Why I Do What I Do

Pathways in the mountain top town of Erice, Sicily.

After college, I moved to Godollo, Hungary, a rural village outside of Budapest where I taught English to elementary school children. Arriving at the end of the cold war, I watched as Soviet tanks were hauled away by train. Hungary was no longer an Eastern Bloc country and I found myself in the middle of history being made. 

I spent my free time exploring anywhere a train or bus ticket would take me. I couldn’t get enough of learning about Eastern Europe and the perseverance of its people. My time there changed how I would see the world forever.

While raising my family and building a successful retail business, I carried those memories with me. I dreamed of adventures in faraway places and the stories I would write. Those dreams turned to reality when I visited and later moved to Croatia. Falling madly in love with the country, its people and culture compelled me to share what I learned.

My travel blog, “Lifedigs-Simply Wandering and Wandering Simply” was born from these experiences. Exploring remote locations and uncovering the cultural treasures in each new adventure fuels me. I live by the philosophy that there is a story to be discovered everywhere.

You Don't Need WiFi or Data for Google Maps!

Did you know you can use Google Maps when traveling abroad without using WiFi or Data?  Wha What?? Is this for real?? YES, IT IS! It will even show the blue dot that pings your location.

Let’s face it, international data is expensive.  To avoid these fees, we do things like take screen shots of the map ahead of time.  That’s fine, but it doesn’t tell you where you are in relationship to where you are going and won’t let you zoom in any further than the original screen shot.  But the alternative is to turn on your phone’s data service at about a billion dollars per megabyte.

So follow these steps EXACTLY as shown prior to heading out and you will never be lost again! (These instructions are for the IPhone but it works on droids as well)       

1.      While still at your hotel, café or wherever you are    connected to WiFi, open your Google Map app.

2.     Type in the city where you are going in the search bar at top of screen.

3.     When you see your city, open the menu (3 bars on top left of screen).

4.     Click on offline areas.

5.     Click custom area.

6.     At this point you can zoom in or out a bit.  Then click download.

7.     You can rename your area with something more specific if you like and then save. (Use the pencil on right to edit)

8.     If you are going to a specific location, like a hotel, follow these next steps.

9.    Type in the name of your hotel in the search bar. When you see it, touch the red pin.  Click save to “Starred places”.

10.  Close the app and go into airplane mode (or at least turn off your WiFi or data).

11.  Reopen app.  Your destinations are now starred and your blue dot is pinging your location! You can zoom in as much as you need.

Voila!!

INDEPENDENCE PASS

With my bags packed and my GPS set, I drove out of the dark Colorado Springs forest.  Ahead of me, the clouds hovering over Pike's Peak were just starting to turn pink from the rising sun.  My destination was Oak Creek, Colorado by way of Independence Pass.

The more direct route from Colorado Springs would have been to drive up to Denver and then go west on Highway 70.  But when my Oak Creek Airbnb host suggested the more scenic route through the mountains in central Colorado, well, how I could I refuse?

The journey began on Highway 24, traveling west.  It was an easy and peaceful drive through farmland and small towns with a backdrop of grazing buffalo and snow capped mountains.

Soon, I approached the town of Buena Vista with Collegiate Peaks filling the horizon.  When you've been driving through mountains for several hours it's possible to get desensitized to their awesome-ness.  Not here. No way. There was a sign for the Collegiate Peaks Overlook so I turned in and parked.  I found a picnic table where I could sit and behold the 14,000 foot magnificent beast they call Mount Princeton.  I imagine the only view better than the view of those mountains from Buena Vista is the view of Buena Vista from the top of those mountains.

Collegiate Peaks: Mount Princeton

It seemed like a good time to grab a bite to eat so I dropped in at the Evergreen Cafe.  Inside there was a lunch counter and small dining room.  There was a nice sized lunch time crowd but I was able to find an empty stool at the counter.  One of the things I love about Colorado is how restaurants embrace clean and healthy eating.  The Evergreen Cafe offered a full menu of organic, all natural, vegetarian and gluten free options. When I told my waitress I needed to eat gluten free, she guided me to the perfect selection.   The menu said "Great Conversation and Food with Integrity" and that's exactly what I got. Feeling restored from my fantastic fish tacos I continued on my journey.

Now Highway 24 was leading me north, alongside the Arkansas River.  At the first opportunity I found a place to pull over to hike the banks for a while. Every so often, rafts full of white water adventurers went roaring by. I found myself laughing and waving at them.  I wished I could have jumped on. All the way back to the car I was grinning to myself, thinking, "Colorado is awesome!"

At the town of Granite, I exited on to the famous Highway 82 that led to Independence Pass marking the continental divide. The road twisted around higher and higher into the Sawatch Mountain Range with views of roaring rivers and Alpine forests below.  Each winding turn brought unexpected and wonderful surprises.  All of my senses were fully engaged.  The two lane road narrowed in some places creating a tricky situation with oncoming traffic...and there were no guard rails.  My focus was split between rubbernecking at each new jaw dropping site and trying to not drive off a steep overhang and, well, you know.  Finally, I summited the mountain at over 12,000 feet.

I pulled over at the scenic overlook to get out and take in the view.  I know it's been said before, but it's really like you are in the middle of your very own IMAX movie.  There are no words or photographs that can adequately describe that breath taking panorama. Everything around me was hued in shades of pastel, even the atmosphere. Vibrating green grass, delicate wildflowers and crystal blue ponds fed from the melted snow were all competing for my attention. But it was THAT VIEW that really got me. I will never forget it.

I finally rolled into my Oak Creek accommodation about 7 pm, almost eleven hours from when I began...eleven fabulous and unforgettable hours. Colorado seemed to have an endless supply of natural beauty but, BY FAR, Independence Pass was the most impressive.

Can't wait to see what Oak Creek and Steamboat have in store for me!

Miles driven: 1304 

States traveled: 3

Yolks and Jokes

I love a good diner.  You know the kind…locally owned, breakfast all day, counter seating, a menu selection from pancakes to crab cakes.  A big part of my travel adventures is sniffing out great eateries.  It’s not always about how good the flavor of the food is but how interesting the flavor of the establishment is. Of course, tasty food is a plus. 

You would think finding these little gems would be an easy thing to do.  Just show up to an area and ask around where the good restaurants are. But the yardstick that is used to measure what is good by most is rarely the same as mine.   I’ll give you an example.  We were on a beach vacation once and we wanted to find a restaurant that served really fresh and yummy seafood.  We asked a local, thinking we would get access to some secret insider information, a place that only they knew about.  She thought for a moment and then answered, “Joe’s Crab Shack.”  Oy. Really? I will never understand the appeal of a large chain restaurant that is most likely owned by an even larger multinational corporation.  Their entire business model is to serve you unexceptional food, interact with you very little and turn your table over as quickly as possible. It’s like dining on a conveyer belt. I want a restaurant where the food is made from scratch, where the owners are working in the kitchen or greeting the guests, and the only thing publicly traded is good conversation.  

Recently, I found myself in Connecticut eating at just such a place. I was visiting my son at the US Naval Submarine Base in Groton.  Never having been there, or Connecticut, or even New England for that matter, I didn’t have any actual knowledge of restaurants in the area.   Another parent recommended this place in New London, called “The Yolk Café”. So we plugged it in to our GPS and drove along the Thames River in search of our next culinary adventure.

The drive took us through charming neighborhoods filled with historic homes, everything from colonial to Victorian.   When we got to the seaport town of New London we were met with a coastline trimmed with fishing boats, old light houses and quaint shops.

If you weren’t paying attention you would probably drive right by The Yolk Café and never see it.  It is at the end of a block in a residential area and there is nothing remarkable about it from the outside.  We parked along the street and were met by a giant St. Bernard on the patio.  This lovable guy turned out to be owner’s dog and designated door greeter.   

We opened the doors to what turned out to be one of the funkiest little cafés I’d ever been to (and I used to live in Austin, Texas!) It’s quite small with maybe 3-4 booths along the wall and counter seating around the…er…shall we call it the kitchen? The walls are covered in patron graffiti and the owner’s homemade art is showcased here and there.  Mismatched plates and cups are stacked on shelves and a genuine telephone booth with a working phone is in the corner. A very friendly waitress greeted us and we unloaded at the counter.  

Here comes the tricky part.  I have to eat gluten free.  I never know what kind of response I am going to get when I make that announcement.  I’ve heard everything from “No worries, we don’t serve meat here” to “That means no fried food, right?”  Then, as if she popped out from under the counter, the owner appeared.  Her name was Doreen and she began instructing the waitress to bring out all of her choices of locally homemade gluten free bread to sample.  I couldn’t believe it.  We tasted a variety of delicious and unique flavors until we finally made our decision.  I didn’t know gluten free could taste so good.

While we were waiting for our meals we watched Doreen interact with her patrons, calling each by name, playing pranks and practical jokes on them. She had a marshmallow shooting pistol, water gun and funny hat. No one was immune to her gags.

I watched her serve giant plates of breakfast, each time stopping by me to show off her masterpieces.  She seemed to be interested in only 2 things, serving fabulous meals and interacting with her customers.

When our food came I was served the most delicious corned beef hash/egg/potatoes I've ever eaten.  It was enormous and messy and probably a week's worth of calories but it was WONDERFUL.  I'm pretty sure I didn't share any with my family.

When it was time to leave it was hugs all around.  We felt like we were leaving family but promised to return.  Then we walked out the door and said our goodbyes to the St. Bernard.

Later when we were visiting the tourist attractions of Mystic, CT (yes, Mystic Pizza) I met a book store employee who knew Doreen.  He told me when her elderly neighbor across the street from the restaurant went into the hospital she shoveled the snow from his driveway and brought him food. That didn’t surprise me a bit.   I think the world needs a few more Doreens.  

Some background info on getting to Connecticut from Texas:

When I found out my son was scheduled to graduate from the first segment of his Navy submarine training in Connecticut I began planning my trip.  Never having been to New England it took a bit of research to find the best way to get there.  Once again, Southwest Airlines proved to have the most affordable options with a direct flight to Boston for only $59 each way.  From there it’s an easy 2 hour drive over to Connecticut.   If you want to fly in closer, the airport in Providence, RI is less than an hour from the Navy base but there are no direct flights from Dallas.

Living in Texas where the winters are mild, it never occurred to me that the potential for severe winter weather could interfere with our plans.  As our mid-January travel date approached I secretly hoped New England would get lots of snow.  But alas, it was in the 50’s when we got there.  (we were about a month early for the blizzard that eventually hit the area)

Groton, CT is a small town located between the Thames River and Mystic River just east of the end of Long Island.  It’s home to the very awesome US Naval Submarine base and General Dynamics who make the subs.  

That's one proud sailor.