The Silent "I"

Yahoo! Mother Board Summit: The Mother of All Conferences

Recently, sixty-five moms from all over the US and Canada descended on Palo Alto and Sunnyvale to attend the invitation-only Yahoo! Mother Board Summit.  The moms are a high-powered group of bloggers who are plugged in to all the latest trends in marketing and social media, and were invited to participate in a one-day conference at Yahoo! Headquarters in Sunnyvale. I was fortunate enough to be invited, and had a wonderful time connecting with old friends, and meeting some great new friends.  I was happy, for once, to not have to travel to a meeting.

I have been on the Mother Board for three years, from its inception.  At the beginning, we answered surveys and tested out new Yahoo! products and gave the marketing team feedback.  In the past year, it has grown into a community of 80 bloggers who support and advise each other through a Yahoo! group and on the pages of the Yodeling Mamas blog. 

The Mother Board Summit was a mix of practical advice for bloggers, marketing focus group for Yahoo! products and services, and socializing over great food and drinks.  The women on the Yahoo! marketing team and Voce Communications did a fabulous job of organizing the content, and shepherding the attendees from place to place.

Hotel Review: Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa

 

While I was attending the Disney World of Color event last week, I had the opportunity to stay at the Disney Grand Californian Hotel and Spa.  Disney paid for my accommodations, and I was thrilled to have a chance to check out the hotel.  I was assigned to a small suite with a park view.  The desk clerk warned me that it might seem kind of odd for a single guest to have a set of bunkbeds in her room, but this was considered an upgrade, so I didn't object.

The hotel reminded me of the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone, a kind of throwback to the 1940's lodge experience.  I loved the details in the decor, from the Arts & Crafts style lantern lamps to the wood silhouettes in the headboard.  With a fastidious attention to detail, the Grand Californian seems to be a little slice of a bygone era, with all the conveniences of the 21st Century.

Carnival of Cities: January 27 Edition

Welcome to the January 27 Edition of the Carnival of Cities!  Join us for a virtual tour of some of the world's great cities and towns with our intrepid travel writers from around the globe.

North America

Starting out in Vancouver, Canada, just in time for the Winter Olympics, Julie Ovenell-Carter shows us the Hottest tickets in town: My Top 5 picks for Vancouver’s 2010 Cultural Olympiad posted at theseboots.travel for anyone who's just not that into sports, or wants to take a break from the action to enjoy some culture.

Jump in your virtual convertible and drive on down the coast to my home state of California,  where Caitlin will introduce you to the real Surf City in Driving Highway 1 in California: Santa Cruz and The Lost Boys Railroad Bridge at Roaming Tales. Keep going past Big Sur and Hearst Castle, all the way down the Pacific Coast Highway, where Joanne will entice you with Newport Beach Romance posted at Newport Beach Vacation for you and your valentine. 

No valentine? No worries! Follow Peter Kimmich through a tour of The Best Walking Bars in LA, Part 1: Los Feliz posted at TryOurLA.  Be sure to sober up before going along with Jim to the Hash House A Go Go, San Diego via Wanderlust Journey.

You'll need to abandon the convertible and fly out to the Midwest, and pick up a mini-van to brave the weather in Minnesota, in order to check out Beth Blair's Family Tips for Nickelodeon Universe at Mall of America over at The Vacation Gals. No kids? My son will be glad to join you, since he loves Nickelodeon!

While you're in Midwest, Jordy Clements invites you to check out Omaha, Nebraska with Guerrilla Trail Crew: Tweets, Shovels, and Rides Again posted at Omaha.net - Local

In Michigan, Case Ernsting provides great information on Amish Furniture at Think Local Washtenaw County posted at Home and Decor, and tips on local Couples Getaways in the Midwest posted at FinditLocal411 Blog.

In Kentucky, Jack for Prema Michael shows us Raven Run Nature Sanctuary, Lexington, Kentucky posted over at Eyeflare Travel Articles and Tips.  Then, travel down to Texas with Tui Cameron and do a little Shark-gazing at the Dallas World Aquarium posted at Mental Mosaic: Have Blog, Will Travel.

On the East Coast, Jon Rochetti tells us how the DC Flamenco Festival Dances into Town at The PlanetEye Traveler - Washington DC.  Victoria gives us a Londoner's nostalgic look The Big Apple at one of my favorite family travel blogs, It's a small world after all.

Europe

After you're done touring North America, head on over to The Continent, to some well-traveled roads, and a few off-the-beaten path locations that our travelers have discovered.

Curious about post-war Bosnia?  Look no further than Mostar: From the Ruins posted at Twenty-Something Travel, where you will see how this nation has fared since the war.

On a budget? Find out ways to travel in Germany without spending your life savings with Munich Alberto's Cheap Hotels In Munich posted at Cheap Hotels Inn.  For a more in-depth look at accommodations on the Rhine, Jim & Martha show us Bed & Breakfasts vs. Hostels: Bacharach posted at Wanderlust Journey.

Want to save money in Scandinavia?  Just follow Martin Andrews  Seeking Discount Travel Deals To Explore OsloBrad Alexzander and  How To Find Discount Travel Deals To Visit Stockholm Sweden posted at Globe Cheap Travel. 

If Rome is where the heart is, check out Sam's New !! The 10 Best Tourist Attractions in Rome Italy  at Travel Welcome and Robin Locker's lovely Cul de Sac posted at the beautiful My Melange. Robin's blog gets my vote for best design this time around.

For a gorgeous view of Spain, be sure to read Lena's 3 Facts: Barcelona posted at The Colors Magazine. The photos are muy fantastico!

Asia

Only one stop in Asia this time around, this time a view of Old Delhi as seen through the eyes of a woman traveling alone at Cold SnapDragon.

Africa

For a peek at life in Africa, Lanora Mueller shares moving account of her experiences in the Congo at Impressions of Kinshasa, posted at writing travel.

Last, but not least, we certainly have to acknowledge the devastation brought by this month's earthquake to our friends in Haiti.  June Tree presents some excellent advice on Haiti Relief Efforts and How To Help at The Digerati Life. I hope you will all take the time to stop by and find out ways you can help those in the greatest need right now.

Thanks to all the wonderful travelers who participated in this edition of the Carnival of Cities!  I look forward to reading the next edition, hosted by Family Travel Guides.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of cities using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

Greetings from Kauai

 

We landed in Kauai on Sunday, after an early morning rush to the airport, and an uneventful flight.  Despite news of a Christmas Day terrorist attempt on a Northwest-Delta flight, nothing much seemed to have changed for domestic flights.  We weren't strip-searched at the airport, weren't mauled by bomb-sniffing dogs, and weren't asked to prove that our underwear was, in fact underwear and not some synthetic explosive device disguised as unmentionables.  It was pretty much business-as-usual.

We were last in Kauai in 2007, and are back at our timeshare at the Kauai Marriott Resort for a week, celebrating Frank's 50th Birthday, and relaxing before the new year.  We bought a half share (every-other-year) here about ten years ago, and have loved every trip.  It never gets old or boring, and though we had a moment's twinge of buyer's remorse after we took the timeshare plunge, we now look at it as one of the best investments we ever made.

Every time we come back to Kauai, we find something new to explore.  This time, we hope to take in some of the lush botanical gardens.  In the past, we toured the island in the past by helicopter, sailboat, and catamaran.  We will keep our feet firmly planted on the ground this time, and just enjoy our time together.

On Monday, we picked up a rental car to do some grocery shopping and hopefully check out some big waves on the North Shore.  Foiled by a traffic jam, we made it as far as Lydgate Park on the east side of the island, where the waves were not that big, but provided a beautiful view.  We used to come to this park several times during our visits to Kauai, mainly for the terrific playground and enclosed beach that are perfect for smaller kids.  

As we drove by the playground, Alex exclaimed, "I remember that place! I used to love it here!" 

At nine, a complex of slides and swings and tunnels doesn't hold the same appeal as it did at age 5, I guess. I was happy that he remembered it.  That is one of the nicest aspects of returning to the same vacation spot, having memories of the place, and looking forward to creating news ones.  When we arrived at the Marriott, the staff said, "Welcome home."  

So, we're enjoying our home-away-from-home this week, sipping mai tais and smoothies, and falling asleep to the sound of ocean waves.  I hope that wherever you are, you have a little spirit of aloha with you this week and in the coming year.

Santiago, Chile: Finding a Happy Place

February 11, 2004

We left Easter Island on February 10 and started back to California via Santiago Chile.  We arrived late in the afternoon, and Alex decided to have the worst temper tantrum of his life in the luggage claim area of the Santiago airport.  He tried to throw himself on the luggage conveyor belt, but we managed to stop him in before he was tagged and sent on his way to Lima, Peru.  Sometimes, traveling with a toddler is not all it's cracked up to be.

Santiago reminded me a lot of Los Angeles, a gigantic urban basin packed with buildings surrounded by mountains.  We checked into the Santiago Marriott, which was conveniently located across the street from a toy store.  It was Sunday, so Alex could do nothing more than gaze longingly out twentieth-floor window. 

Planning a Trip to Easter Island

If you're interested in visiting Easter Island aka Isla de Pascua aka Rapa Nui aka "The Navel of the World," be forewarned that it is far, far away from any main airport hub and it will take a while to get there.  Lan Chile flights out of Santiago, Chile leave twice weekly, stopping off in Easter Island en route to Tahiti.  Your choices for direct flights are either out of Santiago or Papeete, Tahiti.  Be sure to book your flights well in advance. 

Further, there are limited hotel rooms on the island, and no major American or European chains.  The hotels are locally owned due to laws preserving the rights of native Rapa Nui people in landownership.  When we were there, there was a big debate among the Rapa Nui elders as to whether or not to allow Club Med to build a resort there.  As far as I know, they didn't allow it.  Part of the island's charm is the vast expanses of unspoiled land and the ability to see moai around nearly every bend in the road. Most hotels would be classified as "motels" by American standards, or large bed-and-breakfast style guest houses.

Shopping in Hanga Roa, Easter Island

This post is part of a retrospective on our trip to Easter Island for the Tapati Rapa Nui festival in February, 2004.

After our day seeing moai in various states of completion and decay, we spent a few leisurely mornings shopping in the town of Hanga Roa and visiting the Rapa Nui Museum.  The town was in walking distance from our hotel, the Taha Tai Hotel, and featured some nice restaurants and shops. I enjoyed shopping on a quiet little street at the Mercado Artisanal, which featured handmade crafts of -- you guessed it, moai big and small. 

The Mercado is actually an open air market with little grass tiki huts with various vendors selling key chains, magnets, statues big and small, and other goods.  When we visited, it was a lazy day with not many tourists. The people working the stands were friendly and charming. They forgave my poor attempts at Spanish, and many of them spoke enough English to be able to barter and complete a sales transaction.

I met a woman from Connecticut at one of the key chain vendors, who told me that she came to this island every year for the past twenty years, and it was her favorite place on earth. The island is not that big, so there's not a huge variety of things to do, but I could certainly see getting attached to it and wanting to return.  We go to Kauai every other year for the same reasons, but it's only a four hour flight from California.  I admired her dedication in getting here every year, despite the travel.

The shops in the Mercado had a variety of wooden and stone moai to choose from, from tiny to about the size of Alexander.  I wasn't sure how anyone would pack a 4 ft tall stone statuary in his or her luggage, but I guess they could ship it home to you at some exhorbitant rate.  I opted for the ones that we could fit in our pockets or in the spare spaces in our suitcases, which were already pretty full from our trip to Iguazu Falls.

Buenos Aires: Where's the Beef?

 

February 3, 2004

One of the things Argentina is famous for (besides Eva Peron) is the incredible beef.  We had read about the steakhouses in Buenos Aires, and being big time carnivores, we couldn't let a day in Buenos Aires go by without trying a steak.  We had both read about La Estancia Restaurant in various guidebooks, which the website calls "A Hearth Burning in the Heart of Buenos Aires."

When you walk in, you see a large asador or circular fireplace with various kinds of meet roasting on tall spits surrounding glowing coals in the middle.  I've read that there is a floor show in the evening, but we arrived early (probably 6:30) and were the only ones in the restaurant.  Argentines tend to eat dinner later than we do, which was probably a good thing since we didn't know how Alexander would fare if we had to wait a long time for dinner.

Our waiter was a portly gray-haired gentleman wearing a jaunty neckerchief and a white apron.  He didn't speak much English, and we didn't speak much Spanish, so we just pointed and smiled and hoped for the best. He was friendly, and ruffled Alexander's hair and patted his shoulder every time he came to the table or passed it. 

Argentina: Star Quality in Buenos Aires

       

Casa Rosada or The Pink Palace, in Buenos Aires, Argentina

February 3, 2004

After our amazing stay in Iguazu Falls, it was time to explore another part of Argentina.  After an early morning flight from Puerto Iguazu, we checked into the Marriott Plaza Hotel in Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires was a short stop on our itinerary, but we decided to make the most of it.

Buenos Aires is a mix of old-world European charm and Latin intensity. I was struck by how ridiculously good-looking the people were, from the hotel desk clerk who looked like she just stepped off a runway in Milan, to the average Joes (or Juans) reading the newspaper in the park who could have been Antonio Banderas' long lost sibling.  We've been all over the world, and I don't think I've seen this many gorgeous people per capita anywhere else, even Beverly Hills (where the looks tend to be generated by surgeons rather than genetics).  There was something unique and interesting about all of the faces we encountered.

After checking in, we walked to Plaza General San Martin, a nearby park with some ancient metal play structures that Alexander could play on while I nervously looked on.  The equipment looked like the kind of metal structures I remember from when I was a kid in the 60's and 70's, with chipping paint (probably lead), and hard, unforgiving concrete underneath.  This equipment made me appreciate litigious American parents who have pretty much made sure that playground equipment is as safe as possible. 

Luckily, Alexander had fun without managing to kill himself or give his mom a heart attack.  Alexander had a great time playing on the slides, monkey bars, and running around, after spending the morning in airports, planes and taxis.  Sometimes, a boy just needs to run free.

Argentina: Sheraton Hotel in Iguazu Falls

January 30, 2004

After an exhausting overnight flight, we finally arrived in Iguazu Falls in Argentina and checked into our hotel, the Sheraton Iguazu Resort & Spa. In order to get to the hotel, you have to enter the Argentine Iguazu Falls National Park and pay an entry fee. We booked our room four months in advance, but even so, were not able to get a room with a view of the falls, and had to settle for a "jungle view" instead.  From what I'd seen of the jungle flying in, that would be just fine.

We pulled up to the hotel, which from the outside looked like some kind of inverted cruise ship or space craft.  The building is a set of tiered balconies, so that every room has it's own balcony view of either the falls or the jungle. The main floor of the hotel features large windows so you can see the falls off in the distance.

We were completely exhausted, sweaty, and crabby from traveling so far on so little sleep. It was 5 pm, and the restaurant didn't open until 7, so we checked into the room, cleaned up a bit, and watched some Spanish language cartoons.  It was all I could do to keep my eyes open, but I knew if I went to sleep when we arrived, I'd be up at 3 am with nothing to do.  We walked around the broad lawns in the back of hotel and had a wonderful view of the falls. Somehow, I managed to stay awake until dinner time, even though one of the comfortable lounge chairs called my name repeatedly.