it's a big, bridal world out there. start here.
The world’s favorite season is the spring.
All things seem possible in May.
~ Edwin Way Teale
April showers do bring May flowers as evidenced by this beautiful bouquet sent to me from my boyfriend of 15 years. But May brings so much more!
May Flowers (Photo by Beth Smith)
If spending time in California’s wine country of Napa and Sonoma sounds like a fun honeymoon, then I have some suggestions for you in Part 1 of this series: California Wine Country Honeymoon. And Part 2, it is all about the wineries ~ listed in alphabetical order because I love them all!!! But there is more to California Wine Country than wine ~ so I’ve heard! If you’re interested in assistance in planning your Napa honeymoon, looking for beautiful art to add to your gift registry or seeking a unique meal, I have a few recommendations to get you started.
Napa Valley (Photo from www.meditrinaconcierge.com)
Yes, a Caribbean or tropical honeymoon is often the norm, but how about a California wine country honeymoon in Napa and Sonoma, where the wines are to die for, the food is fabulous, the scenery breathtaking, and the climate mild? If this sounds like a fun and relaxing way to spend your honeymoon, then I have some suggestions for you in Part 1 of this series: California Wine Country Honeymoon. And Part 2, it is all about the wineries ~ listed in alphabetical order because I love them all!!!
Anderson's Conn Valley (Photo by Beth Smith)
In summer 1996, there was an AOL user named MyQDPi who was lurking in an AOL chat room one evening. Just as she was about to log off, an instant message popped up from a user named IMAFLIRT. “Uh oh,” thought MyQDPi. They chatted briefly that evening. That evening turned into four months of chats and e-mails until November 11, 1996, when IMAFLIRT (real name: John) called MyQDPi (real name: Beth) at her job and they heard each other’s voices for the first time. That led to another four months of phone calls, chats, and e-mails until they were brave enough to meet face-to-face on March 15, 1997.
John & Beth. Photo courtesy of Beth Smith.
Yes, a Caribbean or tropical honeymoon is often the norm, but how about a California wine country honeymoon in Napa and Sonoma, where the wines are to die for, the food is fabulous, the scenery breathtaking, and the climate mild? If this sounds like a fun and relaxing way to spend your honeymoon, then I have some suggestions for you in Part 1 of this series: California Wine Country Honeymoon.
Whitehall Lane (Photo by Beth Smith)
In addition to managing travel, I also teach at a rural community college in mountains of southwest Virginia, about 42 miles from where I live. The primary sources of jobs in the area are coal mining and farming. It’s tough area in which to teach because many of those who reside in the college’s service area live at or below poverty level.
Gift Tree (Photo from www.calvinboy.blogspot.com)
There’s not a more stressful time of year to travel than during the holidays.
Traveling During the Holidays (Photo by Tim Boyle for Bloomberg News)
These tips below will help you minimize stress and maximize enjoyment:
When people book travel, they often make the assumption that all will go as planned. However, nothing could be further from the truth, especially when it relates to air travel. Airlines have cut capacity and flights which means fewer flight options and very full planes. All it takes is one travel glitch – such as bad weather in a certain location – to cause a ripple effect of delays and cancellations across the entire system.
Stranded at Airport (Photo from www.danielafurini.it)
To minimize travel inconvenience both in the air and on the ground, I recommend the following:
1) If this is a trip of a lifetime, like a honeymoon or an expensive trip, use a travel professional to book and coordinate your air, lodging, ground transportation and tours. He or she should be a person who not only plans and books your trip but someone who is in your corner, ready to reach out to travel providers on your behalf should something go wrong. Above all, remember it’s the company and the destination that are most important, not the logistics. Leave the logistics in the hands of a travel professional. It’s money well-spent and the peace of mind will be priceless, should travel plans go awry.
2) Plan at least one full day at the beginning and at the end of the trip to arrive and return.
3) Select an airline that has multiple options to and from your destination.
4) Travel all flights on the same airline, if at all possible. If not possible, select airlines that are partners in the same alliance and allow plenty of time to get from one airline to the next, as they may not be in the same airport terminals.
5) Don’t prepay lodging, ground transportation or tours, if at all possible, as those expenses are usually nonrefundable and non-changeable, even if there is a travel delay or cancellation that prevents you from arriving on time.
6) Consider travel insurance, if your trip is a trip of a lifetime, an expensive trip or a trip to a questionable destination with regard to political unrest or medical care.
In theory, travel should be seamless. In reality, the odds are stacked against having a perfectly executed trip.
Our Travel Messiah, Beth Smith, will introduce you to places you have only dreamed about. Please follow Beth on facebook and twitter or visit her website or read more of her travel musings on her blog.
My boyfriend and I have been together for 14 and a half years but we haven’t lived together. He lives in New York and I live in Virginia – over 600 miles apart. We both debated which test we should do because we have been together so long. We decided to take Husbands and Wives due to the length of our relationship.
John & Beth
Amazingly, our results were just as we both thought they would be. His highest categories were Quality Time (10), Physical Touch (9) and Acts of Service (5), while mine were Acts of Service (9), Quality Time (8) and Words of Affirmation (6). Because we live apart, it’s not surprising that Quality Time would be high for both of us and we try to savor our weekends together. It also wasn’t surprising for me that Physical Touch was high for him, because well, he’s a guy!
But for me, Physical Touch was a score of five so don’t think I don’t want to get physical! But because we are apart more than we are together, Words of Affirmation by phone, e-mail and text make me feel loved. He knows that and often shows his encouragement and support. As to Acts of Service, we often spend our weekends doing chores together and running errands for each other, so we both are appreciative of that demonstration of love. When we travel to see each other, he cooks for me and I do the dishes and clean up. We do each other’s laundry, he repairs and fixes things at my apartment and I help him organize and clean his apartment.
As I read this, I am thinking, “Yep, we sound married!”
That being said, we aren’t married and we haven’t lived together, so we both took the singles quiz, too. Our top three were the same as the other quizzes except we had the same number one, Quality Time, with the same score of 11. I think that bodes well for us, don’t you?
Our Travel Messiah, Beth Smith, will introduce you to places you have only dreamed about. Please follow Beth on facebook and twitter or visit her website or read more of her travel musings on her blog.
I remember exactly where I was that day, teaching a Spanish class via compressed video to another community college. My tech support guy ran in and switched the channel of the broadcast monitor to the Today Show. My classes locally and remotely just sat and stared in shock at the monitors and I had to dismiss class early. After class, I kept trying to call my boyfriend in New York on my cell, but I couldn’t get through. Finally, he called me and said, “I don’t want to tie up the lines, but I am OK”. I was never so relieved in my life.
Beacon of Light & Hope from Ground Zero (Photo from www.maggiesnotebook.com)
September 11 changed many lives forever - in the most cruel and horrible ways. It also dramatically changed air travel. I was scheduled to fly to Washington, DC the week or two after for a doctoral degree meeting at George Mason University and to meet my boyfriend. I still had to attend the meeting, but my airport, Washington National, was closed. US Airways rerouted me to and from Washington-Dulles instead. I have to say that was the most quiet air travel itinerary of my life. The planes were eerily quiet with very few passengers and I could feel the fear around me. Once I arrived at Dulles, no one was in the terminals. You could have heard a pin drop it was so deathly quiet. On the return, I remember seeing guard-like police with guns everywhere and the beginning of the invasive searches and patdowns that have become commonplace today.
For a short time, my flights to and from New York to connect with my boyfriend were also different. For what seemed like forever, I could still see the dust and smoke at Ground Zero when I flew into LaGuardia. But gradually, over time, the area became dark. There was always a moment of silence and a sense of togetherness among the passengers on my New York flights. People were more quiet, sensitive, kind and polite to each other. The tragedy brought us together in a way that no other event has.
There are so many feeling stirred up inside of me as I write this, 10 years later. I am still brokenhearted for the families who lost loved ones. I long for the freedom I once felt when I flew. I wish people were still as kind to each other now as we were in the months following September 11, instead of so politically divisive. Indeed, September 11 changed this nation and we see and feel the effects in our lives every, single day.
Beth Smith
C’est Beth Personal Travel Assistant
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