Category Archives: Travel

Bahamas, Semester @ Sea, Travel

Nassau, Bahamas: Stunning on So Many Levels

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Okay yall, I have some confessions to make. Well, I won’t make ALL of them here because the list of people who have access to this continues to grow and include ever scarier prospects like clients, staff of clients, new crushes, etc.

We made our way slowly from Florida down to the Bahamas sailing mostly under cover of night. The ship continued to rock in a gentle way that now permeates my whole reality. Whenever I lay down, I feel the motion, even when we aren’t moving…groovy.

I literally could not sleep through our approach into Nassau. I jumped up, brushed my 32, and grabbed my Nikon D50 and headed for the 7th deck. The sunrise was stunning. Watching the smaller boats whose sailors still slumbered under a full rainbow in the quiet, warm, breeze was the best way I’ve woken up in…months? years?

The ship in the picture is not ours, this is the ship we docked next to on our approach into Nassau, our ship, the MV Explorer, is about 3/4 the size of the one you see here. These ships are out of control huge. We saw one that had an outdoor track on top and another that had a fake rock climbing wall! Here’s a shot at the warm caribbean blue water that I spied off the deck before we got into harbor. Here’s another look in the shallower water near the pier. Yes, even the water is stunning. And our pilot boat, these are the guys that work for Nassau Port Authority who come out to the cruise ships, climb aboard and THEY actually steer the ship in, not the vessel captain. We backed in even, which is fun becuase its neat to watch the ship’s wake when we make a U turn in waters so blue.

Confession #1: The weather is stunning. At last I have escaped the chilled to the bone blues of the east coast. Even Florida was chilly!

I’m settling in nicely. I love my cabin, love my office, love the deck 6 outside bar (its even prettier at night) and I REALLY love the faculty/staff lounge liquor selection. And I will not be going anywhere near this thing once the students get on board. I think we actually have one of the best teams I have ever worked with too. Unfortunately we don’t have much time left together during training. We pick up the young’uns here in Nassau. I’m REALLY going to need that duty free liquor.

Confession #2: I caved and bought a Nikon 70-300mm lense. While nowhere near the $700 of the lens I was looking at when I bought my new D50, she is AWESOME. I was really puketastic about this expense but after I saw the results I knew I had made the right choice. My trusty Coolpix S6 is still my first love and go-to gal. She just tucks so nicely into my cargo capris.

Confession#3: I wear cargo capris.

Photos, Semester @ Sea, Travel

Port Everglades, Fl: Cutting the Bow Lines

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port everglades sunset, originally uploaded by funchilde.

Sunset view of the Port Everglades Marine Terminal off the aft (back) pool deck. We cut the bow lines at 8pm, heading to Nassau Bahamas! The weather was warm but breezy, there was a lot of activity leading up to drawing the anchor and shoving off and then…there wasn’t. The rocking of the ship is making me catatonic in these meetings, no sea sickness to report.

Photos, Semester @ Sea, Travel, U.S.

Port Everglades, Fl: Ships Ahoy!

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Ho.Lee.Crap. I am tired. I made it to the ship with minutes to spare only to find that we weren’t going to sail until tomorrow. My first view of the MV explorer took my breath away, my chest got tight with joy and fear. She’s huge (24,000 Tons), she’s beautiful (just completed in 2002) and she’s fast (top speed 32 knots). I could barely get all of her in the picture I tried to take from the security gate.

I can’t believe I’m going to live out of 4 bags for almost four months (click on pic to see packing list). I’m amazed at how well I packed when you consider that 1/8 of this stuff is books. I checked in and my bags were delivered to my cabin. Not having cruised before I had no idea what to expect. Though I’m one of the executive team (there are 6 of us) on this voyage, I had prepared myself for an inside, deck 2 cabin, behind the engine and the anchor, with no porthole, no light and industrial paint. Fortunately, my cabin is amorgeous (amazing + gorgeous). I’m deck 5 starboard with a view of the ocean and the lifeboats (and believe me, I’m okay with that!).

My bathroom, my desk (and again after I unpacked), my tv,(what’s in that glass?) and my beds before I asked my cabin steward to put them together (the reflective tape on the life vests is what you see glowing). As luxurious as all of this sounds, I have to earn my keep…I’m headed to an 8:00pm executive team meeting. I can’t wait to figure out what I’ve gotten myself into and learn my way around this beast.

Photos, Pie Hole (Food), Semester @ Sea, Travel, U.S.

Ft. Lauderdale, Fl.: Are Those Gold Teeth?

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I feel like I’ve been saying goodbye for weeks now. The “Bon Voyage” party that one of my client’s threw for me was hilarious and touching. We had everything from moosemeat eggrolls (really, I’m not making that up) to the lovely cake (pictured) made by one of my colleagues. People keep asking me if I’m excited and the answer is yes, but I haven’t had any time to really process what I’m about to do.

My parents have been fantastic, letting me spread everything all over their house the last week and never complaining at my odd hours or frequent requests for coffee. I worked right down to the wire on Saturday. I had a 4:20pm train to catch and I didn’t take a shower and zip up my bags until 3:20pm (really, I’m not making that up either!). Fortunately my Mom drives like a bat-out-of-hell, a carryover from her years of driving on Germany’s autobahn. We made it to the station at 4:16pm and I could only laugh as I watched my Mom jog next to the train doing her “princess” wave, while my Dad and nephew took pictures and shook their heads.

Unfortunately I couldn’t catch up with friends in NC and GA, but I made it to Tampa and was a bit startled at how chilly it was. I was also startled by the toddler that cried for 45 minutes (hurray for earplugs!) and the Jamaican senior citizen who screamed into his cell phone for an hour. I was totally entranced by the caucasian teenagers with a mouthful of gold teeth, and the only starbucks on the planet that isn’t a wi-fi hotspot (suck it!)

I needed to see my brother before I left on this trip, to hug him hard before he gets married this weekend in Jamaica. It hit me that I’m actually going to miss my baby brother’s wedding, and he is still happy for me, as I am for him. My whole family is crazy about his wife-to-be. They welcomed me to their home with caviar and martinis! They demonstrated their love and affection with some dance moves, and some wrestling moves. Yeah, this union is a match made in heaven.

I finally had a chance to think during the 4 hour drive to Ft. Lauderdale. I have to admit that I’m nervous, a bit anxious, and yes, very excited. This trip is unlike any other I’ve taken, I’ll be working for one, and I am a bit of a workaholic already, will I be able to balance work and still have a transformative experience? I have a deep fear of open water and a fear of heights and a vessel of this size combines the worst of the two! How will I deal with the 8 day voyage with no land in sight, no escape from the ship – from Salvador, Brazil to Cape Town, So. Africa?

I’m also not sure how I’ll feel about traveling fast and shallow versus slow and deep. During my 3.5 months in Mexico I got into the culture, hung out with the locals, sought out the food, music, arts and entertainment native to the cities/towns I was visiting, but on this voyage I’ll see so much more of the world, but with the constraints of someone else’s timetable. We are traveling with almost 900 people, 700 of which are students and things happen. I wonder if we’ll all return together, if we’ll all return alive (people have perished). Because I’m a dork, I also wonder about things like: did I pack enough Orbit gum? Will I be able to download new episodes of 30 Rock? Will Desmond Tutu become my new best friend? So I guess it all balances out.

I can’t believe I’m actually traveling again, the sensation of movement away from and towards feels so good.

Family & Friends, Gear, Pre-trip planning

Pre-Trip Planning: Down to the wire

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[1] I don’t really recommend waiting until the night before you leave for Florida to upload the entirety of your music collection into iTunes, order major appliances for your rental property, or back up the entire hard-drive of your laptop to an external storage device.

[2] I bought all new underwear and socks. That balances it all out right?

[3] My Mom is going to kill me when she realizes I have used every.last.one. of her ziploc bags, even the skanky ones. But they are just perfect for holding bottles of soap, listerine, powercords, battery packs, etc. I think I went a little overboard with the ziplocage.

[4] I have been rather self absorbed for the last few months and there are many friends and family members that I will not get the chance to see before I take off. Please know that I love you dearly and think of you often. I wish you could all come with me, but then there’d be no reason to blog right?

T-minus: 3 days and counting to Semester at Sea.

Don’t forget to check us out over at Gadling in the meantime for more geeky travel goodness.

Ear Holes (music), Gear, Lists, Photos, Pre-trip planning, Semester @ Sea, Travel

Pre-Trip Planning: Travel Gear Faves

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*Note: If you click on the photo it will take you to flickr where you can see my notes on each item*

So what do you take on a RTW (round the world) trip? I have no idea so I’m taking my favorite stuff.

Things I Cannot Live Without:

-Aquafresh Toothpaste
-Lady Speedstick
-Various odd-a$$ sized batteries
-Orbit Gum
-Goody’s Headache Powder
-Gillette Venus Razor
-Ultra Mentha Lip Shine
-Febreeze
-Tazo Tea & Splenda
-Ralph Lauren Sunglasses
-Camera (Nikon D50 & Coolpix S6)
-Women’s Ultra Mega Vitamins (GNC)
-Travel Alarm Clock
-Swiss army tool w/ penlight
-Lighter
-Hip Hop; R&B; Jazz Tunes
-Barnes & Noble Spiral Journals & Uniball Pens
-Toothbrush & Mouthwash
-Cold, Hard, Cash (US $ and Indian Rupees pictured)

What else should I take? What can’t you live without when you travel?

T-minus: 6 days and counting to Semester at Sea.

Check me out over at Gadling.

First stop: Ft. Lauderdale, Fl to Nassau, Bahamas.

Family & Friends, Life. Love. Laughs., U.S.

Hanover, NH: The Family You Choose

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Family Style @ Tuck, originally uploaded by funchilde.

The thing about being a nomad is that the siren call of the road will always trump the possibilities of laying down roots…until it doesn’t anymore. I’m still a sucker for the thrill of travel and so I am continually bidding someone, somewhere “see you later.”

I realized this weekend that I have a set of keys to my parent’s house (a given), but I have keys to three other houses that do not belong to people I am related to. I have standing invitations to let myself into their homes whenever I need to (and I have).  I can show up to any of these places with no notice, broke, broke-down, and bedraggled and I’d be accepted with open arms.

To be loved and trusted with the keys to someone’s most intimate space is the ultimate honor in my book, trumped only by being trusted with someone’s offspring. And so I bid my fond farewells to my New Hampshire, New York and Virginia client’s, my closest friends and of course my family, which isn’t so hard to do when you know you’re always welcome back.

T-minus: 7 days and counting to Semester at Sea.

Check me out over at Gadling.

First stop: Ft. Lauderdale, Fl to Nassau, Bahamas.

Pre-trip planning, Semester @ Sea, Travel, U.S.

Pre-Trip Planning: Gear & Gadgets

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[1] As a gift to myself for working like a dog, completing my grad school applications, and surviving the weather here at Dartmouth College, I bought myself that Nikon I had been lusting after. I agonize over these types of expenditures and excuse me while I go puke thinking about my credit card bill. Oh, and did I mention that I’m getting my next to last paycheck today? Double puke!

Enough with the puking already. This blog is so classy!

[2] I decided on the D50 over the D80 after listening to some photographers whose work I like. The D80 is $600 more than the D50 and that doesn’t include anything except the “body” of the camera. I also had a great offer for a 55-200mm lens, but it was another $700 and I was l like wait, last.paycheck.for.months and Blindian called and talked me off the $700 cliff. I went with the baby lens and used a very generous gift certificate that I received for Christmas. I am very happy. But still slightly puketastic.

[3] It has warmed up to 2 degrees here in New Hampshire-its a heatwave!

[4] Come check us out over at Gadling.com for more hilarious travel news.

T-minus: 11 days and counting to Semester at Sea.

First stop: Ft. Lauderdale, Fl to Nassau, Bahamas.

Photos, Pre-trip planning, Travel, U.S.

Pre-Trip Planning: What I Won’t Miss

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Dartmouth Wonderland, originally uploaded by funchilde.

It was damn -10 degrees this morning.

I love yall Dartmouthians but I am so.outta.here.

T-minus: 12 days and counting to Semester at Sea.

First stop: Ft. Lauderdale, Fl to Nassau, Bahamas.

Bloggie, Brazil, China, India, Pre-trip planning, Semester @ Sea, Travel

Pre-Trip Planning: Carnival…Here I Come!

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My passport arrived with the Brazilian, Chinese and Indian visa pages/stamps. And in typical girl fashion my first thought was: “ooh, look at the pretty colors!” But the Brazilian stamp has my first name as Brian (not my first name), so we shall see what hilarity ensues as I try to get my Carnival on! Anybody want to contribute to my “bri.be the Br.azi.lian po.lice” fund?

I signed up for 3 nights of Carnival parade in Salvador. A bunch of people are going to fly from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro, but it was over $1200US and that wasn’t all expenses included! I had to drop close to $600US to sign up to march with three of the troops (a different group each night), but I think it will be once in a lifetime opportunity, and I can always go sit myself down somewhere if things get out of hand. I don’t do well in large crowds so we shall see how this goes, Carnival in Salvador is billed as the largest street party on earth, so you can see why I’m all over that yet a little wary. I figure if I can lean out of a small boat and pet a 16 meter whale, I can ease on down the road with a feather boa and a mardis gras mask on. Plus I was inspired by Adrienne’s pics from her trip to Trinidad & Tobago’s Carnival (where she met up with Karen of www.chookoolonks.com)!

So, travel blogging has resumed…more Pre-Trip Planning & gear pics to follow. I’m sure those of you who have been tolerating my general blogging in hopes that I’d get back to the foolishness I seem to get into on the road are breathing a sigh of relief. Thanks for sticking around. Having yall with me is half the fun.

T-minus: 24 days and counting to www.semesteratsea.com

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