Frances Ellen Speaks!

Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

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Recently, I’ve seen coming attractions on TV about a new movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman called The Bucket List. From the few snipets I’ve caught, it appears their list contains things they’ve both dreamt about doing before they kick the bucket.

I have a list like that, too, although I never thought to name mine the bucket list. And happily, my list spawned a Done That List. Some things on my “done” list include:

See Paris (a lifelong dream)
Ride in a helicopter
Go parasailing
Snow Ski
Ride a motorcycle, not just any cycle, a “Harley”
Learn how to blog, even when I thought I was “too old” to learn

Then there’s my tattoo. I sport a tiny bluebird of happiness on the inside of one of my ankles. I love birds.

So, I’ve fulfilled some of my dreams, but there are still plenty of challenges left on my Bucket List. Here are a few:

Ride in a Hot Air Balloon
Find out if I really can’t sink in the Salt Lake
Publish a Book
See Redwood Trees-This item, at first glance, might seem somewhat plebian. The fact is, these trees are disappearing quickly, and some people are pretty passionate about keeping them around.

What’s Your Tree is a program inspired by the story and message of Julia Butterfly Hill.

Julia Butterfly Hill gained international notoriety when she climbed 200 feet up into an ancient redwood tree named Luna that was slated to be cut down by Pacific Lumber/Maxaam Corporation. She refused to come down until Luna was permanently protected. Withstanding death threats and gale force El Nino winds, Julia lived on a tiny platform in Luna’s branches for 738 days. Julia and her team had successfully negotiated to save Luna and a 3 acre buffer zone around the tree into perpetuity.
(see the rest of the story)

Learn to Paint (don’t have to be good, just have to try)
Hang Glide (parasailing was wonderful, so hang gliding must be spectacular)
See Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument

The No Guts List - I have one of them, too. These are things I know I could never muster up the courage to do:

Sky Diving
High Diving
Scuba Diving
Bungee Jumping

Bungee jumping in Normandy, France in Viaduc de la Souleuvre.

Can you even imagine doing this?

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Did you know Memphis is situated in the southwest corner of Tennessee and that it shares its borderline with Mississippi and Arkansas? Well, it seemed to my friends and me that we should, at the very least, have lunch in one of these two bordering states. We decided to drive over the bridge into Mississippi. What a surprise we had in store!

Our first stop was Mississippi’s Visitor Center, where we learned we were 15 minutes away from a large gaming area in the small town of Tunica. The casino aspect didn’t interest us much because we were hungry, but we figured a casino would have multiple restaurants to choose from. The Horseshoe Casino caught our eye.

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Lucky for us, because we ate at their unforgettable buffet restaurant. Words cannot describe the immense array of food offered there.

Picture yourself standing in the middle of a shopping mall’s food court having no need to decide what you want to eat, because you can eat everything: Italian, Oriental, Southern, The Grille, Southwest, Barbeque, Salads, Soups, Desserts and Ice Cream Sundae Bar. I’ve probably forgotten a few, believe it or not.

With appetites sated, we headed back to Memphis to shop.

A word about Beale Street–I was expecting something similar to Bourbon Street in New Orleans, but Beale Street is much shorter, only extends about a block to two. Therefore, it doesn’t have as many shops, but what it lacks in shopping, it makes up for in good food and fantastic music. The entire time spent on Beale Street is a party for the senses.

After that unbelievable lunch at the Horseshoe, we thought we would never eat again, but the next day, we found ourselves at Pig On Beale.

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There is one important fact to know about BBQ, it comes “wet” or “dry.” At the Pig, you can order your ribs with a dry rub. Take it from me, if you’re ever at the Pig, dry is the way to go.

The final Memphis highlight that I will touch on has a lot of “soul.”

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We had time to visit one museum and, boy, did we make a good choice. Music, with just the right mixture of history, made for a memorable visit.

If there was one negative about Memphis, it would be their widespread panhandling. The city doesn’t seem to have a handle on handling their panhandling, which during the day is irritating, but when it’s dark, it’s really scary.

Other than that, there’s lots more to do in and around Memphis, but we ran out of time.

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If you’re looking to hear the blues, Memphis is the town.

Looking to savor the sweet taste of BBQ? Memphis is a good choice.

I recently got it into my head that I’d like to do both. I emailed a co-worker to see if there was any mutual interest. This is how the emailed exchange went.

Do you want to go to Memphis? [Me]

Are you serious? [Co-worker]

Yes. [Me]

What brought this on? [Co-worker]

$100 roundtrip offer being made by Northwest Airlines. [Me]

Let’s do it. [Co-worker]

I guess it’s clear from the email exchange that I’m a bit of a free spirit and most of my friends tend to be cut from the same cloth. Therefore, this type of exchange happens more often than one would think, especially since I receive updates from various travel sites listing each week’s top ten best travel deals. (It was one of these offers that served as a catalyst for my Carnival Cruise, which I wrote about back in October, ‘07)

Anyway, we swooped into Memphis early Saturday morning, and we stayed at the Comfort Inn, a fortunate choice. Choosing accomodations in a city that you haven’t visited before is tricky, but somtimes luck is on your side. Our Comfort Inn was truly an inn. The price of the room included a continental breakfast that turned out to be much, much more then mere donuts and coffee. What a delight.

Speaking of delights, another one of our friends drove clear across Tennesee to meet us in Memphis. What began as a spur of the moment jaunt, became a glorious three-day reunion, jam packed with loads of fun, music, history and good eatin’.

Our first stop was to the famous Beale Street, where we swooned over the music at B.B. King’s and ate catfish, shrimp po’ boys and, what else? BBQ.

More about the Memphis adventure next week.

Let me tell you about the excursions I took while on my cruise. They didn’t disappoint.

Truth be told, I usually look forward to doing a lot of reading and relaxing on a cruise, but on this particular trip, I traveled with my friend, Robin, who had never been on a cruise before. “I want to experience everything,” she said, so we planned to do an excursion at every port.

Even though I’m young at heart (we danced every night while onboard until the wee hours), the thought of also taking part in super-adventurous explorations at every port was daunting and, yes, would have been impossible. But all major cruise lines offer a vast and varied list of shore excursions and, luckily, there are any number of things one can do without nursing a cartload of aches and pains the next day. The excursions we chose were a perfect fit for both of us.

• First stop–Cozumel, Mexico for our adventure on the Atlantis Submarine. The dive went down to a depth of 125 feet. The water was crystal clear, and our pilot pointed out the different coral formations and fish we encounterd. A most excellent voyage.
• Our next port was Belize, where we toured a Mayan Ruin known as Altun Ha. We had a knowledgeable guide who explained how the site was discovered, where certain bodies were unearthed, and what the archeologists surmised each time something new was uncovered. Robin climbed to the top of the tallest temple. I was happy to be the person on the ground acting as the photographer.
• Our last and most physically challenging excursion was a Catamaran & Snorkling Adventure off the coast of Roatan, Honduras. The underwater beauty of the reef with its inhabitants was astounding.

Of course, a cruise wouldn’t be a cruise without a little shopping. We bought the obligatory t-shirts and a few souvenirs.

Possibly the best part of any cruise, which I touched on briefly in my last post, is the people that you meet onboard the ship. Robin and I shared dinner with a lovely group of people each night and one evening after dinner, at Robin’s suggestion, we all shuffled up to Deck 5 to have our picture taken in Western costumes. The perfect memento for a perfect cruise.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been cruising. Some of the things I like best about this type of vacation are:

1)  The ship is your hotel,  2)  You don’t need a rental car to get around,  3)  The food is abundant and there’s no decision-making regarding which unfamiliar restaurant to eat at,  4)  There’s loads of activites on and off the ship,  5)  There’s plenty of time to relax, if that’s your preference, and  6)  You always meet new and interesting people.

The Carnival Cruise Line, which I sailed on this time, still advertises itself as The Fun Ships, but the age of its passengers has changed over the past 10 or 15 years. It’s not exclusively for the young, single crowd. All ages sail on Carnival now. There’s something for everyone and, you can feel perfectly comfortable bringing the grandkids along. They have excellent programs for both youngsters and teens.

An article from USA Today reports:

“… Carnival and Disney Cruise Line stand out for their exceptionally comprehensive children’s and teens’ programs.

Disney Cruise Line is no surprise winner in this category, for obvious reasons. The Disney Magic and Disney Wonder have entire decks dedicated to kid-friendly activities and separate family and adults-only pools. Cabins are designed to accommodate families with extra beds and split bathrooms, and Disney characters make appearances throughout the sailing.

Camp Carnival offers age-specific, supervised activities for kids ages two to five, six to eight, nine to 11, 12 to 14, and 15 to 17. Its ships offer extensive children’s play areas, as well as the Club O2 teen lounge. Children do not need to be toilet-trained to take part in Camp Carnival activities.”

While the kids are being entertained, you are free to, pehaps, enjoy a massage in the Spa, or take in an exercise class, or shop on board. Carnival gets high marks for their Fun Shops, which are varied and fit every individual’s pocketbook.

Although I cruised with Carnival this time, I often cruise with Royal Caribbean, which I have enjoyed many times in the past, also.

Lest this sound too much like an advertisement, I will mention that trying to move 3,000 or more people off any ship at the end of a cruise is a long, tedious process, and not all of my cruising experiences have been wonderful. I went on a Norwegian cruise a few years back that was an absolute horror, although since then, I have met other people who enjoyed their Norwegian cruise.

Overall, cruising is one of my favorite ways to vacation, and if you’ve never tried it, I highly recommend you give it a try.

Next week, I’ll tell you about the many excursions I took during this trip.