How about a Cruise Through the Solar System?

I am taking my various travel stories and using them in a Science Fiction novel.


It is entered in the Geek and Sundry Hard Science Fiction contest on Inkshares. The contest ends at 11:00 p.m. PST on May 16th and I am making a big push to get into the top three.

So, can I ask two favors of you?

1. Please consider spending $5 for a copy.  If everyone purchased a copy I’ll make it and get the National Science Academy to help with checking my science is correct.  If the project is not completely funded they will automatically refund your money.
2. Refer my book to a friend, via Facebook, Twitter, email or any way that works for you.  I need all of the help to get so word about my book is out there in order to move up the ranks, and to get this work published. 

 I hope you will consider being part of this effort!

The site is selling the e-book for $10, but if you register and wait for the confirmation it will include $5 in credit (you need to claim the credit before purchasing) so it is at a discount.

To see the promo video, to read the first 3 chapters, or to pre-order click the green button.

Read or Pre-Order Now

https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-one-a-cruise-through-the-solar-system/

Making your vacation a winetastic time

On most international tours you are taken to historic places, museums, or cultural sites where everyone is taken.

But on several of my or my friends trips we  have gotten to go on more interesting tours. Some of the most interesting are to local wineries or breweries.

Here are a few examples that you may want to consider on your next trip:

• Take an organized tour of several wineries I have done this in Australia and Israel and can recommend that you take a look at:

Israel

Israel Wine Tours for personalized tours of the various regions where wine is made in Israel:

Judean Hills Wine Tours

Sample Itinerary : Drive towards the biblical Wine Country of Judean Hills and disscuss the wine history of the are with a Wine Expert. Begin the tour at a nicely preserved off the beaten path 2,100 year old Wine Press.

Continue to Tzuba Boutique Winery, where we will meet Wine Maker Paul Dubb, tour the winery and hear about the wine making process. End by tasting 4-5 of Tzuba’s outstanding wines. Next we will continue to the Agur Boutique winery to meet up with Shuki Yashuv (owner and winemaker.) Shuki is a master Blender of wines and a very colorful person, guaranteeing an unforgettable tasting experience. Lunch

Our next stop will be Tzora Winery, considered one of the “top 8” wineries in Israel. Taste 3-4 excellent wines that often include a dessert wine that ranked 92 points with Robert Parker!
We then Travel through one of the most beautiful roads in Israel ending up at an off the beaten path “Tuscany In Judean Hills” vista point.

Carmel Region Wine Tours

Sample Itinerary: Head north towards the Carmel Region. On route our Wine Expert will discuss the wine history of the land of Israel and how it evolved through the years. What makes a wine Kosher ? wine politics in Israel Etc.

Drive to the boutique winery Tulip located in Kfar Tikva – Village of Hope ;  This is an excellent winery and probably the only winery in the world that employs people with special needs. Taste 4-6 wines,  and and meet the employees of the winery.

We than proceed to the beautiful town Zichron Ya’akov – a quaint Carmel Mountain town and the home of Carmel Winery where we will Visit Somek Winery, a small estate winery owned by a fifth generation vintner.  At  Somek, all wines are handmade using old world techniques to produce their critically acclaimed wines. Meet the winemaker and taste 3- 4 wines
We will then Stroll the beautiful Zichron Ya’akov promenade and enjoy lunch at one of the terrific restaurants there.

After lunch , we will Visit Ramat Hanadiv, The Rotshield Estate Botanical Garden
Drive north to Kerem-Maharl home of the Makura organic farm and Amphorae Winery. Amphorae is one of the most beautiful Wineries in Israel. Designed by an Italian architect and built in 2005, the winery is a large Tuscan style winery and employes the world famous winemaker Michel Rolland as an adviser. Tour the facilities and taste Amphorae’s award winning wine.

 Israel Microbrewery Tour

Small independent and traditional, the Israeli craft beer industry is going through a renaissance period in recent years. In the Judean Hills alone, there are a dozen Microbreweries in various sizes and styles. Haifa and the Carmel region are no different. Much like a wine tour, we will select three breweries, throw in incredible vista points and top it all off with gourmet dining. Microbreweries that we frequent include:
Shapiro
Pavo
Butterfly
Peppo
Jem’s
Malka
Srigim
Abeer Haela
Shimshon
Hanegev
Buster’s Cider
Salara
Gal’s
Golda
Laughing Buddah

Australia

While visiting Sydney we went on Gray Line Tours Hunter Valley Gardens tour:

World acclaimed Australian wines from the vineyards of the rolling hills and valleys of the Hunter region, delight both the palate and the eye in this green and fertile land dotted with villages and over fifty wineries. The Hunter Valley is Australia's oldest commercial wine producing district with over 7000 acres under vine. Famous wine styles include semillon, shiraz, chardonnay, gewurztraminer, cabernet sauvignon and earthy pinot noirs

Inclusions:

• Three Wine Tastings
• Winery Tour
• Two Course Lunch

Also, while visiting Kobe Japan I was able to visit the KOBE SHU-SHIN-KAN BREWERY

The KOBE SHU-SHIN-KAN BREWERY, established in 1751, is located in the "NADA" district of Kobe, Japan, an area which has been acknowledged for centuries as the best for the production of Japanese sake. The quality of the locally grown Japanese rice and the purity of the water filtered from streams high in the Rokko Mountains; these are special blessings as they are essential to the brewing of sake. The cold winds which blow across the Rokko Mountains are also helpful.

Friends have done part of the Whisky Trail in Scotland others have gone to Guinness brewery in Ireland.

I have gone to wineries in the USA (Bully Hill), Israel (see above), Australia (also see above), Italy (that is another blog post), and intend to continue when the opportunity presents itself. I suggest that you keep your eyes open for similar interesting opportunities.

Norwegian Airlines

Guest post by  Eden Miller
I flew New York JFK - Oslo-Gardermoen Flight DY7002 on January 12, 2014 at 21:30 - 10:50. I sat in seat 18J, next to the window.

When I first sat down, I felt a small drip of water hit the top of my head. I looked up and saw that some previous passenger had stuffed a paper napkin in the space between the light and the luggage compartment seam, and it was wet. I asked the stewardess if I could be moved, and she said the flight was full, and "oh yes, that drip always happens but only on take off and landing." I then had to specifically ask her for napkins to plug the hole further as she did not volunteer a solution.

When I pulled the old, wet napkin out in order to plug it with a dry napkin, a piece of the plane fell out on my head, along with plenty of water. It is a small, white, plug shaped silicone or rubber gasket. I then shoved all the napkins I had in the space, which was dripping water on my head like a faucet. It was still dripping through, so I then shoved my wool scarf in the hole as well, and rigged it to the overhead luggage door so as not to fall.

I paid extra for this seat. I had to sit with a faucet running on my head for 7.5 hours, and then a dirty, wet wool scarf. Their flight attendant's cavalier response was ridiculous and inappropriate, especially when I showed her that a piece of your plane was broken and in my hand. I have it if they'd like me to mail it back. We had not disembarked yet, and I could have been offered better customer service, or an alternate flight arrangement to get me to Berlin if the flight was truly full (I don't think it was). I have been a frequent flyer for over 30 years, and NEVER have I had this happen, contrary to the flight attendant's claim that a leaking plane was "normal".

After WEEKS of waiting for a response from Norwegian Air Customer Service and several calls to Oslo to expedite, I received this answer: "We apologise if our staff on board this flight did little to solve the problem you experienced on the way to Oslo. We understand that you should not need to use your own scarf to stop the water dripping and that the staff should have provided you with napkins, since this plane was full and they did not have the opportunity to move you to another seat. This unfortunately do not entitle you to a refund of the ticket or compensation.

We will take your information to the right department so they can rectify their routines and make sure that this will not happen again. We apologise once more for the inconviniency this might have caused, but do hope to have the opportunity to welcome you on board when you next choose to travel."
Recap: Faucet on my head for 7.5 hours, a piece of the plane in my hand, ruined scarf, no response from flight crew, and Too Bad For You message a MONTH later from Norwegian Customer Service. Unbelievable. Avoid this awful airline.

** since posting on Tripadvisor, I've had several people question me on a) why I didn't get more paper napkins rather than ruin my scarf (??), b) doubt that it was really a full on run of water, and c) why I didn't move seats.  The flight attendant had told me that the flight was full, and I didn't move because I was in the window seat, so I couldn't get up until I was well on the way and my seat mates let me out for a bathroom break well after takeoff.  At that time, I saw people in other sections sprawled over the extra adjoining seats.  By then it was too late.

Update: Apparently Norwegian Airlines has been getting a record number of complaints to the governing body as reported in NEWS in English.no:

Unhappy Norwegian Air customers have lodged a record number of complaints, both with the embattled airline and the Transport Complaints Board (Transportklagenemnda). More than 200 grievances have been registered with the board alone, as Norwegian’s new Boeing 787 Dreamliners continue to cause major issues.
Norwegian Air's first new Boeing 787 Dreamliner finally landed at Oslo's main airport at Gardermoen on June 30. The airline has now begun testing them before putting them into service on Norwegian's new long-distance routes to Bangkok, New York and Fort Lauderdale. PHOTO: Norwegian Air
‘Dreamliner’ has been something of a misnomer for the trouble-plagued Boeing 787s. The Transport Complaints Tribunal has received a record number of complaints from Norwegian Air passengers after Dreamliner problems caused months of cancellations and lengthy delays. PHOTO: Norwegian Air
“We have never before seen this scope of complaints in a single case,” Judge Einar Kaspersen who chairs the tribunal told newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN). Kaspersen said the first port of call for disgruntled customers was the airline itself, then the Tribunal reviews Norwegian’s handling of the case. “There are probably many who neglect to go further with the matter after they’ve first been rejected. Anyone can complain further.”

Electronic allowed on flights - wait the rules differ by airline and plane type

We have recently see the good news that  use from gate to gate as published: FAA to Allow Airlines to Expand Use of Personal Electronics 

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael Huerta today announced that the FAA has determined that airlines can safely expand passenger use of Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) during all phases of flight, and is immediately providing the airlines with implementation guidance. 

In general this means

The new rules generally add the ability for passengers to use their smartphones, e-readers, electronic games and tablets during taxi, takeoff and landing as long as they have the device in airplane mode with cellular service disabled. Voice calls will still be prohibited and laptops will still need to be stowed for taxi, takeoff and landing.

But, as an article on Yahoo FAA ruling on personal devices in flight leaves troubling safety questions points out:

Each airline will have to consult the FAA on tolerance testing, so eventually, regulations may vary not only by airline but by airplane type. Some devices will be allowed, but cell phones and other PEDs will not; some at certain phases of flight, but not at others; some modes may not be acceptable at all. Confused yet?

Trying to make this easier, NBC published this article Which airlines now allow electronic devices? showing the current status on American based airlines. But a quick look shows that the Yahoo article is correct it is still a bit confusing. Takeing a selection from the NBC article shows

• will now be permitted to use small PEDs during all phases of flight
• new rules on all domestic mainline flights arriving or departing within the 50 states
• portable electronic devices below 10,000 feet on mainline U.S. domestic flights

But in all cases regional airlines that provide branded service to the major ones are still on a case by case bases. So do not presume that because you could use your device on one segment of your trip that you will be able to on other segments.

Surviving a Plane Crash - hints from the sea

ABC world has a serious story  about How to Survive a Plane Crash based on

The impact of an airplane crash into the sea today on the Indonesian resort island of Bali snapped the jet into two pieces, but somehow all 108 people on board survived and had no serious injuries, according to a hospital official.  Watch the video at ABC

Now the story goes on to describe something that sounds like it should have been done by the MythBusters, but was actually done by its sister show Curiosity. Wikipedia describes the test:

On April 27, 2012, a team of scientists staged an airplane crash near Mexicali, Mexico. An unmanned Boeing 727-200, fitted with numerous cameras, crash-test dummies and other scientific instruments, was flown into the ground. The exercise was filmed for television. 

ABC describes the test as:

Discovery TV had a Boeing 727 equipped with more than a half a million dollars worth of crash test dummies, 38 specialized cameras and sensors, and a crew of incredibly daring pilots. The pilots, who'd donned parachutes, bailed out of a hatch in the back of the aircraft minutes before the huge jetliner careered into the ground in a horrific crash that tore the plane apart.

The photos from that test are at: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/plane-crash-pictures.htm  and they include this one:

Now this makes me realize that most of us do not actually watch or listen to the safety announcements on flights. This prompted Air New Zealand to put out this unique safety video

But after seeing the results of this Bali crash I think I will watch them a little more closely in the future.

Why didn't you post pictures on...

I recently got back from a trip to Spain, and the first two things my coworkers asked me was "How was it? Why didn't you post pictures on x?" Where x is their favorite social network. It usually is Facebook, but I have heard Google Plus, and Twitter.

Now, although I am involved with security (see my other blog about Telecom Fraud and Technologies if you are interested in that kind of thing) I am not really worried that someone will see that I am away and rob my house. So far I have yet to hear anyone admitting that "yes your honor, I robbed their house because I saw on Facebook that they were on vacation." If you have any documented (no anecdotal) cases I would like to hear about them.

While on travel I tend to be quite busy. Working for a small company travel is a big expense, so we try to cram as much work into a trip as possible. At conferences I am working from 8 in the morning until well after 11 at night, most of which is spent on my feet. When on vacation, I am paying for it so time spent in the hotel is time taken from fun and adventures (more on Spain adventures in future post - with pictures and clips).

Truth be told, although I take a lot of photos on most trips, I do not have time to get onto social media to post them. On this last trip my wife and I took in excess of 16 gigabytes of photos and short videos. So as you can imagine we were out having fun rather than sitting inside (even when it was pouring - don't believe the clip below from My Fair Lady, the Rains in Spain do NOT stay mainly on the plain, we got wet everywhere).

Now you can imagine that after 2 weeks away, and 16+ gigs of photos taken it will be a few more days before I have deleted, sorted, cleaned, cropped, etc. enough of them to start sharing. But I promise that once I do I will post them here in the blog, in my Facebook account, Google Plus account, and links in my Twitter account.

But until then, when I travel I will probably not be posting as I will be out doing.

To Mars and back

Mars has always held kind of a strange place in the minds of humans and for years there have been tales of travel to Mars.

These include (not an all inclusive list but all worth reading if you have not done so):

• Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series (not the one shown in the Disney books)
• Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles 
• Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger from a Strange Land, Red Planet, and Podkayne of Mars
• Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy,
  Gregory Benford's The Martian Race

Or the Movies and Radio:

• Capricorn One (1977)
• Red Planet (2000)
• Mission to Mars (2000)
• Mars needs Moms (2011)
• Both War of the Worlds movies (1953 and 2005) and the original radio broadcast
• A list of the Best Movies set on Mars was compiled by AMC.

 But now there is a chance that the Inspiration Mars Foundation may send such a mission during this decade there may be a chance for 2 people to go make a Mars flyby and return to Earth in 2018 that would take 501 days. It has been announced that the plan is for a "middle aged couple" to go as they hope that this will increase the chance of a successful trip while limiting the chance of genetically mutated children.

There have been all sorts of analysis and comparisons to past journeys of exploration (even a set of hints "How to get along for 500 days alone together" based on the real world experiences of Explorer Deborah Shapiro, who spent more than a year with her husband in the Antarctic).

Yes, the pioneers of exploration would look at 501 days as a short trip and the conditions luxurious. The fact that this Mars mission would only allow sponge baths has been made to show how soft explorers have become.

The old time explores went off in all sorts of weather, with large ships, and large teams of people. These combined to make sure that no one was too crowded or had only 1 person to speak to for months on end. They worked hard to ensure their own (and the crews) survival on almost a daily basis.

Now consider the couple that will be going to Mars in a 12ft by 14ft capsule for 501 days with no privacy or separate space to themselves. The ship will more or less fly itself, there will be no chance to "go out and fix" anything as they are not including space suits (or even an air lock),  etc. Thus the biggest problems will be the constant interaction of 2 people in an enclosed place neither can leave.

Past exploration included lots of work for the explorers on a daily basis (this mission will not carry even experiments) and BOREDOM.  Internet will be out of the question (lag times can be measured in 10 of min. rather than seconds), they may be able to get some broadcast TV or movies (sending towards them will be easy), I am sure they will need to take serious numbers of movies and ebooks.

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) report on Sleeping in Space that:

Astronauts are allotted 8.5 hours for sleep during each 24-hour period, but many report that they only need 6 or 6.5 hours to feel fully rested. Some believe that this may be the result of the body feeling less fatigued as a result of being in a microgravity environment.

A little math shows:
501 days x 24 hours = a round trip of 12,024 hours.
501 days x 6.5 hours (from the CSA report) sleep (at most) 3,256.5 hours of the trip.
Figure meals at 2.5 hours a day for 1,252.5 hours of the trip

This leaves 10,020 hours or 417.5 days.

I am even willing to say that 2.5 days will be used for setting things up after launch and preparing for landing.

What can you do for 415 days that will let you stay sane? A little exercise, reading, watching video, chatting at Earth (remember that long delays prevent actual real time conversations).
 

I love my wife, and we can speak for hours on almost any topic. But I would not want to put her through that many days where I am all she sees and the only one with whom she can hold a real conversation.

Thanks, but I will wait for commercial liners with lots of entertainment and other people, and even then I will think twice about going.

When your airline declares bankruptcy

Be careful when there are warnings that an airline may be going out of business.

A coworker of mine, +Leonid Notik, is currently stuck in the Ukraine trying to get home from Odessa, because “Aerosvit” apparently is in bankruptcy. Here is his story so far:

I needed to land Odessa we circled 5 times and then they would not approve our landing so the airline then flew us to Kiev (which is a distance of 900 km away). They left us at the airport and said “You will have to continue on your own.” We made a fuss and then they tried to fly us to Odessa once more failed so again we returned to Kiev.

Then they told us that they did not have an airplane that to land in weather conditions like these. So we were organized into a vehicle to travel 10 hours, at a cost of $40 each.

So we had a night without any sleep yesterday. Two days ago I saw that the flight board said the flight was okay so we rented an apartment for the day in Odessa. When checking with my travel agent she told us that everything is fine, but in the evening, when we were already in Odessa (and I suppose to leave the other day) I called her once more (having been taught by bitter experience) to check that everything was still fine and the answer she gave me was that “the flight is canceled”, and that we must to arrive to the airport to see how can they help us.

When we got to the airport yesterday they told us that they won't have an airplane this week and we have to fly to Kiev.

I checked and there were no seats on the bus to Kiev on the necessary dates and there are not places on the train in the necessary dates , by close to miracle we paid extra to a friend of my fiancé's father (he is a bus driver) and the friend canceled the ticket of one of passengers and accepted mine :)

So take the time to check out that your airline is not in trouble before flying, and if you used a travel agent ask them for help should something go wrong.

Photo by Leonid Notik, used with permission.

Family Road Trips to Chicago Area

Another one of our regular family car rides was to visit cousins living near Chicago.  As a drive-through Pennsylvania on Route 80 we would find that once we passed the mountains he was frequently nothing but cornfields for hours on end.  These cornfields would occasionally be broken by small towns and the perpetual construction that seemed to be going on route 80. it only seemed that they would start construction at the east end of Route 80 in Pennsylvania and continued until they hit the border with Ohio and then they would just start again from eastern end all over again. It got so bad that we would joke that it was the “Law of Conservation of Construction.”

On one of the trips my cousin convinced several of us to go to a showing of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” having never seen it my brother and I agreed. Then we found out a number of things we had never expected. First was the trip to the supermarket for toilet paper and rice, but because they were out of small bags of rice my cousin picked up a packet of instant chicken and rice soup. Then we went to the theater, where it appears that my cousin used to be one of the people performing in front of the screen during showings of the movie.

Without telling the rest of us, during the performance, she and my brother proceeded to throw the chicken and rice soup powder into the hair of the guys in front of us. They then proceeded to fill an empty popcorn bucket with water and toss it onto them. Through out the movie they taunted and tricked these guys to the point that when we left the theater the group of us had to run to avoid getting into a fight.

Another thing I noticed in Chicago was the traffic circles. In other places these are large round sections of road usually with a grass section in the middle. In Chicago some of these are paved, and people go across the middle without warning. Needless to say this causes more than a little confusion similar to the woman in Boston who was driving slowly as she approached an intersection and stuck her left arm out the window and rotated her hand for several minutes. It took us a few miles to realize she was not signaling a left turn, but was drying her nails.

Travel for work

Now in the first blog post that launched this travel blog I stated that

There are 2 stories that did not happen to me personally, these exceptions are marked as having been told to me, but are included as they are stories I believe really happened and can show some of the potential problems that can occur when traveling for work.

So here are those stories.


 It all started when I accepted a new position and was informed that the Thursday before I was starting, they were going to have a 5 year anniversary party, and that my wife and I were invited to attend. During the party they had skits and such from different departments. When it was the travel department's chance to present they chose to go with truth as it was stranger than any fiction that they could offer. They offered 2 examples of experiences that had happened to people in the company around travel.


Now keep in mind that I live in Israel, thus many of my co-workers over the years have been among those who only eat Kosher foods.  This fact will appear in a few of the following stories.


First of the Travel department's tales:

1. It seems that the company had won a project to deploy software at a telecommunications carrier in India, and one of the engineers going kept Kosher. He was being sent on a 2-4 week trip for the installation and training. He did not know what food would be available in India so he packed his own to bring with him. Unfortunately, when he got there he found his bag had been flagged by security (not even customs) as it was leaking an off-white liquid.  When he opened his bag it turned out that one of the cans of corn he had packed had exploded due to the pressure difference in the airplane hold - leaving all his cloths covered in creamed corn. - Warning here is to always make sure that when you pack something that can leak make sure it is in a sealed bag just in case.
2. There was a running gag at work that you had to be careful when you went to get a cup of coffee Apparently there had been multiple cases of people going for coffee who were waylaid by someone who need them to travel as they were the only one who could (solve the problem, present to the prospect, install the software, etc.). By the time that they had returned to their desk they had been convinced in the necessity of their traveling and were in the process of ordering tickets.

Now I have never carried canned corn, so I was not worried about that, but I can say the second warning was all too true.


One Saturday night I was called at home by a coworker from our New Jersey office. Seems that there was a big meeting in Texas Tuesday morning, and he would not be able to make it, and I was the only person in the company who could present the product to them. I explained that I could not travel that week as my wife was flying out in the morning for a conference and our kids could not be left home alone. He spent 20 more min trying to convince me to no success.


The following morning my wife left as planned. By 2 pm my VP was convinced that Ii needed to be the one to travel and eventually convinced me of it. I spent some time working with my in-laws to watch the kids for a few days and at 7 pm I had tickets in hand and went home to pack. By 9 pm I was at the airport, and by 11:30 I was in the air. So even though I do not drink coffee, the waring came true. I will tell more about that trip in a future blog post.


Now one of the things I hate most about traveling for work is how it can feel like all trips look the same:

• Airport
• Flight
• Hotel
• Conference room / Trade show floor
• Hotel
• Airport
• Flight
• Airport

Somewhere in there you find uninspired food and minimal views of the city from your taxi or bus window (less if you use a subway or underground transportation).


NowI hate that kind of trip and will tell you my many stories about traveling for work where I  found time to have a little fun and to see some of the sites while there. So to give a small tease here are a few headlines of up coming work related travel stories: (I will come back and add the links when the stories are posted).

• Istanbul - The Blue Mosque and Medusa's' head
• Moscow - Being asked for directions in Red Square
• London - Building a conference booth while on Hop-on Hop-off bus or the too tall executive in the too small bed
• Stockholm - Over lapping with my wife
• London - 24 hours, 4 meetings, and no air conditioning
• Barcelona - How Gaudí almost made me miss my ride

But back to Kosher food.


It is important that if you have special food restrictions (religious, allergy, diet, etc.)  that you do a little research about where you are traveling and what you can or can not eat in the local language.


On two separate trips my coworkers failed to take this simple rule into account, and I found myself acting as food translator for them.


The first occurred in Atlanta, Georgia. We were visiting a customer to work on the design requirements for the project and were authorized to take the 2 customer representatives out to lunch. This was a big thing for us as we don't usually get to expense meals, and it was big for them as they did not usually get taken out as they were engineers not managers.  Their preferred restaurant served assado, or if you are unfamiliar with it Portuguese barbeque. They bring skewers of different kinds of meat to the table and carve you a piece right in front of you. My coworker only ate Kosher style, meaning he would only eat things that could be Kosher even if they were not prepared in a Kosher kitchen. Thus beef, chicken, veal etc. are all permitted while pork is forbidden. It came down to me telling him what each dish offered was, and which he could or could not eat. Now as I understood his restrictions and speak English this was not a problem, so we all enjoyed the meal.


On the other hand, working a conference in Barcelona I found myself out to eat with out whole team of 15 people, some of which also would only eat Kosher style. So when it came time to order they were willing to eat fish if it was a Kosher fish. Since my high school Spanish was more than a bit rusty, I had a little trouble understanding what the name of the fish would translate to in either English or Hebrew from the Catalan the waiter used. Since none of them knew what the fish should look like when whole and raw, I got to take a trip into the kitchen in order to look at the raw fish being offered. It turns out that they were offering Grey Mullet,which happens to be Kosher and thus was ok for them to eat.

 So with that I leave you with this though, just because you have to travel for work it does not need to be boring.

Florida -My earliest trips and losing my shirt to a pretty lady

When I was growing up, half way between New York City and Philadelphia (and also half way between Boston and Washington DC), air travel was expensive and it was a rare kid who got to fly on an airplane.  So when my grandparents moved to Florida we started taking annual migrations to visit during the winter break in our station wagon. 

This would always start with the traditional packing of the car, with a space large enough for a kid to sleep in the back next to the cooler that enabled us to travel with fewer breaks. We would leave as soon after sunrise as my father could get us all into the car. Frequently this would mean that he was the only one awake as we would get in the car and fall back to sleep for another hour or two. After an in car breakfast of bagels and fruit we would all be awake for the 26 hour drive.  As we drove there were the traditional car games such as looking for letters on license plates, but as this was a trip down Route 95 it had its own special game. That was the competition as to who would see the first South of the Border sign. We would usually spend a night in southern North Carolina or northern South Carolina (only once actually staying at South of the Border). We even once made such good time that we changed the motel reservation to northern Georgia. Sometime around 4 pm we would arrive at my grandparent’s condo in Ft. Lauderdale or later at my grandmother’s condo in Boca Raton.

• These trips would include all sorts of unusual warnings like:
• Always watch out for alligators.
• Be careful not to fall into the canals.
• Don’t go onto the golf course, unless you are playing.
• Do not be surprised at the daily four o’clock thunder shower and the resulting humidity.
• And dinner is at five o’clock. 

Sometimes these trips would include side trips and tourist activities. We went up to Disney World for a day trip;  or to Cape Canaveral to see NASA and the launch pads; and once to see Jai alai in Miami. These side trips were often the highlight of the trips. 

I can recall one trip when we were planning to go deep sea fishing, and the night before I was unable to sleep and spent the most of the night reading Treasure Island. Then when we go onto the boat I was so tired that I slept through most of the trip.

Later, when I was working full time my family would still drive down each winter. Sometimes I could join and other times not. One year I made arrangements to fly down on Christmas day. The flight had more crew members than passengers; apparently they needed the plane in Florida the following morning for flights back so they did not cancel the flight. At the crew’s request we were all given an on-board upgrade to first class so it would be easier to support the 10 of us.

 Another time, I was coming down as a surprise for my Grandmothers surprise birthday party. Unfortunately there was a problem with fog at the airport in Florida.  So we were rerouted to Atlanta, and put up but the airline overnight at an airport hotel. Te hotel voucher included meal vouchers at the hotel restaurant. I had gotten to chatting with my seat mate on the flight and the shuttle ride to the hotel. She was more than a little put out by the delay as it seems she did not have a change of cloths as they only let us have out carry-on luggage with the rest staying on the plane overnight (to save time in the morning) . I was only with carry-on luggage (as I was going for a few days) so I loaned her on of my spare t-shirts. We kept each other company over dinner, and parted ways at the Boca Raton airport. 

I was picked-up at the airport by my father and we went to the condo, my Grandmother thought my being there was the surprise – little did she know what was planned. On the following day we went to take her to one of the local restaurants. In the lobby we accidentally bumped into one of her cousins who lived in the area, after a little chatting we separated and went inside. Once there we took her to the banquet hall. When we walked in my Grandmother bumped into her brother who had told her he was not available to get together for her birthday. After she could catch her breath she started hitting him and yelling at him. Then she saw everyone else there and realized it was a surprise party for her. 

 Come to think of it, I never got that shirt back.

Travel Perceptions and Realities

Over the years perceptions and realities of travel change.  

 For example, once it was possible to go and wait at the gate for your arriving loved ones, now security has limited us to the building lobby. You used to get serious meals with real glasses, metal utensils, and real plates in all classes of travel, now on flights these are limited to the first class passengers. Everyone else needs to settle for plastic, if a meal is served at all. On recent trips through different US airports I was surprised to find that there were announcements letting passengers know that they could buy meals to carry on to their flights.

Most of the stories in this blog will be centered around air travel, but there are examples of several road trips and a few that involve ships. All forms of travel can be full of strange adventures. For example I will tell the tale of the road trip where we could not find our way our of New Jersey and another where I drove the Staten Island Ferry. Stories will include stays in hotels, with friends, and the occasional tent. Bonfires, dry ice, and assorted types of food and drink will appear - sometimes with recipes.

Just to show a little of glimpse of where I have traveled I have created this map with the help of TripAdvisor's Cities I've Visited Facebook App:

Thus my stories will take you though 22 Counties, 20 US States, and 3 Australian States.

But first some general advice:

In general I try to learn several key expressions before traveling in order to help me communicate with the locals. These expressions are:

·        Do you speak English?

·        Where is the bathroom?

·        How much does it cost?

·        What time/how long?

To facilitate communications I resort to using a pen and pad (for writing down numbers (cost, time, etc.), guide books (Frommers,  Lonely Planet, and Rough Guide to name a few) and printouts of maps (people can frequently help if you can show them what you want), and when all else fails pantomime. I find that a friendly attitude and one or more of these techniques will usually result in people trying to help.

Unfortunately I have also seen people being stereo typical. Native English speakers (from several countries) who speak to the local in increasing volume as it becomes increasingly obvious that they did not understand.  It is almost as if these people believe that either the person did not hear them so they need to repeat it with more volume or that repetition with more volume will increase their understanding. Usually this only results in a person who was willing to help becoming more frustrated and sorry that they tried to help at all.

I suggest that you always try to have some tourist information with you when you are out on the street in case it can be used to help communication. Even if you can not bring a guide book on the trip you can bring printouts from the internet, general information from the airport (usually found in or just after the baggage claims/customs areas), or a map from your hotel’s front desk. In fact I strongly suggest that you ask for such a map when you check-in, and ask them to mark the hotel on it as it will help you get back from your meetings or days travels (taxi drivers who do not speak English can all read a local map).