22 Marina & City Spots for Boat Rides in the U.S., Guru Greenberg, Amos Lee's Dreamland, Empty Legs and Anaheim Time
Update: My main travel and culture webpage is at marinarena.wordpress.com
Okay, so gas is about $5 a gallon in the U.S. Are we having fun yet? Don’t fret - and don’t totally give up on summer travel despite inflating fares. Even if you just do a short local trip by car- just make it happen!
BOOK YOUR TRAVEL QUICK LINKS Booking.com Youmetravel.com Bikesbooking.com
22 Marina & City Spots for Boat Rides in the U.S.
Where to float this summer and beyond.
Check out listicle on Wordpress.
Travel Recommendations : Peter Greenberg the Guru
Lately, I’ve been listening to the savvy podcasts from travel journalist Peter Greenberg. Follow his advice and your next planned trip will likely be seamless- or close to. Among other topics, Guru Greenberg gives insider flight and air travel tips such as these to consider if jetting off for summer holiday:
Arrive 3 hours for international departures and at least 1.5 hours for leaving domestically.
Another tip I have often done and what Greenberg recommends is booking a few one-ways instead of a roundtrip. You may save hundreds of dollars by being a little patient and researching viable one-ways. Later day departures often are more affordable than itineraries earlier in the day.
Airport tip: To avoid huge airport delays, which often happen at the major airports, consider flying to/from a smaller, mid-size airport.
Ex. For a L.A.- N.Y itinerary, fly from Long Beach-LGB to Islip-ISP instead of Los Angeles-LAX to NY La Guardia- LGA
Tip on Paris…
I echo Greenberg’s sentiment and say that next time in Paris, discover the upper arrondissments (10-18) for local restaurants, upcoming chefs are here where the everyday French live. Listen to recent podcast.
In several podcasts, Greenberg passionately urges for travelers to get an atlas, you know, that book bundle with pages of maps, which feature Earth regions. Far too many atlas- challenged American tourists are fearing that the war in Ukraine will ruin their summer European trip (Insert SMH emoji- 🤦🏽♂️). News alert to pathetic Yanks: Paris is not next door to Ukraine. The city of Lights is about 1320 mi (2124 km) from war-torn Odessa. Also, London and Rome, two other popular Euro destinations we Americans adore to visit also more than 1800 miles of stone throws away from Ukraine cities. It is as if fearing to visit posh Bel Air, California, thinking it’s too close to the U.S. homicide capital of (East) St. Louis, Missouri- only some 1825 mi away (2937 km)! Good grief…
Personally, I love me an atlas and have several paper maps, even got some glossy one kept from grade school. However, I should get a proper, current atlas, like Greenberg recommended Atlas Obscura.
Traveling to Europe? Auto Europe Booking.com
Travel and Freedom feature: Empty Legs via Freedom Travel Alliance
Canadians have a chance of escaping the totalitarian hell of the current comfortably of the Not-so-great White North thanks to FTA, which is offering empty leg travel. Join to be a member to take advantage of current and future opportunities to fly freely and comfortably.
But wait- what is an empty leg flight? It is one that has a plane flying empty to reposition or return for an already booked chartered trip. Would you believe that 30% of all private aircraft fly empty? Believe it ‘cause it’s true. What a substantial inventory!
Good #opentravel news for Canadians: More typical flights are opening up travel restrictions are starting to ease up nationally- but ever so slowly.
Worthy to note: Top epidemiologist for Public Health Agency of Canada never recommended vaccination for air travel
RIDE FREE! Rent a RV at Marinarena
What I’m listen music wise to on-the-go these days:
Amos Lee- Dreamland
Amos Lee is a soulful, at times jazzy singer-songwriter type who has released his most diverse, all-around collection of his career so far. Have a listen to Dreamland while you’re traveling up in the air or on the road. I’m still free to change my mind with a few other musical contenders but this may end up tops on my absolute favorite albums of 22.
Standout tracks: Well… the opening title track gets to me most deeply.. Let’s dream together. Do not be afraid…
Current single “Worry No More” is a delightful up-tempo tune “Hold You” is touching ballad you’d want your significant other to sing you. For groove sake, “Shoulda Known Better” will get you movin’. All this said, the album plays well as a whole.
Yes, I actually bought a CD of this collection to play and later on display. Buy it physically and local at FYE if not on Amazon or streaming elsewhere.
Get the vinyl of Dreamland at Duotone.
Anaheim Times
Be mesmerized by the changing neon lights of ARTIC, the main trans center in the city of Anaheim, CA!
In this year of ‘22, I’ve been spending more time in Anaheim, that combo Spanish-German town known for Disneyland, original home of Gwen Stefani/No Doubt and the baseball Angels (Good God, the Angels are strug-gah-ling lately , just went through a 14 game losing streak! Yikes! But the season’s still young. C’mon Halos! )
In other recent news: Anaheim’s Mayor Harry Sidhu got kicked out of office. Apparently he made a devil deal to keep the Angels organization. What a D.C level mess in the O.C. !
Top local draws not-to-skip on in Ana include visiting cutesy Packing District & the downtown strip. PD is a fab modern decked out foodie hall with separate artistically planned hangouts for casual get-togethers. Hungry? Black Sheep ( could have named after me) is gouda-great for grilled cheese. Also you can’t go wrong with Asian style BBQ at The Kroft choice. For shopping down along Broadway, the Rare by Goodwill store is legit- thrift treasures that are not junk knick-knacks.
Where to stay in Ana? If you wish to stay near D-Land, the Hotel Indigo is best for major hotels. Or do a homestay (choose one on my Booking.com link)
Food Recs: ( Pokinometry, California Pizza Place off Harbor & Katella (good block away from D-land main entrance) and various hall eateries within the Packing district. For avenue faire, Mexican street food vendors have been popping up along major thoroughfares like Lincoln serving shaved meats and on a roasting spit and aguas frescas (flavored water drinks). Love beer tasting? There are dozens of breweries around town, some “hidden within industrial parks, such as Brewheim.
Get around: It’s easy to arrive in Anaheim, especially at centrally located ARTIC via Amtrak or Metrolink trains or Greyhound (Ana Greyhound stop is the most attractive one by far, at least in southern California).
If you’re staying in Ana and want to get around without a car, the 43/543 OC Buses and/or ART Buses are doable. Buses are not as scary as the MTA L.A. ones these days. ARTIC is about a 10 min walk away from Angel Stadium and Honda Center. From ARTIC top Disneyland and Ana Convention center, Take the OC Bus 50 West route.
Of course, take advantage of quick Lyfts or Uber for more convenient trips. Pickups are generally fast with minimal wait times.