I had to wipe off my computer after reading this blog post by the Caffeinated Traveler because I drooled all over the place. In this post she recounts all of her favorite delicious treats from New Zealand. I think I need to call my travel agent.

Over at Here and There you will find a travel wish list. This struck me because the DTM crew did that just last week. We held a household meeting where we hashed out where we wanted to go this year, who got to go where with who, who would stay home with the baby, when the baby would come, when we would leave the baby…etc.etc. Exhilarating yet exhausting all at the same time. Favorites from our list included Japan, Alaska, and Orlando.

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When Hilarye left town a few weeks ago for a her scrapbooking retreat, I took advantage and planned a little outing my own. A quick day trip to San Francisco sounded nice to me. What could be better than a balmy 65 degrees and lunch at the wharf?
San Francisco is a really great city for a quick trip, it has access to BART right from the airport and its super easy to hop on a cable car or MUNI once you’re downtown. Because I went with a friend that hadn’t seen much of the city after we hitched a ride on BART to Powell St. we hoofed it around town. It was a long day of walking but it included sites like Chinatown, the Bay Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, Lombard St. and city hall.
The highlight of a trip to San Fran for me is always the wharf. I love the crowds the smell of the sea, all of the touristy shops and the distant views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge really top it off. Plus before I forget to mention it, the awesome sourdough bread bowl of clam chowder for lunch at the Boudin Bakery.

A couple of months ago I interviewed my favorite flight attendant, well here is an interview I did with my favorite pilot (who also happens to be my brother-in-law) Dave. His love for all things airplanes, airlines, flying, and the friendly skies are palpable. If you get him talking about his love (other than my sister-in-law and two adorable neices of course) he gets a sparkle in his eye and will talk your ear off. Hopefully this interview will answer all your airline pilot questions but if it doesn’t feel free to leave them in the comments section!

DTM: How long have you been a pilot?

Dave: There are many ways that someone can become a pilot.  The three most common are flying for the military, attending a flight school, or earning your licenses at your local airport.  All three ways are perfectly acceptable and each has its own strengths.  I attended the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota, located in Grand Forks.  UND is a large state University with a topnotch aviation program. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m not much of a scrapbooker but when I heard that a gaggle of my sister-in-laws, aunts, and other relatives were getting together in North Dakota for a scrapbook retreat this past weekend, I thought hey why the heck not? My first thought when planning for this trip was, North Dakota in February am I mad? Perhaps, a little but the thought of spending time with a fun bunch of ladies, munching on junk food and far away from neglected piles of laundry was more appealing.

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Did I mention that I hate to pack? I can’t ever decide if I hate packing more or unpacking. The DTM crew are notorious light packers. We HATE checking bags and haven’t checked a bag in about three years. I guess you could say we are hard core. When my luggage broke at LAX last May and we decided we were too lazy to replace it- we became even lighter packers. That means that for two of us we shared one carry-on. Yup, you heard me right. Then BabyTravels came along. And I still cannot figure out how one little tiny person can need SO MUCH STUFF!

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