Academy Awards 2013: Oscar Nominated Shorts – why I love them

For the past few years, I’ve made time to go to the theatre near me to watch the Oscar nominated short films (animated and live action).  At my first film festival in Avignon, France, each feature was preceded by a short film.  It was fascinating to be pulled into a film so quickly. The films packed […]

A marriage of two airlines: the USAirways/American Airlines merger

Quite appropriate that the US Airways and American Airlines merger would be announced last week on Valentine’s Day – the marriage (merger) of two single parents (airlines) in a sense.  Sure we should be happy that they found each other but as children (frequent fliers) of each parent, we of course are a bit […]

Okavango Delta skeleton

Zebras on Day Three in the Okavanago Delta of Botswana

Waking up in my tent at 5:30 am was easy (this from someone who utilizes the snooze button to barely make it out of bed by 7am!) on my third day in camp – I was exhausted the night before from my full day in camp – the morning trek, the shower in the […]

Snow in Paris from the Louvre

Snow in Paris & Stranded in London Heathrow

With the snow on the East Coast this weekend which thankfully was a non-event in Philly for a change (although I did stock up on essentials – not milk, eggs, bread but wine, chocolate and potato chips to reward me for any shoveling I may need to do) it reminded me […]

Travel Savings Strategy – Winning on Twitter and Inspiring Wanderlust

I joined Twitter initially to participate in my workout studios contests – Twitter Tuesdays.  I figured that the odds of winning on twitter were pretty good as a small percentage of members were active on Twitter.  In the past year, I have entered many contests – some involve a simple re-tweet, a […]

Okavango Delta landscape

Okavango Delta Morning Safari Walk at Oddballs’ Camp

Day 2 on my Okavango Delta Walking Safari at Oddballs’ Camp begins at 5:30 (wake up call/visit to tent) with a light snack/coffee before heading out at 7am to start the first of two walks today.  My breakfast of champions this early is a power bar that I brought with me. […]

South African Flag

Safari Tip: Shipping Luggage from Johannesburg to Capetown

Checking into the Intercontinental Johannesburg, I arrived with two bags and a backpack.  Upon checkout, I would needed to be one bag lighter and make the weight (I bought a small travel scale just in case as backup) by shipping luggage ahead to Capetown.   The hotel was the perfect spot […]

Leopard paw

South Africa Safari Award Ticket – Flying SAA from IAD to JNB

So while it sounds great to say “I’m going on safari in Africa with an award ticket”, the reality is that I needed to reposition myself to Washington, DC from Philadelphia via Amtrak for the SAA flight from IAD to JNB (Johannesburg, South Africa).  The South African Airways (SAA) flight […]

To buy or not to buy…Airline & Hotel miles

When I talk about my miles, people usually say “I don’t fly to get miles” or “I don’t have a credit card with miles” and will tell them that they can buy miles to build up their accounts for a dream trip but also issue a bit of caution with […]

Oddballs' Camp Safari Tent

Packing for Safari – Which Duffel Bag is Best? How Many Bags to Bring?

When it comes to packing, over the years, I have gotten much better learning to travel with less.  So while I was told one bag on the bush plane, I didn’t really understand in practical terms how I would be packing for safari.  I think I knew but buried it deep down […]