TRAVEL TIP #11 DON”T USE FINANCES AS AN EXCUSE TO “STAYCATION”
Oh --- oh --- I am running out of blog travel ideas. If anyone out there has points about travel that would be interesting for this site, let me know. It would seem that the key travel points I contemplate before hitting the road have been covered by the first ten posts. Send me questions, comments and tips. I may diverge from traveling advice to trip reviews. Where did I LOVE to go? Which trips were not as enjoyable as I had hoped? We shall see. Maybe I shall park the blog for the summer and come back in the fall.
Today, let’s take a look at cheap trips with great rewards. Where can we go on a $100 budget? $50? $1.40?
I am smiling as I recall a $1.40 day trip my husband and I took when our daughter was a baby. Yes, $1.40! We were inventive and courageous when we were younger. And we had a blast. We still do.
Where to go?
1. FREE Public beaches. Our daughter was a few months old and we were a typical broke family. Not a broken family. A BROKE family. Our gas tank was full and we were down to white bread and bologna in the fridge. Feeling the urge to explore, we looked at options for a day of fun in the sun. At the time, we were living about four hours from Virginia Beach. We packed sandwiches and a Thermos of iced tea, packed our little one's baby food and took off in our beat-up clunker. We made ONE mistake. We failed to take road/bridge tolls into consideration. Fortunately, we had enough loose change to make it through all the gates to and from the beach.
2. FREE/CHEAP State parks in many areas are free. There are picnic tables, hiking trails, stocked ponds and lakes (for ye ol’ fisherMEN and WOMEN out there), bike trails, horseshoe courts, tennis courts, and golf courses. You can buy a two-person tent for less than $20 and pitch it overnight. Some parks have free camp sites; others charge less than $20. Pack the food you have in your pantry, throw in a Frisbee from the Dollar Tree and a deck of cards, and have fun!
3. FREE Local bike trails. We are blessed with miles and miles of paved biking
trails in several communities near us. A couple of water bottles and a sandwich
bag of nuts and raisins will tide you over for a snack along the way. We bike almost every weekend during the summer.
4. FREE Summer programs in the park. One local park has movie night in the park.
Families can sit on the bleachers for the show or sit in their own coziest lawn chairs. The park specializes in family movies like the OLD Disneys and it is great fun. Find out what show is coming to a park near you. Ask your local park and recreation organization to set up an outdoor theater.
5. FREE Concerts in the park. Summers are filled with free music EVERYWHERE. There is nothing like music to lift the spirits.
6. FREE Arts and craft festivals. Although many summer festivals charge
admission, there are still opportunities to attend small festivals where you can
stroll along the walks, admiring paintings, pottery, wood carvings, photography,
baskets, and other works of art.
7. FREE Church socials and music programs. Most community churches offer a
wide range of social activities including music programs, ice cream socials, plays, book clubs, etc. It is a good idea to support the church with a monetary donation, but FREE is FREE. In university communities, many musicians are highly trained professionals who will knock you socks off with outstanding concerts.
8. FREE University lectures, concerts, faculty recitals. etc. We are within easy driving range of three major universities and have a wide choice of activities that
we can attend at no charge. Over the years I have attended lectures by wonderful
noted individuals including Homer Hickam, Maya Angelou, Carl Bernstein, John Grisham, U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Renquist, Phyllis Schafley, Erin Brockovich’s attorney (whose name I have momentarily forgotten!!!!!!!!!!), Hurricane Carter, Jake Gillenhaul (sp?), and many, many academics and celebrities.
9. FREE Book festivals and book signings. By far, one of my greatest experiences with wonderful author exposure is the Virginia Festival of the Book. Most activities
at the multiple-day festival are free and open to the public. Top New York Times
best selling authors and a host of authors in a wide variety of venues make the annual book celebration one of the most outstanding forums of its kind. If you are
within a few hours of Charlottesville, it is well worth the drive. Check out their calendar of events and have fun.
10. FREE – SMITHSONIAN!
This is my favorite all time #1 FREE experience.
a) The National Zoo is yours for the walk-in. Go see the pandas --- and the elephants, and the monkeys.
b) The Air and Space Museum. This is a crowded one, so plan your visit carefully. You can explore everything from the first flight of the Wright Brothers to the current scientific work of the International Space Station. There are paper airplane seminars and contests and many, many free programs. McDonalds serves lunch, so that is cheap! The IMAX movies require admission, but you may be able to justify the cost by saving money in other ways.
c) The American History Museum requires a whole day to take in the
treasures of our country. See Abraham Lincoln’s stovepipe hat, Dorothy’s
ruby red slippers from the Wizard of Oz, and the magnificently restored Star Spangle Banner (the HUGE American flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write our national anthem).
d) The Museum of Natural History with it breathtaking dinosaur
skeletons, and such great exhibits as the Hope Diamond make up a
visit you will never forget. There are free interactive exhibits and
child activities with live species and chemical experiments that your kid
or grandkid will never forget.
e) The American Indian Museum offers a lovely perspective on the history of
the first Americans. Ask the staff to point out the rainbow on a sunny day. Watch the free programs throughout the winding levels of beautifully displayed artifacts.
f) The National Portrait Gallery is far enough away from the congestion of
the main Smithsonian museums that you can spend an entire day just taking in GREAT works of art, including the official portraits of U.S. Presidents. There is a lovely cafeteria where you can grab a bite without standing in a long line during peak lunch times.
g) The Smithsonian has many other facilities including smaller art museums scattered along the mall between the Lincoln Memorial and the U.S. Capitol.
11) FREE The National Gallery of Art is in close proximity to the Smithsonian. I usually spend an entire day quietly enjoying Monet, Rembrandt, Rousseau, and my favorite, Rubens. The galleries are extensive and absolutely beautiful. The Gallery has a wonderful Garden Café with fine cuisine. The food is a little pricey, but the exhibits are free. Some people mistakenly believe that the National Gallery is part of the Smithsonian. Unlike the Smithsonian, which was founded by a bequest of Englishman, James Smithson, the National Gallery of Art was established by an act of the United States Congress. Nevertheless, the benefits for the public are the same: FREE admission. If you CAN make a contribution to either institution, please do so. I am committed to seeing these exhibits accessible to ALL people. Our National Parks now require admission which can be a burden for families who are strapped for funds. Personally, I think it is a HUGE mistake to exclude Americans from the experience of exploring our great parks. If we are not vigilant, the Smithsonian and the National Gallery may follow suit.
12) Call your elected Senator or Congressman and tell her/him you would like
to tour the Capitol with your family. You may see Congress in action as a young intern strolls through the exquisite halls of the U.S. center of power.
13) Check with your Senator about Whitehouse tours. Policies change from
time to time. If you have a Boy Scout troop or a science team, you can schedule
a tour of the Whitehouse. I was able to take my daughter through the Whitehouse when she was about five years old, but she was too young to remember it.
14) The National Book Festival in Washington D.C. is free. Hopefully, this
wonderful festival will be continued. Initiated by Laura Bush and the Library of Congress, it is an incredible gathering of many of the top writers in the world. Last fall I stood in line for two and a half hours to get the autograph of James Patterson for my grandson. I stepped out of line about five minutes before reaching the autograph table, and my grandson stepped into my place. My favorite photo from 2009 is the one where the kid met THE author! If you have questions about how to ENJOY the festival without getting lost in the crowd, send me a comment below.
15) There is also an International Folk Festival in Washington. I have not
actively participated as a guest at the festival, although I have been there
during the gathering. Also, the American Indian Museum has pow-wows and a variety of programs that may appeal to you.
16) I shall close this post with my all time FAVORITE free EVENT: THE
ANNUAL JULY 4TH CELEBRATION IN WASHINGTON! Fireworks, free concert of the world’s top musical artists, and a huge party of 600,000+ celebrants! There is an art to managing oneself well on the Independence Day Washington gathering. I think that will be my post for next week. I hate to give away my “secrets” but since there are only a few people reading this silly blog, it probably will not make much difference.
Entertainers we have heard on the 4th? Barry Manilow, the Beach Boys, John Williams conducting Star Wars theme, Huey Louis (Lewis?) and the News, Aretha Franklin, Jimmy Smits as emcee, Dolly Parton, Clay Aiken, Jerry Lee Lewis, Maurice Gibb, the Sesame Street muppets, Jason Alexander as emcee, Barry Bostwick as emcee, and many, many more. All free! Greatest concert in the world. Do not miss it! FREE.
OK. Next week I will tell you my “secrets” of making the Fourth of July on the steps of Capitol Hill the greatest vacation of a lifetime.
Have a good week. Get some sunshine --- in moderation. Enjoy each day and travel without excuses that there is no affordable place to go. I have barely scratched the surface. There are LOTS of places to go! Just do it!
Be safe.
Showing posts with label safe travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label safe travel. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
TRAVEL TIP #7 BE SAFE!
TRAVEL TIP #7 Be safe!
©2010
Wow, another crazy week. I'm just now catching up with my BLOG and have some important things to say about personal safety. Take care of yourself, so that your travels are as enjoyable as they can possibly be.
Traveling safely is absolutely the highest priority for a successful trip. Nothing can destroy the joy of travel faster than a thief or mugger taking advantage of a situation in which you become vulnerable. Use your head. If your “instincts” say that a situation is threatening put yourself first. It’s your trip. It’s your property. It’s your life.
1. Be alert. Pay attention to all people who are in close proximity to you. Avoid putting yourself into positions where you are isolated. There are no guarantees that there is safety in a crowd. Certainly there is a strange phenomenon in which people disregard persons in peril. So don’t count on a security guard to come to the rescue. Recent news reports show how willingly some people will stand by and watch a beating as though it were mere entertainment.
2. Take a personal safety class. Many police officers offer self defense training as a
community service. It is not necessary to pay for self defense training. Call your local law enforcement office and ask for instruction in self defense.
3. Drive during daylight hours.
4. If you go out at night, do so with a friend. Be particularly careful when in
unfamiliar territory. When traveling abroad, be particularly cognizant of potential
dangers. Always check out the State Department advisories as they pertain to your destination.
5. Don’t assume that you are safe in a small town or in YOUR town. Thievery,
assault, kidnappings occur everywhere.
6. When traveling alone, create the illusion that you are with your husband. Talk to
The hotel clerks about places that you and your husband can have dinner, see the sights, etc. Ask for two room keys.
7. Place a bogus passenger or the illusion of a passenger beside you in your vehicle.
I have been looking for a realistic mannequin for a long time, but they seem to be
very expensive and in short supply. For the time being, I position a wide brim straw hat on top of the passenger seat, creating the illusion of two people in the
vehicle. No one is more vulnerable than s/he who is alone.
8. Where legal, carry items that can be used for self defense. You will have to check
out local laws to ensure that you are in compliance. I carry pepper spray, an air horn, walkie talkies, a whistle, a taser, a cell phone, a battery powered emergency flasher, and alarms to put under my hotel room doors. If an intruder tries to pass
through a hotel door or window, one of the alarms will screech an ear piercing siren and in many cases will frighten the intruder enough to discourage further invasion.
9. Use common items for self defense. Several years ago a student who was a
former MP (military police officer) gave a self defense speech in one of my classes. He asked us to look in our purses and backpacks for items we could use
to protect ourselves. I remember him holding up a ball point pen and instructing us to go for the eyes. We squirmed, but understood if it’s our life or an assailant’s
eye, we choose life. Also, Jake told those of us with nylon bristle hairbrushes to imagine the efficacy of being assaulted with multiple, pencil point bristles in the eye. The one tip I most often recall was not one which relied on personal items
for self defense. He asked another student to stand in the front of the room beside him. Then he raised his foot knee-high and quickly thrust the foot through the air adjacent to the side of the other student’s knee. Of course he stopped short of
actually hitting the person’s leg, but assured us that it takes very little force to dislocate a knee. Slam your foot into the side of the knee, and your attacker will
be disabled.
10. Always carry enough cash to appease a thief. One New York law enforcement
officer advised me to carry at last $100 cash at all times. Give it away without hesitation if you are threatened. Accordingly, it is important to turn over your purse and its contents, which may be sufficient to save yourself from a personal attack.
11. Strap a fanny pack with a steel reinforced strap around your waist, and never,
never be separated from the pack. Wearing a fanny pack looks a bit dorky, but
it frees both hands for eating, handling doorknobs, tugging suitcases, etc.
12. Never lay a purse on a seat beside you in a restaurant and never lay a purse on
the table. By the time a robber grabs the bag, he or she will be on the run while you are still trying to get out of your seat.
13. Never place a purse on the passenger seat of an automobile. Your side window
can be smashed in an instant when you stop for a traffic light. Before you have a chance to call for help, the thief will be gone. Place your purse on the floor by your feet. If you are going to secure your cell phone, fasten the fanny pack strap to your seatbelt strap or secure it to the frame underneath the driver’s seat.
14. Carry only one credit card and a lot of cash in your bag. BUT, don’t show large
wads of cash to anyone in public.
15. Hide a photocopy of your driver’s license, extra cash, and an extra credit card in
your vehicle. If your purse is stolen, you will have backup resources to aide you
in your travel.
16. Keep your gas tank filled. And, fill up at the end of each travel day, so you will
be ready to go the following morning.
17. Remember, if there is a power outage, gas pumps will not work. Neither will
ATMs be accessible.
18. Always leave an itinerary with a trusted friend or family member, and check
in with them at the end of each day. If loved ones are concerned, promise them
an email each night and tell them your travel route and destination for the following day.
19. Listen for hazardous weather reports and use your head! If you drive INTO a
storm, your name had better be Jim Cantore or Reed Timmer. Otherwise, you are
asking for trouble.
20. Study crime statistics of new areas through which you will be traveling. KNOW
where the dangerous areas are and know how to respond.
21. Keep your cell phone charged but understand that there may be occasions when
you cannot get a signal. A walkie talkie with a two-mile range could be your
lifeline.
22. Do not travel with expensive jewelry and remember to “trash” your car, so that
you create the appearance of a casual, “broke” wanderer with nothing worth stealing.
23. Women should wear a ballcap and a plaid shirt so as to make a “distant
impression” of a male driver. Men’s mirrored sunglasses will complete the
façade.
24. Don’t allow yourself to become isolated. Stay in open, well lit areas, and walk in
the company of families with children.
25. Many rest areas are perfect locations for robbery. Only nap in a rest area during
daylight hours. Park your car beside a space reserved for the state police or in a
space between cars where families are coming and going.
26. Never hang your purse on the rest room stall hooks. I hang the strap of my fanny
pack around my neck or strap it high on my rib cage. One of my friends lays her
purse on top of the eye- level shelf provided specifically for purses.
27. Don’t trust shopping mall parking lots for personal safety. Many robberies,
muggings, and kidnappings take place in broad daylight in shopping mall lots.
Have you seen surveillance videos of women who were last seen coming out of
a mall store when a man approached them? Keep these images in mind at all times.
You are not safe shopping. It just seems that way.
28. Before getting inside your vehicle, check the back seat to be sure no one is hiding
there. Once inside the vehicle, slam the door lock down as quickly as possible. A neighbor of ours was shopping with her daughter at a large shopping mall when a man began walking earnestly toward their car. The mother told the daughter to lock her door quickly. The daughter protested, saying that her mom was overreacting again. No sooner had she pressed down the lock, the man reached for the door handle, and tried to open the door. It was broad daylight and there were two of them.
29. Never park in a space beside a van with sliding doors. You can be easily
abducted and driven off site.
30. Never allow yourself to be placed inside a vehicle. Once you lose control inside a vehicle, you lose. If a car is following you as you walk along a sidewalk, turn around 180 degrees and walk in the opposite direction. It will take the driver a few minutes to reverse his/her driving direction and give you a little time to get to a safe area.
31. If you are thrown inside a trunk, pull out the wiring for the tail lights of the
vehicle. This will “signal” a police traffic stop and you have a chance of
being rescued by a patrolling trooper.
32. If you are abducted and in the passenger seat, wait until your abductor stops at an
intersection. Then QUICKLY slam your foot on top of the driver’s accelerator pedal foot. Ram the car into the vehicle in front of you. Once there is a traffic accident, you will have other people on hunt of a hit-and-run driver.
33. Stay calm and alert. Use your head. You can cry later. Do not get into a
threatening situation in the first place. Travel to cities with relatively low
crime rates. Let city managers know that you are choosing safe cities over
their cities. Every word of concern about crime may encourage absolute
serious efforts to address the problem.
34. Park in the well lit front parking lots of hotels. Never park in dark areas at the
rear of a hotel. This means you need to arrive early at your hotel, check in, and
THEN go sight seeing.
35. Read everything available about travel safety! Rely on law enforcement and
the state department to be your guides for a happy trip! Be safe. Take responsibility for your safety. Do your homework! Protect yourself on the road.
36. Stay sober. A drunk lacks reasoning ability and opens him/herself to trouble on many fronts. Alcohol is not your friend when your safety is on the line. Look at the statistics of alcohol related crimes on college campuses and you will be convinced, unless you are drunk while you are reading or just stupid.
Down the road I’ll talk about hotel safety. The steps for safe travel have only begun with this post.
HAVE SAFE TRAVELS!!! Always safe.
I cannot guarantee you personal safety. You are responsible for your well being. Be smart! Be safe! Always safe.
©2010
Wow, another crazy week. I'm just now catching up with my BLOG and have some important things to say about personal safety. Take care of yourself, so that your travels are as enjoyable as they can possibly be.
Traveling safely is absolutely the highest priority for a successful trip. Nothing can destroy the joy of travel faster than a thief or mugger taking advantage of a situation in which you become vulnerable. Use your head. If your “instincts” say that a situation is threatening put yourself first. It’s your trip. It’s your property. It’s your life.
1. Be alert. Pay attention to all people who are in close proximity to you. Avoid putting yourself into positions where you are isolated. There are no guarantees that there is safety in a crowd. Certainly there is a strange phenomenon in which people disregard persons in peril. So don’t count on a security guard to come to the rescue. Recent news reports show how willingly some people will stand by and watch a beating as though it were mere entertainment.
2. Take a personal safety class. Many police officers offer self defense training as a
community service. It is not necessary to pay for self defense training. Call your local law enforcement office and ask for instruction in self defense.
3. Drive during daylight hours.
4. If you go out at night, do so with a friend. Be particularly careful when in
unfamiliar territory. When traveling abroad, be particularly cognizant of potential
dangers. Always check out the State Department advisories as they pertain to your destination.
5. Don’t assume that you are safe in a small town or in YOUR town. Thievery,
assault, kidnappings occur everywhere.
6. When traveling alone, create the illusion that you are with your husband. Talk to
The hotel clerks about places that you and your husband can have dinner, see the sights, etc. Ask for two room keys.
7. Place a bogus passenger or the illusion of a passenger beside you in your vehicle.
I have been looking for a realistic mannequin for a long time, but they seem to be
very expensive and in short supply. For the time being, I position a wide brim straw hat on top of the passenger seat, creating the illusion of two people in the
vehicle. No one is more vulnerable than s/he who is alone.
8. Where legal, carry items that can be used for self defense. You will have to check
out local laws to ensure that you are in compliance. I carry pepper spray, an air horn, walkie talkies, a whistle, a taser, a cell phone, a battery powered emergency flasher, and alarms to put under my hotel room doors. If an intruder tries to pass
through a hotel door or window, one of the alarms will screech an ear piercing siren and in many cases will frighten the intruder enough to discourage further invasion.
9. Use common items for self defense. Several years ago a student who was a
former MP (military police officer) gave a self defense speech in one of my classes. He asked us to look in our purses and backpacks for items we could use
to protect ourselves. I remember him holding up a ball point pen and instructing us to go for the eyes. We squirmed, but understood if it’s our life or an assailant’s
eye, we choose life. Also, Jake told those of us with nylon bristle hairbrushes to imagine the efficacy of being assaulted with multiple, pencil point bristles in the eye. The one tip I most often recall was not one which relied on personal items
for self defense. He asked another student to stand in the front of the room beside him. Then he raised his foot knee-high and quickly thrust the foot through the air adjacent to the side of the other student’s knee. Of course he stopped short of
actually hitting the person’s leg, but assured us that it takes very little force to dislocate a knee. Slam your foot into the side of the knee, and your attacker will
be disabled.
10. Always carry enough cash to appease a thief. One New York law enforcement
officer advised me to carry at last $100 cash at all times. Give it away without hesitation if you are threatened. Accordingly, it is important to turn over your purse and its contents, which may be sufficient to save yourself from a personal attack.
11. Strap a fanny pack with a steel reinforced strap around your waist, and never,
never be separated from the pack. Wearing a fanny pack looks a bit dorky, but
it frees both hands for eating, handling doorknobs, tugging suitcases, etc.
12. Never lay a purse on a seat beside you in a restaurant and never lay a purse on
the table. By the time a robber grabs the bag, he or she will be on the run while you are still trying to get out of your seat.
13. Never place a purse on the passenger seat of an automobile. Your side window
can be smashed in an instant when you stop for a traffic light. Before you have a chance to call for help, the thief will be gone. Place your purse on the floor by your feet. If you are going to secure your cell phone, fasten the fanny pack strap to your seatbelt strap or secure it to the frame underneath the driver’s seat.
14. Carry only one credit card and a lot of cash in your bag. BUT, don’t show large
wads of cash to anyone in public.
15. Hide a photocopy of your driver’s license, extra cash, and an extra credit card in
your vehicle. If your purse is stolen, you will have backup resources to aide you
in your travel.
16. Keep your gas tank filled. And, fill up at the end of each travel day, so you will
be ready to go the following morning.
17. Remember, if there is a power outage, gas pumps will not work. Neither will
ATMs be accessible.
18. Always leave an itinerary with a trusted friend or family member, and check
in with them at the end of each day. If loved ones are concerned, promise them
an email each night and tell them your travel route and destination for the following day.
19. Listen for hazardous weather reports and use your head! If you drive INTO a
storm, your name had better be Jim Cantore or Reed Timmer. Otherwise, you are
asking for trouble.
20. Study crime statistics of new areas through which you will be traveling. KNOW
where the dangerous areas are and know how to respond.
21. Keep your cell phone charged but understand that there may be occasions when
you cannot get a signal. A walkie talkie with a two-mile range could be your
lifeline.
22. Do not travel with expensive jewelry and remember to “trash” your car, so that
you create the appearance of a casual, “broke” wanderer with nothing worth stealing.
23. Women should wear a ballcap and a plaid shirt so as to make a “distant
impression” of a male driver. Men’s mirrored sunglasses will complete the
façade.
24. Don’t allow yourself to become isolated. Stay in open, well lit areas, and walk in
the company of families with children.
25. Many rest areas are perfect locations for robbery. Only nap in a rest area during
daylight hours. Park your car beside a space reserved for the state police or in a
space between cars where families are coming and going.
26. Never hang your purse on the rest room stall hooks. I hang the strap of my fanny
pack around my neck or strap it high on my rib cage. One of my friends lays her
purse on top of the eye- level shelf provided specifically for purses.
27. Don’t trust shopping mall parking lots for personal safety. Many robberies,
muggings, and kidnappings take place in broad daylight in shopping mall lots.
Have you seen surveillance videos of women who were last seen coming out of
a mall store when a man approached them? Keep these images in mind at all times.
You are not safe shopping. It just seems that way.
28. Before getting inside your vehicle, check the back seat to be sure no one is hiding
there. Once inside the vehicle, slam the door lock down as quickly as possible. A neighbor of ours was shopping with her daughter at a large shopping mall when a man began walking earnestly toward their car. The mother told the daughter to lock her door quickly. The daughter protested, saying that her mom was overreacting again. No sooner had she pressed down the lock, the man reached for the door handle, and tried to open the door. It was broad daylight and there were two of them.
29. Never park in a space beside a van with sliding doors. You can be easily
abducted and driven off site.
30. Never allow yourself to be placed inside a vehicle. Once you lose control inside a vehicle, you lose. If a car is following you as you walk along a sidewalk, turn around 180 degrees and walk in the opposite direction. It will take the driver a few minutes to reverse his/her driving direction and give you a little time to get to a safe area.
31. If you are thrown inside a trunk, pull out the wiring for the tail lights of the
vehicle. This will “signal” a police traffic stop and you have a chance of
being rescued by a patrolling trooper.
32. If you are abducted and in the passenger seat, wait until your abductor stops at an
intersection. Then QUICKLY slam your foot on top of the driver’s accelerator pedal foot. Ram the car into the vehicle in front of you. Once there is a traffic accident, you will have other people on hunt of a hit-and-run driver.
33. Stay calm and alert. Use your head. You can cry later. Do not get into a
threatening situation in the first place. Travel to cities with relatively low
crime rates. Let city managers know that you are choosing safe cities over
their cities. Every word of concern about crime may encourage absolute
serious efforts to address the problem.
34. Park in the well lit front parking lots of hotels. Never park in dark areas at the
rear of a hotel. This means you need to arrive early at your hotel, check in, and
THEN go sight seeing.
35. Read everything available about travel safety! Rely on law enforcement and
the state department to be your guides for a happy trip! Be safe. Take responsibility for your safety. Do your homework! Protect yourself on the road.
36. Stay sober. A drunk lacks reasoning ability and opens him/herself to trouble on many fronts. Alcohol is not your friend when your safety is on the line. Look at the statistics of alcohol related crimes on college campuses and you will be convinced, unless you are drunk while you are reading or just stupid.
Down the road I’ll talk about hotel safety. The steps for safe travel have only begun with this post.
HAVE SAFE TRAVELS!!! Always safe.
I cannot guarantee you personal safety. You are responsible for your well being. Be smart! Be safe! Always safe.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Travel Tip #6 KNOW THE SNOW! EXPECT ICE! Copyright 2010
TIP #6 Know the snow! Expect ice!
A little more about snow driving safety --- with the expectation---uh---HOPE--- that spring is nigh! In addition to keeping your car in good repairs, knowing how to navigate in adverse conditions is essential.
Rule Number 1: If you do not NEED to drive on bad roads, don’t! Stay home. Give road crews and power line crews a little extra space by keeping your vehicle off the road.
Read a book. Write a book. Help a neighbor. Take a bubble bath. Clean house. Do whatever you choose, but do it off the road. If you are not a savvy slick-road vehicle operator, think twice before venturing out unnecessarily. The life you save could be your own.
Good tires. Good tread. Spend the bucks. I would make an educated guess that
half of the vehicles that end up in the ditch are ones with bald tires. You are maneuvering a 2,000-pound vehicle atop ice skating rink conditions. If you cannot ice skate, what makes you think you can control SO much momentum from a lethal weapon that is moving fifty miles an hour on an oversized public rink with hundreds of other lethal weapons lining up their crosshairs on YOU?
Oh, and if you are out there with four-wheel drive --- FORGET it on ice!!! Know HOW to use it to your advantage. Driving is a skill, not a reflex.
Watch out for semi drivers who are trying to get bread and milk to Walmart. Stay BEHIND all large vehicles. Recently I drove down into the mountains after a storm to get a snowy photo as a Christmas gift. When a large log truck pulled to the side of the road to allow drivers to go in front of him down the mountain, I watched every single car pull ahead in front of him. I pulled to the side of the road and waited for him to resume his ten mph trip down the mountain. A trip that normally would take four hours required twelve hours that day. I was not in a hurry to be creamed. Oh, and be extra careful about the potential for semis to jack knife on the interestates. I often take the side roads if truck traffic is threatening. I have a better chance of surviving a crash at forty miles an hour than at sixty/seventy miles an hour. I love getting bread from Walmart, but I love being able to eat it. Stay in your right lane on the interstates, and avoid getting sandwiched between large trucks. You are jelly waiting to happen. Oh, and know the terrain you will be covering, even if it is an interstate highway. There are some isolated mountainous interstates that I circumnavigate, just to avoid increased risks. Do you know which road(s) in your state are the deadliest? Check your highway traffic safety facts, and then ask yourself why more people die on those roads than any others in the state.
Back to the weather maps. Become a good friend with Jim Cantore and the gang on the Weather Channel. Learn to spot hazardous conditions that are approaching your area of travel. I am the first to admit that I made a HUGE mistake in the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming in May! But I’ve had lots of experience navigating on icy mountain roads, and that probably made the difference. Carry a battery powered NOAA weather radio, cell phone, cell phone manual charger, CB, and or/ walkie talkies on all your travels, regardless of season.
Throw in emergency “sound systems” like a plastic whistle (you can get one at the Dollar Tree in the toy aisle), and an air horn (Walmart and sports shops). The advantage of a whistle is that it requires relatively little effort to make a sound that will carry a long distance. Do you know how to blow SOS? Answer: Three dots, three dashes, three dots. That is to say, three quick loud bursts, three longer loud bursts, followed by three short bursts. Thanks Dad for teaching me that. Thanks also to Sky King who rescued somebody on TV many, MANY moons ago. Rescued … because of reflection from a flashing mirror in a canyon two miles beneath his plane. Now what was the name of Sky King’s plane? Hmmmmmm. Another story for another time. Who is the famous actor who played Sky King? I DO remember that one! Hint: he is the real life brother of a famous television law man.
Back to winter safety. The lesson is clear: carry a mirror or yank your rear view mirror from its mount. Can you signal SOS with a mirror? By the way, you had better hope you can flag down a good Navy veteran with a background in Morse Code who can READ dots and dashes. I am so sorry that Morse Code is no longer an official mode of communication in the military. Civilians and soldiers/sailors/marines need to immediately recognize a distress call in the form of blinking lights or precisely administered sharp whistles. Don’t forget to use your air horn for blasting SOS too. But if you are in bear territory, you may need to reserve the air horn to ward off an aggressive sow that is hell bent on defending her cubs. Use your resources wisely! The bottom line is to think about every possible way to get help in an emergency. If you were pinned inside a vehicle in a ravine, how could you signal someone to render aide. Don’t count on a cell phone signal. P.S. don’t leave you cell phone loose on the front seat. I carry my phone in a fanny pack that can be clicked to my fastened seatbelt. Secure the phone. If your car tumbles or slides off the road, again that weird thing of momentum will hurl it out of your grasp. Good luck trying to get to your phone that’s out of arm’s reach.
And … throw a couple of bags of four-way chips or kitty litter in the back of your vehicle for weight. If you DO slide off the road, the chips/litter can provide some traction under your spinning tires to get you back on the road.
On one trip I purposefully drove INTO a winter storm to get a snowy picture at a state park. The weather conditions were harsher than I had imagined they would be, so I took refuge in a local hotel for five days. But I set my alarm clock to ring every two hours so that I could clear a path to and around my car. The hotel manager thanked me for clearing the walk in front of the hotel, but I was really just watching out for my best interests.
And PLEASE be cognizant of the stress that snow shoveling causes in cold weather! I have no idea how many heart attacks occurred with this last winter blast, but we do have a neighbor who suffered a MAJOR heart attack and somehow managed to survive after undergoing a sextuple heart bypass operation. Doc told him he was lucky. As he recovers from major surgery, I am not so sure that he feels “lucky.” Even young people have suffered heart attacks while shoveling snow. PUSH the snow with your heel on the back of the shovel. Do not lift. If you have a heart condition, if you are overweight, if you have a family history of heart disease, or if you are in the “heart attack years” wait for the spring thaw. There are many happy trails awaiting you. Don’t miss a moment of sheer joy on the great highway of life. If you must clear a path --- and I had to do so because I could never have dug out my car --- push snow/shovel ten minutes and take a warm twenty minute break. Take no chances with your life. You are not getting another one!
Carry a shovel and a broom in the winter. You may need to shovel snow away from a spinning tire, and you can spread the litter pebbles in front of same tire as you try to drive back onto the road. Don’t forget: you may be able to assist someone else who is stuck, but use your head for safety. Use your cell phone to call for assistance if the situation appears to be threatening.
Always keep a large candle and farmers matches in your vehicle. Propane lighters can “freeze up” in low temperatures. If you slide into a snow bank, it could be hours before you are rescued, i.e., towed.
Practice driving in a large open ice-covered parking lot --- check with the local police to see where you can practice ice driving. Be cognizant of trespassing laws and be respectful of private property. At a S L O W speed, hit your brakes to see how your vehicle handles. If your rear end starts to fishtail, take your foot off the brake and steer in a corresponding counter maneuver to offset the skid. Drivers ed books say to turn in the direction of the skid, but those instructions have always baffled me. Basically it works this way. If your rear end is sliding to the right and your nose is sliding to the left, turn your steering wheel quickly to the right. OK. I guess that IS in the direction of the skid, from the rear end perspective. I guess I drive with my nose in mind. Anyway, you car should be simultaneously slowing down and correcting itself so that you can regain control. Once the steering wheel turn corrects the skid, quickly resume a neutral position as though you are driving straight ahead. It’s just like playing the piano. The best musicians are the ones that practice the most … usually …. Some people can never play the piano well OR drive a car well. Make sure you know whether practice will indeed make you perfect. If you are an incompetent driver, prone to high levels of anxiety, get off the road. Otherwise practice. Practice. Practice. Practice.
If you need to brake on ice or snow, always “pump” your brakes. Lightly touch the brake pedal in staccato-like easy taps, rather than slamming your foot on the pedal. Some people panic and press the pedal even harder when a skid begins, which is the worst possible response.
Keep your speed well under the speed limit as road conditions merit. If a driver behind you believes that s/he can maintain high speeds under adverse conditions, pull over when you get to a safe place to do so and let the sucker pass. Be prepared to administer first aid a few miles down the road.
Don’t forget the sleeping bag and warm gear. Again, carry a case of water and a
two-pound jar of peanut butter. Think of the guy who was recently pulled from the Haiti earthquake rubble. He survived twenty-eight days in the debris of a collapsed grocery store. Food. Water. Life.
Take a first aid course. It is DEFINITELY time for me to renew first aid procedures. American Red Cross guidelines for CPR are always changing. I am overdue for a refresher on every level. In many cases you can treat your own injuries. And you never know when you may need to assist others. Always carry a first aid kit.
Anti-freeze treated windshield washer is essential. Carry an extra jug in the back. Good wiper blades? Change them before a trip.
Don’t forget jumper cables. Cold weather wreaks havoc on batteries.
If you do not need to travel on bad roads, don’t.
If you do NEED to travel in bad weather conditions, stay calm and in control. Know your limitations and cuddle up with a good book in a hotel until conditions improve.
Stay calm. Have the tools you need for icy conditions. Learn the skills needed to navigate expertly. Watch out for aggressive drivers who have way too much horsepower for their Broncos.
Take your camera. You will see lovely snowscapes along the way. And you may need to photograph a wreck---hopefully not your own.
Safe travels! Have FUN!
A little more about snow driving safety --- with the expectation---uh---HOPE--- that spring is nigh! In addition to keeping your car in good repairs, knowing how to navigate in adverse conditions is essential.
Rule Number 1: If you do not NEED to drive on bad roads, don’t! Stay home. Give road crews and power line crews a little extra space by keeping your vehicle off the road.
Read a book. Write a book. Help a neighbor. Take a bubble bath. Clean house. Do whatever you choose, but do it off the road. If you are not a savvy slick-road vehicle operator, think twice before venturing out unnecessarily. The life you save could be your own.
Good tires. Good tread. Spend the bucks. I would make an educated guess that
half of the vehicles that end up in the ditch are ones with bald tires. You are maneuvering a 2,000-pound vehicle atop ice skating rink conditions. If you cannot ice skate, what makes you think you can control SO much momentum from a lethal weapon that is moving fifty miles an hour on an oversized public rink with hundreds of other lethal weapons lining up their crosshairs on YOU?
Oh, and if you are out there with four-wheel drive --- FORGET it on ice!!! Know HOW to use it to your advantage. Driving is a skill, not a reflex.
Watch out for semi drivers who are trying to get bread and milk to Walmart. Stay BEHIND all large vehicles. Recently I drove down into the mountains after a storm to get a snowy photo as a Christmas gift. When a large log truck pulled to the side of the road to allow drivers to go in front of him down the mountain, I watched every single car pull ahead in front of him. I pulled to the side of the road and waited for him to resume his ten mph trip down the mountain. A trip that normally would take four hours required twelve hours that day. I was not in a hurry to be creamed. Oh, and be extra careful about the potential for semis to jack knife on the interestates. I often take the side roads if truck traffic is threatening. I have a better chance of surviving a crash at forty miles an hour than at sixty/seventy miles an hour. I love getting bread from Walmart, but I love being able to eat it. Stay in your right lane on the interstates, and avoid getting sandwiched between large trucks. You are jelly waiting to happen. Oh, and know the terrain you will be covering, even if it is an interstate highway. There are some isolated mountainous interstates that I circumnavigate, just to avoid increased risks. Do you know which road(s) in your state are the deadliest? Check your highway traffic safety facts, and then ask yourself why more people die on those roads than any others in the state.
Back to the weather maps. Become a good friend with Jim Cantore and the gang on the Weather Channel. Learn to spot hazardous conditions that are approaching your area of travel. I am the first to admit that I made a HUGE mistake in the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming in May! But I’ve had lots of experience navigating on icy mountain roads, and that probably made the difference. Carry a battery powered NOAA weather radio, cell phone, cell phone manual charger, CB, and or/ walkie talkies on all your travels, regardless of season.
Throw in emergency “sound systems” like a plastic whistle (you can get one at the Dollar Tree in the toy aisle), and an air horn (Walmart and sports shops). The advantage of a whistle is that it requires relatively little effort to make a sound that will carry a long distance. Do you know how to blow SOS? Answer: Three dots, three dashes, three dots. That is to say, three quick loud bursts, three longer loud bursts, followed by three short bursts. Thanks Dad for teaching me that. Thanks also to Sky King who rescued somebody on TV many, MANY moons ago. Rescued … because of reflection from a flashing mirror in a canyon two miles beneath his plane. Now what was the name of Sky King’s plane? Hmmmmmm. Another story for another time. Who is the famous actor who played Sky King? I DO remember that one! Hint: he is the real life brother of a famous television law man.
Back to winter safety. The lesson is clear: carry a mirror or yank your rear view mirror from its mount. Can you signal SOS with a mirror? By the way, you had better hope you can flag down a good Navy veteran with a background in Morse Code who can READ dots and dashes. I am so sorry that Morse Code is no longer an official mode of communication in the military. Civilians and soldiers/sailors/marines need to immediately recognize a distress call in the form of blinking lights or precisely administered sharp whistles. Don’t forget to use your air horn for blasting SOS too. But if you are in bear territory, you may need to reserve the air horn to ward off an aggressive sow that is hell bent on defending her cubs. Use your resources wisely! The bottom line is to think about every possible way to get help in an emergency. If you were pinned inside a vehicle in a ravine, how could you signal someone to render aide. Don’t count on a cell phone signal. P.S. don’t leave you cell phone loose on the front seat. I carry my phone in a fanny pack that can be clicked to my fastened seatbelt. Secure the phone. If your car tumbles or slides off the road, again that weird thing of momentum will hurl it out of your grasp. Good luck trying to get to your phone that’s out of arm’s reach.
And … throw a couple of bags of four-way chips or kitty litter in the back of your vehicle for weight. If you DO slide off the road, the chips/litter can provide some traction under your spinning tires to get you back on the road.
On one trip I purposefully drove INTO a winter storm to get a snowy picture at a state park. The weather conditions were harsher than I had imagined they would be, so I took refuge in a local hotel for five days. But I set my alarm clock to ring every two hours so that I could clear a path to and around my car. The hotel manager thanked me for clearing the walk in front of the hotel, but I was really just watching out for my best interests.
And PLEASE be cognizant of the stress that snow shoveling causes in cold weather! I have no idea how many heart attacks occurred with this last winter blast, but we do have a neighbor who suffered a MAJOR heart attack and somehow managed to survive after undergoing a sextuple heart bypass operation. Doc told him he was lucky. As he recovers from major surgery, I am not so sure that he feels “lucky.” Even young people have suffered heart attacks while shoveling snow. PUSH the snow with your heel on the back of the shovel. Do not lift. If you have a heart condition, if you are overweight, if you have a family history of heart disease, or if you are in the “heart attack years” wait for the spring thaw. There are many happy trails awaiting you. Don’t miss a moment of sheer joy on the great highway of life. If you must clear a path --- and I had to do so because I could never have dug out my car --- push snow/shovel ten minutes and take a warm twenty minute break. Take no chances with your life. You are not getting another one!
Carry a shovel and a broom in the winter. You may need to shovel snow away from a spinning tire, and you can spread the litter pebbles in front of same tire as you try to drive back onto the road. Don’t forget: you may be able to assist someone else who is stuck, but use your head for safety. Use your cell phone to call for assistance if the situation appears to be threatening.
Always keep a large candle and farmers matches in your vehicle. Propane lighters can “freeze up” in low temperatures. If you slide into a snow bank, it could be hours before you are rescued, i.e., towed.
Practice driving in a large open ice-covered parking lot --- check with the local police to see where you can practice ice driving. Be cognizant of trespassing laws and be respectful of private property. At a S L O W speed, hit your brakes to see how your vehicle handles. If your rear end starts to fishtail, take your foot off the brake and steer in a corresponding counter maneuver to offset the skid. Drivers ed books say to turn in the direction of the skid, but those instructions have always baffled me. Basically it works this way. If your rear end is sliding to the right and your nose is sliding to the left, turn your steering wheel quickly to the right. OK. I guess that IS in the direction of the skid, from the rear end perspective. I guess I drive with my nose in mind. Anyway, you car should be simultaneously slowing down and correcting itself so that you can regain control. Once the steering wheel turn corrects the skid, quickly resume a neutral position as though you are driving straight ahead. It’s just like playing the piano. The best musicians are the ones that practice the most … usually …. Some people can never play the piano well OR drive a car well. Make sure you know whether practice will indeed make you perfect. If you are an incompetent driver, prone to high levels of anxiety, get off the road. Otherwise practice. Practice. Practice. Practice.
If you need to brake on ice or snow, always “pump” your brakes. Lightly touch the brake pedal in staccato-like easy taps, rather than slamming your foot on the pedal. Some people panic and press the pedal even harder when a skid begins, which is the worst possible response.
Keep your speed well under the speed limit as road conditions merit. If a driver behind you believes that s/he can maintain high speeds under adverse conditions, pull over when you get to a safe place to do so and let the sucker pass. Be prepared to administer first aid a few miles down the road.
Don’t forget the sleeping bag and warm gear. Again, carry a case of water and a
two-pound jar of peanut butter. Think of the guy who was recently pulled from the Haiti earthquake rubble. He survived twenty-eight days in the debris of a collapsed grocery store. Food. Water. Life.
Take a first aid course. It is DEFINITELY time for me to renew first aid procedures. American Red Cross guidelines for CPR are always changing. I am overdue for a refresher on every level. In many cases you can treat your own injuries. And you never know when you may need to assist others. Always carry a first aid kit.
Anti-freeze treated windshield washer is essential. Carry an extra jug in the back. Good wiper blades? Change them before a trip.
Don’t forget jumper cables. Cold weather wreaks havoc on batteries.
If you do not need to travel on bad roads, don’t.
If you do NEED to travel in bad weather conditions, stay calm and in control. Know your limitations and cuddle up with a good book in a hotel until conditions improve.
Stay calm. Have the tools you need for icy conditions. Learn the skills needed to navigate expertly. Watch out for aggressive drivers who have way too much horsepower for their Broncos.
Take your camera. You will see lovely snowscapes along the way. And you may need to photograph a wreck---hopefully not your own.
Safe travels! Have FUN!
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