Travel

Trip of a Lifetime: Ultimate Africa: Day 2

November 4 – 6:30P

Arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa safely with luggage.   On the plane I watched Paper Towns (which was touching yet sad), Entourage (the movie) Antman (which I’ve been waiting to see ever since it came out) and the first half of Ted 2.  I slept on and off for maybe a total of 2.5 hours so I’m hoping to sleep well tonight.  Although the flight was 15 hours it didn’t feel as painfully long as I had expected.  Maybe I slept more than I’m calculating.

We are staying at Protea Hotels which seems to be a chain.   Accommodations are poshly modern.  Aryn and I just dropped off our luggage and are now going downstairs to meet her mother Judy and sister Katherine at the restaurant.  The room is small and the only thing separating the bedroom from the shower is half of a glass wall so we’ll have to get a bit creative with our bathroom privacy tonight.  Haha.

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8:25P – The four of us ordered a bottle of South African cabernet labeled Warwick.  It was a very nice, dry and flavorful red.  I tried the Springbok Carpaccio which was served raw.  I learned Springbok is a type of antelope common to the area.   Its color was deep red and its texture was similar to salmon in terms of soft and almost disappearing in your mouth (not chewy at all).  It was tasty and paired great with the cabernet.  However, it didn’t fill me up so I ordered chocolate cake for dessert.  The cost for all four of us to eat and drink was $50 – not bad.  Going to bed now.  Exhausted. I have my mini travel fan next to my bed and some melatonin to hopefully help calm my curious mind and help me sleep.   Very excited to see our first camp and experience my first game drive.

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November 25, 2015 by
Publishing

Trip of A Lifetime: Ultimate Africa: Day 1

November 3, 2015 – 2:50P

Waiting at my gate at the Akron/Canton Airport for Delta Airlines Flight 2211 to Atlanta where I will meet with long time friend Aryn Wilson, her mom Judy and sister Katherine for out trip through OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) to Africa!  Departing at 3:21P and arriving at 5:10P.  The flight to Johannesburg, South Africa departs at 7:10P with a flight time of 15 hours (sigh).   Planning on taking some melatonin paired with plenty of red wine to help me sleep.  Lunch was a delicious Oktoberfest beer and some mediocre spring rolls at the Great Lakes Brewing Co spot in the airport.

I’m excited and a bit nervous.  I have no idea what to expect and so my mind is racing.  I’m hoping to see some giraffes!  I emailed our trip leader Vitalis and he said that three of the four parks we are visiting have giraffes!  Already missing Aaron (and Louie, the pug).

Hopefully this trip allows my mind to destress from my hectic work life and free my mind to spark some creative juices flowing for my next books “Sheldon’s Falls” and “The Integrity Pie.”  Got my headphones and some music on my iPhone.  Gonna listen to some Pearl Jam.

P.S. Praying for safe travels and Aaron to be safe at home.

November 24, 2015 by
Travel

Overseas Adventure Travel: Ultimate Africa 2015 Pre-Trip

2015 ULTIMATE AFRICA PRE-TRIP:

Roughly 2 years ago (March 2013) my partner, Aaron and I were back in the San Fransisco Bay Area for a friend’s wedding.  During our trip we stayed a few nights with an old college friend (and the maid of honor) Aryn.  I’ll never forget this moment that sparked the trip of a lifetime: “Ultimate Africa”  The three of us were seated in Aryn’s living room of her Concord, CA apartment when I noticed a photo book placed on her coffee table.  I picked it up and paged through it amazed by all the beautiful photos of African animals.  I asked where she bought the book and she said they were her photos she had submitted through Shutterfly.  I was completely blown away.   Not only were these photos magnificent but the proximity Aryn was to these wild and roaming animals I had only ever seen in cages at various zoos.  “Oh yeah,” Aryn said, “these game drive jeeps take you right up to the lions and rhinos.”  Wow!

Aryn had mentioned that her and her mom Judy were looking to take a second trip only to a different part of Africa.  She emailed me a link to OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) and their “Ultimate Africa:  Botswana, Zambia & Zimbabwe Safari” including an overnight in Johannesburg, South Africa.  Without hardly a second  thought, I enthusiastically said”: “Sign me up” and on November 3, 2015 Aryn, her sister Katherine, mother Judy and myself were all on a plane from Atlanta to Johannesburg.

During this trip, I kept a daily journal and I thought it would be fun to post this (day by day) on my blog.  I will begin with the first post tomorrow proceeding for the next 17 days (taking a break for the Thanksgiving Holiday and maybe Black Friday).  I will be including photos and videos that correspond with the events and sitings of each specific day along with videos of the “tents” we stayed in at each location.

8 months prior to the trip I had to get in touch with Passport Health Dept to begin my vaccinations and 2 days prior to the trip I had to begin taking my daily malaria pill (I highly recommend taking this WITH food).  Packing was very involved, I had to get a specific type of mosquito spray (Sawyer brand) to apply to my clothing – which it’s recommended to do outside and away from many contact with pets and your skin).  I also purchased 3 cans of bug spray containing, at least, 30% DEET, that I sprayed on my check, ears, and any exposed skin each morning.  I ended up only using 2 cans of the DEET so I’m returning the 3rd to Dick’ Sporting Goods tomorrow.

I also recommend packing a back-up battery for your camera.  Our tented camps provided laundry service for everything except our “smalls” (underwear), so I only packed 2 pairs of shorts, a pair of gym shorts, swimming trunks, 5 pairs of socks, a hoodie, hat and 4 shirts.  I packed enough underwear for 10 days as I was able to wash them in the bathroom sink in our tent (powered soap was provided).  I also recommend buying a cheap pair of sunglasses (don’t bring your expensive name brand pair).  Other items are sunscreen, a flashlight, an extra bag to pack souveniers and whatever toiletries you need – including Advil, DayQuil, NightQuil, Tums, Vitamin C & Zinc, extra contacts if you wear them, lotion, aloe, and see if the pharmacy will prescribe you a pill for traveller’s diarrhea.  The flight from Atlanta was 15 hours, so I recommend bringing something to read (although there were dozens of good movies to choose from, plus the essential sleep – if you’re able to sleep on a plane).  Check with your cell phone provider too about a cheap international calling or FaceTime Plan.  🙂  Lastly, I highly recommend buying a pair of “zip off pants” that covert into shorts.  I bought mine online form Eddie Bauer for $40 plus shipping.  TOTALLY worth it!

OAT is great about helping you prepare for this trip and they do accept installments on your payment.  A couple weeks prior to the trip they sent me a small booklet called: Your Final Document Booklet.  This thing was incredibly informative and I was very glad I brought it with me.  It included our Day-by-Day Itinerary, Friendly Reminders and Emergency Contact Information of each place we were staying to copy & give to our loved ones at home.  I called and asked for an extra copy to leave at home with Aaron, which they gladly sent.

Hope you all enjoy my blog!

November 22, 2015 by
Publishing

The Writer’s Itch

With most of my creative attention devoted to either music (songwriting) or marketing my first full-length novel (Extra Innings: The Diamond Thieves), I’ve been getting the itch to write again.  Originally, my next project after the Extra Innings Trilogy was going to be a non-fiction story called “Sheldon’s Falls.”  The main character in this novel is named Sheldon Andrus who is a young, retired medevac pilot return from the Vietnam War to his home in Massachusetts and a alcoholic, pill-popping, complicated bi$%@h of a mother.  This unforgettable story that takes a surprising and dark turn gave me a great deal of excitement, however, I’ve decided to put it on hold to pursue a different writing direction in the meantime.

This new direction is to author a book based on my research in strengths based leadership.  The topic is Integrity and I’m excited to dive into what I believe this means in the professional world.  Notes for this book began last weekend and I’m excited to do some deep thinking while I’m traveling across the mountainous and grassland terrains of southern Africa.  I’m hoping that some time away in another land will give me some headroom & inspiration to discover a deeper understanding of integrity in terms of interpersonal relationships and exchanges.  The intent of this book is for my own observation and understanding of how I experience and conduct myself in the world (both professionally and personally).  I’m excited to see my own personal growth through the production of this book.   Writing has not yet begun, however, the book does have a title:  “The Integrity Pie.”

October 26, 2015 by
Publishing

Query Letter Contender Looks Promising

The diligent work for a compelling query letter continues.  I have created multiple drafts submitted to published friends for their feedback and I think I FINALLY have a strong contender.  I’m happy with it.  I just sent out my first query letter email to a literary agent who was referred to me by one of my friend who works for a PR company.  Fingers crossed everyone who’s rooting for me.  The Extra Innings Trilogy is about to make its mark not he world.  Thank you for all those who’ve sent me emails of how they enjoyed book 1 (The Diamond Thieves).  Hopefully I can find the right agent who believes in this trilogy and its characters as much as I do.

August 13, 2015 by