Category Archives: Trip Reports

Jumping With The Maasai- Rift Valley Province, Kenya

Trip Reports, ,
a group of men wearing red robes
While visiting the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, our tour group had the opportunity to visit a Maasai village. From our group of 10, only 3 of us decided to visit the village. For a small fee, we would get a chance to interact with the Maasai and learn a bit about them.
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I had remembered seeing on various television shows how the Maasai love to jump. This was right up my alley and I was hoping to get some great shots jumping with them. After being welcomed to the village, they started to do some jumping for us and invited us to join them.
a group of men wearing red and blue robes
I ended up getting a few good pictures jumping with the Maasai. I also got to wear one of their traditional robes and learned a lot about daily life in the village.
The visit was well worth the $15 or so we each spent to get a glimpse into the lives of these interesting people! (and for the great jumping opportunities!)

Jumping by South Point Lighthouse- South Coast, Barbados

Jumping, Trip Reports,
a man jumping in front of a lighthouse
When I read that there were some lighthouses in Barbados, I wanted to try to check a couple out. There were two close to areas we would be visiting and I figured we could try to fit them in.
a red and white lighthouse
South Point Lighthouse is a close drive from the fishing village Oistins, known for it’s
Friday Night Fish Fry. After visiting the Fish Fry, Kim and I figured it would be worth seeing what Oistins was like during the day. We stopped by for a quick visit and then went to find the lighthouse.
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Getting to the lighthouse was a bit difficult. To reach it, you need to drive through a residential area which was very confusing. We tried figuring it out on our own but had to pull over to ask a police officer where to go. It did not help that some roads were closed near Oistins.
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After missing a few turns along the way, we finally found the lighthouse. The South Point Lighthouse could definitely use some TLC and looks like it’s been neglected for a long time. It is located on government property and it’s doubtful that many tourists come by for a visit. There isn’t much to see or do once you get to the lighthouse so I figured it was the perfect place for a jump!
a side mirror of a car

Friday Night Fish Fry- Oistins, Barbados

Food, Trip Reports, ,
a man cooking food in a kitchen
I first read about Oistins Fish Fry a few years back when considering a visit to Barbados.
We decided to go elsewhere that time but I never forgot about this weekly event.
When we decided to go to Barbados in April, it was at the top of my list for things to do!
a fish shaped light decorations over a street
Traffic in Oistins
Oistins is a fishing village in the southern part of Barbados. It also has some beaches and is well known to locals and tourists alike for it’s Friday night Fish Fry. The fish fry gets really crowded and stalls sell all types of fish (grilled or fried) like tuna, swordfish, mahi-mahi- flying fish, shrimps and many others. There is also music blasting, booths selling various crafts and locals hanging out and playing dominoes.

Continue reading Friday Night Fish Fry- Oistins, Barbados →

Shop For A Hat, Get in the Local Paper- Vienna, Austria

Trip Reports, World Hats,
a man wearing a hat
Authentic Alpine Hat
One of my favorite souvenirs to buy while traveling is hats. I wrote about this in my post about my purchase of a Tarboosh in Egypt. (You can read the post here)
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On my trip to Vienna, my must buy souvenir was a Traditional Alpine Hat.
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After visiting a store which sold traditional clothing and hats near Hofburg Palace, I decided that a nice, authentic hat was out of my price range. I’d have to start looking in regular souvenir shops and hope to find a good imitation.

a framed picture of a garment

Continue reading Shop For A Hat, Get in the Local Paper- Vienna, Austria →

A Beautiful Beach: Rockley Beach- Barbados

Jumping, Trip Reports,
a beach with blue water and blue sky

I am not really a beach person or the type to lay out to get a tan. While traveling I think there are much better things that can be done with your time.

However, I promised Kim that we would go to the beach while visiting Barbados. We heard that there were lots of beautiful beaches around the island. We planned to use our rental car to visit a few beaches but one of the best ended up being a 10 minute walk from our hotel! Continue reading A Beautiful Beach: Rockley Beach- Barbados →

Jumping By the Parliament Buildings of Barbados

Trip Reports, , ,
a man jumping in front of a building
When we stopped by the Parliament Buildings in Barbados they were already closed for the upcoming holidays. Kim and I weren’t really that interested in taking a tour but the buildings are impossible to miss when visiting Bridgetown so we decided to take a look.
a building with a clock tower and a river
View of Parliament while walking from bus station
We took the bus from our hotel to Bridgetown which took about 20 minutes. While walking from the bus station to the city center, you could see the clock tower of the Parliament Buildings from pretty far away.
a man standing in front of a building
Although the clock tower looked nothing like Big Ben in London, it totally reminded me of it.(Barbados is known as the Little Britain of the Caribbean due to being a former British colony. The even drive on the left and everyone speaks English.)
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After checking out the buildings, looking around from the outside, I decided that it was a great place for a few jumps. The clock tower would serve as a great background for some photos!
a building with a clock tower
View of Parliament from National Heroes Square

Jumping At Covered Bridges- Vermont, USA

Trip Reports, ,
a man jumping in front of a red covered bridge
Taftsville Covered Bridge
While visiting Vermont I figured it would be nice to stop and visit a few covered bridges. There wasn’t a lot else going on so this made for a fun reason to drive around. Many of the bridges have a distinct look and style to them and I figured they made for a good place to do some jumps.
a man jumping in the air
Queechee Covered Bridge
Covered bridges are a popular attraction in Vermont. There are around 100 throughout the state. The bridges come in various colors, sizes & can be open or closed on the sides. They are covered to protect the bridges from the elements during the winter.

a man jumping in the air in front of a covered bridge
Other side of Taftsville Bridge
Many covered bridges were badly damaged by Hurricane Irene in August 2011 including both bridges shown in this post. I am not sure if the bridges will be repaired or replaced. From what I read, the Taftsville Bridge was taken apart to be repaired and the fate of the Queeche Bridge was not decided as of yet.
a man standing in a covered bridge
Inside Taftsville Bridge

Our First Flight With Baby Lucas

Travel with kids, Trip Reports,
a man and woman with a baby
Kim and I were happy to arrive in Barbados after our first time flying with a third wheel- our baby Lucas!
a baby sleeping in a car seat
Asides from dealing with a very nasty American Airlines agent at the ticketing counter, everything went smoothly at the airport. Getting through security was a breeze and the TSA agents were very nice. I had heard stories about trouble with bringing milk, breast pumps and other items through security but we had no issues.

Continue reading Our First Flight With Baby Lucas →

Jumping by the Old Stone Mill- Newport, Rhode Island

Trip Reports, ,
a man jumping in the air

While planning a visit to Newport, Rhode Island I came across a site called the Old Stone Mill or Newport Tower, located in Touro park. The mill looked really interesting and worthy of a quick stop for some photos.
a stone structure with arches

There seems to be some controversy surrounding the Old Stone Mill.
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While it is believed to have been used as a mill and built in the mid 17th century, tests have been done to suggest that it could’ve been built centuries earlier and possibly used for other purposes. Some have also said that the mill is comparable to other medieval buildings found in Europe that were built in the 1100s.
a stone structure with arches

Regardless of when the Old Stone Mill was built and what it was really used for, it is a very interesting structure and made for a great place for a jump!

Our Upcoming Trip to Barbados- Thanks Capital One!

Trip Planning, Trip Reports,
a credit card with a blue background
While deciding where to go on our first trip in April with our newborn son Lucas, my wife and I figured it was time to use our Capital One points.
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We each earned 110,000 bonus points from the Venture Card with the mileage match offer last year. To qualify for the offer we had to send in a statement from an airline showing that we had 100,000 miles or more in an account. We received the 100,000 mile match plus 10,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months.