Nightlife at Put-in-Bay

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Travel Spirit

Feeling like Cinderella with less than an hour or two left, our day at Put-in-Bay was going to end at 9:30pm (our Jet Express ferry return time) so we knew we had to squeeze out every bit of fun we could in the time remaining. Walking down the street, the sound of a musician belting out a foot tapping tune from an outdoor lakeside venue, led us to take a rest and listen for a while.

The colorful umbrellas and people up ahead were incentive enough for me!

While my friends relaxed, I did my thing…take photographs.

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Finding Art at Put-in-Bay

Posted on August 30, 2014 by Travel Spirit

My quest to find art everywhere I go with my camera, was fulfilled at Put-in-Bay! This tiki torch lighting a restaurant walkway provided a cool contrast to the dusky sky.

This beautiful girl with an edgy look allowed me to take her photograph. I gave her one of my cards and sent the photos to her. She thanked me for making her feel special!

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There’s more to Put-in-Bay than Partying

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Travel Spirit

Exploring South Bass Island on our golf cart, my girlfriends and I discovered the other side of Put-in-Bay. The side that makes you want to pull up a comfy lounge chair and let the world go by. We admired the lakeside homes with the glittering water shining through their windows…

Sailboats gliding quietly through the blue waters…

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The Wild Side of Put-in-Bay

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Travel Spirit

If you’re looking for fun in the sun, dancing, a few adult beverages, and people in skimpy bathing suits, Put-in-Bay is the place to visit! Although my friends and I didn’t bring our bathing suits for our day on the Island, we didn’t let that prevent us from making a stop at one of the swimming pools Put-in-Bay is famous for. We bring the party with us no matter where we’re at! My friend Shari moving to the beat…

Although the pool bar looked inviting, the non-humid 80 degree weather was perfect for lounging around with our clothing on.

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Golf Cart Fun at Put-in-Bay

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Travel Spirit

A trip to Put-in-Bay, also known as the “Key West of the North”, isn’t complete unless you rent a golf cart. After disembarking from the Jet Express ferry ($33 pp round-trip) from Port Clinton, our first stop was to pick up our ride. We didn’t reserve a cart ahead of time, but they had plenty. Splitting the $80 day rental fee between four of us, made it quite affordable.

Seated on the back…taking photographs while we were racing along was fun…

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Girls’ Weekend Port Clinton and Put-in-Bay

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Travel Spirit

My annual tradition of spending a long weekend somewhere with girlfriends has come around full circle this past weekend, when myself and three friends drove from Cincinnati to Port Clinton, Ohio, and eventually ferried over to Put-in-Bay, where we began the tradition 22 years ago! I don’t remember much about that weekend so many years ago, other than visiting the Marblehead Lighthouse, driving a golf cart around, and listening to a band on a beer splashed floor in a dark bar in the middle of the day. This time was different. We still had fun, in fact, we had more fun this time! Initially we were going to stay on the South Bass Island where the village of Put-in-Bay is located, but with only a couple of months notice for planning the trip (creating a lack of options) and wanting to get some sleep, since many of the hotels are located near loud bars, I booked a condo through Vacation Rental by Owner (VRBO) in Port Clinton, located within walking distance (15 mins.) to the Jet Express for the 25 min. trip over. After settling in and having a delicious lunch prepared by one of the “girls” at the condo, we made a drink and headed down to the pool and hot tub for some relaxation. We couldn’t have asked for better weather…80 degrees and sunny afternoons!

We freshened up and headed out to the Mon Ami Winery, located a short 10-15 min. drive from our condo.

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10 Tips to Cut Your Travel Costs

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Travel Spirit

If you love to travel like I do, here are some tips to stretch your travel dollar…

1. Lodging

Lodging is by far the largest expense when traveling. Couchsurfing is a terrific alternative to the standard hotel room if you’re a bit adventurous. After making an online profile through Couchsurfing.org, you can search their database based on location and other filters, such as age and male/female, for a place to crash for a few nights. It’s totally free and the friendships you make could become lifelong! You may also host people at your place, if you have a couch, an extra bed, or even an air mattress on the floor. In the past two years, I’ve Couchsurfed in Cape Town, South Africa, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Philadelphia, and New York City.

Patio of Cape Town, S. Africa Couchsurfing home

2. Solo Travel

If you’re traveling solo through a travel company, choose a company that doesn’t charge a single supplement fee, such as G Adventures. They’ll pair you up with a roommate and who knows, you may even become Facebook friends with them!

One of my roommates in Thailand through G Adventures

3. Food Continue reading →

Views from Mount Floyen

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Travel Spirit

The views from Mount Floyen in Bergen, Norway can only be described as Spectacular, Astonishing, breathtaking, stunning, dazzling, and magnificent! We were blessed with beautiful 75 degree sunny weather in early June and I felt like I was on top of the world!

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Bergen and Bryggen

Posted on July 27, 2014 by Travel Spirit

The City of Bergen transports you back in time, to a time when life was simpler. A life that revolved around good fresh food, healthy outdoor activity, family and friends! As a tourist, you only have a glimpse into the lives of the people who live and work there. Three days wasn’t enough time to explore the surrounding area, but I was able to relax at my comfortable Airbnb apartment, when I wasn’t browsing the streets of Bergen and the area known as Bryggen, which means “Wharf” in Norwegian, and consists of 61 wooden buildings, along the waterfront. What’s remarkable is that the City of Bergen is almost 1,000 years old and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site!

Incredibly, it stays light in Norway until 10 or 11pm and daylight begins around 3am in the late Spring. During our three days in Bergen, it sprinkled rain perhaps a third of the time, but Norwegians say, “It’s not bad weather, just bad clothing choice”! Having arrived in town the evening before, tired from our spectacular day traveling from Oslo to Bergen through the Fjords of Norway, we decided to wait until the next morning to go grocery shopping. I awoke earlier than my three Tour participants, as usual, so I went off in search of the closest grocery, which was thankfully only a 5 to 10 minute walk from our Airbnb. I purchased eggs for omelets, bacon (because one of the others wanted it) bread, cheese, lunchmeat, and a few other staples, to help with the high cost of eating out in Norway. The only coffee maker in the apartment was a French press, which I’ve never used, but with a bit of instruction, I caught on quickly, and made a nice pot full. I then proceeded to make a nice breakfast for everyone. The main tourist attraction I had planned for us was to go to the top of Mount Floyen, but I’ll save that for tomorrow’s post!

Here are some photos of the captivating town of Bergen…

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Turn right at the Witchy Bitchy Salon

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Travel Spirit

If you’ve been following my month-long European sojourn, you’ll recall from yesterday’s post that we had spent the day on trains, a boat and a bus, from Oslo, Norway to Bergen, Norway, via Norway in a Nutshell, through the beautiful Norwegian Fjords! Upon arrival to the train station in Bergen, although I had printed Google map directions to our Airbnb accommodations, I asked for assistance from a lady with a baby on her back, who definitely looked to be a local. She said to follow her…she was going in our direction. She brought us all the way to the “Witchy Bitchy Salon”, located about 15 minutes walk from the train station, which is where our host said to turn and go up a street to her place. I have to say that Bergen is filled with hills. Small hill…big hills…and more hills. Unfortunately, two of the wheels on my 50 lb. rolling suitcase broke on this leg of the trip, so I was pulling dead weight up these hills! We went up one hill and it was quite confusing with the street names being so similar and conflicting at the same time, so I began ringing door bells to ask assistance. One guy stuck his head out of his top window and tried to help.

There’s the Witchy Bitchy Salon on the left…

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Norway in a Nutshell

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Travel Spirit

Norway in a Nutshell is a website where you can purchase tickets to see the majestic and spectacular Fjords of Norway. It was one of the highlights of my month-long trip in Europe and I was joined by the three Tour participants I was leading through Scandinavia. We began the day early, leaving our hotel in Oslo, Norway at 5:30am to walk to the train station for the start of our adventure. I briefed everyone the day before as to the timeline of events and what to expect. It would be a long day…15 hours, beginning with a five-hour train ride to the town of Flam where we would board a one hour scenic train ride through the beautiful mountains, passing breathtaking waterfalls, rocky cliffs, and lush green meadows. It was voted by Lonely Planet in 2014 as the best train journey in the world. We would then board a boat for two hours of incredible beauty traveling through the Gudvangen Fjord, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Next a bus would pick us up for a one hour ride to the last leg of our adventure, a 1 1-2 hr. train ride into Bergen, Norway.

I spent the entire two-hour Fjord boat journey taking photographs and enjoying nature’s glorious beauty! The boat would slow down and drift into coves where quaint fishing villages were nestled in the pristine valleys…

Dramatic waterfalls plunged hundreds of feet to meet the glistening sea…

Surrounded by towering mountains and blessed with a perfectly sunny spring day, it was easy to feel connected to everything!

Although it was early June, snow was still melting on some of the higher mountain peaks… Continue reading →

The Artistic Side of Oslo

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Travel Spirit

I love to find Art everywhere and Oslo, Norway was no exception. I featured a photograph of this unconventional water fountain located down the street from my Hotel a couple of days ago, but taken from a different angle and turned into black and white, it becomes a piece of Art!

This statue of a part man, part devil, part hoofed creature with his manhood in all of it’s glory is quite artful!

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Frogner Park and Vigeland’s Whimsical Statues in Oslo

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Travel Spirit

The next stop on my travel agenda was Frogner Park in Oslo, Norway to see the whimsical statues created by Gustav Vigeland I’d read about! It was exactly the kind of place I envisioned with broad spans of green lawn, a beautiful fountain, and quirky statues! Frogner Park is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Norway with 1 to 2 million visitors per year. It’s the World’s largest sculpture park made by a single artist. I endeavored to capture photos without “real” people in them, but it was challenging…

Everyone was naked…I’m not sure why.

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Viking Ship Museum and the Fram Museum in Oslo, Norway

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Travel Spirit

With less than full two days to explore Oslo, Norway, the Viking Ship Museum and Fram Museum located a short 15 minute ferry ride from Oslo to the Bygdoy Peninsula, were definitely on my list of places to see! This is the Gokstad ship that was found in a burial mound in Norway, dating back to around 890 AD. It was found with the remains of one male skeleton, believed to be a King from that time frame.

The Oseberg ship was also discovered at a different burial mound in Norway, dating back to approximately 800 AD. Two women skeletons were recovered, one believed to be a Queen, along with 14 horses, an ox, and three dog skeletons.

A few days prior to visiting this Museum, my Tour participants and I had visited the amazing Vasa Ship Museum in Stockholm. When I travel, I tend to prefer other types of activities such as bicycling, relaxing at a side-walk Cafe’ while people watching, etc. rather than going to museum after museum, but I found these ship museums to be really interesting!

We walked across the street to see the Fram Museum which tells the story of Norwegian polar exploration, in particular three great Norwegian polar explorers, Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup and Roald Amundsen. The Fram was used for a few expeditions to the Arctic and the South Pole during a period in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, spanning almost 20 years. One of the cool things about this ship was you were allowed to go aboard and see how the explorers lived out at sea for years at a time. Continue reading →

Self Guided Walking Tour in Oslo, Norway

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Travel Spirit

After checking into our hotel in Oslo, Norway, following a six-hour train ride from Stockholm, Sweden, my group of three Tour participants and I set off on my self guided walking tour, developed through Google maps, to see some of Trip Advisor’s recommended places to check out. We were a bit concerned upon checking into the hotel, when we realized a stage was set up 100 yards down the street with bands playing throughout the afternoon and evening. Even with the windows shut, the room reverberated! The front desk reassured us they were only scheduled to play until 11pm, so off we went!

One of the most impressive architecture marvels was the Oslo Opera House. The angled exterior surfaces of the building are covered with Italian marble and white granite and make it appear to rise from the water. I can’t believe it has 1,100 rooms and the main auditorium seats over 1300 people!

I’m getting ahead of myself…when we left to go walking, the square right down the street where the bands were playing has this unusual creative fountain…