they do indeed have the correct price on their website and that they will communicate with Greyhound about advertising the correct prices for Peter Pan routes in the future.

A very polite way of telling me that their rate is the only rate that matters. I can respect that, and I am very thankful for a quick and professional response.

Now, let's wait and see what Greyhound has to say...

Bus Balderdash

Because I do not yet drive, I am reliant on public and private transportation to get me where I need to go. I plan EXTENSIVELY (one day I will have to show you exactly how precisely I plan things...it's a lot of work but it gives me peace of mind) and try to save as much money as possible. After all, my career isn't being a professional traveler (yet). I financed every trip you have read about here with my own earnings and wages, so even saving a dollar means something to me. With that, I wanted to share with you the letter I just mailed to Greyhound and Peter Pan Bus Lines regarding a frustrating experience I just endured while trying to buy two bus tickets.

Greyhound Lines, Inc.
PO Box 660691 MS 470
Dallas, Texas 758266

And

Peter Pan Bus Lines
Corporate Headquarters
P.O. Box 1776
Springfield, MA 01102-1776
RE: Unfair/deceptive Pricing Strategies

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to convey my recent unpleasant experience with my recent attempt to purchase two one way tickets online. 

The first trip I attempted to purchase was Newport, RI to Boston, MA at 2:00pm on Friday July 26 of this year. First, I noted Peter Pan had this trip listed at $27.00. I checked Greyhound, and saw the identical trip listed for an advanced rate of $16.00. Naturally wanting to save $11, I tried to purchase the Greyhound ticket only to be told I cannot purchase this ticket and was given a phone number to call (800-231-2222) to try to find out why I couldn’t purchase the ticket. Thinking I could just call after I purchase the second ticket I wanted (Springfield, MA to Boston, MA on July 28th 8:15am) I again checked both prices (Peter Pan listed at $23.00, Greyhound listed as $18.00) and attempted to purchase the Greyhound ticket. This time I was met with a message that I could only get this rate by going to the Will Call station- in Springfield, MA. Seeing as I live in Pittsburgh, PA you can understand how that isn’t possible. Even if I had to go to the station here I wouldn’t have been as upset, but to say I have to go to another state is ridiculous. I prefer to print and have my tickets in my hand well in advance, which is why I am also shocked print at home tickets weren’t available for either option.

So, I called the 800 number given to me by the Greyhound website. The woman quickly told me that since the website was involved, I had to call the web division for help. Unable to transfer me herself, I called the number she gave me (800-846-0754). I had to repeat myself several times to the man who answered on that line, but eventually his explanation was that I couldn’t purchase and print the tickets because they were Peter Pan routes, and not Greyhound routes, that were advertised on the Greyhound website and I would have to go to Peter Pan’s website in order to purchase them now. I went to the Peter Pan website, and had an online chat conversation with an agent named Bill (which I have included along with Print Screens of the Greyhound prices) who was not helpful and said the prices on the website were already on sale and that Greyhound’s prices listed were incorrect. Then I guess he left the conversation because he didn’t respond to my request for an address to write this letter to.

So why have I included both of you on this letter? I am not sure of how the parameters of your business relationship works, but it is completely unfair that I have spent the last hour getting the run around about such drastic price differences for companies that are supposed to be in a partnership. A total of $16.00 may not seem like a lot in the eyes of large businesses, but it is enough of a difference that I felt the need to write (it would be more if I was able to use my 10% Road Rewards discount). Greyhound, if you are going to advertise the routes of Peter Pan or any other bus company, you should allow your customer to purchase them! They also should be the prices that the original companies agree to. Peter Pan, I hope that now you see your routes are being advertised at much lower rates than you are selling them for, and will either match these prices, or rethink where your route information can be found.

I will be traveling in this region for business as well as my travel blog- a blog that has had thousands of readers. This letter WILL be posted on it, and I hope that a helpful solution is reached quickly.

Respectfully,


Terri 

So, what do you think readers? AM I justified in being miffed about these prices? Or am I over reacting?

Football, Fowl, and Feces (Ohio - Part I (Canton))

PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME

I had President's Day off from work, so I decided to take a day trip to Ohio. After a an initial debate on where I wanted to go (I had actually done a lot of planning for a Cleveland trip that fizzled out) I decided to go to Canton and visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame- and whatever else actually is in Canton, Ohio. Some Googling showed me that the William McKinley Monument and Museum and the National First Ladies' Library were both also in this small Ohio town. I'll have more on the Monument and Museum in a later post, but sadly I was unable to visit the First Ladies' location because it is closed on Mondays. Perhaps I'll go back someday because it seems absolutely intriguing.

As your Queen of Public Transportation, I took a Greyhound bus ($36 bucks round trip) to Akron, Ohio because a Greyhound ticket into Canton directly cost nearly double and took twice as long. Once at the Akron Transportation Center, I caught the SARTA 81 Akron-Canton Express bus to Canton (about a 40 minute ride) and from there caught the 117 Meyers Lake/Downtown Canton bus to the football museum (about a fifteen minute ride). SARTA bus fare is $1.50, and I received a transfer that allowed me to switch between the two buses without having to pay twice. I was very impressed with the SARTA service- everything ran exactly on time, and the drivers were friendly and helpful. When I let the 117 driver know where I was headed, she dropped me off at a non-stop that was closer to the actual museum and told me how to continue on. From that point I had to walk past McKinley High School (where the O'Jays got started, but more importantly for this trip, the luckiest high school football program in the world because they are RIGHT NEXT DOOR to the Hall of Fame!) 

Now, before I go into my impressions with the HOF, I feel the need to make two disclosures. One is that the museum is currently under massive renovations, so some of the exhibits were closed, which made a "jerky" transition between exhibits. So I won't hold that against them- especially since after my $22 paid admission I received a coupon for half off to return once the renovations are done in June. The second is...I am a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan. More accurately, I am a PROUD AND LOYAL CITIZEN OF STEELERNATION!  So, most, but not all, of my pictures/interests deal with my team, or of people from the Pittsburgh area. I, in fact, care more about my team than I do about the actual sport of football, even though I do enjoy watching games. This bias DOES play into my review of the museum.

Terry Bradshaw's locker replica

The museum pretty much goes from the early days of football (with uniforms, pictures, and game balls from teams no longer in existence) and highlights achievements and milestones made in the early years. Of particular intrigue was the extensive look at African Americans in the world of professional football- it was much appreciated and enjoyed. From there you enter a room full of bronze heads sorted by years and decades of everyone inducted into the Hall of Fame (this is after all, why this place exists). There are computer interactives that give you detailed information about each man and helps you locate your favorite inductees. I took pictures of Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Art Rooney, and Curtis Martin (who isn't affiliated with the Steelers other than he is from Pittsburgh and was in the same graduating class as a cousin of mine at Taylor Allderdice High School). After that there's another room of random historic objects and facts from the game, followed by a narrow hallway with life sized mannequins of some of the more popular and note worthy players in football history facing replicas of locker room lockers of others (including Pittsburgh Steelers "Mean" Joe Greene and Terry Bradshaw again).

Hall of Fame Inductees

The next gallery was closed, so I ended up in a room that highlights the "record makers" of the modern era of football. They have jerseys and information up for players that just made a splash last season like RGIII of the Washington Redskins or Tim Tebow from the Broncos the year before. After that you are whisked into what I call "Super Bowl Hallway", where you learn about the start of the Super Bowl, detailed information about the first four of them, and decade summaries after that. This is where the most recent Lombardi Trophy is displayed- or so the sign told me because it wasn't there. I will cut additional slack since the most recent Super Bowl was JUST won two weeks prior to my visit, and Tiffany's probably needs more than a few days to make the gleaming prize. There is a theater that takes you "inside" the Super Bowl...it was like a man cave dream with the volume and size of the screen. I was a bit disappointed though because I thought it would be a general movie about the Super Bowl history- and instead I got an overly detailed look at both Giants-Patriots games. Also, be warned, the theater moves, like the one from Jurassic Park. It scared the crap out of me to be focused on the screen and then be jerked into rotation unexpectedly.

"Mean" Joe Green

The theater lets you out to a display of all the Super Bowl Rings made to date (and yes, I took pictures of all six of the Steelers'- more rings than any other team in the league!). From there you go downstairs to a display that allows you to play Madden on Xbox (where a boy no older than 7 or 8 was OWNING his dad) and see small displays about officiating crazy fans. There is also a display about the Patriots and how they had the longest winning streak in League history. And of course, the massive store filled with NFL and HOF merchandise for you to purchase.


Overall I'm glad I went. I am interested to see the difference once construction is over, but I don't know if the renovations will take care of what I saw to be a big flaw: there is DEFINITE team bias here. I mean, STEELER NATION aside, how in the heck to the Patriots get a display just to themselves, when teams like the Cowgirls (I mean, Cowboys, sorry! It's a habit), Bears, 49ers, Browns, and yes, Steelers among others have just as much of a rich history- if not richer- than those cheating bum Pat-rats? On the crazy fan display, there is a video showing clips of Oilers fans (a team that no longer exists) and artifacts from Chiefs and Texans fans. Um? What?! Are those really the most loyal, obnoxious fans in the NFL? I don't think so. I also would have liked to see more information about how teams are started, moved, or branded. I took a picture of the old Buccaneers helmet because to me it is absolutely hilarious that they picked an orange and red  Robin Hood looking guy with a knife in his teeth to represent their team. Thankfully they have since changed their colors and logo- but no mention was there of this. Maybe even a list or map of the colleges that produce the most NFL players. And a cafeteria or someplace to eat a meal would be nice also, as there isn't really anywhere close by to grab a meal and vending machines seem kind of tacky. Perhaps a restaurant featuring the best stadium food from around the NFL? I know many people would LOVE the Allegheny Burger from Heinz Field...but again, I could be a little biased!

Seriously? This trumped the all mighty STEELER NATION?!

Well, we shall see what their new face lift brings. I still haven't finished editing the Facebook photos (I have been SUPER busy the last week or so) and I will explain the title of this blog when I review the Monument mentioned earlier. Next trip (for sure!) is Chicago, Illinois!

See you soon!

Pennsylvania - Oram's Donut Shop

First of all, I owe you all the biggest of apologies. I haven't posted since July- and that is not acceptable! I hope you all can understand that while I may not have been posting, I have kept this journey in my heart and on my mind nearly everyday- to the friendly annoyance of anyone who asks about me traveling anywhere. In order to make my postings not only more frequent, but easier for me to manage, I've decided to make a few changes to how I am approaching the blogging of my journey. First, gone are the super long posts about each destination. I think that although they are overall interesting, they can take a while to read. Also, rarely do I get to go someplace and do everything in one trip. The Part I, II, III, etc. seemed a little too formal, so I've decided to just blog about each place as I get to them. With that being said...

ORAM'S DONUT SHOP

I was watching PBS (that's the Public Broadcasting Station for my international readers) with my grandmother, and being in Pittsburgh, many of the shows we see focus on the history and culture of Southwestern Pennsylvania (to my delight!) One of the shows had a segment about this small bakery, and there were lots of people on the show who praised the shop, it's staff, donuts, and most of all it's famous cinnamon rolls. I was determined that I was going to try them for myself!

Normally, I rely on Google Maps to show me the public transportation directions to places once I'm close to a site I want to visit, but Oram's is not in the same county as Pittsburgh, and the county it is located in (Beaver County) does not yet have it's transit system uploaded to their database. After a few calls to the bakery and the Beaver County Transit Authority I determined which bus I needed to take from the city (Route 1, which only comes into the city Monday-Friday) to make the nearly two hour trek to Oram's. The good news- it was a coach bus and not a standard public transportation bus.

Inside Oram's Donuts

Once I arrived to downtown Beaver Falls (well, I assume it was their downtown) I was immediately drawn to all of the extra old but beautiful buildings. Didn't get to snap any pictures of them, but for all of my fellow old building lovers, it would be an amazing walk-thru trip. I went straight into Oram's, which was a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be based on the TV show, and completed my order. See, I went there on a Friday, and their website said that it's best to call ahead on Fridays and Saturdays to place an order and make sure that there will be donuts available as they tend to run out after the morning. I called ahead and requested that six of their famous (gigantic) cinnamon rolls be held for me, and I would pick out my remaining six once I arrived and could see them for myself. I'm glad I did that because just as the woman came from the back with my large white box half filled with the cinnamon rolls, two different customers were saddened to find out that my six were the last six of the day. The remaining donuts were pretty slim pickings as well, so I picked two each of the three flavors that had the smallest numbers- to me meaning that they were the most popular ones. That left me with Glazed, Pumpkin Cake, and Vanilla Cream. My box was packed up, and I lugged (yes LUGGED- that box was heavy!) my donuts home.

My donuts!

The Vanilla Cream was good, but a little too sweet for my personal tastes (but I'm highly picky about my vanilla cream so don't let that influence you too badly! It had a wonderful true-vanilla flavor and a creamy texture), and the Glazed and Cinnamon Rolls were delicious warmed up in the microwave. My favorite were the Pumpkin Spice, that had just the right balance of flavors to keep the flavorful and moist! Be sure to check out the entire menu- because they have quite a few flavors that I wasn't able to try (sounds like another trip will be in order someday...) I spent $11.50 on the dozen donuts, and the Beaver County bus was $2.75 each way (side note- that has to be the FRIENDLIEST driving staff I've ever experienced! The drivers knew ALL of their regular passengers names, and called ahead if they thought they would miss another route at the county transit station to ask the bus to wait because they had passengers who would need to transfer. Amazing service!)

You can see the rest of the photo's from my trip to Oram's (as well as all the photos from all of my adventures) on my Facebook page and related pics on my Pinterest page. Follow me on Twitter and feel free to send me your comments, questions, and suggestions!

Thank you for reading, and I'll see you next adventure!

Handling Airline Complaints

I had such a horrible experience with my last plane trip, I actually made a YouTube video about it. Rather than rehash all the irritating details of that experience, I decided to write a post about how to handle airline complaints if you ever need to make one. I found two articles online that dealt with this, but I've also summarized them below.

What Airlines Do When You Complain

How to Complain About Your Airline Service

1. When writing a complaint, try to keep your emotions out of the situation, and stick to the facts. You are more likely to be taken care of with respect when the person reading your complain does think you are a raving lunatic. (That actually applies to all areas of life...but I'm a travel blogger, not a life coach...moving on...)

2. Be specific...and realistic...about what you would like for compensation. Delays suck, but an hour delay (unless it completely ruins your connections/travel arrangements) aren't at the same level as lost luggage or a flight cancellation. Your request should be comparable to the annoyance you suffered.

3. Threatening the airline to never fly them again generally doesn't work. This isn't a bank or cable company- it sounds cold but losing one customer generally won't hurt their business the way you think it would. They have no incentive to spend money on righting a situation once you've sworn you will never step foot on their planes again.

4. Spamming the employees (especially CEOs) of an airline with your complaint letter will not get your problem solved faster. It will only get forwarded to the complaint department anyway. Let them decide if it must be escalated to a higher level staff member. If you aren't getting a response, keep track of how many times you've had to contact them, and let them know that you are requesting a response.

While I do not regret making my YouTube video, I now see the areas where I could haven handled the situation differently, as well as things I did that were ok. Hope this helps someone!

How to Pack a Suitcase for Airline Travel

I'm ten days away from my next adventure- Memphis, Tennessee! I have my sites-and-sights-to-see list written out, and friends that are from the city willing to take me to all the favorite food places of the locals- but I'm not ready yet. I still have to pack. Once I figure out which clothes are cute and yet functional for the heat and humidity that I'm sure to face (an important point- check the weather before you go anywhere folks!) I have to figure out how I'm going to get said clothing safely to Memphis and back.

In this age of pricey fees for checked bags, I make sure to only take a carry-on sized bag to keep more money in my pocket and off the balance sheet of some billion-dollar airline. Carry-on sizes vary for each airline, so don't rely on the labels on the suitcase to be enough. You can learn about your specific airline requirements HERE. Not only does this option save money, but it's simply easier to tote around as little luggage as possible than to have to lug around a coffin-sized box on wheels.

So what's the best way to pack? TSA has a few suggestions to help make your trip through the security lines as quickly as possible. You can read the article I found HERE, but I've paraphrased them below as well.

1. Roll your clothing instead of folding it, or worse, just throwing it in the suitcase haphazardly. Not only does this maximize the space you'll have to pack more items, it makes it easier for TSA agents screening your bag to quickly determine your bag is safe and cleared to go on the plane.

2. Because it's a carry on bag, all liquids/creams/gels you pack will have to be 3.4 ounces or less, and should ideally be packed in a clear plastic freezer bag for easy identification. Here's where you have to be discerning. Do you really need three and four different types of lotion for a trip? Will you really use multiple hair gels and sprays, or will you most likely style your hair as simply as possible to enjoy your destination as much as you can? I can hear all the girly girls of the world protesting that all of these things are absolutely essential, but trust me, they aren't.

Personally, I pack my deodorant, a small jar of Vaseline, a travel sized bottle of sun screen and bug repellent if I'm going into hot places or plan to be outside often, and a small makeup case with the lightest, least liquidy makeup options I have in case I need to get glamorous at the last minute. If I need more, I've never been anywhere where I didn't have a chance to get to a drugstore or Walmart on the other end to pick up a cheap bottle of something. Since I usually will be in a hotel (or cruise ship), I use the complimentary lotion and toothpaste there if need be. Are there times I wish I had a specific body splash or eye shadow or face cream that I can just SEE laying on my dresser while I'm away someplace? Sure! But you learn to make it work.

3. Pack shoes on top on your clothes. Sounds like asking to get your clothes dirty, I know. If the soles of your shoes are THAT dusty before you leave, take a moment wipe them off or put them in plastic bags before resting them on top. You can tuck odds and ends into the shoes to help save packing space, and if you use bags to wrap them in, they can serve as dirty laundry bags for your return trip. Also, arrange shoes as if you are playing a game to stiletto Tetris. Don't be married to the idea that the shoes HAVE to be next to each other if placing them in opposite corners makes better sense to pack. It's a small suitcase, I promise you'll easily find them once you reach your destination.

On that same note, pack shoes that "go" with a variety of outfits. The fewer shoes you need to take, the easier it will be to pack because you'll need fewer items. If it's practical, wear the largest/clunkiest pair to the airport to make more room in your suitcase (for example, wear your Nikes to travel in, but leave the flip flops in the bag since they take up less room).

4. If you are carrying heavy things like books (remember those you Nook-sters?) or a laptop, try to spread them out in the suitcase to help evenly distribute the weight and keep balance in your suitcase. It will also help prevent objects from getting crushed. Remember to keep them as close to the top as possible.

5. Don't pack prohibited items. It seems like this would be common sense, but I've seen first hand how surprised people are when they can't take scissors or metal nail files on their trips. If in some crazy universe someone could take whatever it is your debating about and use it as a weapon-- best to leave it at home.

I hope these tips have been helpful. I can't WAIT to see Memphis and report back to you what I see. Also, I didn't forget about my Miami transportation vlog...I recorded it with my webcam, but at some point the audio and video fall out of sync, and I've been having a heckuva time correcting it-- I may just have to rerecord it.

Happy (early) Independence Day! Safe travels, and you'll hear from me soon!

Maryland - Part II (Baltimore)

I say I live in the DC area, and technically that's true, but for all official purposes I live in the state of Maryland. I have to admit, I have a fondness for this place- I've been here more or less the past 6 years. Established in 1788, much of Maryland's history has been shaped by a long love affair with all things aquatic and maritime. For my journey, I decided to explore this state by immersing myself in to water-based activities. I visited the cities of Annapolis and Baltimore- both famed for their access to water- and had a great time! You already read about my adventures in Annapolis, so here's where I went in Baltimore:

NATIONAL AQUARIUM- BALTIMORE

Those of you that have been following me the past few months know that I already went to an aquarium in DC. Well, this aquarium is the "sister" to that small, ancient location. Five levels of exotic aquatic creatures (and more!) are easily visible on Baltimore's Harbor and have been calling to me ever since my first visit to the city in 2002. I went on a thankfully sunny Sunday in October (hey- I told you I was behind on my entries!) with a good friend of mine and her two sons, ages 1 and 3. As someone without kids, I had an interesting time learning to manage toddlers but it was a great time overall.

Dolphin Show

I'll go ahead and say the downsides to my visit first. Frankly, the NAB is EXPENSIVE. Basic adult admission is $24.95 (which is coincidentally about the price I paid to enter an entire amusement park back home in Pittsburgh- but I digress). You can add on the dolphin show for $3 more ($27.95) and a 4D movie on top of that for another $2 ($29.95). In other words, $30 to go in and visit. Because the boys were too young to sit through the 4D movies (we'd missed the last Dora the Explorer showing of the day), we opted to only add on the dolphin show (from what the employees told us, 4D movies are 3D movies where the fourth "D" involves vibrating and moving seats, and water being squirted on you). Thankfully, the ticket agent didn't charge the $19.95 for my friend's 3 year old that she should have- only kids 2 and younger get in for free. Once inside, we paid another $2 to use a locker for our stuff (but a really neat kid-holding backpack thingy was free to use).  Already spent more money than I had anticipated and I had yet to see anything! According to the website, there are days/times that are cheaper to enter- I would suggest any grown up sans kids interested in going to utilize those specials.

Jelly Fish

Once inside and actually on the move though, you can see the money they receive is put to good use. Everything looked new- not one sign looked worn or dated. The first stop we made was an employee holding some sort of lizard out for small kids to see and learn about in an open space I'm guessing they use for children's activities. Unfortunately, there was no touching allowed due to salmonella risks (which was really disappointing to me but I understood). Then there was a giant open pool with a humongous tortoise splashing around with sting rays (they were EVERYWHERE) and other random giant fish. There were also some shark tanks overlooking this pool. We went up moving ramps to each floor and saw tanks of all sizes holding a variety of creatures. Surprisingly, there were more than just water creatures on display- a room filled with puffins stands out to me as we tried our best to convince the 3 year old that they weren't penguins. The fifth floor is actually VERY warm- I'm assuming to resemble a rain forest- and is allegedly filled with all sorts of tropical birds, though we only say two pink birds and an old turtle in our time there. The jellyfish have their own separate area (ironically near the cafeteria) in sci-fi looking tubes, panels, and domes that allow you to marvel at how they move around.

My friend's son watching the dolphins in their tank

The dolphin show was kind of neat. Seven or so dolphins did very basic tricks- but nothing on a Sea World level even though there is a splash- zone and you DO get wet if you sit in said splash zone. We learned how to tell dolphin fins apart, and a "random" guest from the audience got to come up and touch the dolphins. Two different women were talking about dolphin information, but between the room echoes distorting the sound and keeping the kids occupied and focused, I have no idea what either of them were talking about.

Overall, a wonderful place. I would certainly return- during a money saving time period- and would love to experience these 4D movies for myself.

USS Constellation

HISTORIC SHIPS IN BALTIMORE (BALTIMORE MARITIME MUSEUM)

It was pretty chilly on the November day I decided to travel to Baltimore from DC and visit the Historic Ships. As the self-proclaimed Queen of Public Transportation, I rode the Metro from my home to Union Station in DC and took the MARC train for $7 to Baltimore Penn Station. From there, I took the free Charm City Circulator down to the Harbor (which is where the Aquarium is also, but when I went with my friend we drove). The entire process took me probably an hour and a half from the Metro station nearest my house and the ticket booth where I purchased my $18 ticket to tour all four ships.

The four ships represent military life at sea from the mid 1800s up through the 1980s. There is also a free lighthouse (the Seven foot Knoll Lighthouse) that has stood in place for more than 130 years- but I didn't get a chance to go in there. I had a friend (who suggested I name this entry Maryland Part II - Holy Ship!!) who was coming to meet me, and I didn't want to totally bore him to death with my exploration of all four ships (though he did end up joining me for the last two).

I think I pretty much entered them in historical order, starting with the USS Constellation- a wooden ship that was used to thwart illegal slave trading in her early years (successfully stopping at least three ships and freeing the African aboard), carried famine relief to Ireland in the years before World War I, and also served as a practice ship for the US Navy. I was amazed at how large the ship was on the inside- from the outside looking in it seems as if everyone would be packed into one tiny space, but I found (after carefully climbing and descending the very steep ladder like stairs) three levels of space used for various purposes, including sleeping quarters for all ranks of men, storage areas, cannons and weapons, etc. A lot of the spaces were under renovation, but there were signs in place explaining what was going on and what the object or area was used for.

View of the Chesapeake, the Torsk, and the Aquarium

From there I went to the LV116 Chesapeake, which was a lighthouse ship that was later used by the US Coast Guard. This was probably the least exciting of the ships (to me) but it prepped me for the ladders and small entry ways I would expect on the next ship I would board. The main highlight aboard was a small exhibit about dogs that served on the ships and how they boosted morale among the crew.

After that I went into the USS Torsk, a World War II submarine that boasts over 10,000 dives and was the last US Navy vessel to sink an enemy ship in that conflict. The deck of the Torsk is kind of rickety looking, but my friend (who joined me by this point) reminded me that in general you wouldn't be walking on top of the ship anyway, seeing as it was designed to be underwater. Again lots of steep stair-ladders, and this time small doorways to squeeze our bodies through as well.  This ship was really interesting, getting to walk past torpedoes, radar rooms, and a mini-cafeteria that had a television playing some really great classical music with movie clips. The main downside- other than being slightly too tall and too pudgy to move around freely without having to think about the angle I would approach doors- is that throughout the ship there were touches of things obviously not from that time period (like plastic Bic pens that looked fresh from Office Depot) that were a bit distracting.

USS Torsk

Finally we went to the USCG Taney, the last ship floating that fought in Pearl Harbor. The ship also was a part of the search for Amelia Earhart, fought in the Vietnam War, and was a part of the largest marijuana bust in US history- 160 tons. Certainly the largest of the ships, the Taney was the easiest to move around, and had an entire room dedicated to the attack on Pearl Harbor, with a video playing of interviews of survivors of the events.

USCG Taney

Now, I am sure everyone is wondering "Terri, why haven't you blogged about Maryland crab?" Well, I'm the genius that decided to visit Maryland during the off season for crab. I'll have to come back, maybe on a food centered entry, when crabs are plentiful and don't cost two arms and a third of your soul to get a decent sized cake. As a rule, I don't eat crab legs or pick through crustacean bodies because they look like giant bugs to me- but I'll eat crab cakes and soups and dips and just about anything made with the actual meat. Just an FYI for when I head to Maine and am faced with lobsters!

I also was disappointed that the public isn't allowed to tour the Domino sugar factory located in the city. I'm kind of developing a "thing" of touring factories after visiting Bacardi in Puerto Rico. I'm already plotting on Hershey in Pennsylvania, and Jack Daniels in Tennessee. My friend told me that the dot of the "I" in the glowing sign is over 6 feet tall, and that workers who clean it have to wear special suits to avoid sticking to the lettering because of the sugary fumes that emit from the building. Would have been nice to tour for myself and hear this from an official rep- but alas, that wasn't possible.

With that, I've completed my journey into Maryland! Please feel free to visit (and like!) my Facebook page, leave your comments below, or Tweet me with your thoughts and ideas.

Thanks for reading!