I had no idea what this girl was holding so lovingly and carefully. An Israeli desert shrub maybe? Then she put it down.
This is a first for me.
A real live Hedgehog, up close! And now I can share a video of it with you!
Watch!
I am behind on my posts. I’d stopped posting in order to redesign the site and finding the time, the right template, and doing the customizing, took far longer than I’d planned. I have been keeping a travel journal so I will be using that to fill you in here. But client’s work come first. Then comes not missing the amazing experiences that travel brings.
So for now… click this heading for a summary of where I have been. (And enjoy the photos along the top of my home page because they are all from these months.)
Has the craving for a great chocolate cake hit you while you were traveling? Has it hit you in a country where there simply isn’t a great chocolate cake to be found in the stores? Has it hit you where you simply don’t want to spend the money on a top level bakery cake? Has it hit you but you don’t want to go out and buy milk and butter and eggs? Here’s the chocolate cake solution! It’s a perfect cake for travelers because none of the ingredients need refrigeration. This Chocolate cake is called Crazy Cake. Many people learned this cake from grandmothers. (I learned it from my great friend Carolyn who learned it from her grandmother.) It seems to have been popular in the American 1929 depression because it uses no milk, butter, or eggs. You can also make it in just the pan that you bake it in so you […]
Americans have a saying… “Life is a bowl of cherries”
Here in the Golan Heights where cherry groves abound, life when you visit The Golan Heights Hostel sure is!
And, man, these cherries are sweet!
I have been looking for a good mapping program so I could mark off all the places I go, see them and share them. Although I cringe at the thought of giving this info to Google to sell, I was even willing to use their personal maps feature, but I have failed to find it again after months of trying so it appears they have removed it. Travellers Point seems to be a worthwhile site and have a great map feature, so I signed up and am giving it a shot. Bear in mind that I make it a rule to never write about a place while I am there. Tzfat was the only exception to this. So this is not up to date. I also opted not to use the dates feature of this trip planner map. View Full Size Travel Map at Travellerspoint Time will tell if I […]
The other day my friend Rachel called me. She was staying at Ascent as was my backpack (while I traveled more of Israel) and she wanted to know if I had any cold medicine. “Yes, I do!” I replied excitedly. “It’s yours, actually. It’s the same package that you bought me the week we met and you wanted to help me get over being sick. It’s in the original box. You should be able to find it in…” You may wonder why I was so excited that she was asking if I had this. There are several reasons why: 1) I love that I had something to help a friend. 2) I love that something she bought for me turned out to be able to help her or to help her help someone else. 3) There will be two fewer items in my backpack. No matter how light or how small something […]
A strange thing happened to my iPhone about a month ago. As I’d use my iPhone for anything other than calls — to play Bookworm, listen to Hebrew lessons, etc, the sound would cut out. This became more and more frequent until one day I had no sound for any of my apps. I also lost the alert sounds that would tell me I had a text message or email. I couldn’t even know someone was phoning me or had texted me using any text app.
Thankfully, although games, language apps, the Music app were all mute, I still had perfect sound for phone calls and even more oddly, I had sound for calls via the Vonage app. However, I had to keep the phone close to my body or in my sight to know I was receiving a call or text.
Recently, a young man posted a query on LinkedIn, seeking advice on relocating for a job — his first job out of college/university.
This part of his query called to me for two reasons. First, because as a traveler I am always walking into new locations and situations. Also because I’d also relocated with less than 24 hour notice, in order to take my own first job in broadcasting.
Curious about my advice? I’ve posted it here.
This is not about travel per se, but it is about countries, cultures, and people, so I figure it fits here.
It was written by Ken Tanaka (who does the jog by) with David Ury. You can read about him at the YouTube page that this is embedded from.
Today I shared Kava Kava, a traditional Fiji drink made from a root, with a great group of people from Fiji. I learned to clap my hands twice first, then drink it from their traditional bowl, then clap again.
No, I have not flown or otherwise been magically transported to Fiji. Fiji came to me – at the New Tiberias Hostel in Tiberias Israel.
This is what happens when you travel, stay in hostels, and say hello to other guests as you come across them.
White water rafting in Southern California! About 21/2 hours north of Los Angeles, 60 miles NE of Bakersfield… by Deborah S. Shadovitz (A version of this was first written for ValleyLife Magazine, June 2009, when I was its Editor. On the web, I am able to elaborate and on my own site I can add some more of my own feelings.) As my friends and I meandered down a slower part of the River Kern on a warm summer day, I found myself thinking it’s a pity that every American doesn’t get to raft this beautiful river through this magnificent canyon. Rafting is a perfect shared experience: relaxation, flowing water, sun, great food, and the rewarding feeling of getting past hurdles because of teamwork. Since the mid-1970s, the Kern River has been a prime spot for rafting. One reason is Lake Isabella, which sits below the Upper Kern holding water […]
(A version of this was first written for ValleyLife Magazine, June 2009, when I was its Editor. Both hotels are still in business in 2023.) The Kern River is close enough that from the Los Angeles area, you can leave home in the morning, enjoy a day or two on the river (camping overnight), and return home. One of my friends did just that. I wanted more relaxation so my other companion Lorrie and I stayed in Kernville before and after our two-day rafting holiday. For our first night, I wanted to experience the town, so I selected the Kernville Inn, which sits beside the river and is right on the main street. After our 2-day rafting trip, we stayed outside of town at Chuck Richard’s Falling Waters Resort. At both, our “room” included a kitchen and living room, great for families and long stays. Kernville Inn The 28-room Kernville […]
If you’re craving pizza while in Israel, you will do very well to have that pizza at Pizza Simta in Tzfat! Crispy crust generously sprinkled with sesame seeds surrounding nice-tasting sauce and cheese, freshly made right in front of you, then served bubbling hot!
My pizza standard was formed by growing up with NY and then NYC pizza. It was furthered by pizza in Naples, Italy. If I had pizza in other states or countries, I was unimpressed to remember it either way. For me to say I love a pizza is a pretty big thing.
It’s always important to learn at least basic numbers for countries you visit. Here’s the most fun you’ll have being introduced to the numbers 1 to 100 in Hebrew! And even if you don’t want to learn Hebrew, it’s a great video. It took Tom Ross and It took Maya Cohen three journeys to Israel to make this video. 101 people, one from every age between 0 – 100.
A fellow traveler reported that humidity by a Caribbean beach killed her iPhone through its ports. Don’t let that happen to you. Radtech has the easy, affordable solution: Portectorz Port Protection for iPhone, iPad & More. They ensure “that sensitive ports remain clean, dry and sealed.”
I bought 3D Slick paint that works on fabric. My intention was to use it on my backpack. But as I started to practice using this paint, decided to give my equipment a nicer looking identification than just my name written in permanent marker
I love that I have a unique identification method. Plus, it’s fun to take an artistic break once in a while.
When you travel, you don’t get to control the darkness in your room. There’s always that gap in the curtains or a room is pretty but not pretty dark.
So I did sought out the best possible mask and best value for the money. My choice is the Nidra Deep Rest mask. Light-blocking, but lightweight. (You know I love that!) MOLDED so it lets me sleep in darkness but be able to open my eyes fully. And best yet, it doesn’t create eyebrow wonkiness.
Another Packing Tip: Ladies, that lace undie you love… Leave it unless you can weave it. Lace undies are beautiful. They make us feel good. And best for a traveler, they are light weight. However, lace is fragile and the garment won’t last long when worn and washed every two weeks or more as will be the case as you travel. So don’t count on fragile threads lasting. If you bring that lace, be ready with your sewing kit to reweave the pattern or pull the connected sections together. Buying new undies in various countries, especially outside of big cities, is a challenge and sometimes not even possible if your size and shape is not common wherever you happen to be so don’t make the mistake of thinking you’ll just replace it. [This post was inspired as I sat sewing a thin bit of lace on an otherwise durable garment that I […]
As you travel you may crave a soft steak but you need to watch your budget. (Or, due to language, not order the desired cut from the local butcher.) I have not tried this trick, but apparently there is an easy and very inexpensive way to soften that tough cut of meat, making it a much nicer and more edible experience.
This episode of Cooking with Jack Show can help you out with that. Any steak, some kosher salt and some time…
My friend Aaron, an endearing traveler whom I met traveling of course, posted this to facebook: “Hello from Khao Yai, one of Thailand’s national parks. Can you still call it camping if you’re getting 3G? …” The first comment came quickly from a female friend of his: “Yes, 3G is roughing it.” I don’t know her, but I love her! (This is published here with Aaron’s permission.)
It is 4:19 a.m. on this now-Wednesday pre-dawn day. I just finished recording my weekly Computer Talk Radio segment because the engineer is in the US, 9 hours behind my time (here in Israel). Tuesday evening was always my time slot to record and it’s Tuesday evening in California now. The topic this week was my long-time method of doing taxes. I am a huge Excel-tracking + [not online] TurboTax fan and recommend [your computer-based] TurboTax for everyone — even if you hire someone to do your taxes. If you’re into “what-if” scenarios and are thinking about starting your own business or making some income changes, TurboTax is a great tool to see how those changes may play out. Anyway, the show is recorded. Our listeners will learn, and me… Now I can go to bed and sleep 7 hours straight rather than try to sleep at midnight but not get […]
I am working in a rooftop office and it sounds like there’s a tornado happening outside. Tin roofs being torn up and flapping. Winds shaking these dual offices. Freezing cold air whipping around me outside of the heater’s range.
Want an Inexpensive and lightweight solution to plug in a Macintosh in any country as you travel? Rather than lugging Apple’s thick, heavy power extension plug with you, just grab a local generic Figure-8 plug. You’ll save weight gain length, and do away with inconvenience.
Click this heading to see the list of all posts from my arrival Mexico until my departure. Then click any post listed to jump to that post and after use the Post Navigation at the bottom of each post to move through my trip. <div class=”clearB”></div> Tip: If you right/control click to open any of these posts in a new tab or window you’ll still have this list to return to when you close that tab/window. [catlist id=94 orderby=date order=asc numberposts=-1 date=yes] I’d appreciate your comments on how you like or dislike this listing instead of seeing summaries of my latest posts for this topic.
If you’ve been following my travels, welcome back. If you’re new here and would like to follow all or any part of Deb’s Travels from the start, this page of links will help. For example, you can start reading from the start of my time in Guatemala, or any other country. =======>>>> Start reading from the start of 2011. Start reading from the start of Mexico. Start reading from the start of Belize. Start reading from the start of Guatemala. Start reading from the start of Honduras. Start reading from the start of El Salvador. Start reading from the start of Costa Rica. Start reading from the start of Panama. Start reading from my US 1 year break from international.
