Brokedown Palace--A Nightmare Travel Story

I am watching Brokedown Palace again today, and once again it is giving me the willies. It is the story of two American girls who go to Thailand for an adventure. They meet up with a charming and good looking Australian (Yes, young American women always have charming and good looking, and some not so good looking men, wanting to befriend them on trips abroad.) and he invites them to travel to Hong Kong. Gosh darn, he just forgot to mention he had slipped some heroin into one of their bags, and they get caught at the airport. They may have to spend the rest of their lives in a Thai jail. What also gives me the willies is the behavior of the father of one of the girls toward the other girl when he arrives at the Thai jail. His comments to the other girl are just creepy and mean at that point in the story.

The scariest thing is how easily this could happen, and I am grateful it never happened to me. I never traveled to Thailand, but I did travel to Mexico, Greece, Spain, and Egypt, etc., sometimes just with another young woman, and this could have been our story too. I have a good sense about people, and I always seemed to know what was in our bags, but I guess these drug smugglers are just really good at setting people up.

I remember when a friend and I traveled to Egypt, I was 25. When I came back through U.S. customs, the custom agent spent an inordinate amount of time rifling through my bags. "Egypt--that is a wierd place to go," he said, watching me closely, as he went through my things with a finetooth comb. "Not really, I said." I was mad that he was taking so much time going through my things. I was tired and thought he was being a jerk. I guess he thought I might be a "mule," the name for young women, such as those in Brokedown Palace who bring drugs in and out of countries, often without knowing they are doing so. Egypt is one of those countries. Luckily, that wasn't my situation and I could move on. But I feel for those who have been trapped in these kind of situations.

Neil Young At The Ryman

I stopped watching VH1 a while ago. After I ran through the spate of Where Are They Now shows, the channel didn't offer anything that interested me. OK, I confess--I have watched the Bret Michaels reality dating show and Dr. Drew in recent times, but the channel is not really on my radar screen. Until tonight. I was checking out the cable menu, and it listed "Neil Young: Heart of Gold" on VH1. Young has always been under the radar screen, and I never bought one of his albums, but I have always liked him. One of my friends many years ago made fun of his voice and imitated him with dripping sarcasm. But I love his voice. It is one of a kind. Not only does it bring back great memories, but it is soothing like a long lost friend or a trip home. What made this show even better was that it was filmed at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. The Ryman is a must-see if you come to Nashville. And I must buy a Neil Young album.

http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2006/02/10/young/

One Positive To The Slumping Economy: Cheaper Hotel Rooms?

The article below has some good news for travel junkies: The recession may actually give us cheaper hotel rooms. One of the hotels it mentions is the Bahama Atlantis, which nows gives two dolphin interaction sessions free with your room, instead of charging $110 a session as it did previously. I have seen those commercials on TV and it looks fun..........


http://travel.msn.com/Guides/article.aspx?cp-documentid=734847

Dr. Beach Got It Right: Caladesi Is the Best Beach

I've only been to Caladesi Beach once, a long time ago, but I have never forgotten it. My sister Laura and I were visiting relatives in the Clearwater area, and they mentioned we might want to go to Caladesi for a day. The beach is in a state park, and you get there by ferry. And then you can only stay four hours. The ferry ride is fun, and once you are there, you experience a pristene beach that seems far away from the city. There is only beach, nothing else.

Dr. Beach is professor at Florida International University and has compiled this list since 1991. He gave Caladesi the top slot in his survey; see what other beaches float his boat: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/05/22/best.beaches.ap/index.html

Steps Across the Cumberland

I have wanted to cross the pedestrian bridge spanning the Cumberland River in Nashville for some time, so when my sister Laura was in town and suggested we do that, I jumped at the chance. It starts on 3rd Avenue So. near Symphony Hall and ends up at LP field. It was great fun. The best part was seeing the Nashville skyline lit up, and especially the famed WKDF sign. Sometimes it is fun to be a tourist in your own town.

Five Minute Vacation

In my mind, everything comes down to travel--and the easier and cheaper the better. So when I saw an article titled "The 5- Minute Vacation," I had to check it out. With the amount of money and time I have available right now, a 5-minute vacation may be all I can manage.

The article talks about how our bodies are designed for intermittent, not constant stress, and that even taking little mini breaks can be good for us. Their recommendations: Post pictures of your vacation on your computer, so you can relive the experience. Talk about your vacation to your friends and family, so the experience lodges in your brain. Spend time outdoors, as you probably did on vacation, and recreate the sounds of vacation, i.e., listen to a tape of ocean waves. And breathe deep. Breathing deep alerts your mind that you want to relax. Their last suggestion was to recreate the scents of vacation. Not sure how to do that one!

http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-life/just-dreaming/articlebl.aspx?cp-documentid=8800301&GT1=32001

Country Music Marathon

I did Nashville's Country Music Marathon again this year. By doing it, I mean watching the runners and cheering them on. It is not that I probably couldn't do the marathon myself; I have actually done three--the ones in Anchorage, Chicago, and San Diego--all as part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training fundraising program. It is just that I haven't had time to train for another one and for now I am content to be part of the cheering section.

Since I have done three marathons, I know the importance of having people out there, yelling such encouragement as "You can do it! Loooooking good!" Of the three I did, Chicago was the best in that regard. Cheering fans three and four deep lined the route mile after mile. I did both Anchorage and San Diego during their inaugural marathon year, so the crowd support was minimal. Apparently it takes a while for a city to develop that kind of support. I think Nashville has started to catch on, as the cheering section here gets bigger and bigger every year.

Who would think that a marathon is fun to watch? I never would have thought so until I got involved. It is great people watching--everyone is in a good mood and it is quite an event. If you are going to do a marathon, think about coming to Nashville. It is always held the last weekend in April, and there are country music bands every mile. They even sneak a rock and roll tune in once in a while. Two of the bandstands are right by my house--they run past my house and then circle back a block away. Nothing like an outdoor concert at 7 a.m.! And I get two different bands--one on each of the corners near my home! But it is a lot of fun for those of us who live here. And for participants, it is a great way to see the city, and you get invited to a A-list concert the night of race. I know at this point I wouldn't miss the chance to cheer on the runners and walkers. Go walkers!