My Road Less Traveled By

When traveling abroad, make sure you know the customs in the area you are in.  Here are a few tips for you:

• Argentine humor can be insulting.  They poke fun at your appearance, weight, and/or attire.
• Don’t kiss the hand of an Austrian woman unless you are Austrian.
• Don’t make the “OK” sign in Brazil since it is considered a rude gesture.
• Don’t give a Chinese person a clock as gift, because it is viewed as a sinister action.  Clocks are associated with death.
• Don’t be too touchy-feely in Denmark.
• On the other hand, Italians like to hug.
• Don’t use your left hand to eat in Egypt.
• In Ghana, dont blow your nose at the dinner table.
• When in India, make sure you leave a small amount of food on your plate.  If you clean it off, they think you are still hungry.
• However, if you are in Kenya, you do need to finish everything off your plate, because it is polite.
• Don’t talk with your hands or put your hands in your pockets while talking in Thailand.

Happy traveling!

When traveling abroad, make sure you know the customs in the area you are in.  Here are a few tips for you:

• Argentine humor can be insulting.  They poke fun at your appearance, weight, and/or attire.
• Don’t kiss the hand of an Austrian woman unless you are Austrian.
• Don’t make the “OK” sign in Brazil since it is considered a rude gesture.
• Don’t give a Chinese person a clock as gift, because it is viewed as a sinister action.  Clocks are associated with death.
• Don’t be too touchy-feely in Denmark.
• On the other hand, Italians like to hug.
• Don’t use your left hand to eat in Egypt.
• In Ghana, dont blow your nose at the dinner table.
• When in India, make sure you leave a small amount of food on your plate.  If you clean it off, they think you are still hungry.
• However, if you are in Kenya, you do need to finish everything off your plate, because it is polite.
• Don’t talk with your hands or put your hands in your pockets while talking in Thailand.

Happy traveling!

Did you know that Arizona has its own castles? This picture is of a place called Montezuma’s Castle. It is the ancient remnants of a Sinaguan Indian Village. The Sinaguans were farmers who settled in Arizona in the 600s. They grew corn, beans, squash, and cotton. They watered them using irrigation. Around 1150, they began building large pueblos in hilltops and cliffs. If I remember correctly, there were several hundred people living in here at one time. There are several different levels that you can’t see in here. In the early 1400s, the Sinagua abandoned the entire valley, and no one knows why.

This picture shows how high up in the cliffs that this really was. It is almost breathtaking just due to the work involved. I can only imagine how many hours were spent creating this. Its hard to believe that hundreds of people lived here. They figure that they had made ladders to get up in there. Could you imagine climbing up and down every single day of your life? They don’t really know why they built it up there. It could be because it was cooler in the cliffs or for protection. They showed a model of this castle there (it was behind glass, so I couldn’t get a good picture) showing about 25 rooms in this place!

This castle is also at the same site. However, this one is at ground level. As you can see, there isn’t much left to it! This castle was destroyed by fire.  I never knew that we had our own castles here, did you?  I just thought they were in Europe.

At Montezuma’s Castle, they also talk to you about the trees, flowers, and wildlife that you see.  Remember, it is always important to stay on the trails there and at the other sites due to snakes and tarantulas!  Since it was still cold, we didn’t see any.

This is a historical site you have to visit if you ever go to Arizona. Not only is it beautiful, you get a great history lesson!

Did you know that Arizona has its own castles? This picture is of a place called Montezuma’s Castle. It is the ancient remnants of a Sinaguan Indian Village. The Sinaguans were farmers who settled in Arizona in the 600s. They grew corn, beans, squash, and cotton. They watered them using irrigation. Around 1150, they began building large pueblos in hilltops and cliffs. If I remember correctly, there were several hundred people living in here at one time. There are several different levels that you can’t see in here. In the early 1400s, the Sinagua abandoned the entire valley, and no one knows why.

This picture shows how high up in the cliffs that this really was. It is almost breathtaking just due to the work involved. I can only imagine how many hours were spent creating this. Its hard to believe that hundreds of people lived here. They figure that they had made ladders to get up in there. Could you imagine climbing up and down every single day of your life? They don’t really know why they built it up there. It could be because it was cooler in the cliffs or for protection. They showed a model of this castle there (it was behind glass, so I couldn’t get a good picture) showing about 25 rooms in this place!

This castle is also at the same site. However, this one is at ground level. As you can see, there isn’t much left to it! This castle was destroyed by fire.  I never knew that we had our own castles here, did you?  I just thought they were in Europe.

At Montezuma’s Castle, they also talk to you about the trees, flowers, and wildlife that you see.  Remember, it is always important to stay on the trails there and at the other sites due to snakes and tarantulas!  Since it was still cold, we didn’t see any.

This is a historical site you have to visit if you ever go to Arizona. Not only is it beautiful, you get a great history lesson!

Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon before? Up until February of this year, I hadn’t. I wondered why anybody would want to just see a hole in the ground. When we got there, it was all of 37 degrees and crazy windy. There was snow! I seriously couldn’t believe it. Yes, we all know what snow looks like, but I couldn’t believe there was this much snow in Arizona. I ended up having to buy a hat and gloves! I never thought in a million years I would have to pack that!

When Bill decided to stand here so I could take his picture, I thought for sure that he was going to get blown off. The crazy thing is that the rangers told us it was a light wind that day. Being from the Windy City, we know wind and this was no light wind! My fear of heights didn’t help either. However, by the end of the day, I was able to walk closer to the edge (not as quite as far as Bill). As you can see from the background, the Grand Canyon is a beautiful site.

Pictures don’t do this place justice at all. There are no words that describe how beautiful it is there. The part that amazes me the most is that when the Indians were living here it looked pretty much the same. It truly makes you feel insignificant. You feel like a speck in the history of the world (which is really what we are). It took millions of years to make this glorious site, and it is just awe inspiring.

The really cool thing about the Grand Canyon is that you can literally spend days there. We only planned for one, so we had to squish a lot of things in a short time period. There are several stops along the outside perimeter that you can visit. They actually have a map you can a follow and a sidewalk to hike on in some places. You also are able to hike into the Grand Canyon if you so desire. There are even signs telling you how long each trail is, how long it will take you, what you should pack with you (water and sandwiches), etc.

Even though each spot is still the Grand Canyon, it is truly a different view from each stop. Something that I didn’t know was that you can actually camp on site. The other thing that I had no idea is that there are actual hotels on site too! How awesome would it be to stay in one of those? The other cool thing was that you didn’t have to walk between stops either — there was a bus you could take for free! Bill and I walked most of the Grand Canyon, but by the end of the day, you get really tired. Plus, the last part of the trail was covered in snow, and we were in tennis shoes. I never thought to bring boots.

Running into the elk was very cool (not literally, of course!) We were driving in between stops and were very surprised to come across these elks!

When we left, this was the sight to see. The sunset was so beautiful. I highly recommend stopping at the Grand Canyon if you are in the area. I wish we would have planned for more than one day there!

Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon before? Up until February of this year, I hadn’t. I wondered why anybody would want to just see a hole in the ground. When we got there, it was all of 37 degrees and crazy windy. There was snow! I seriously couldn’t believe it. Yes, we all know what snow looks like, but I couldn’t believe there was this much snow in Arizona. I ended up having to buy a hat and gloves! I never thought in a million years I would have to pack that!

When Bill decided to stand here so I could take his picture, I thought for sure that he was going to get blown off. The crazy thing is that the rangers told us it was a light wind that day. Being from the Windy City, we know wind and this was no light wind! My fear of heights didn’t help either. However, by the end of the day, I was able to walk closer to the edge (not as quite as far as Bill). As you can see from the background, the Grand Canyon is a beautiful site.

Pictures don’t do this place justice at all. There are no words that describe how beautiful it is there. The part that amazes me the most is that when the Indians were living here it looked pretty much the same. It truly makes you feel insignificant. You feel like a speck in the history of the world (which is really what we are). It took millions of years to make this glorious site, and it is just awe inspiring.

The really cool thing about the Grand Canyon is that you can literally spend days there. We only planned for one, so we had to squish a lot of things in a short time period. There are several stops along the outside perimeter that you can visit. They actually have a map you can a follow and a sidewalk to hike on in some places. You also are able to hike into the Grand Canyon if you so desire. There are even signs telling you how long each trail is, how long it will take you, what you should pack with you (water and sandwiches), etc.

Even though each spot is still the Grand Canyon, it is truly a different view from each stop. Something that I didn’t know was that you can actually camp on site. The other thing that I had no idea is that there are actual hotels on site too! How awesome would it be to stay in one of those? The other cool thing was that you didn’t have to walk between stops either — there was a bus you could take for free! Bill and I walked most of the Grand Canyon, but by the end of the day, you get really tired. Plus, the last part of the trail was covered in snow, and we were in tennis shoes. I never thought to bring boots.

Running into the elk was very cool (not literally, of course!) We were driving in between stops and were very surprised to come across these elks!

When we left, this was the sight to see. The sunset was so beautiful. I highly recommend stopping at the Grand Canyon if you are in the area. I wish we would have planned for more than one day there!