So I know I can’t complain about living in the San Francisco bay area! But even though we don’t get snow, and rarely even need to scrape ice off our windshields, winter can still be wet and (for us at least!) relatively cold!
And yes, I know we need the rain, but when it’s coming down as hard as it was today, my mind tends to turn to travel… Somehow an afternoon downpour, viewed from the porch of a jungle lodge in Costa Rica, is SO much easier to take than from behind the wheel on a slick four lane highway.
So, time to break out the maps and travel brochures, and start planning a trip to more hospitable climes… Any good recommendations for a jungle lodge?
We’ve all had it happen. A flight is canceled or severely delayed, and our “best-laid schemes” are truly shot. I was just on the East Coast, visiting schools with my high school senior daughter. We had a flight canceled due to bad weather, got re-booked on a flight the next morning, only to have it delayed by several hours due to mechanical problems, causing us to miss an appointment at a school in St. Louis. In fact, we ended up missing St. Louis altogether, flying straight back to California.
Airlines do not normally offer any compensation for weather related delays, but if the problem is caused by something the airline has more control over, such as a mechanical problem, then they are much more likely to be responsive to your reasonable requests. Here is a short list of guidelines I use in this situation, including playing the “social media card” to even the odds just a bit…
1. Be clear and concise when describing the problem (“this 3rd delay means that I will miss my meeting / interview / appointment and I will now have to reschedule and make another trip”).
2. Let them know exactly what you would like (“since I will have to buy another ticket because of this delay, I am requesting that you issue me a $200 / $300 / $400 voucher good for future travel”).
3. Be polite but firm, and ask to speak to the person in charge (“I’m requesting a $400 travel credit and you are offering me a $6 meal coupon? Can I please speak with your manager?”).
4. It’s OK to get a little emotional, but don’t make it personal (“this flight cancellation and delay will cost me a lot of money, and you are offering me a $6 coupon? I’m sorry, but that is just insulting! I need to speak with whoever is in charge”).
5. When speaking with a manager empowered to resolve the problem, remind them of the power of social media (“I’m sure you would like to get this issue resolved as much as I would, and then I can tweet / yelp / blog about what a great job you did in resolving my problem”).
6. Be prepared to spend some time negotiating for a satisfactory settlement.
7. When you are offered a satisfactory resolution, be gracious and appreciative, but save the happy dance for later!
In our case, we received upgrades to Business Elite on our flight back to San Francisco, and vouchers that should pay for round trip tickets to St. Louis. Thanks Delta for taking care of us and resolving the problem! And special thanks to Marina V for making it happen!!
Friday I went to the Paramount Theater in Oakland with some friends to see Youssou Ndour and Angelique Kidjo. Wow, what a GREAT show!! Kidjo did an amazing job of warming up the crowd, and (of course!) she encouraged everyone to get up and dance, and to come down to the stage.
Those of you that know the Paramount, a beautifully refurbished Art Deco theater in downtown Oakland, are probably saying, ‘Uh-oh!’ – because you know how ridiculously anal the security staff is there. They were caught off guard by the crowd’s swift reaction to Kidjo’s invitation to come down front and get with the groove. But they made up for it by picking on individual people to verbally harass and physically intimidate back to their seats!
And when is the last time you saw people sitting at a concert, enjoying the vibe, when ushers suddenly start sweeping the rows with flashlights, blinding people? Say, what??
- So, what IS it with the Paramount?
However, Kidjo and Ndour helped us all rise above the hostile treatment by Paramount staff, and Ndour’s final encore, a beautiful interpretation of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song was a fitting end to the evening.
Can’t wait to see Kidjo and Ndour again – just hope they are playing somewhere OTHER than the Paramount!
June is normally a very dry month here in the Bay Area. Even though rain forced the action indoors this past weekend at the Berkeley World Music Festival, it did nothing to dampen the spirits of the performers or the crowds that packed into music stores, cafes and pubs to watch them play.
A dozen or more acts played around Telegraph Ave during the afternoon and early evening, and I managed to catch 3 of them!
Mamadou & Vanessa
Mamadou and Vanessa got me rocking early in the afternoon, skillfully playing traditional Malian ngoni (harp) music, as we packed the aisles of Amoeba Music and swayed to the beat.
Riffat Sultana & Sukhawat Ali Khan
Emerging from Amoeba, we went across the street to check out the crowd outside Raleigh’s Pub, to find Riffat Sultana & Sukhawat Ali Khan playing to a packed house. Riffat’s voice, backed by her brother Sukhawat’s vocal and harmonium skills, mesmerized us with inspirational Sufi music from Pakistan.
Fito Reinoso y su Ritmo y Armonia
And the 3rd band I got to see (making it 3 bands from 3 continents in just 3 blocks!) was Fito Reinoso y su Ritmo y Armonia, playing incredible Cuban Son (a la Buena Vista Social Club) – this was not a band you could sit and watch, everyone was up, dancing to the beat!!
So if you want to travel the world in an afternoon, musically at least, mark your calendar for next year!
For me, planning a trip is fun. Excitement builds as the departure day approaches, and there is always a last minute rush to get everything done before heading to the airport to embark on a new adventure.
Researching authentic places to stay, deciding which interesting towns or villages to include on your itinerary, figuring out which activities to check out when you get there – all fun! Getting shots and visas – not so much!
And now? As part of your initial, pre-trip research, you can check out the Global Peace Index to assist in deciding which countries to visit. A handy color-coded map let’s you see at a glance that whole areas of the world are “green” (as in go), or “red” (as in maybe not!).
Global Peace Index
The 2011 Global Peace Index Key Findings attest that, for the 3rd straight year, the world is a less safe place. Of course, your reaction to this report may be influenced by where you live. If you live in Iceland or Japan (per the report, the 2 safest nations), then traveling anywhere else can by definition appear a little scary. However, if like me you live in the USA, which ranked 82nd of 153 countries, you can in theory travel to over half the countries in the world, and be safer there than you would be at home. Although, no matter how adventurous you may be feeling, it would still be smart to avoid Iraq and Somalia, at 152 and 153 respectively!
Taking in the local music scene when you travel is a great way to get a better feel for the local culture, and an excellent way to meet people, and just soak up the vibe. And in those long, dry spells between big trips, it’s always great to catch visiting bands that bring colorful culture and great music to our doorsteps!
Les Nubians rocking the house at Yoshi's SF
One of my favorite bands to see live is Les Nubians, and on Friday they lived up to my (high!) expectations by putting on a great show at Yoshi’s in San Francisco. Their ‘Afropean’ blend of French chanson, West African rhythms, Jazz and Hip-Hop made for great music to dance to. They have a message too, that as world citizens we have a responsibility for others, and a need to treat everyone equitably irrespective of sex, skin color or race, and this adds depth to their performance.
OK, this was originally going to be a Top 10 list, but that proved too hard. So here they are, my Top 15 Travel Songs. And yes, this is my personal, totally subjective list. Some of these songs I have been traveling with for a VERY long time (like ‘Mama hated Diesels’, my ‘special mention’ song below)! Others are more recent additions (‘The Long Way Round’, by the Dixie Chicks). Some songs are all about traveling. Some are songs that I have used to keep me fired up and wide awake on long road trips on multiple continents. Together they make up my core travel playlist.
Feel free to add comments with your personal favorite travel songs so I can expand my repertoire! I’m sure my future travel companions will appreciate it!
15 - Running on Empty, Jackson Browne
14 – Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
13 – On the Road Again, Willie Nelson
12 – Born to be Wild, Steppenwolf
11 – Midnight Train to Georgia, Gladys Knight
10 – Rambling Man, The Allman Brothers
9 – Me and Bobby McGee, Janis Joplin
8 – City of New Orleans, Arlo Guthrie
7 – The Long Way Round, The Dixie Chicks
6 – Take it Easy, The Eagles
5 – Come Away with Me, Norah Jones
4 – I Would Walk 500 Miles, The Proclaimers
3 – Africa, Toto
2 – Voyager, Les Nubians
1 – Like a Bat out of Hell, Meatloaf
And a special mention goes to Mama Hated Diesels, Commander Cody. When I worked in my early twenties as a driver / leader, running camping trips in Europe, this was our theme song as we drove our bright yellow, open-top double-decker buses on French and Italian country roads. And later, when my daughter was little, she and I would sing this song together on road trips.
In the San Francisco Bay Area? Want to check out some “hidden” waterfalls in Berkeley? From the northeast corner of Codornices Park, opposite the Berkeley Rose Garden, look for the curving concrete steps, and head up the steps past the elephant…
Elephant, Codornices Park, Berkeley
Just a few feet later, take a left thru the gate marked Private Property…
Gateway to the falls, Tamalpais Path, Berkeley
Relax, it’s cool!! Follow the trail thru the redwoods…
Leave only footprints...
And there it is, a springtime wonder…!!! Nestled between houses right in Berkeley…
Hidden waterfall, Berkeley
The waterfall is the highlight, but small paths meander up the side of the canyon and between the houses. This is truly a beautiful, tranquil spot, and when my daughter and I were there on Sunday, we saw about 6 other people, with dogs and picnics, soaking up the sun and enjoying the serenity amidst the city.
Wild garlic (?) above the waterfall
Leaving the waterfall behind, we took small paths through the woods back to Tamalpais Path, and made our way back to the hustle and bustle…
So I am posting this from my new HTC Inspire Android phone, using an Android WordPress app!
With my 8 megapixel camera in hand, I’ll be hitting the trails looking for all manner of cool things to photograph – although let’s face it, another bobcat encounter right about now, with a chance to get some crisp, clear photos, would be perfect…
I’ve been resisting it… The lure of instant access to email and the web. The electronic leash of a smartphone. I mean, I must be the only bona fide IT geek in the San Francisco Bay Area who still doesn’t have one, right? Add to that the fact that I am “text averse”, and I guess my cell phone should have a rotary dial on the front.
However, I have now come up with a really good reason to make the jump to a smartphone… A few weeks ago, I’m hiking out to Tennessee Valley Beach in Marin with a really good friend. We hadn’t seen one another in a while, so we are chatting, catching up, when suddenly we come around a bend in the trail, and meet several hushed, awed hikers, “Bobcat, there on the trail…” they whisper. And sure enough, there on a side trail, is a bobcat, hanging out on a Sunday afternoon, totally ignoring all the awestruck bipeds.
So, what does this have to do with a smartphone you ask? Well, everyone else has their iPhones and Droids, and is zooming in for feline close-ups. Me? I take a couple of very sad, fuzzy shots with my 1.3 megapixel not-so-smartphone!
Blurry Bobcat, Tennessee Valley, Marin
This is only the 2nd bobcat I’ve seen in the wild, and all I have to show for the encounter is a blurry photo. So yeah, that smartphone with the 8 megapixel camera? Next time I hike that trail, I’m going to have one with me, just in case…
