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BY Nancy Mueller Leave a Comment ON December 31, 2014

2014: Oh, the Places I’ve Been!

How to capture an entire year of phenomenal travel experiences in one post? Impossible. Instead, here’s a photo montage of a few favorites, reminding me what a lucky gal I am . . .

Quebec

February and August . . . I fell in love with Quebec . . .

San Francisco

March . . . Stopped by San Francisco, the City by the Bay . . .

Okanagan B.C. Wine Country

May . . . Wandered through Okanagan, B.C. wine country  . . .

Kenmore Air Over Seattle and Spokane

May . . . Flew high with Kenmore Air over Seattle . . . and Spokane . . .

Ohai California

May . . . Took a mini-retreat in Ohai . . .

Whales watching in the San Juans and Glacier Bay

Spring and summer . . . Went whale watching in the San Juans and Glacier Bay . . . Imagining what I could have captured with the right camera lens!

Carson Kressley and Kym Johnson

July . . . Danced with the Stars, Carson Kressley and Kym Johnson, on a Holland America cruise to Alaska . . .

Blue Angels

August . . . Got buzzed by the Blue Angels at the top of the Space Needle, prompting the guy standing next to me to say, “Time for a change of underwear.”

Evelyn Hannon

Played Seattle tour guide and made friends with the pioneer Journeywoman herself, Evelyn Hannon, and her friend Marilyn . . .

Mount Rainier

September . . . I reacquainted myself with our favorite mountain, Mount Rainier . . .

Jetty Island

Summer . . . Discovered two new treasures close to home – Jetty Island and . . .

Birch Bay

June . . . Birch Bay . . .

State Cross Country Championships

November . . . Witnessed these phenomenal young women bring home the State Cross Country Championship – Woo hoo!!

Pacific Northwest

Happy New Year from the beautiful Pacific Northwest!

Wander on!

Nancy

Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism
Holland America
Kenmore Air
The Oaks at Ojai
Quebec Tourism
Snohomish County Tourism
Thompson Okanagan / Destination BC
Visit Rainier

Thanks to my hosts for covering part, though not all, of my travel expenses.

Where have your travels taken you in 2014, Wanderboomers? I’d love to hear.

Filed Under: Activities, British Columbia, California, Cruising, Destinations, Pacific Northwest, Québec, San Juan Island, Seattle, Travel Experiences, Washington State Tagged With: 2014, Blue Angels, Carson Kressley, Dancing with the Stars, Happy New Year, Holland America, Kenmore Air, Kym Johnson, State Cross Country Championships

BY Nancy Mueller 8 Comments ON January 2, 2014

Au Revoir, 2013!

Memories of 2013 may be fading fast, but before we leap too far into 2014, here are a few snapshots of  the roads I’ve wandered over the past year  . . .

Le Baluchon

In 2013 I re-discovered the beauty of the Pacific Northwest with trips to the San Juans, Whidbey Island, Idaho,
The Dalles and Seaside, Oregon, thanks to my sponsored travel hosts . . .

Port Townsend WA

I fell in love with Quebec . . .

Quebec

and flew high, sometimes outside my comfort zone  . . .

IFly Seattle

Photo courtesy of  iFly Seattle

I sampled a multitude of culinary delights along the way, which fortunately were sprinkled throughout the year . . .

2013 Meals Collage

 I made new friends fast . . .

Quebec Group

probably because we spent most of our time lounging around in bathrobes when not in spas, saunas and hot tubs . . .

2013 Review Spas

Oh, and I learned how to take selfies . . .

Hindsight

My 2013 travels brought renewed perspective . . .

Perspective

 reminding me to step back far enough . . .

Orcas Island View

and high enough . . .

View from the air

to see the bigger picture of our life stories and how we are all interconnected . . .

Rainbow Inn at Langley

 and that even when skies seem the darkest, there’s always the promise of a new rainbow  . . .

Life is Good

Here’s wishing you another year of Happy Travel Adventures both near and far, Wanderboomers!

Wander on!

Nancy

What were your 2013 travel highlights, Wanderboomers?

 

Filed Under: Activities, Baby Boomers and Travel, Destinations, Idaho, Oregon, Pacific Northwest, Québec, San Juan Island, The Dalles, Washington State, Whidbey Island Tagged With: 2013, 2013 Review, 2014, hot tub, iFLY, rainbow, sauna, selfies, spa

BY Nancy Mueller 13 Comments ON October 14, 2013

On Writing: Sharpening the Travel Writer’s Saw – 2013

Writers on the Sound 2013

Last year’s response to Sharpening the Travel Writer’s Saw proved so popular with readers that I’m happy to share nuggets learned from the 2013 Writers on the Sound Conference (WOTS) as well.

Once again, I received just the right dose of inspiration and practical information to polish my writing in the days ahead. Here are a few highlights captured from this year’s event:

Rick Steves 2013

He’s baaack . . .  On Travel Writing from travel guru Rick Steves . . .

“You need to have a practical foundation and weave your poetry into that if you want to make money. . . Pico Iyer is my friend and he’s brilliant. But my book on Ireland probably sells more than his most brilliant piece of writing. That’s not fair, but I’m not complaining.” Action step: Keep on writing with an eye on the business of travel writing.

“Talk with people. Find out their fears and confusions. Deal with the challenges your readers have. I look at travel writers as the current equivalent of the court jester. We need to inspire our citizenry not to be so fearful of the world. Give your readers context so they see beauty instead of conflict.” Action step: Pay attention to the fears and confusions of my readers. Remember to provide the bigger context for my travel stories. Write with my readers in mind.

“Clarity is really important. You have to put yourself in your confused readers’ minds. The struggle is to find ways to make complicated ideas clear. The temptation as travel writers is to dance around them. We have a responsibility with language. Be willing to kill your babies if they don’t fit. You lose credibility when you write: ‘This chocolate is to die for!’” Action step: Kill the clichés! But keep the chocolate.

“I think immediacy is really important. You have to be over there, collecting notes. You need to be actually doing things all the time. If you’re in Spain, go to a bullfight. If you have an opportunity, you have to take it.” Easy action step: Keep my bags packed at all times. Just say “Yes!”

Food and Wine Writing Tips from author Nick O’Connell . . .

Author Nick O'Connell

“Focus on the story. You have to figure out a way to tell the story behind a particular dish or bottle of wine. The further you go back, the more interesting it becomes.” Action step: Start with a wide-angle lens on my travel writing. Then zoom in for a close-up look.

“Food and wine writing is happy writing. People want to be entertained. If you don’t like the dish or wine, don’t write about it.” Action step: Don’t worry. Be happy when I write. The wine helps.

“Start with the familiar and go to the unfamiliar. Readers want to feel comfortable so start with something they already know, e.g. gelato or pasta. But by the end you want to teach them something they didn’t know.” Action step: Research, research, research. Add depth to my stories.

“Bring the elements of fiction into your writing. Think scenes, characterizations, dialogue and point of view. Bring your personality to your writing. Read Bistro Cooking by Patrica Wells (scenes), Cooked  by Michael Pollan and Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (dialogue) and Ruth Reichl (how to negotiate difficult social landscapes like family gatherings at Thanksgiving). Action step: Start reading.

The Olympics and Puget Sound

What are your favorite travel writing tips, Wanderboomers? Please share your ideas with us here.

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Activities, Pacific Northwest, Travel Writing, Washington State Tagged With: travel, Washington

BY Nancy Mueller 2 Comments ON September 3, 2013

Girlfriend Getaway with the Legendary D.B. Cooper

D.B.Cooper

Thanksgiving Eve, November 24, 1971. “Dan Cooper” (aka D.B. Cooper) boards Northwest Orient Airline Flight 305 in Portland, Oregon for what is normally a 30-minute hop to Seattle.

But this is not a normal flight. After ordering a bourbon and Seven, he hands an envelope to stewardess Florence Schaffner.

Stewardess Florence Schaffner

As the world now knows, the hijacking note inside that envelope triggered one of the most extensive manhunts and enduring mysteries of our time. Who was D.B. Cooper? What happened to him?

D.B.COOPER Exhibit

Now you can delve into the mystery a little deeper at the Washington State History Museum’s new COOPER Exhibit in Tacoma, WA. Curators Gwen Perkins and Fred Poyner spent two years planning and gathering artifacts for the program.

The result is a highly entertaining, interactive exhibit that takes visitors back to the 70’s where you can relive the dramatic play of events.

D.B.Cooper Timeline

Check in for your flight on the 4th floor and proceed to Gate 1, 2 or 3. Enter a mock up of the Boeing 727 cabin where mannequin D.B. Cooper sits in the back row, his briefcase nearby. Listen to the pilots’ conversation with air traffic control as you look out over the landscape below.

After showing Flo the bomb in his briefcase, the hijacker listed his demands: two front parachutes, two back parachutes, $200,000. in a knapsack, food for the crew, and a refueling truck on the tarmac in Seattle. All this in exchange for the safety of the passengers and crew. A pair of sunglasses shielded his eyes for the duration of the flight.

Boeing 727 aft stairs

Later, somewhere between Seattle and Reno, Nevada, he lowered and descended the aft stairs. With briefcase in hand and the knapsack tied about him, D.B. Cooper jumped from the Boeing 727 into legend.

Theories abound, but to date, the D.B. Cooper heist remains America’s only unsolved skyjacking crime. For many, his derring-do escape epitomizes the perfect getaway. No one got hurt, the hijacker remained cool, soft-spoken and well-mannered – and he dressed well in a dark suit, with white shirt and black tie, and a trench coat.

For your own weekend escape, Tacoma’s Hotel Murano is offering a “Getaway with COOPER” package in conjunction with the exhibit.

The exhibition opened August 24, 2013 and runs through January 5, 2014.

For the full COOPER experience and an optional add-on fee, you can also book a simulated skydiving experience at iFly Indoor Skydiving, about 30- minutes from the hotel. At the exhibit you can try lifting the model 35-pound knapsack like the hijacker would have tied to himself before jumping. Then imagine skydiving with that extra weight. Do you think he could have lived to tell his tale? You be the judge . . .

Many thanks to my hosts for the opportunity to experience the “Getaway with COOPER” package. Partial expenses were covered for the purpose of sharing the experience with my readers.

What do you think happened to D.B. Cooper, wanderboomers? Share your best guess with us here.

 

Filed Under: Activities, Baby Boomers and Travel, Destinations, Pacific Northwest, Tacoma, WA, Washington State Tagged With: D.B. Cooper, Dan Cooper, Florence Schaffner, Hotel Murano, iFly Seattle, Washington State History Museum

BY Nancy Mueller Leave a Comment ON July 29, 2013

Seafair: Seattle’s Favorite Summer Festival

Seafair Penticton Peach Float
Since the 1950’s, Seafair has ruled as Seattle’s favorite summer festival spanning several weeks. For most Seattleites, Seafair traditions include the Blue Angels, hydroplane races on Lake Washington and the Torchlight Parade. Even smaller neighborhood events like the Milk Carton Derby at Green Lake and the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival are all part of the fun.

Seafair Rock This Town Float

The celebrations kick off with the crowning of King Neptune and the Queen of the Seas (now named Miss Seafair). But where would we be without the Seafair pirates to add a bit of mischief? After their customary landing at Alki Beach in West Seattle, the pirates pop up all summer (and now even throughout the year), playing pranks around the city. Like the time a few pirates entered a local pub, pulled up a couple of chairs and invited themselves to join a few patrons at their table. Turns out the patrons were tourists and had no idea what the heck was going on. Even better!

Unfortunately, the Blue Angels won’t be the headliners at this year’s festival, due to federal budget cuts. But the air-show must go on. The Patriots Jet Team, a six-plane aerobatic group, has stepped in fill the void for Seafair Weekend, Friday August 2nd – Sunday August 4th.

To learn more about the history of Seattle’s most popular summer festival, head to MOHAI (The Museum of History and Industry) on Free First Thursday, August 1st. If you arrive between 11AM and 1PM, you might even get the chance to practice the royal wave with Miss Seafair herself.

MOHAI

For more information, be sure to check out the Seafair calendar of events.

Wander on!

Nancy

What’s your favorite summer festival, wanderboomers?

Filed Under: Activities, Baby Boomers and Travel, By Land, By Ship & By Sea, Destinations, Entertainment, Festivals, Seattle, Washington State Tagged With: Blue Angels, Miss Seafair, MOHAI, Patriots Jet Team, Seafair, Seafair Pirates, Seattle, summer festivals

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Hello fellow wanderboomers! I’m a Seattle-based travel journalist, specializing in fun travel adventures for the young at heart. My articles have been featured in Hemispheres, AAA Highroads Magazine and Northwest Travel & Life Magazine where I'm a frequent contributor. When this Wanderboomer isn’t traveling, I help global executives polish their personal and professional brand for long-term results.
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