A California Online Magazine with Local Focus and Global Appeal
“Do you know what street we’re on?” I asked Ted.
“Haven’t the slightest idea. I can’t see any signs either,” he replied.
We were driving through San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, on a hunt for a laboratory to x-ray me for a dental problem. The dentist in Jaco had written down the address: 500 meters south from the cathedral.
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The Blackhawk Museum is one of the top attractions in Danville, CA. The museum’s lofty mission to “stimulate interest and understanding of art, culture, and history,” isn’t so outlandish once you learn it’s actually composed of several museums.
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The signs of spring are emerging with flowers blooming, rows of colorful leafy veggies blossoming, and a new member of Washington Acres arriving…a Vietnamese potbellied piglet found in a storage unit who needs to be fostered until its owner is located. Bibi, Megan’s grandmother, is completely taken.
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Traveling with kids can be educational, enriching, and risky. Along with some safety hazards (stomach bugs, choking, and accidents), children may have strong reactions to mysterious ailments. Moreover, you have to protect your children from scammers, kidnappers, and other fears. If you want to travel with kids, here are some strategies to protect them from troubles.
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Singapore is not only known for business startups and man-made attractions, but also for its well-maintained and preserved nature reserves. If you are planning to visit this island-state for your next vacation, this is the best time to make your itinerary. As you do this, consider the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, especially if you love hiking, cycling, and interacting with nature.
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You would think that crossing a street would be the same in every country. But you would be wrong.
In Amsterdam, we were trying to cross a small street (only one car width) and all going one way, from my right to the left. I had our dog Sherman on a leash as I waited until there was a break in the flow and stepped out. Suddenly, I was flying back, landing on my butt on the sidewalk.
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Traveling is one of the most exciting experiences in life as it takes you to see new places, meet new people, and explore a new culture. It is an eye-opening experience, and it is understandable that you might want to share your experiences through a travel essay.
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In some ways, dogs are like children. If you have more than one, one will become your favorite. I know parents try not to have favorites and won’t admit it, but it happens, usually to the one that is least able to fend for himself.
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Most people are career oriented their whole lives. There is nothing wrong with this, but it brings about little excitement and enjoyment. Sure, you get a yearly vacation of a week or so where you can do some traveling and see the world, but this just isn’t as fulfilling as taking a career break to travel.
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While traveling the world for 10 years, my husband and I stayed at low-end budget hotels to keep within our budget. As travelers living on Social Security, we didn’t have money to spend on luxury places. This meant we had a lot of experiences we would have missed if we had stayed only in better hotels. It also meant we met a lot of wonderful people, took local transit, ate from street vendors, and experienced some tummy troubles while traveling. Without these experiences, our 10 years of traveling would not have been as much fun or as educational.
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Borders: lines, trucks, vendors, mud, cooking fires, stray dogs, and pieces of tortillas or rolls in the muddy road, men lounging against trucks, women either stirring pots over fires in hubcaps or slapping tortilla dough, children staring out through dirty truck windows, pigs squealing through the slats of wood of one trailer, cows lowing from another, and uniformed guards holding rifles as they walk between the vehicles.
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Bridges make crossing rivers, ravines, mountains, and crowded areas possible. We hope the bridge will last until we’re over it, but we’ve all seen pictures where it didn’t and dumped some vehicles down, down, down.
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When traveling abroad, a lot of people focus on the fun aspects of traveling. It is nice to get away from everything. Plus, you’re going to be able to explore the world, meet new people, and see cool things.
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“Weren’t you ever afraid?” So many people have asked this question about our seventeen years traveling and living outside of the U.S. I always say ‘No’. We did visit a couple of dangerous places like South Africa and Brazil.
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