(Location: The Whitsundays, Queensland, Australia) For Christmas 2013, we chartered a sailboat in The Whitsundays (only a three hour flight away!). We picked up the Catalina 35 from Whitsunday Escape in Airlie Beach. The boat was no more than a year old and in pristine condition. Though smaller than what we’ve chartered in the past, […]
(Location: Sydney, Auatralia) When we decided to move to Australia, we had our choice between Melbourne and Sydney. We’d never been to either, and due to timing we wouldn’t be able to visit. We did some research, and in the end decided on Melbourne because it was a little cheaper and seemed to be easier […]
(Location: Hong Kong, China) We arranged for a two night layover in Hong Kong on our way back from Beijing. It’s kind of on the way, and we hadn’t been there. We used points and stayed at The Conrad, one of the nicest large chain hotels that I’ve ever visited. Our room had a gorgeous […]
(Location: Beijing, China) One week after moving to Australia, I had to present at a conference in Beijing. Even though Australia is often classified as part of the Asia Pacific region, let me dispel the myth right now. Australia is nowhere near China. It’s a 14 hour flight from Melbourne to Beijing – so basically […]
When we booked the trip to the Pantanal, we were “upsold” to spend a few days at another one of the owner’s properties. He promised maned wolves, a macaw hide, and nut-cracking capuchin monkeys, so we decided to give it a go. From the Pantanal (Cuiaba airport), we flew to Brasisila, and then drove four […]
From Rio, we flew west to Cuiaba. It was a three hour drive to our first stop, the Santa Teresa Farm. The plan was to visit their bird viewing stand, and have a bite to eat to break up the journey. We also switched vehicles, from a van to an open safari-style truck. It was […]
(Location: Rio, Brazil) “You probably want to go away for a few days.” That is what our realtor recommended. We were selling our house, and the market was hot, so she expected back to back showings for a few days straight. Logical people would go to Galveston. We decided to go to Brazil. Our destination […]
(Location: St Vincent & the Grenadines, Caribbean) We’d heard the Grenadines was “like the BVI was 20 years ago.” The BVI had become pretty developed, so were intrigued. We’d also heard that “the BVI is where you go if you want to drive your boat from bar to bar, the Grenadines is where you go […]