Sunday Stealing: My Bags Are Packed

I'm linking up with Sunday Stealing which is kept running and hosted by Bev. Thanks for all you do, Bev!

Stolen from  SwapBot

To which countries have you been? Only the U.S., because I live here, and Canada....and I don't even have a Canadian stamp in my passport. We had to have them when we took a cruise back in 2019, but nobody ever even asked to see them.

Which countries would you love to visit one day?  Greece, Italy, and Israel top the list, but if money and safety were not issues I'd also like to visit Egypt, Turkey, Australia, Spain, Ireland, Scotland, and Costa Rica.

Have you been on a trip this year or have one planned for later?  No, we were planning a beach vacation with our daughter's family in September, but by mutual agreement we all decided to cancel it and hope the economy is looking better next year.

What kinds of transport do you prefer to travel by? (train, car, plane,...)  Flying is...okay. I'm not afraid of it or anything, but it's not necessarily the most convenient method of going from point A to point B these days. I'd like to take a train trip. Buses are awful. On the whole, if it's possible time-wise, I'd prefer to travel by car. I like being in control of when and where I stop.

Do you get yourself a souvenir to take home? If yes, what do you like to buy?  I always have in the past. I don't have any particular thing that I look for. It's usually something that captures the trip for me. 

Do you like to try local food? Can you recommend anything or advise not to try something?  Sure! I'm always up for trying the food. It would have to be pretty bad to turn me off to at least tasting it. I'd definitely recommend Navajo tacos at Earl's in Gallup, NM (if it's still there), steak at Burn's Steak House in Tampa,  lobster rolls anywhere in New England, and the seafood chowder at the little restaurant at the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia.

Do you book your travel online or classical in a travel agency?  Online, though if I were going to go overseas I'd probably let a travel agency work out all the wrinkles for me.

Name three things that you can not go anywhere without and have in your suitcase.  A good book, my journal, and my straightening iron.

Tell about a funny travel experience you had.  Oh gosh, it was an entire "funny" weekend, not just one incident. Tim had to go to Baltimore for a job once when the kids were young and his employer told him to take us along and make a weekend out of it. His brother and his wife were big fans of Motel 6's and made reservations for us at the one in Baltimore. 

We didn't get there until midnight. We had tired little kids in tow and what we found was a hotel located in an industrial area. It was the kind of place that usually rents rooms by the hour (if you know what I mean) and the desk clerk was behind thick bulletproof glass. Only one light worked in the whole room/bathroom...which was probably a good thing since the bathroom was not

great and there was garbage shoved under the beds. The sign out front advertised jacuzzi tubs and we joked that if you asked for a room with one of those they probably handed you the keys and a can of beans. The kids slept. I dozed in a chair. Tim watched the van from the window until dawn when he went to a phone booth across the street and called another hotel on the harbor and got us a room there for the second night. 

The second night was sort of better. The hotel was being remodeled (a good thing because while nice it was older and had very thin walls). We woke up in the middle of the night to the beds literally shaking and bouncing off the floor! We both thought it was an earthquake when we first woke up. Then we realized it was the people on the other side of the wall being "romantic." Fortunately, our son slept through it, but our daughter woke up and I was worried how I'd explain it, but she looked at me, asked if I had any pierogies in my purse, and went back to sleep! It was so bad we kind of wondered if we should check to make sure nobody was dead or hurt over there. Ultimately, we did not.

Tell about a bad travel experience your had.  I'm pretty sure the answer to the last question counts as both bad and funny...especially if you add in that our daughter and I had miserable colds the entire time and it was about 100 degrees with high humidity. I was about at the point of praying for death.

What kind of accommodation do you usually stay in when you go on trips?  It depends on what kind of trip. If we're on a vacation to one location we usually rent a house which is cheaper than paying for a hotel and eating out all the time. If we're moving around or just going on a short trip we stay in whatever nice hotel we find that offers the best deal. I usually book them ahead of time.

Have you ever traveled alone by yourself? Did you like it? If not, would you want to try it?  I've flown between Pennsylvania and Florida several times on my own or with an infant. I rather liked flying with an infant. If there were seats available, the flight attendants often offered to move up to first class so there was more room and since I often flew on weekdays, there were lots of business men who were very kind, getting my carry-on down, offering to buy drinks, carry my bag off the plane, etc. I have never gone on a vacation by myself, depending on where it was, I think I might like it.

What is the first thing you do when you arrive at your destination?  Check out the room or house where I am staying (check for evidence of bed bugs) and unpack my things. Then rest a bit if there's time while checking out what there is to do.

What kinds of activities do you like to do when you are traveling?  Visit historic and natural sites, shop, try the native foods, experience cultural things, and whatever is unique to the area.

How do you like to spend your vacation? (on a cruise, backpacking, etc)  I did enjoy the cruise we took much more than I thought I would so I would do that again, but only if it was a smaller ship. I want no parts of those huge party ships with tons of kids. Other than that, I like to just explore the area. I like a mix of being on the go and relaxation. 

Do you like to travel in your own country? If yes, can you recommend a place?  I do. There is so much I want to see that I haven't seen yet! Of the places I've been, I'd most recommend Chincoteague Island, Virginia; western New Mexico (Gallup, Window Rock, etc.); the wine country along the Pennsylvania/New York border; Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania; Boston; and the coastal towns of Maine.