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a sneak peek into this week's episode. stories. No matter where you fall along that journey, get ready to hear about our first-hand experiences as we visit some of the most interesting and amazing places on earth. What an amazing year it's been. Today we're going to do a wrap-up on the year and give you some insider knowledge on what we loved and what we would do differently next time. We also want to give you an idea of what you can expect in 2024. So pick your seats and let's get started as we journey through 2023. I say we just go ahead and jump right in and get started this time.
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That sounds good. So we were fortunate enough to actually visit seven countries this year. That's pretty amazing.
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Yeah. Seeming as our goal was to visit one new country per year, we kind of knocked this one out of the park. We
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did. So we visited the UK and Slovakia, Ecuador, of course, because we went to the Galapagos, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Mexico.
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Yeah, and this wasn't new. All of them weren't actually new countries.
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all of them weren't new, actually new countries. So I actually Yeah. checked off four new countries. So Ecuador was completely new to me. You had been before, but we'll talk about some things that were on your bucket list there that you had not done in Ecuador. Well, besides the Galapagos, but like in Quito, for example, you'd been to Quito, but something that you had wanted to do. And then together, we also visited Slovakia. And then of course, Jamaica and the Grand Cayman as well. So three for you and four for me. That's
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pretty good year. I have to say. Yeah, that
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Yeah, that was really awesome. And so I guess what was interesting about this is that when we started the year, only the Galapagos was the only trip we had planned. And I think we've talked about that before, is that we don't typically plan a lot of things really far in advance. And so that was really the only trip that we had planned. And then of course, Slovakia and the UK came up because you typically do that once a year for work, but not really hadn't planned Slovakia out. So that made it extra crazy, I guess, that we got to go to so many places.
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Yeah, and we didn't even really plan the Galapagos.
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Yes, but we knew, you're right, well, we didn't plan it. That's true. But because we had gone with friends, and I think we touched on that in that Galapagos, because we had gone with friends who said, hey, we're going to do this. Do you want to come along? But we did know, I guess, going into 2023 that that was on our list, though. Yeah,
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and if you're not familiar with what the Galapagos are, I highly encourage you to go and listen to that episode, because this is going to be on your bucket list after you listen to it.
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was actually episode two. We had talked about doing this podcast for a while. And so we actually started it right after that trip. So if you want to hear about the Galapagos Islands and how we did the trip, that was in episode two. So even though we had been to Mexico before we had visited Cozumel for the first time. So even though we have been to that Yucatan area a we've lot, just never taken that boat ride over to spend a day in Cozumel for the first So time. even though we have been to that Yucatan area a lot, we've just never taken that boat ride over to spend a day in Cozumel. So when we docked there for the cruise, we spent the day exploring Cozumel. And yes, you could stay there, but I think that we felt like, unless you do it for a vacation and you could stay in a beach resort and enjoy the beaches. And obviously if you're a diver, that would be a great place to go and enjoy the snorkeling and stuff like that. But a day is a good amount of time to be able to explore that as well. And then we also got to go to Puerto Rico for the first time. So even though that's a U S territory, we want to definitely point that out because that's yeah, that's a, that's a great, it's a great place to go. It sort of feels
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a great place to go. It sort of feels like you're visiting another country when you go there. Yeah, it really does. Because they have their own culture and identity and stuff like that.
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Yeah, it really does. Because
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Yeah, and the language and then the food is so different. And so, yeah, it really is. But the great thing, I guess, about Puerto Rico for people who don't want to have to invest in a passport is that's a way that you can you can travel something that feels international and not have to have a passport and of course puerto rico now we didn't stay but just a few days but you definitely could stay for you could stay for quite a while right and do a road trip all the way around and you know explore a lot so, we will have to definitely go back to Puerto Rico.
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And our travel, you know, includes both destinations as well as other countries that we visit. And so in this year, we checked off three bucket list destinations at the same time.
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We did. So three things that had been on our list, which were the Galapagos Islands, and then also you getting to go to the Grand then also you getting to go to the Grand Canyon, us getting to go to the Grand Canyon, and me getting to watch you see the Grand Canyon for the first time as well. And then to go to New Orleans. And so funny enough, New Orleans is something that has been on our very original bucket list that we had on our chalkboard wall that we've talked about in a previous episode. So we finally got to do that. Yeah,
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Yeah, we looked at that picture that we had taken of that chalkboard wall and scribbled in there was New Orleans. So that was great to check off some of those bucket list destinations as well as doing things that maybe were somewhere far away that we might go to or something like that. You know, being able to do, you know, a couple of those things that are domestic for us.
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Right. Yeah. Because, I mean, I think a lot of times people think of bucket list items as being like these things like the Galapagos Islands. And they certainly are, you know, in Antarctica and safari and Iceland and you know Asia and just you know Australia I don't know like these huge things but they don't they don't have to be right because you
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to be right because you bucket list could be like taking a hot air balloon ride yeah right I mean that would be some an experience that is something that you just really want to make sure that you get that's true and you
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true and you could do that and And we, you know, just recently saw the hot air balloons in Scottsdale, or, I mean, you probably can do hot air balloon certain times of the year, you know, almost anywhere in Georgia, we would see people, you know, do hot air balloons a lot. So that's a good point. So, you know, go into national parks and cities like new Orleans just to see because they definitely has a definitely a unique culture to it to get to experience. And
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then we had some, you know, additional experiences outside those, you know, places that we visited. These were just things, like I said, you know, riding a hot air balloon. We didn't ride a hot air balloon. I just keep using that as an example.
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now knows that's on my bucket
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Yeah. Maybe we'll make that happen when we go on the safari. But, you know, sometimes it's just an experience that you want to have. And so, we had a few experiences that were on our bucket list as well.
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So, I mentioned that Scott had always wanted to go into those gilded churches in Quito. I think the people that you worked with had talked about them. And you really had only been into like the business area and maybe dinner and stuff like that. And so being able to add a tour like that to the front end of our, we got to pick, I guess, that we did in Quito. We went to the actual equator and did a little experience there. But then our tour guide took us to lunch downtown at a nice restaurant that overlooked one of the open squares. And then took us into those gilded churches. And we did about three, I think. So that was just absolutely fascinating. Yeah, I'd always
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And then took us
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I'd always heard there's so much gold even on the walls just there in Quito from that Spanish Inquisition. And so everybody had always said, you need to come back and come see our gilded churches. So we got to do that and cross that off the list. And, you know, I'm so happy that we had that opportunity.
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one for me was to go to Highclere Castle, which is the filming location of Downton Abbey. And one other time when we had been there several years ago and we were in that area, we drove by, but they were closed for like a wedding, which I think is very common certain times of the year. And so our dear friend Allie had gotten us tickets for the last time that we were there and she had been, so she just took us and dropped us off and we spent the morning. And so that was really, that was interesting for probably more for me, but then just to be able to, anytime that you can go to an English, so this is a, like more of a manor house, not necessarily a castle castle, but I mean, a very large house. And then just be able to walk their grounds and see their gardens. And they had a fascinating exhibit that, if you don't know this, I don't know why you would know this, but the people who actually live there, the earls that actually live there, they were part of the Tutankhamun's... The group
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that discovered Tutankhamun's burial place.
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burial place. Yeah, it's an interesting exhibit about that. And so it was very neat to see. And of course, they had photos in the rooms where you could see, like, here's how certain things were filmed for the show and stuff like that. So I really enjoyed that. That was a neat thing to be able to go see. And
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think we learned while we were there that like this, this place is only open six weeks a year or something like that for tours. Cause there's a family that actually lives there most of the year. Yeah,
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that's true. The family lives there and then they, you know, have other events and stuff like that. And so, yeah, you can't even go like see it. So that was so that was why it was very special that we got to do that when we went back. That's true.
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we got to do another thing that was on your experience bucket list, which was the VIP tour at Disney.
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Yeah. So that was definitely had been on my bucket list just to get to experience that. And we got to do that as part of a group because that is definitely, if you do that on your own, that's a pretty expensive thing to do. And so getting to do that and then for Scott to get to do that too, it just like all worked out. And so that was just a neat experience. And we had a great group of people to, a fun group of people to do that with. And it was just neat to get to talk to the tour guide and talk to her about the people that she had, the celebrities, I guess, that she had taken on tour and some of the behind the scenes things that we got to see. And of course, couldn't photograph, so can't share, but that was just a neat experience. And then also one other thing at Disney, and I'd always wanted to stay at the Grand Floridian. And so we were able to at and Disney, I'd always wanted to stay at the Grand Floridian. And so we were able to do that in September for our granddaughter's birthday. And that's a great bucket list thing. If you want to be close to Magic Kingdom, I would say that you really do get spoiled and they've renovated the rooms to have like a Mary Poppins theme. And so it's just, it's extra nice.
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extra nice. Tell Melissa she's ruined Like we can't go back
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and not stay at the Grand Floridian now. Disney. Yeah. So that was, that was really a nice stay as well. So, and then another one for me was in the fall, just a couple of months ago, we got to go to the Bahamas again. And it was interesting because it was one place that we had said, okay, we've been there. You know, we've kind of tooled around there for a day. We only went there for a day on a cruise years ago. So it wasn't anything where we would say, oh, we really want to go back there. But we had the opportunity to stay at the Atlantis. And so that is something that I had wanted to do and be able to go to that water park and experience that leap of faith. Waterslide, which is kind of an iconic thing. If you think of Atlantis, that's what you think of. So if you're not familiar with that, it's an almost vertical drop, almost 60 feet high into a pool of sharks. Yeah,
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well, you don't really go into a pool of sharks, but you go underneath the pool of sharks in an acrylic tunnel. But, you know, if you keep your eyes open and open you look up you will see those sharks swimming above as you go through that tunnel
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yeah you go through really fast i mean it's a very quick experience and so you just have to make yourself sit down and go i mean because it is straight down so it's
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like five stories or something
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like that but we also on that trip we also made a connection with it with a tour guide. So we took the opportunity to learn a little bit more about Nassau and the Bahamas. And we realized how similar it is living here now in Florida, how similar some of our history is, especially to the place where we live and getting to connect with her. Funny enough, we actually live in Nassau County. And of course, Nassau, Bahamas. And I always thought, you know, not really knowing, like, I have never even looked that up, right? But it's a family name, the people who inhabited there. And then also, I think there's a Nassau County, New York, or Nassau something in New York, somebody has told us. So just that shared history, I guess, too, which was interesting. So we haven't done a podcast episode on that yet. We hope to have Krista, that was our tour guide, a little bit on that when her schedule can free up. It's the busy season down there now. So hopefully later on we can have her there.
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And so then you also crossed the equator for the first time. So when we went down to Ecuador, that gave you the opportunity to cross the equator and kind of mentioned a little bit before, but we spent a few hours one day at an equator park. So, you know, they had the what they claimed to be the actual equator line that ran through there. And you could, you know, stand on both sides of the equator at the same time. there and you could, you know, stand on both sides of the equator at the same time. Had a thing where you balanced an egg on the head of a nail. Just different things like that. Some experiments that show you how I think they made these experiments work. But if you put water into a funnel, it would travel in a certain direction, one side the equator but then on the other side it would travel the other yeah
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so because basically i guess if you pay attention like if you flush a toilet on in the northern hemisphere versus the southern hemisphere the water goes down in the opposite direction right is how you would say it and so that's kind of what they are attempting to you know show which there's not that much variability right there because you would say it and so that's kind of what they are attempting to you know show which there's not that much variability right there because you're right there at the equator but that's basically or that the the water would go the different direction because the gravitational pull but it's amazing to me too is that not true well i was gonna
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say i think the toilet's probably a bad example because it's gonna go the way that the design of the toilet flows the water. Oh, okay.
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Oh, okay.
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You know, if we redesign the toilets here, they could make the water go the opposite way.
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Yeah, I guess that's true. But it's just, it's so fascinating, too, when you think about, like, these ancient cultures, like, how accurately they found where the equator was, right? With no technology. And so you can use your GPS while you're there, and it's actually like right there. Like it's very close by to right where they say they're at. I think
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at. I think one of the interesting things that I learned was that there are certain constellations and things like that that we see that someone south of the equator doesn't see. And that was like one of the ways that they determine that you know that there was a a concave effect to the to the world
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that's yeah that's absolutely true because we think of these things that we are used to right and if you're like a stargazer in the southern hemisphere you're gonna be like hey where's such you know such and such and you're not gonna definitely not gonnaer in the Southern you're going hemisphere, to be where's like, you Hey, such and such, such. know, And you're not going to definitely not going to see that. So yeah, that's super interesting.
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Well, you know, one of the other big things that we did this year is we talked about it, but we started this podcast. So we've now got 39 episodes that have been released this year. And, you know, that's been a fun adventure in and of itself.
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Yes, that sure And so our very has. first that's been a fun adventure in and of that itself. sure has. Yes, And so our very first episode we decided to create was about creating a travel bucket list. So it's actually the second most popular episode. And if you haven't heard it yet, it will give you some great inspiration about, you know, how to come up with things. I mean, if you're listening to this, you probably love to travel and you probably have things on your bucket list, but it might give you some ideas, you know, if you have times where you can't fly or you can't travel internationally or, you know, whatever, to kind of give you some different ideas or some different ideas with different, you know, groups of people. Yeah. I
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just over the last year, our bucket list has grown exponentially. You know, as we've really dug into our travel journeys and kind of documenting that and talking to different people, you know, like just this past weekend when we were in Sedona, we sat down, we were having dinner at the bar because the restaurant was really, really busy that night or when we first got there, it was really busy. And we started talking to the lady next to us and then all of a sudden found out she loves to travel too. And so she was rattling off all the different places that are on her bucket list. And so as we talk to different people and we hear from you, you know, as you leave us messages or, you know, post on our, you know, our social media and stuff like that, then we start investigating more into some of the places that you're talking about. And then all of a sudden, before you know it, our bucket list is continuing to grow.
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Yeah, for sure. Yeah. She had some really neat experiences. She was very interesting to talk to. She's been to some fantastic places and then had, you know, was kind of asking about some places that we had been as well. So I got a feeling
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we're going to need up the number of unique places that we go to per year to ever cross off that bucket list, though.
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true. Yes. So and travel is something that we enjoy doing year round. The perfect time to travel is always right now. So let's quickly I know we've talked about a few of these places, but let's look at this as like a month by month just to kind of recap. And then we also want to make sure we can point you to like some of these podcast episodes. And then we have a few that we need to do. So in January, since we're only three hours away from Walt Disney World, and we do have annual passes, so that helps a lot. We want to take advantage of those as much as possible. And for me, kind of one of my bucket list things is I wanted to be able to stay at as many different of the hotels there that I hadn't stayed at. And one of the fun, so one of the fun things for me too, is trying to get good deals on travel, right? So if you can, you know, get, you know, discounted tickets or tickets with miles or whatever. So Disney has a couple of different things. They have started having more annual pass holder or Florida resident hotel discounts, but then you can also look and find discounted dvc rooms on a few sites and i'll link those as well
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is disney vacation club that's true
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so yeah disney vacation club so people who have booked the rooms or and a lot of times it's like for one night here and one night there because they had some points i guess that would expire and so they decide to do that and then they basically rent those out and i find them on these sites that are like, they're already booked and whatever. It's not like you're having to deal with the individual owner. But so it's like one night here and one night there, like I said. And so they can be at a significant discount. So we did a fun thing. The kids wanted to go and do, well, our daughter wanted to go. Her husband was going to play golf. And so she was like, hey, can we go to Disney for these such and such days? And so I was like, yeah, but we're going to do an adventure. She was like, yeah, whatever. So we did four Disney hotels in four nights, which was a little hectic, I must admit, especially with two little ones. But we did great. So it was just kind of a crazy adventure that we did. So we did Coronado Springs and Old Key West. And then Scott joined us. He had actually had a meeting in Orlando and was staying somewhere else, but he joined us for the last two nights and we stayed at Wilderness Lodge and then Swan Reserve. So we had quite the gamut of rooms and stuff like that. But that Swan Reserve was really amazing. So that's a Marriott property, which I booked on points and they had upgraded this to an Epcot view room. So not only did we have the fireworks the night before, we woke up to the most amazing sunrise on that side of the building. So that was really cool.
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I don't think we woke up. I think you woke us up.
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Yeah, well, there you go. I love sunrises and sunsets sunset skies, if you don't know.
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So, you know, that was just kind of slow rolling into the year, I think, just getting us started because we definitely picked up some steam after that.
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Yeah. It feels like we did. So, yeah. So,
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into February, that's where we're now going on this big trip to the Galapagos and so we traveled down to Ecuador you know did a few days in Quito first they have you getting there making sure that you're you're arrived and then then they take you on to the port where where you leave from to go to the Galapagos Islands yeah
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we mentioned we went on this trip because we had some friends who had said, hey, we're going to do this trip. Do y'all want to come along? So we didn't have a lot to do with the planning. They did give us some options, but we really wanted to defer to what they had planned. So again, we did that. We did the cruise of the Galapagos, which was a fantastic way to see a lot of the islands and just have like no, you know, they're shuttling you around and then, hey, get in the tender and we're going to see this. And we're so a lot of the days it was hiking and snorkeling and hiking and eating and relaxing. And so it really made a it did make a like for a vacation. And then we got to get off at two of the islands and do a lot more. So again, episode two, we really go into that. And then episode three, we talk about Quito. That was another one to where, yes, we paid out of pocket for the cruise. We did use Delta Sky Miles to get to Quito. And so we did that specifically so that we could, you know, stay with the group. And was kind of the the plan for that so you go then you fly from
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or something like that yeah and
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like that yeah and then over to the Galapagos but there are flights that we have seen like from Florida a lot of places you could fly straight to to Guanacal because the one thing is is going to Quito is that elevation change yeah right so a lot of we that elevation change, right? So a lot of, we did notice when we did hear a lot of the people wither like medicine, Guayaquil, so that they wouldn't have to do that. And so that might be an option. And also you don't have to do a cruise of the Galapagos either. So you can then fly to some of the islands and stay there. There's hotels, there's actually really cute And towns. then you can just do day trips out to some of the islands and stay There's there. hotels. There's actually really cute towns. And then you can just do day trips out to some of those. I don't think you would get to, you know, see as much, but it's definitely a possibility if cruising is not, because this is a bit of a, it was a bit of a rougher boat. So if that's not in your, you know, being able to have the seasickness.
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elevation
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being able to have the seasickness. Back up just a minute. This boat was not rough in any shape or form. No, no, no.
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No, no, no. I mean, rough as in we did have some waves that were, we did have some waves that were rougher
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like a large cruise
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large cruise ship. I think we
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I think we had one night where the seas were, you know, a little bit more rocky, but overall the boat that we were on was what they call a tri-tune. So it had three or a tri-hole. It had, you know, three pontoons basically underneath it and it was very stable. And the boat itself was absolutely fabulous. Oh yes, absolutely fabulous. Make sure that we were not roughing it out on the seas in any way, shape, form, or fashion. We had like 12 or 13 crew members for 12 people, 12 guests.
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Oh yes, absolutely fabulous. Make sure
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the seas in
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Right, yeah. There's a larger option you can do. National Geographic does a cruise down there that's like 100 people. So nothing massive is the thing. But you don't have to cruise, I guess, is my main point. And then you can do day trips and stuff like that. And so there are less expensive options to be able to see parts of the Galapagos as well.
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able to see parts of the Galapagos as well. But I just want to make it clear. I don't think that's recommendation. So I don't think we would recommend that you go do that because you miss out on a lot of the experience that we had by going on this cruise. But, you know, I guess the point you're making is there are other options.
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Right. So if you can't cruise, don't feel like you have to check that. Like, oh, I can't go to the Galapagos Islands. And I don't know that. I mean, a lot of people probably know that. I don't know that I really realized that because it, like you're saying, it would be the best way to be able to see as much. But it's definitely an option to be able to, you could still see a good bit, right? And do some day trips and stuff like that. But you would have to take some kind of boat out to do some of the things for sure. So
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out to do some of the things for sure. So then in March, we took a trip to Pittsburgh. So we went up to visit some friends there. visit some friends there. And, you know, we probably should record an episode on Pittsburgh because we didn't, I don't think we knew all of the things that you could do there, right? We weren't, this was not like we had chosen the destination and we were going to go there and, you know, do a bunch of things from a tourist perspective. Our main goal was to go hang out with some friends. And then, you know, we had some extra time where we could go and do some of these touristy things and really found that there was a lot to do in Pittsburgh.
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Yeah, there was a lot to do in Pittsburgh and we really enjoyed it. And interestingly enough, like if there were like the ball games going on, the baseball or the football, which is we stayed right there in that area. I mean, you would have that on top of that. I would say for Pittsburgh and for those teams, that would be kind of iconic, right? Because those stadiums are right there on the river. But what we ended up doing is we went to the aviary, which was a fantastic experience. We went to the Andy Warhol Museum, which is interesting because I feel like you get a different perspective if you've ever been to a museum and seen an Andy Warhol exhibit. This one was a bit different. A lot of things that they wouldn't necessarily put out on exhibition, maybe, like to go other places. And yes, there's some famous things there, but you get more of a perspective on his life. And then you do see some of those iconic. I think that's my word for the day. But you see some of those paintings and drawings and sculptures and just different things like that. Yeah. Yeah. And then the botanical gardens and that area over by the college that was. And of course, we were there in March. And so just that time of the year was just fantastic for like spring flowers we had great weather so I think that was a big deal for us but we also went to some of these places that our friends had not been to or the husband of the friends I guess had not been to so we do have a blog post on that and so you can actually see some of the pictures and get some ideas about like where to eat, where we would stay, maybe what we would recommend. But we had some really great experiences. And so we need to do a podcast episode. But I'll link that blog post so that you can take a look. If you're ever in Pittsburgh, definitely have some time to, you know, explore because we went to some really neat, a lot of history there too. We
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should go to a Braves and Pirates game in Pittsburgh.
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that'd be fun.
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I'd love to go to that It's right stadium. there on the We should water. go to a Braves and Pirates game in Pittsburgh. that'd be Yeah, I'd love to go fun. to that stadium. It's right there on the water. We should do that. So you can go out to our, on our website, sunshinetravelers.com. We've got a blog post there. You can go out and see, you know, some of our recommendations as well as some of the pictures that we took. Because there's a lot of fabulous architecture in Pittsburgh as well. Yeah.
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a lot of architecture, a lot of history. And then those bridges, all the yellow bridges. So yeah, they have
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So yeah, they have a few bridges in Pittsburgh.
00:28:35 SPEAKER_01
Yeah. So it makes them for some really interesting photography too, I
00:28:39 SPEAKER_00
like. Yeah. So then in April, this is where we did our trip to Slovakia. So I had to go over for work and Melissa joined me and really we were going to the UK. I had a meeting in the UK that I had to attend, but you know, travel, making that international travel is often one of the most expensive parts is the flight getting across. And so we had said that we would go over and visit some of my staff that lives in Slovakia and they live and work in Slovakia. And so we went over to Kosice and met some of them. And this was the first time because I joined this company right before the pandemic. And so I had not had a chance to travel out and meet many of my team members previously. And so this was the first time meeting that team there in Slovakia.
00:29:33 SPEAKER_01
for me, I feel like it was very interesting because this was an experience to where like you're going to like meet a family or see a family or stay with a family would you say scott because they had invited us they're like hey there's this big hockey game it's like like game seven of like this the playoffs or whatever and we're gonna get tickets because like this is a big deal for us so we're gonna get y'all some tickets too and we're all gonna go together and we'll you know meet for meet for a drink before. And then after the game, we'll go to dinner and stuff like that. So it was all, it was a very different experience because like you're going with people who know the area, which is super awesome in my opinion.
00:30:16 SPEAKER_00
And they were very excited about this hockey playoff. So they had forced a game seven. I think they were kind of the underdogs going into it. So it was a very exciting atmosphere, you know, being there because, you know, this was a big deal to them to get into these playoffs.
00:30:34 SPEAKER_01
Yeah. And so just not knowing what to expect, but like as soon as we met them, it was just like we knew them and they were just so excited to like tell us about everything and show us about everything. And so just getting like to just experience that as part of their culture. So like you just felt like, I mean, I'm sure it wasn't the whole town, but you felt like that, you know, the whole town was there. And then also it was a unique experience to like when it like broke for one of the, is it like third? What was it? It's thirds, right? In hockey. I don't know. Okay. No, I'm not.
00:31:07 SPEAKER_00
No, I'm not. But yeah, there are breaks. And think of them more like almost like half times in hockey because it's not like just a two minute break. There's a break where you can go. And I think the point you were going to talk about was that we actually left the stadium.
00:31:26 SPEAKER_01
Yeah. So I actually just was like, I'm going to go to the bathroom. And so I was like, okay, I'll meet you back here. And then Scott comes back and he was like, hey, we actually left the stadium. We went to like a bar down the, like right around the corner or something like that. And that's just not something like normally, like in the U.S S like you can't leave and come back to like a sports arena thing. Right. They want you to stay in there and, you know, enjoy their snacks and buy their drinks and stuff like that. You're like, Hey, we actually left and like went around the corner and that was very strange.
00:31:57 SPEAKER_00
so Melissa and I, like we got there and we immediately had to go and meet them. So like we didn't even really have time really adjust or whatever. It was landed, got to the hotel, put our stuff up and then went off to go and meet them. And one of the things that we're gonna find out very quickly with their culture is they're a very social culture. And part of their social cultures is to enjoy a drink together. And so we did quite a bit of that. During the hockey match, like Melissa said, during the breaks, you'd go out, you'd have a beer together. And then when we went out to dinner, one of the things that we learned is they often will carry a flask of some type of alcohol that they've made from fruit on their property or their family's property. It's just normal for them to carry that around with them, I guess.
00:32:53 SPEAKER_01
Yeah. And then they want you to try it, right? Because it comes from quince or this or that, whatever they grow. And then they do the process, but then they take it somewhere else to be distilled. But then they frequently want to share that with you because like it's something that they have made. So yeah, so I just felt like their culture, that was just a neat experience. I think there because we got to meet people who live there and go to dinner with them. And so of course, then we went to dinner with them a couple of times at very neat restaurants, one of them that was served more like family style. what they ordered though is these big boards it just felt was very interesting because to me the food reminded me of like a southern u.s barbecue so it was like barbecued chicken and some ribs and then like all these different sides and we were just like fried
00:33:37 SPEAKER_00
we were just like fried chicken fried
00:33:40 SPEAKER_01
okay and then like barbecued ribs and then like all these different sides that were things like maybe like coleslaw, which I mean is definitely a very like German and Eastern European type thing. But of course we enjoy that in the US and I think I can't remember what else. Like it was a bunch of different sides, but it just reminded me, I was like, man, this is very similar to like what you'd have like at a barbecue.
00:34:05 SPEAKER_00
Yeah. I just remember before we got on the plane to go over there and we you talking were, to friends know, and family. We had to make sure to leave out the fact of how close we were to Ukraine on this trip.
00:34:19 SPEAKER_01
And so it was just, it was also neat for me because then the day that Scott, and we weren't there, but just a couple of days, but the day Scott was in the office, then I was able to say, where hey, should I go? You know, where should I eat? And they do have like a, like a main street or a high street or, you know, where a lot of the shops and stuff were. And so just being able to walk around. And then they did the second afternoon, they did get somebody to take us on a tour. get somebody to take us on a tour. So like the whole group. So like the whole group. So there were a couple of other people there that didn't live right there too that had kind of all come since you were going to be there and a couple of other people were going to be there. And so to just take us on a tour, which was nice and give us a little bit of perspective on the history. But they've had quite the history and quite the government changeovers over the years. And so just to get to hear about that from a local's perspective as well. And then of course, from there, we went to London and we've been several times. So in episode five, we give you an ultimate London travel guide, what to do if you've never been, or if you've been a lot, give you some ideas, because I don't think there's ever a thing where you could say I've done everything in London. Like it's just not a possibility because there's always new things, always new stuff going on and they're always changing stuff up and things, you know, that just the culture, not the culture, but the, like the trends, I guess, are always changing and they seem to be in London first about what's trendy and stuff like
00:35:41 SPEAKER_00
too. This also led to our episode on travel disruptions because this was one of those trips where we ran into a travel disruption coming out of Slovakia. We were planning to go back to London and then and be able to take a flight from London to Brussels, Belgium. And then one of our connecting flights between Slovakia and London got delayed. And so we missed getting back to London in time to take that flight to Brussels. And that actually led to our trip to go see a new place in London.
00:36:20 SPEAKER_01
So we learned a lot about traveling through Heathrow and traveling through Europe. So that was good. Some learnings, but yeah, we, we got to go to a place that we otherwise wouldn't have gone, which was Hampton Court Palace that we do talk about in that London episode, episode five and ended up being a fantastic thing. So then we did decide to do that whole travel disruption episode to just kind of give you some tips for you know how to how to handle those things so some tips and some things that we learned but then just also like maybe a like a mindset type of a thing because it ended up being a fantastic weekend we made the most of
00:36:54 SPEAKER_00
on that trip is when we went to high clear castle as well yes yes so in may we had already planned to return to saint john and this was one of those cases where, like, we knew we were going, but I think for some reason we just waited too long to buy the plane tickets. And so we had to find an alternative route to get there. I mean, we didn't have to, but, you know, looking to be economical in our travel, that's where we decided that we would go to Puerto Rico first. So instead of flying to St. Thomas, we went to Puerto Rico, we spent a few days in Puerto Rico, and then flew from Puerto Rico to St. Thomas, and then took the ferry to St. John and spent a few days in St. John.
00:37:41 SPEAKER_01
Yeah, so we go over that in great detail. Those were our first episodes that we actually recorded on the road. So Puerto Rico, we talk about in episode eight, we recorded that while we were there, all the things that we did and things that we would recommend. And then St. John in episode nine. So the St. John episode has actually become our third most popular episode. And I think because we talk about like really why we love it so much. And so if you enjoy snorkeling, that is the place to go. And it's super laid back. I mean, you're not going to have a lot. You're not going to have a lot of nightlife. You're not going to have like a ton of restaurants or anything like that. And then we actually sent Will and Emily there on their honeymoon and were able to give them all the tips and stuff like that. So that's just a fantastic place to go. A unique place to go. Again, no passport required. Like Scott mentioned, you fly to St. Thomas. And so, yeah, so we did that through Puerto Rico and then to St. Thomas and then back. But we've also since then learned there's some places in Florida we could easily get to and then fly directly to Puerto Rico. I'm sorry, we could fly directly to St. Thomas as well. So just trying to learn some of those things. And
00:38:49 SPEAKER_00
then Melissa, you went and stayed at the Disney Contemporary. You went with our daughter and grandkids and you all stayed at the Disney Contemporary Resort. I think I was traveling for work or something and you guys went on this trip.
00:39:03 SPEAKER_01
Yeah, I think we just went, we just went for one night. It was one of those things where she had just gotten her season pass. And so it was like burning a hole in her pocket because she had just gotten it and was anxious to get it used. And so we found a really good deal to do that for one night and took advantage of that. And so then really going into the summer, we had said, you know, summer is the expensive, busy travel season for most of the world, right? Because kids are out of school. And so we had said, hey, we're at the beach. We're going to Orlando a few times just to enjoy some things. So right around Memorial Day weekend, we had some friends that were visiting from the UK. We had fortunately been able to see them or to see him when we were there in London, but then to get to spend some time with his whole family. And so we hung out with them at Magic Kingdom for the day. But you and I got to play golf at Disney for the first time. So that was a lot of fun. And then we went together as a family Father's Day weekend, and the guys all went to play on another course for golf and then just spend a few, a couple of days Father's Day at Epcot. So that was a lot of fun. And then in July, besides hosting family for here for the 4th of July weekend, we did go for a few days down to Disney's Beach Club Resort. That's another one that had been on my bucket list. That's probably the biggest pool experience. They have a lazy river and a couple of water slides and stuff like that. So we did that for my birthday in July. And then August, you actually traveled a good bit for work.
00:40:43 SPEAKER_00
I was on the road a lot in August yeah I made two trips to Vegas I can't remember where else I went but you went
00:40:46 SPEAKER_01
two trips
00:40:50 SPEAKER_01
to New York as well yeah and so funny enough I we have a couple of dogs at home and we've been traveling a lot and it's a lot to shuffle them back and forth to be boarded and stuff like that and so I passed on those for for that time of the year and just hung be boarded and stuff like that. And so I passed on those for that time of the year and just hung out with them and stuff like that. I think you spent
00:41:09 SPEAKER_00
you spent a lot of time at the beach with the grandkids.
00:41:12 SPEAKER_01
Yeah, yeah, we did. We did do that. And I did go back to Disney with my sister for a couple of days. And so we kind of tag teamed, I guess, being here at home with the dogs. But we do want to remind you that we do have an episode on Amelia Island, which we've added new places to our food recommendations and lists and stuff like that. And maybe we'll come out with a new podcast episode just to update that as well. But I'll put the link to the blog post and then we'll have some updates there. But episode 14 is where you'll find that Amelia Island episode. And it's funny as we travel, we usually just tell people, hey, we're from Jacksonville, you know, that kind of thing. And then just depending on how the conversation goes, a lot of times people will say, oh, I've been to Amelia Island. We're like, okay, yeah, well. So it's just interesting. A lot of people and a lot of people, there's a lot of conferences here at the Omni and the Ritz and stuff like that. So but episode 14, and then I'll put the link to the blog post as well. And then going into September, we decided to, well, so that was when we did the VIP tour. And that was something again, that came up kind of last minute as well. And so we did a couple of discount or highly discounted nights at the Old Key West, and you had not stayed there before. But then in the middle of the month, this is something I had to plan for a while and
00:41:57 SPEAKER_00
it's just
00:42:31 SPEAKER_01
Grand Floridian and booked Halloween party tickets. So it's funny enough, our granddaughter's favorite holiday has always been Halloween, but I think it's because of the dress up aspect of it. She loves to dress up as Disney princess. Like if you like 90% of the time, if you like, we talked to her or whatever, like she's in a princess dress or something like that. And so I think that's like Halloween has just always been, oh, this is when you dress up. And so that has been something we wanted her to be old enough to be able to do that Halloween party. So we did that. And that's when we stayed at the Grand Floridian. So from that, if you don't gather, we do know a good bit about Disney. And so we wanted to share a lot of those tips. So we do have three episodes on Disney, but they're very different. One with children, one with just adults, and then one with senior adults. It wasn't this past year, but we have taken Scott's parents. And so just kind of navigating that with scooters and some different things like that. So if you'll look at episodes 15, 16, 17, and then we have lots of links in those and stuff like that for Disney information and Disney guides. And then just Disney is constantly changing. So if you're visiting, just kind of knowing like what's on the horizon for new rides and new procedures and different things like that. So,
00:43:45 SPEAKER_00
maybe we'll just take a break for just one second. We're almost at the end. We're, you know, on the countdown here. But one thing that I would say to people is you may be listening to this and be like, my God, does this guy ever work? Right. Because they're always traveling. And I think that's a good point. Just remind people is that, you know, pandemic changed a lot of things. And realize is that you can work from just about anywhere. So in a lot of these trips that we're talking about, you know, I will go, I'll work during the day from the hotel, wherever we're at, and then we'll spend the nights and weekends and stuff like that off exploring and doing different fun things together. But, you know, I just wanted to offer that up there because a lot of you may be thinking, gosh, I would love to do this, but I've got to work. Well, so do I. And I managed to get that done. It's just I'm working from a different place. And so if you have that opportunity where you can work from just about anywhere, I would say this is perfect for you, right? Go to these places. The resorts usually have pretty good Wi-Fi. And so, you know, you can be online and working and doing all of your stuff. And then, you know, when you get finished for the day, you go off and have fun and enjoy being wherever you're at. Yeah.
00:45:18 SPEAKER_01
Puerto Rico is a great example of that too, right? Like it was just like, okay, we had a lot of the time for saint john for vacation then be able to do that and you're like okay well that's fine we can make that work but i'm gonna have to work right so then being able to use the weekend so going on the weekend and then working a couple of days before we before we you know at the hotel and then took advantage
00:45:41 SPEAKER_00
advantage of the beautiful scenery and i I set, set myself up right in the middle of the window. So when I was on video calls, like the ocean was behind me and just made people jealous. Yeah. I
00:45:53 SPEAKER_01
it looked absolutely looked fake, but yeah, you actually have done that a lot. And Scott is a very ideal remote worker, I would say, because he is, and I think it helps like you've got your meetings, you know, and stuff like that and calls and stuff like that. And so you're just, you know, it's a focus.
00:46:10 SPEAKER_00
a focus. Like I said, I didn't start this with the pandemic. I've been remote worker for 12 years. All right. So let's hit the downhill real quick and realize that we want to get through it pretty quick, but October.
00:46:26 SPEAKER_01
Yeah. So in October, we got to enjoy a trip to Auburn, Alabama. Our son and Will and Emily got married on October 7th. And so we had a long weekend spent just celebrating them and getting to spend time with family. And so that's a fun little town too. If you ever find yourself in that area, Auburn, Opelika, it's just really up and coming. There's a lot of cool things. A lot of people go there for school and then decide to stay. And so there's a lot of good restaurants between Auburn and Opelika. It's definitely a place to check out. And boutique hotels and hospitality group or the hospitality school has a hotel and restaurants and stuff like that there at Auburn. So definitely worth something checking out. And then rounding out October with New Orleans. And we go into all those details in episode 30. So make sure to take a listen to that. In
00:47:18 SPEAKER_00
last couple of months of the year, we took some last-minute trips. And these weren't things that were even on our horizon at all, but they ended up being really great times. So we had found
00:47:29 SPEAKER_01
through some friends of ours that you could actually take your hotel status, which in our case was Marriott, and match it to the Caesars. You can only do that while you were there. And so you were traveling there for work. So you went and inquired about it. And so sure enough, they matched it to their diamond status. And so then we, they had told us that you could then match it to the Atlantis. They would give you like some free stay, free casino play, et cetera. And so we decided to do that, but you had to do it by the end of the year. So trying to fit that in and make that work for a few days. So that was another example of we went on a weekend and then you work from the hotel on the weekdays. So we just made a quick trip of it and did that tour on the weekend and stuff like that. Having to pay for, we actually, that was actually an interesting trip because we actually had points for flights, had that for the hotel. And so it was really just incidentals and any tours and food. But I will say the food there is pretty expensive. even and
00:48:32 SPEAKER_00
we didn't even, you know, eat at the hotels, but pretty Caesars. So it meant that we needed to take this trip by end of year because there's no way that I was going to match that same status again through Caesars. Yeah, that's true.
00:48:56 SPEAKER_01
So we had, yeah, like you said, we had to do that in the year. And so then in November, then we took that, And this is the part that our friends had told us that I had not ever heard about is then taking that and matching it to the Holland America cruise. So it doesn't necessarily have to be Caesars. There's a there's a place on that Holland America. And I'll put that link again here. But where then you submit what you have and then they say, OK, here's what we offer you. So this was interesting because it had been early in the year, you could actually go anywhere, you know, Alaska, Pacific, Caribbean, and New England for us, and then any of the cruises that were left. So we just picked on the days at sea and then just took vacation days on the other days. And so that was, again, not a planned trip, but just very neat to be able to do that and to use that status. But again, we had to use it before the end of the year or we wouldn't have done that. So taking that into account. And so the way it worked out was because you didn't match that until what, like August?
00:50:05 SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
00:50:05 SPEAKER_01
Probably. So
00:50:06 SPEAKER_00
was the cruise. We went to Jamaica, Grand Cayman Islands, Cozumel, and their private island in the Bahamas. So, you know, we did that in November. And more information on that in episode 36, where you can go back and learn about that. That was an interesting one because I had injured my Achilles right before that. And so I took a little knee scooter and we got around and that knee scooter went to four different countries and to the beach and wherever else. I made it perfectly fine. And then December rolls around. And this was something that I was looking forward to. Melissa had told me because she needed to buy the plane tickets and she knew that would show up on my Delta app, but that she was going to take me in December to Scottsdale to go play golf for birthday. I injured myself. And so one of the things I had told my doctor right away was, this is the date that we have to get me back up and capable of going to play golf. And he thought I was absolutely crazy, but we were able to get it done. And so we took off in December and we went out to Scottsdale, Arizona, and we played a beautiful round of golf at the Kierlin Resort. And we were planning on spending a couple of days playing golf, or I was planning on spending a couple of days trying to play golf. And Melissa surprised me while we were there and said, hey, you know, you've always wanted to go to the Grand Canyon. And so for your birthday, I've been planning this since July and we're going to pack up. We're going to leave. We're going to take a train into the national park. We're going to stay there at the national park in this hotel, right on the rim of the grand canyon and and so we just had an absolute fabulous trip and then on the way back we stayed in overnight in sedona and so you know just a great surprise on top of being able to play golf while we were in scottsdale
00:52:20 SPEAKER_01
yeah and so i do owe him some more time of golf and scottsdale but i will say so why scottsdale. Yeah. And so I do owe him some more time of golf in Scottsdale, but I will say, so why Scottsdale? The reason for that at in Scottsdale at the Westin Kirlin, they have a Westin hotel, but then they do have some of the villas there that we can use some of our vacation club options to stay at. So it's somewhere that we can return to. And we actually had booked those with our Delta companion certificate that we had. So again, kind of combining some of those things. So then the flight was really inexpensive and then two for one really. And then we got some great upgrades with our status and then being able to stay there essentially for free.
00:52:59 SPEAKER_00
And you know, it was good because I had the knee scooter. So we were able to just scoot all around the rim of the Grand Canyon, see some absolute gorgeous views. And I think the funny story of that is here I'd had this knee scooter, took it on the cruise, went to four different countries, took it to the beach in the Bahamas and also in the Grand Cayman Islands and, you know, took it out to the Grand Canyon. On the way home, the last leg from Atlanta to Jacksonville, I don't know what Delta did. I don't know if they threw it out of the plane at 30,000 feet or whatever, but they absolutely smashed this thing to pieces. And so I get it back and like, I can tell this, there's something wrong with it. Anyhow, they had damaged it, which was funny because I Melissa had had gone on or something like that. I had sent her on to go get her bags. And, you know, and then all of a sudden here I come wheeling up in a wheelchair. But, you know, well, I had
00:54:00 SPEAKER_01
I had joke. No, it's funny about it is I had joked is they're going to bring that thing back and they're going to like be, well, you're going to have to replace the tires on this thing. Are you going to have to replace this or that? Because like, what have you, where have you been? Right. Because they probably expected you to like wheel around the house on it. And here you've taken it. I wish we knew how many miles literally, because like on the cruise ship, to the cruise ship, on the airport, you know, to the the beach like you went down the roads and it came an island and and so i was like man they're gonna make you want to like have a you know a tire replacement or something and then they were happy because then the whole thing got replaced because it was
00:54:36 SPEAKER_00
and just kind of a shout out to the delta i know sometimes they frustrate the hell out of me but in this this case, they took care of the damage. Because this was a rental for me. I'd rented it from a place locally. So they reached out to them. They took care of everything. And it was zero effort on my behalf. And
00:54:58 SPEAKER_01
And so fast, which was great. The next day. I mean, they even offered to tell you. I mean, it was almost midnight, I think, by the time we got all this squared away and they said well do you need it tonight do you need it right now and we're just like no we're done with this but it was very yeah they were very efficient so that was great so so scott what was the top three places that you went this year do you think
00:55:01 SPEAKER_00
The next day. I mean, they
00:55:21 SPEAKER_00
galapagos islands that is just, you know, trip of a lifetime. Then I would say second would be Slovakia and just a beautiful town. I don't think we've really knew exactly what to expect and going there. And so, you know, just, just lovely. And then I think I would have to say is that although we've been to the UK many times and we've been to London, Hampton Court Palace is just in my memory is one of those great places that we've visited. And it's probably mostly because we visited right in the middle of their tulip season. And like they had, I mean, seemed like millions of tulips all over this place. And so it was just absolutely fabulous.
00:56:09 SPEAKER_01
Yeah. And so I would say like, shout out to the, you know, they put those magazines in the rooms and they put the little advertisements in it, like what's on and stuff like that. And so that really is, can be an effective form of communication to travelers because Because for us, like, I didn't really know what we were going to do, like how we were going to feel that day, but in London, like you can find something. But I was like, Hey, look at this, Scott, like this, like they're having a tulip festival. And they had put an advertisement in, you know, in one of those magazines in the hotel. And I just happened to flip through it. And I said, Hey, let's let's do this. We actually ended up joining the historic National palaces. I'm not sure if that's the name, but we actually ended up joining that because between Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London and Kensington Palace, like they're all in that group. And we actually did a membership so that we could, you know, visit and enjoy some of those things and, you know, be able to go into the tower one afternoon without, you know, being full price and stuff like that. So definitely look into that too. Yeah, that was, that was really spectacular. And then another thing that I convinced you to do on the way back, they were having the last little riverboat cruise coming back on the Thames. And I really enjoyed that. I mean, it wasn't 15 minutes and then we ended up having to, you know, take the train back the rest of the way, but that was just a unique experience. For me, I'd also add St. John and just spend the time in St. John. We rented a car for the whole time this time and being able to snorkel, just like literally we wore ourselves out snorkeling. So I would add that to the list.
00:57:18 SPEAKER_00
it wasn't
00:57:40 SPEAKER_00
Yeah, we love St. John. So let's
00:57:41 SPEAKER_01
talk about if there's anything that we would have done differently, any perspectives
00:57:50 SPEAKER_00
that you would have changed or done differently in our travels. Well, we did learn that we need to give ourselves more time in Europe, especially going through Heathrow. You know, we get used to short turnarounds in Atlanta, like often 45, 50 minutes, in Atlanta, like often 45, 50 minutes, even though it puts us, you know, close, we're able to make that change in Atlanta. But Heathrow, it seems you need about three hours between flights, realistically.
00:58:15 SPEAKER_01
because there, if you go between terminals, you're going to have to go through a security check too, which can be long. And then what happened with us is our luggage ended up being too big. And so they forced us to check it. And so then that means coming back through immigration as well, getting the bags, trying to recheck everything. And it just wasn't a possibility. So, and that's a hard one to say, like, what would you do differently? Because sometimes you feel like, oh, do things work out the way that they're supposed to work out? Because then what you just said was we visited Hampton Court Palace, which if we had made that connection, we wouldn't have done. And that ended up being one of your favorite things. So it just makes an interesting perspective, I guess. Yeah.
00:58:59 SPEAKER_00
One other thing that I told Melissa, and I didn't mean to criticize something that she had planned, but I would give ourselves more time in Sedona. Absolute beautiful place. We got there when it was dark, so we couldn't see the views that we were going to end up seeing the next day. And then we needed to get up early in the morning to drive back to Phoenix to catch our flight. And so while we got some, you know, pictures, we saw a beautiful sunrise. But, you know, we got some great pictures of Sedona. We didn't really get to experience Sedona very much.
00:59:40 SPEAKER_01
Right. We really needed another whole day and to be able to do that canyon drive and stuff like that. And so the other thing I didn't realize, and we'll talk about this more when we do the episode about the Grand Canyon. I didn't realize that the train ride would be like it was like two hours and 15 minutes because it does go pretty slow. And I don't know if I just missed that. I didn't like see that anywhere, which is fine because you want to get your money's worth doing that experience. But I didn't realize that leaving the Grand Canyon at 2.30, then it would be like six o'clock getting to Sedona because it is, you know, then another hour from where you drive. So, but that's okay. But yeah, Sedona is a little bit, it's expensive to just kind of like, you know, pop through. So it was nice to see. And also in hindsight, we probably could have spent another hour ish there. We had plenty of time at the airport, but just not knowing the security lines were very long. Now we had the, you know, the clear and the TSA, but I think they were saying that the security line, there was an hour and a half. If you hadn't had that. So just, you know, not knowing and being nervous about, you know, not having time to, and that airport, you know, having to take your rental car back and stuff like that. And just wanting to have plenty of time at the airport that you're not familiar with. So that you're right. Anything
01:00:51 SPEAKER_00
right. Anything you would have done differently?
01:00:53 SPEAKER_01
Again, my premise, it's just hard to say. Like, I just feel like sometimes you're, you're, have the experiences that you're supposed to have. So if, if we, I mean, sure, we want to go to Brussels. Like that's been on our list. we would like Sure, that would have been to, another country and another city you and, we want to know, go to sure, Like that's Brussels. been on our we would list. like to. Sure, That would have been another country and another city and, you know, a whole nother. But then we would have missed the experiences that we did have in London. Well,
01:01:12 SPEAKER_00
as we look forward to 2024, what's on our list for 2024?
01:01:16 SPEAKER_01
have actually planned more this year than we've ever planned before going into the year, which is funny enough. But we are going to go to Aruba. We've planned to go stay at one of the Marriott properties in Aruba, but we're going to fly through Curacao. So just note, hint, it can be a lot more affordable and then points-wise. So we're going to do that. So we're going to spend a couple of days in Curacao and do that. And then right after that, we're going to go. Our daughter wants to take her family to Europe. So we're going to hit up the UK and Germany and Greece with them for a couple of weeks as well. And then one of the things
01:01:59 SPEAKER_00
that I'm most excited about and have been working on, I've told you before, I'm usually not the planner. Like I'm the tourist in the group, but I've been working on planning this out. And so we're going to go to Kenya for a safari in October. And, you know, that's just something that I've been looking forward to for a really long time. Our friends that went to the Galapagos with us, they were on board, ready to go. But unfortunately, they've had both had some health issues that came up. And so they just weren't able to commit right now to making that trip. So Melissa and I are going to do that together. But we're going to celebrate our 30th anniversary this year with this trip. And, you know, we'll probably tack on Morocco at the beginning and then South Africa at the end. So we'll actually explore Africa from tip to tip.
01:02:55 SPEAKER_01
Yeah. So spoiler alert, if we haven't said, I know we've teased along if we were going to do Antarctica or the African Safari. We're going to do the African Safari and then Antarctica in 2025. 2025 to Antarctica. Who wants
01:03:09 SPEAKER_00
wants to go with us? So we're curious,
01:03:12 SPEAKER_01
where are you planning to go in 2024? Leave us a note. You know, you can stick it in a review and say, you know, something about the podcast and then say, hey, we're planning to go in such and such, or you can drop us a note on social media, or also there's a contact us page on, um, on our website to sunshine travelers.com. And you can find us there and drop us a note, let us know where you are planning to go in 2024.
01:03:40 SPEAKER_00
this podcast this year has been an absolute blast. It's provided us an opportunity to meet so many people and in turn give us so many new ideas for our bucket list. What was your favorite travel memory from 2023? Send me an email at scott at sunshinetravelers.com and let me know. I can't wait to hear from you.
01:04:01 SPEAKER_01
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