We arrived at the terrific 600-foot drop of Dunn’s River Falls and were led down to the bottom by our guide. Donning bathing attire and special water shoes, we stood on the beach and stared at the daunting ascent. We began the climb holding hands in a chain, which wasn’t easy, and at times the chain broke as we used our hands to scramble up huge boulders against the rushing waters. As we struggled, at times waist deep in water, we broke into peals of laughter – whether of hysteria or merriment I cannot now be sure, but the experience was great.

More sensible souls walked up the path at the side of the falls, pausing at the viewing platforms to watch others struggle up the waterfall and taking photographs. Kids loved it, but the drenching was not for everyone! It is certainly a challenging climb in places and took an hour do the whole ascent, although there were opt-out points. Once the top was scaled we had an enormous feeling of achievement as we dripped off to get changed. A happy half-hour was spent recovering as we browsed the local craft market, buying some delicious smelling Blue Mountain coffee beans to take home as a memento of this crazy day.

Definitely a beautiful location and a memorable experience, but next time I will stick to the footpath and be the one taking the photographs!

By Gillian Birch

Airport security is really just a joke that we can’t laugh about. With the goal to get through security as fast and as easy as possible, we have to keep our mouths shut. Don’t joke. Don’t use sarcasm. Don’t make comments about the process. Don’t address personnel unless they speak to you first. One wrong comment can mean that you are being screened and harassed for hours on end. In air travel, you lose most of any rights that you thought you had. They can hold you captive at the airport. They can hold you captive on the plane for hours on end without food, water or facilities. And we are still no more safe than before because anyone who is determined to do something can do it.

So here is a step by step of what I do when I travel:

Be very polite and use good manners. Say good morning or good afternoon. Say please and thank you when you can. You may be surprised at the reaction you get. Most of the staff immediately change their demeanor for the better towards you because a positive word at an airport is so rare these days.

Just prior to getting into the screening line, I take everything out of my pockets and off my person tuck it into a separate outside closing pocket on my carry-on bag. This way you don’t have to use those little trays and have all your items out in the open and visible. For those that you can do easily, it is best to take out any body piercing jewelry that you may have as well. Hold onto your ticket and passport/ID. Everything else goes. This includes my watch, my cell phone, ring, wallet, coins, pens and my hand sanitizer. Do the same with anything else that you carry in your pockets. You can then open this pocket on the other side of security and put it all back on your person for the rest of your travels.

Take off your belt and any other clothing accessories that could set something off.

Prevent theft at the security machines

You never want your stuff on one side of security while you are on the other. If I was a crook and based on what I witness all the time, this would be such a great place to hangout. People are vulnerable, distracted and the authorities really don’t give a darn about your stuff. Security can’t leave their post to run after someone who steals your valuables. So it’s totally up to you to prevent theft and stay safe.

• Put your carry-on bag on the belt. Don’t let it start moving through the machine yet.
• Take off your shoes and jacket and place them in the first bin.
• Take your laptop out and put it in a bin by itself as well.
• Watch the metal detectors and the persons ahead of you.
• Only after the person immediately ahead of you has cleared, let your bags start going through the machine. Watch to make sure they have disappeared into the device.
• Walk through the detector clean and quiet (unless you have metal inside your body or unusual clothing. But you already know you are in for a hassle). You should then be able to walk over and watch your items exit the machine in front of you.

Collect your stuff, put on your belt and shoes, empty that outside pocket of stuff back into your own pockets and get on your journey. You are probably past the biggest hassle of your entire trip…until you go the airport to come home again.

By Adam Longfellow

On this day, a person was being trained at the front desk. That is something that has to happen with any business but in this case and with the line backing up, I was wishing the manager would have taken over to get things done. A company worker doing landscape work came in and needed some assistance with something so the manager left with him. This left the trainee to flounder by herself and really not accomplish anything. Another ten minutes go by and the manager comes back to help solve the check in problem. I’m still third in line but they start to catch up. The staff was certainly friendly and helpful just not too concerned with the efficiency of time. They also have a Christmas Store in the office. It seems a bit odd in the middle of summer, maybe even creepy with some rather religious items, but we’ve all seen those year around Christmas stores before. And I would guess this gets some other kinds of business when people aren’t there to camp in peak season.

So after the long twenty (20) minute check in time, I get a spot off in the corner and away from others. The sun came out and the day was totally different than the hours that preceded check in. So I had an isolated spot since I didn’t need any hookups. That was nice and the construction crew was about done for the day. If I had been there earlier or stayed later the next day, the construction and constant beeping would have been a bit annoying at full price.

I think I would still recommend this KOA for people who go to KOA campgrounds or need site services. All of the little problems I had were not going to happen to everyone else and no place is perfect. They were smaller systemic issues that hopefully will get corrected for the price that is charged.

The facilities were in decent shape. The mens bathroom had some wear and tear late in the evening. I’ve seen much worse and wouldn’t call it a big negative but I’ve also seen much better. My family used the playground.  We watched some dogs and their owners use the pet area. It seemed like it either every dog was there at once, barking and jumping at each other or there were none at all. They all had the same schedule. There were some neighborhood boys who came and used the playground as well, riding their bikes all over, getting into a shouting match and fighting before leaving around dinner time.

The last issue I had at this stop was that I bought firewood at the campground. The bag was on the porch and looked like it had been out of the rain. It turned out to be rather green and wet. In the evening, I saw some young people grabbing the wood out back after it was recently cut (and in the two day rain period we just had) and putting it in dry bags to carry to that covered porch. No one can control the weather but it’s probably best not to sell a dry bag of wet firewood when most buyers are probably going to want to use it that night. So I wound saving most of the wood for later on down the road.

By Adam Longfellow

I was thinking about going on another cruise this winter. But then I started to think about it being in the middle of flu season. Making me rethink my plans. If it was just me, I’d still go in a heart beat. But I have family to consider when I plan some but not all of my trips. Last year there only a handful of flu cases by mid-October. This year, we already have thousands. Although 40,000 people die in a normal flu season, this one is the first bug in decades that has the same flu strand going around the world. It is unusual. The media glare is harsh. The numbers will be blown up, inflamed and sent up like a balloon without a boy. A thousand deaths from something with a name is more threatening than many thousands that fall under the same old yearly statistic. We need catchy names. We need dates. We need slogans. We need enemies to get excited.

Car accidents? eh. Drunk drivers? eh. Heart disease? eh. Cancer? eh. Boring. No one pays attention.

Bird flu!  Swine flu!  Death panels! Much better. Maybe just attach a animal or brand name to it.

Transformers crash! Camel drivers! Valentines disease! Crocodile bug!

This particular flu is different in that it targets younger people more so than older people. The said reason is that people who were born around 1950 and before may have antibodies from a previous swine flu outbreak. Because it’s been so long, younger people haven’t been exposed to it or developed any defense.

The flu by itself is not killing people. In most cases that have been publicized, something comes in behind the flu after it has weakened the immune system. So it is a contributing a factor but it’s not a single fatal gun shot.

Should I Get The Flu Vaccine Before Traveling?

I’m getting asked this quite a bit by email and comments on other posts so I thought I’d stick my neck out and give my take here. I also add my own twisted look at the stats and sheets put out by the US government below.

I personally don’t care for vaccines. What seems great now so often turns out to be a bad thing later. We decided that putting Mercury in our teeth was not such a good idea. Why do we still need it in our vaccines? They put things in vaccines so they last longer on the shelf and save the producers money, not necessarily just what is good for people.

I’m not going out and getting a vaccine before traveling. But I will choose where I go and who I am spending time with inside a ten foot radius. Ten feet is said to be the airborne range of this flu. This does mean that most forms of public transportation, workplaces and education facilities put you at an increased risk. If you have other health problems, you have an increased risk. But then you also risk getting the side effect symptoms of the shot and should keep that in mind.

What do I do as I travel often?

I try to get good sleep. I try to eat organic and minimize my pesticide intake. I try not to eat much junk food, otherwise known as the majority of the things in a normal American grocery store. Other countries don’t have nearly as much dangerous food on the shelves so many of you are okay. I mix up and drink Emergen-C every day. I take extra zinc every day. I use hand sanitizer after touching public surfaces. I wash my hands often but I use my very own towel. Sharing a towel with anyone else, even in your family, after washing your hands no longer makes sense to me. Germs love moisture and they live on a damp towel longer.

Enough of this junk, what about the vaccine!?

Here is what the FDA says about the approved H5N1 bird flu vaccine (pdf). There is some controversy right now on how much this was modified for the version that just came out. It is up to you how much you trust everything agencies and for-profit companies (yes there is huge money in the flu and vaccines) tell you.

Influenza Virus Vaccine, H5N1, is a clear and slightly opalescent suspension formulated to contain 90 μg hemagglutinin (HA) per 1.0 mL dose of the influenza virus strain A/Vietnam/1203/2004 (H5N1, clade 1). Porcine gelatin (500 μg/dose) is added as a stabilizer. Thimerosal, a mercury derivative, is added as a preservative. (Some people believe this has increased rates of autism. Some people don’t believe it.) Each 1.0 mL dose is formulated to contain not more than 98.2 μg thimerosal (approximately 50 μg mercury/dose). Each dose may also contain residual amounts of formaldehyde (not more than 200 μg), Polyethylene Glycol p-Isooctylphenyl Ether (not more than 0.05%), and sucrose (not more than 2.0%).

Thermosal Q & A

Pigskins are in it

Acid pretreatment is invariably used for porcine gelatin. Pigskins are first dehaired, usually by a combination of steam, rubber paddles, and flame. The pigskins may then be degreased by various methods, such as centrifuged in a rotating drum heated with steam to temperatures between 60° and 65° C. or approximately 150°-160°F.

Nonoxynol-9 is in it

This is an agent used in cleaning products, cosmetics and contraceptives. nonoxynol-9 has been shown to increase the risk of HPV cancer infection.

This is all from the CDC and FDA. (Can be fact checked here)

Signs of 2009 H1N1 can include (may last several days to a week):

• Fatigue
• Fever
• Sore Throat
• Muscle Aches
• Chills
• Coughing
• Sneezing
• Some people also have diarrhea and vomiting.

Reported reactions to the vaccine (may last a couple to several days):

• runny nose, nasal congestion or cough
• fever
• headache and muscle aches
• wheezing
• abdominal pain or occasional vomiting or diarrhea
• sore throat
• chills
• tiredness/weakness
• headache

Any similarities in these lists? I put them in purple to make the matches easier to spot. If you get the vaccine, you get the added bonuses of mercury, formeldahyde, pig skin and Nonoxynol-9. No wonder funeral home directors order a fraction of the chemicals they used to order in the 1960s. We are preserving ourselves. Maybe they can create a flu shot that clears up the wrinkles on the face at the same time. Call it flutox. Our children can have asthma, autism and Alzheimers but they’ll look great.

The media talks about flu shots, shortages, where to get them, etc but rarely do I see any in depth information about who and who should not get a shot. Instead we have CDC sheets like this that most people will never see. The shot is okay for some people but the nasal version of the same vaccine is NOT okay? Look at the following CDC sheet data.

Groups recommended to receive 2009 H1N1 shot vaccine FIRST:

• Pregnant women
• People who live with or care for infants younger than 6 months of age
• Health care and emergency medical personnel
• Anyone from 6 months through 24 years of age
• Anyone from 25 through 64 years of age with certain chronic medical conditions or a weakened immune system
• As more vaccine becomes available, these groups should also be vaccinated:
• Healthy 25 through 64 year olds
• Adults 65 years and older

2009 H1N1 LAIV should NOT be given to the following groups:

• children younger than 2 and adults 50 years and older
• pregnant women
• anyone with a weakened immune system
• anyone with a long-term health problem such as
  - heart disease – kidney or liver disease
  - lung disease – metabolic disease such as diabetes
  - asthma – anemia and other blood disorders (huge percentage of people are on this list?)
• children younger than 5 years with asthma or one or more episodes of wheezing during the past year
• anyone with certain muscle or nerve disorders (such as cerebral palsy) that can lead to breathing or swallowing problems
• anyone in close contact with a person with a severely weakened immune system (requiring care in a protected environment, such as a bone marrow transplant unit) (health care personnel?)
• children or adolescents on long-term aspirin treatment.

With a Little Cynicism Sprinkled Over the Top

Okay, you can tell I’m not a huge fan of vaccines. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m right. I’ve never had a flu shot and I’ve never had the flu. So many of today’s health issues have come to the forefront after we’ve messed with vaccines, our water and our food. As long as the shadow of soulless stock market profit is involved with our vitals of survival, there is no easy solution.

By Adam Longfellow

The overall size was kind of weak compared to many RV Shows in the past. When you consider the economy however, I thought it was nice. All kinds were well represented. From super sized Class A models that are more expensive than many houses to small bare bones pop up campers. I saw a couple of interesting new models that I hadn’t seen before in person.

One interesting thing that stood out after a little while was the behavior of the sales people. I was ignored the whole time. I don’t necessarily want to be bugged and followed around. Yet I do expect someone to approach me over the course of an hour or two of looking at RVs. There were a few times when I salesman caught my eye but then immediately approached an older couple that was nearby. They were targeting what they apparently believe to be the most likely buyers. Older couples. I was alone and I’m far from retiring.

In this economy, it was noteworthy that some sales people either went after a profile market or just stood alone waiting for what they thought looked like a customer. Big mistake because you never know who your customer might be. I wasn’t there with a specific plan to buy on the spot but someone could have tried showing me something. We expect it a little bit more don’t we?

And with some RVs, I wanted to look in compartments and see more of the details that are never shown on websites or in brochures. The difference is in the details to me. I can see the same counters, dinettes and couches over and over again anywhere. I want to see the guts, evaluate the quality and get into the bones of an RV. But most all were closed and locked. You had to find a sales person and hope they could find a key to open some little compartment. My biggest challenge was to find someone who could provide me with information about a couple truck campers that I was interested in hearing more about for some off road camping. I would like to find something for a Tacoma 4×4, which is small but ideal for my solo explorations. My shorter motor home doesn’t quite go everywhere I would like it to go. The one dealer that had truck campers at the show told me in answer to my question, “that’s such a narrow market. The sales aren’t there in numbers.” As they have Eagle products on the lot, I follow up with, “I thought I read that Eagle makes the product” that I wanted. He responds with “Go see that dealer over there. They have some info and another company that makes something like that.” So he sends a potential customer away to see another dealer that doesn’t have any truck campers on-site, has no information and salespeople that only go after the older couples. I followed one salesman up and down three rows trying to catch up with him but never could. He was busy walking for something. So I left and will have to continue my research on the internet.

Now is the time that innovation wins. Great customer service wins. Listening to customers wins. There are more niches and options that can be filled for customers out there if someone will listen. It easy to aim for the mass market and just blend in with everything else. What stood out at the show? The row of three Gulfstream trailers. Also the Winnebago Via. And I had to wait to look inside every one of those.

This show reinforced my previous experiences at recent shows. The RV business is still in trouble and needs to change it’s mindset. What do you think?

By Adam Longfellow

Northern Hemisphere

1. Hold the watch so it is flat in your hand and even with the ground. Point the hour hand toward the sun.
2. Use something like a matchstick and set it on the watch face so one end or the head covers the number that is halfway between the 12 and the hour hand. (Use 1 instead of 12 if you are in daylight savings time.)
3. The head or the end that is covering the number is pointing south. Assuming your stick is straight, the other end is heading north.

Southern Hemisphere

1. This first step is the difference between the two hemispheres. Hold the watch so it is flat in your hand and even with the ground. Point the number 12 toward the sun.
2. Use something like a matchstick and set it on the watch face so one end or the head covers the number that is halfway between the 12 and the hour hand. (Use 1 instead of 12 if you are in daylight savings time.)
3. The head or the end that is covering the number is pointing south. Assuming your stick is straight, the other end is heading north.

I still love my ranger compass but I don’t always have it with me so this method suffices. And it takes less time than drawing an arc in the dirt around a stick.

Have you used this method and saved your butt in the wild?

By Adam Longfellow

Before noon and on level terrain, put a stick of around 3ft into the ground. Look for it’s shadow. (If it’s cloudy enough that you don’t have any shadow at all…well, this won’t work and you’ll have to just wish you had a compass or for some sun.)

Compass in the sand - Photo by treehouse1977

Mark the end of this shadow. You can use a stone, stick or whatever is handy.

Use the tip of this shadow for your radius and draw an arc around your stick in the ground. The shadow will get shorter as noon approaches. After noon, it will get longer again. Mark the arc again where the new afternoon shadow touches your arc.

You now have two marked spots. Draw a straight line between the two marks. This makes an East-West line in the dirt. The first mark is in the west and the second is towards the east.

Make a cross. Draw a line that forms right angles across your first line. This is your North-South line.

Compass in the snow - Photo by Uigers

Have you done this before? How did it work in your situation?

By Adam Longfellow

The simple answer is yes.

Shades of green

The real answer is more complicated and is not black and white. Or in this case, green and off white. First, I try to avoid places where it is mandatory. If you look around, you can probably find some form of parking nearby. It may still cost you but it’ll probably be much less. If you are on a date, pay the valet and tip. If it is bad weather, pay the valet and tip.

Quick Tip: Valet workers probably know the area pretty well and won’t shine you on. If you have any questions, they may be able to answer them and you can save tipping the concierge later.

I don’t really like strangers in my car. I always have personal things laying around, various gadgets and outdoor survival equipment, or maybe some emergency cash tucked somewhere. If you don’t expect to have to give up your car, you are suddenly rushing to gather everything up or you just risk it disappearing to temptation. These days, you don’t know for sure if any service person at any level is about to lose their home or is on a drug habit down the yellow brick road to meth city. Valet services and the establishment usually deny any responsibility for lost or stolen items just like a self serve parking lot by a dark alley. As long as the weather is not terrible, I like to walk and will find some other place to park or another place to visit.

So much of the travel business has the mentality that the more you pay for something, you more you can be skimmed all the way back to the poor house. The more expensive the place, the more you’ll pay for side dishes, extras, newspapers, and attendants of all kinds. Even in the bathroom. I sometimes wish that if you are paying four times as much for something, you’d get some extras for free. If someone inherited the money, it’s probably no big deal and they are not reading this post anyway. If you worked from your bootstraps to a higher cost of living, you’ll probably be annoyed and not return to the place. If you are traveling on the company dime and just expense it, you are just taking the money away from your own future raise or benefits.

Quick Tip: If the hotel is in a city of any size, is located downtown or costs more than $150 a night, call and ask about parking. Don’t rely on my own website here or any other big box site for the information. I say it when I know of it, but most businesses try to avoid telling you ahead of time. I get misinformation even when I ask a direct question.

Never stiff service people who you think will ever serve you again.

This is just smart practice. Whether it’s your health at a restaurant or your car, it’s best to pay up early. You may not recognize them but a stiffed worker will remember you and you may not want them serving you soup two weeks later.

Working for the man

The valet workers are doing their jobs and trying to make a living so it is proper to tip them when you get the car back. At least you are putting the cash back into the local economy and not up a corporate ladder. I wouldn’t tip for them to park it unless you just want to try and get better service.

If you are in and out and will be using the service multiple times, I treat it like when I drink at a bar. I tip more on the first round. The staff then usually pays attention you a bit more. They will remember you and treat you better than someone who stiffs them right away. Then the tipping declines on subsequent times. That’s my way of being cheap.

How about with a rental car?

It depends on what your insurance is with it and if your are completely covered for scratches and dents. How much is the risk worth to you?

Avoiding the issue and making it simple

Park somewhere else and walk or use public transportation. How about you? What do you do or recommend to others? Any bad experiences or opinions?

By Adam Longfellow

How can you be isolated in a city with millions of people? On trips to New York many years ago, I noticed how people seemed to be in their own little world. People looked down or straight ahead while sailing the sidewalks and dodging the taxis. You didn’t see many smiles or laughter if at all. Everyone was rushing somewhere but no one knows where. Everyone just has to get across the street quickly. Everyone had to be ahead of you wherever that may be.

Photo by Adam Longfellow - From Hotel Gansevoort in New York City

Are things any different today?

Worse. Now everyone has mp3 players and cell phones. People have another barrier to being part of the society of millions of people that they pay so much to live amongst. We are more connected as we lose touch with humanity. We can take all of our Facebook friends with us as we walk down 8th Avenue. We can hang in a club line and read a Tweet about what the line is like thirty blocks north or three thousand miles west.

Photo by Adam Longfellow - Overlooking the Meatpacking District

Isolation in the Darkness of New York

I looked out a tenth story window of the Hotel Gansevoort the other night and watched the glow of tiny glowing lights moving across the sidewalks. I was reminded of the fireflies I used to watch at night once upon a time in my childhood. The Detroit Tigers softly playing to the symphony of radio announcer Ernie Harwells voice, just over the sounds of summer crickets and frogs. Children of Manhattan, living above the ground, finally have their own version of fireflies. The background symphony that I recall is instead now composed with traffic, horns, and sirens.

I watched as four shadows glided across an intersection from different directions. Arms extended and hugs were shared. The four shadows became one for a couple of warm seconds. I imagined the smiles and some laughter that I had missed on the faces of the tens of thousands of people that I wandered amongst that day. The larger shadow broke into four again and each turned on their small night lights that protect them from interaction. Four people came together and then went separate ways while they stayed on the same street corner. They chose to meet each other here and share the same puffs of car exhaust but spend emotional time elsewhere. They could poke a friend in person but instead they are poking someone far away. Perhaps they are now even texting the person who was with them earlier when they got the message to meet these people right here right now.

Somehow fireflies seemed to be having more fun being social.

By Adam Longfellow

Remember to take time zones into consideration when you fly. The departing time for a flight is the local time at the airport. The arrival time is the local time at the airport you are flying too. That is why you can sometimes fly to another city and arrive around the same time that you depart. Although I do travel more than the average person, it seems fairly simple to me until I listen to other people talking at airports. You’ll hear stuff like, we don’t need to eat. We get in at 1pm so the flight from Dallas to Phoenix is only an hour. When they are actually changing time zones and it’s closer to two and a half hours. Then I look at the little kids they have with them and I’m hoping I’m not on their flight when they get hungry.

As someone who has now lived in all three continental US time zones, it is interesting to have noticed the differences. It does affect many things like business, relationships, sporting events and television. People on the east coast will commonly call you at what may be 6:30am where I am. Some of them will even acknowledge their city and my city and seem to know where they are yet wonder why I’m not answering the phone.

The basics

LA-NY 3 hours difference. You go three hours ahead when heading to NY and you get three hours back when going to LA. Chicago is one hour back from NY. Denver and Albuquerque are two hours back from NY. The most common mistaken time zone I had was related to Michigan. Although it’s far from it, it is on east coast time while Indiana to the south can be in two time zones. And I lived for years in Arizona where the time didn’t change at all. Everything else did. You just had to remember when your tv shows changed by an hour or a relative was now an hour off.

Traveling over a time change weekend is another fun one. It can be good if it brings you closer to your normal time zone but bad when it goes the other way. Why do we have daylight savings any more? Why not just pick one time and stick to it? It would solve a minor little problem. Then we just have to remember the various zones.