How with the year coming to an end, I find myself reflecting on what is to come for 2015. I have stayed low on purchasing houses and international travel plans for the entire year to catch up on my finances. I am beginning to see all the hard work come to a circle and resolution within in reach. My next biggest financial hurdle for the remainder of this year, property taxes.
In 2015 I will continue to work on financial stability plan but I will be more lenient with myself and allow myself to start up international traveling again. I have been away from it way too long.
Current plan, Tulip Festival, Holland, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Keukenhoff!
So far its about finding the right travel partner and just do it!
This is how I start my planning.. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1P6xa-SrQ2gBP7tOQkethH4SmFeWxiWpZdDXrhwbJ27o/edit?usp=sharing
I gather budget information, dates, and work from there.
Again I hope to make this experience another biking expedition. There were many 7-9 day excursions but I think I will have to take it easy on my rider partner, and leave more time for other activities other than biking, to 4 day riding trips.
Friday, October 17, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
9/27/14 - Little Blue Trace Trail. Indep, MO
Little Blue Trace Trail
22-Mile Ride
There is a trail in my own hometown that I never thought about exploring. I have been thinking that anything that is worth seeing would probably be in far off locations. What I discovered is that right in my own backyard, there is an awesome, peaceful, clean, and serene biking trail that offered various views from old barn set in the open field, trails winding around field of trees, water views, under and over bridge passes. This trail would be great for fall weather riding to experience the leaves changing and the cool fall breeze. Some convenient features about the trail is there are ample rest areas, picnic shelters to benches through out the path. My favorite convenience was having a gas station, Quiktrip, right off the path. We stopped in for bathroom break and purchased food and drinks for picnic breaks later down the trail ride.
We started trail from the middle located behind Cold Stones and headed north. We did a total of 22 miles, 11 miles one-way from the center past Bundshue Road.
A great lesson I learned during this ride:
I don't have to plan big far away trips to explore great trails and have great riding experience!
Next time I ride this trail, I would like to explore the south side of the trail. I recently learned the city had extended the trail an additional 3.5 mile extension.
I hope to go back and ride through the entire trail and hopefully comeback to this post and include some of the views from the ride.
More information on the extension of the trail.
Monday, September 22, 2014
9/22/14-Travel Plans Reboot!
Where was I since the last post?
As life mostly has it, I ran into a bump during the execution of my grand traveling bucket-list plans since the previous last post. Time between then and now, I had lost myself into a relationship for the past 4-5 years to realized, only after ending the relationship, how important it is for me to continue my travel goals to "find" and "be" the true me.
Fast Catch up on where I've been since last post.
From the last post, the last travel I have accounted in the blog was when Rana (now my ex husband) and I traveled to India. Since then we had also been to other places before we went our separate ways. Keeping to the objective, I am not only writing this to share my travel experiences but the blog also serves as a reminder to myself of how much I really was able to travel. So many obstacles and drama in life, how easy it is to forget some of the best moments in life. So in cliff notes version recounting my travels (since I started counting)
Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Gatlinburg, Tennessee - with college buddies helping friend move to UT for post doc program
Smokey Mountains in Tennessee - 2004
Hot Springs, Arkansas, Devils Den Trail, AR
Winter Park, Colorado - First ski trip
San Fran, California - 2004, Rana's Apple interview
Swizterland Bike Trip - 2004
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Orlando, Florida - 2008- Timeshare free hotel deal
Trivandrum, India - 2009 More India photos, home I once owned with hubby in India
Rome Photos -2009, Rana's PhD research presentation
Las Vegas 2010, & Las Vegas 2012
Maine - 2011
New Orleans - 2011
Eureka Springs, Arkansas - 2011
Washington DC - 2012, Department of Labor conference
Thanksgiving in New York - 2012
Road trip-New Orleans to Mt Mag, AR - Oct 2013
Hong Kong & China - Dec 2014
Many trips to Chicago - 2014
Dayton, Ohio - 2014
Twin Cities, MN- 2014
Where I left off and Where I am now.
The last post ended as I start up a new relationship with Marc, after my divorce with Rana. As I read (more like browsed) through the last post, I feel a bit of sadness of how hopeful of a future I had dreamt only to know, after half a decade, I had made little progress crossing off my travel bucket list.
Reboot, Initiate New Plan of Action!
So here I am, feeling like Dr. Who after a reboot, I am reintroducing myself to the world and redefining my philosophy in life. I want to stay in shape and continue my track around the world. In another attempt to hold myself accountable, I have set up a spreadsheet in Google docs, Bike Trips & Trails, to help keep track of my progress in spreadsheet format. I plan to update the list of bike trails I hope to explore locally and throughout the US as I work up to the longer international bike tours. I will also continue to update photos and blogs each day to document my travels as I go.........again.
As life mostly has it, I ran into a bump during the execution of my grand traveling bucket-list plans since the previous last post. Time between then and now, I had lost myself into a relationship for the past 4-5 years to realized, only after ending the relationship, how important it is for me to continue my travel goals to "find" and "be" the true me.
Fast Catch up on where I've been since last post.
From the last post, the last travel I have accounted in the blog was when Rana (now my ex husband) and I traveled to India. Since then we had also been to other places before we went our separate ways. Keeping to the objective, I am not only writing this to share my travel experiences but the blog also serves as a reminder to myself of how much I really was able to travel. So many obstacles and drama in life, how easy it is to forget some of the best moments in life. So in cliff notes version recounting my travels (since I started counting)
Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Gatlinburg, Tennessee - with college buddies helping friend move to UT for post doc program
Smokey Mountains in Tennessee - 2004
Hot Springs, Arkansas, Devils Den Trail, AR
Winter Park, Colorado - First ski trip
San Fran, California - 2004, Rana's Apple interview
Swizterland Bike Trip - 2004
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Orlando, Florida - 2008- Timeshare free hotel deal
Trivandrum, India - 2009 More India photos, home I once owned with hubby in India
Rome Photos -2009, Rana's PhD research presentation
Las Vegas 2010, & Las Vegas 2012
Maine - 2011
New Orleans - 2011
Eureka Springs, Arkansas - 2011
Washington DC - 2012, Department of Labor conference
Thanksgiving in New York - 2012
Road trip-New Orleans to Mt Mag, AR - Oct 2013
Hong Kong & China - Dec 2014
Many trips to Chicago - 2014
Dayton, Ohio - 2014
Twin Cities, MN- 2014
Where I left off and Where I am now.
The last post ended as I start up a new relationship with Marc, after my divorce with Rana. As I read (more like browsed) through the last post, I feel a bit of sadness of how hopeful of a future I had dreamt only to know, after half a decade, I had made little progress crossing off my travel bucket list.
Reboot, Initiate New Plan of Action!
So here I am, feeling like Dr. Who after a reboot, I am reintroducing myself to the world and redefining my philosophy in life. I want to stay in shape and continue my track around the world. In another attempt to hold myself accountable, I have set up a spreadsheet in Google docs, Bike Trips & Trails, to help keep track of my progress in spreadsheet format. I plan to update the list of bike trails I hope to explore locally and throughout the US as I work up to the longer international bike tours. I will also continue to update photos and blogs each day to document my travels as I go.........again.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
7/22/10-Katy Trail Part 2 and new overseas adventure!
It has been a while since I visited or contributed to my travel blog. Main reason, haven't been traveling. But what materialized in just the past few weeks prompted me to revisit my travel blog.
Fast Forward Update to Now
Since my India and Rome trip, my husband and I seperated and for the last year we worked on putting our lives back together. I now much happier now and Rana remarried. We still miss each other and try to stay in contact, but his wife is not in agreement with us keeping in touch.
Katy Trail Part 2
Marc and I are planning on going on 'his' first extended bike trip. I have previously did a 2-day Katy Trail trip from Jefferson City, Mo to Sedalia, MO. This time for my Katy revisit, we will be biking from Jefferson City to Dutzow, MO. My Katy Trail Itinerary.
Tauren Bike Tour
The Katy Trail is actually a preview for a bigger picture. We have planned an overseas, 9-day/8-night bike tour in Austria! This trip is organized by the same company that organized my previous Switzerland Bike Tour. This time I was to see Austria with Tripsite. This will be Marc's first time leaving the country. The only thing left to finalize plans is his passport. Its estimated arrival is should be end of August. Planned trip is end of September. Vacation dates are approved, funds are in the bank, RSVP are ready on speed dial, and bike tires are aired up... all is left is that little Passport book for a homegrown Iowian boy.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
5/13/09 - Crisis in Kerala
There is a new problem Kerala-eans are facing that I witnessed these past few days. People are telling me the weather had been unusually hot and dry for even during the hot season. According to Rana, even when it is hot there will be occasional rains still occurred, but it is only happening few and far.
We went to an Indian Bank and found the building minimally charged with electricity by a single loud generator. According to the desk clerk, city is going through an electricity shortage. He explained that the city is powered by hydro-generators, which produce city's power by churning turbines in nearby running waters. However, due to the lack of rain this season, the river levels has gone down and no longer supports the hydro-generators, thus producing no energy.
We returned home from the bank, (and kid you not) Rana's brother called to inform us their water well has dried up,(Kerala-eans main water source is tapping into underground water tables)meaning their home had no water.
Rana sat down next to me with head shaking. He said in recent past years the climate in his home had progressively gotten hotter and dryer. He feared his tropical country will eventually turn into a desert. In great disappointment, I heard Rana murmured, "..and we still have people driving around in Humvees in America."
We went to an Indian Bank and found the building minimally charged with electricity by a single loud generator. According to the desk clerk, city is going through an electricity shortage. He explained that the city is powered by hydro-generators, which produce city's power by churning turbines in nearby running waters. However, due to the lack of rain this season, the river levels has gone down and no longer supports the hydro-generators, thus producing no energy.
We returned home from the bank, (and kid you not) Rana's brother called to inform us their water well has dried up,(Kerala-eans main water source is tapping into underground water tables)meaning their home had no water.
Rana sat down next to me with head shaking. He said in recent past years the climate in his home had progressively gotten hotter and dryer. He feared his tropical country will eventually turn into a desert. In great disappointment, I heard Rana murmured, "..and we still have people driving around in Humvees in America."
Friday, May 8, 2009
5/7/09 – Trip onto the Mountain top
India Photos
Rana woke me up claiming he was unable to sleep and that it was 4:30 in the morning and he wanted to take a walk outside before the sun rose. It was actually 3:30 am. It was only after we showered and about to walk out the door that I realized that he had lied to me about the time. We started out walking around the neighborhood and eventually made our way down to the art museum by rickshaw.
Later that morning, still early in the day we met up with Megan and Json at the hotel along with the driver and Rana’s parents. We started with them getting a full body massage and scrub shower at an Ayurvedic facility where and hour session of pampering only cost each person RS 750 (Indian currency) or $7.50 US. We checked the brochure in Json and Megan’s hotel room to compare the prices of a massage. There were several basic massage packages that ranged from min RS 2,000 to RS 5,000 or $50-$100. There was an item for RS 750 which “to assist changing of bridal costumes”. One example of local pricing versus tourist pricing.
Today’s destination was up a mountain to Ponmudi, a mountaintop resort for locals to escape from the summer heat. We made several stops along the way on our way up to the top.
The first place we stopped was at a Botanical Institute or garden. We had paid our tickets and got in, but later when the administrator saw white people coming out of our van, he began to demand higher ticket prices for Json and Megan. According to the administrator the justification for charging Megan and Json more was because they were foreigners. They didn’t charge me the higher fee because they thought I was Nepalese, which didn’t make much sense to me since I would still have been considered a foreigner to the country. We thought the higher pricing for foreigners were unfair and their response was that US dollars could buy more and that we wouldn’t feel the pain of paying higher prices in India. We promptly got our refund for the entire group and decided we had seen enough. Our frustration was mostly in regards the principle than the money. If they had asked us for a donation it would have been a different story.
The second stop, was to a university where Professor Basheer, Rana’s father, had taught for about 25 years. I was introduced to this one teacher as Rana’s wife and Prof. Basheer’s daughter-in-law. Happily to show off his English skills, the man started talking with us and I had trouble understanding him due to his very Indian-English accent. The frustrated man turned to my husband and asked if I knew how to speak English. We were then greeted by the principle and board and had a very enlightening conversation with them about ourselves and their university. To my surprise their English was very good and wished we had more time to chat.
Our final mountain stop was Ponmadi. The ride to the top was long and scary. The roads were narrow and it shared both directions of traffic while we meandered along the edges of steep cliffs all the way to the top. Once we reached the top past the tea plant and rubber tree plantations, it was all worth it. The air was fresh and COOL. Mountain tops were peaceful and the view went as far as the eye could see.
Rana woke me up claiming he was unable to sleep and that it was 4:30 in the morning and he wanted to take a walk outside before the sun rose. It was actually 3:30 am. It was only after we showered and about to walk out the door that I realized that he had lied to me about the time. We started out walking around the neighborhood and eventually made our way down to the art museum by rickshaw.
Later that morning, still early in the day we met up with Megan and Json at the hotel along with the driver and Rana’s parents. We started with them getting a full body massage and scrub shower at an Ayurvedic facility where and hour session of pampering only cost each person RS 750 (Indian currency) or $7.50 US. We checked the brochure in Json and Megan’s hotel room to compare the prices of a massage. There were several basic massage packages that ranged from min RS 2,000 to RS 5,000 or $50-$100. There was an item for RS 750 which “to assist changing of bridal costumes”. One example of local pricing versus tourist pricing.
Today’s destination was up a mountain to Ponmudi, a mountaintop resort for locals to escape from the summer heat. We made several stops along the way on our way up to the top.
The first place we stopped was at a Botanical Institute or garden. We had paid our tickets and got in, but later when the administrator saw white people coming out of our van, he began to demand higher ticket prices for Json and Megan. According to the administrator the justification for charging Megan and Json more was because they were foreigners. They didn’t charge me the higher fee because they thought I was Nepalese, which didn’t make much sense to me since I would still have been considered a foreigner to the country. We thought the higher pricing for foreigners were unfair and their response was that US dollars could buy more and that we wouldn’t feel the pain of paying higher prices in India. We promptly got our refund for the entire group and decided we had seen enough. Our frustration was mostly in regards the principle than the money. If they had asked us for a donation it would have been a different story.
The second stop, was to a university where Professor Basheer, Rana’s father, had taught for about 25 years. I was introduced to this one teacher as Rana’s wife and Prof. Basheer’s daughter-in-law. Happily to show off his English skills, the man started talking with us and I had trouble understanding him due to his very Indian-English accent. The frustrated man turned to my husband and asked if I knew how to speak English. We were then greeted by the principle and board and had a very enlightening conversation with them about ourselves and their university. To my surprise their English was very good and wished we had more time to chat.
Our final mountain stop was Ponmadi. The ride to the top was long and scary. The roads were narrow and it shared both directions of traffic while we meandered along the edges of steep cliffs all the way to the top. Once we reached the top past the tea plant and rubber tree plantations, it was all worth it. The air was fresh and COOL. Mountain tops were peaceful and the view went as far as the eye could see.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
5/6/09 – Arrived at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
India Photos
We arrived in Kerala safe and sound and surprisingly comfortable and well-rested. We were all amazed and impressed with our international airline service, Emirates. Megan, Json, Rana, and I were sold on this airline company and will strive to make our future international travels with Emirates. The flight attendants were extremely polite and clean cut. They kept feeding us and we each had our own entertainment center at each seat. I watched lots of episodes of “Two and Half Men”, “Family Guy”, and a couple of movies. Of course, I had my trusty Sudoku book. Our traveling adventure began on 5/5/09, Tues. at 2pm in Kansas City, Mo. We first landed into Houston, Texas and from there connected to our international flight to Dubai. We arrived at the night so we were not welcomed with a blast of smothering humidity. We exited the plane outdoors in the cool night breeze, bussed to the airport, where we were crammed in a crowded, sweaty, musty, humid room waiting to cross customs. Fishing out our luggage was the most unimpressive part. The place was filled with people pushing and hustling around us trying to do the same thing as us. It was horrible and we were finally happy to get out of this place.
At 3 am, we were greeted with crowded people holding up signs and cab drivers constantly asking if were looking for a cab. After emerging from the chaotic crowds, packed traffic and constant honking vehicles, we found our host and quickly threw our luggage into the cars and jumped in before the police could come by and force our vehicles to move out of traffic. Turns out, a public transportation strike was scheduled to start 3 hours after our arrival, which will shut down local businesses for the entire day. People were gathering to the state capital for the strike and protest demonstrations. We had originally planned to go shopping for saris, however with area businesses closed for the day, we decided to forego sleep and walk the town and perhaps find a cozy spot and draw.
The weather got hot and humid fast. We walked around his neighborhood but due to the strike the stores were all closed. We visited Rana’s elementary school and we crammed ourselves into a rickshaw on the way back. Megan was having a blast on the thing and I was freaked out by numerous honking vehicles, on-coming traffic, and way-to-close-chaotic traffic arrangement. The ride home on the rickshaw cost for all four of us was 12 cents. Rana felt generous and paid the driver 40 cents. Once we got home we all vacated to the single air-conditioned room to recoup from the heat.
Serious jet-lag now sets in and all I can think now is sleep!
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