This past week was all about change and decisions. Two things I don’t know much about and don’t enjoy. But one particular decision I did really enjoy! I pretty much got to look at a map and pick ANY place on this earth to go and visit. Just let that sink in for a moment. ANY place on this earth (that’s accessible by commercial airplane). So I sat there for a long time picturing myself looking at ruins in Greece, laying on the beach in Thailand, riding a gondola in Venice, and eating authentic pizza in Italy. What!?! How could I choose? This decision was getting harder than I thought. Maybe I would set up a map on the wall and throw a dart and wherever it landed surely I would go there. No…. that just wouldn’t do.  So I closed my eyes and pictured myself in a place, a place where I have always wanted to go, a place I had heard about so much growing up, a place that if I didn’t take this opportunity I might never get to go again.  And while I have always wanted to go to Greece, Israel, and a myriad of other locations I know in my heart my travel days are NOT over, nor will they ever be, and eventually I will get to those places. But this location… This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

So I’m curious… if you had this opportunity- where would your dream locale be? Please leave a comment in the comments section- but don’t be too convincing because my mind is made up!

Last weekend we headed up to Northern Arizona for a little well needed R&R. It was beautiful. The weather was in the mid eighties, we were regaled with countless thunder and lightening storms, and we were able to enjoy the beauty that comes with peace and quiet and good company.

Have you ever been up to Northern Arizona? About four hours north of PHX are the small towns of Show Low, White Mountain Lake and Snowflake, AZ. Not entirely typical of what you would expect when you think Arizona- especially in the summer. The response I typically got when informing people where I was headed- won’t it be hot there? Actually it was a lot cooler there then it was in Salt Lake City!

If you are looking for a luxurious getaway- this probably isn’t your spot. A family vacation? Sure there is plenty to do. You can head to the painted desert, the Petrified Forest, even the Grand Canyon. But we were satisfied slowing down, spending time with family, and enjoying the sunsets and fresh air.

There is a lot of history there. Especially for my family, and since I spent some summers there growing up it was rather nostalgic. Some of the time was spent making sure things were where I left them. I was rather disappointed a few times but I guess after six years things do carry on. Funny how that works right? In your mind a place will always be as it was when you left, no matter how much time has elapsed.

Viva Las Vegas

It used to be Las Vegas was about 25 cent shrimp cocktails and going there with a pocket full of quarters in hopes that you would double or even triple your investment. Those days are long gone and now are the days of luxury, high rollers, lush, and anything else sinful by nature. However, this is not always true either. Las Vegas has done a rather good job at marketing themselves as a family city. Casinos offer roller coasters, movie theaters, food courts, and arcades to keep the kids at bay so the parents can gamble. Las Vegas is truly a city where anyone can find something to do and be happy.

Even the penny pinchers (i.e. me) can find solace as there is a load of free stuff offered on and off the strip in Las Vegas. Some of my favorites are:

On the Strip:

The Bellagio Atrium: I love the atrium and it changes for each season and holiday, so it is something you can visit every time you go and it will always be different. It’s a family favorite.

MGM Grand Lions Habitat: In the middle of the casino there is a special habitat made and maintained just for lions! Usually during the day there are about two adult lions. They also have a lion expert there to talk to you about the lions, their likes and dislikes, and some educational facts. It’s really actually cool. And in the morning you can go and they have baby cubs you can get your picture taken with (not free).

M&M World: I have been there a lot and while walking around the shop is fun and they have some cool products, not very many people know they also offer a free 3-D show! It’s on the top floor and you have to be there at the right time to experience it (ask someone about it).

CBS Television City at MGM: a place where you can watch and rate upcoming shows on CBS. It’s a little time consuming (about an hour) but it’s a different and can be fun- depending on the show.

The Volcano at the Mirage is kind of fun as well as the pirate show, Sirens at Treasure Island (although not to sure if the pirate show is for kids), or you could check out the Fremont Street Experience (a great place to find the deep fried twinkie). If you do go down to Fremont don’t forget to look up and see the cool LCD screen shows.

Off the Strip:

Ethel M’s Chocolate Factory and Botanical Garden: located about 15 miles off the strip on Sunset Blvd. Ethel M offers a free factory tour where you can view the 50 different types of chocolates being made, and you get a free sample at the end of the tour! After you are done drooling over the chocolate and eating your sample, you can walk off the calories at the botanical gardens and learn about different types of cactus and other plants native to the area.  It’s a really pretty walk and interesting all at the same time. AND It’s FREE!

Masquerade Show in the Sky at the Rio: A party in the sky and a chance to collect beads! Kind of like Mardi Gras but from the convenience of your slot machine. It’s worth seeing at least once in your life.

Hoover Dam: It’s about 20 miles south east on highway 95. But it’s a sight to be seen. Famous in it’s own right and has been rated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of America’s Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders. Worth the trip out in my opinion.

If you are like me and love to shop but fancy designer clothing is not your style (or your budget) there are also a number of outlet malls in the area that may suite your fancy. Just down the strip you have the Las Vegas Outlet Mall which is actually pretty impressive. Has a huge Nike store, tons of skate shops, and even a Mikasa outlet store (my mom’s personal favorite). The mall tends to be a huge tourist attraction but I fear that over the year’s the mall has lost it’s outlet muster and the prices are starting to be comparable to their non-outlet companions. Still worth the trip. If you are willing to drive about 40 miles south of Las Vegas on Interstate 15 to Primm Nevada you will find the Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas. I have never personally shopped at these outlets, but I have heard rave reviews of those who have. Outlets you will find there include Coach, Hollister, Banana Republic, J. Crew, Gap, Old Navy and many more.

Las Vegas is for everyone, even those on a tight budget. I have always challenged myself to think outside the box and find new adventures every time I go. Las Vegas is a magical place and has much more to offer than just Sin City and gambling. I on

Twins Game:

I used to live in MN, in fact I grew up there. Claiming that you are a Minnesotan means something. It means you’re able to survive falling through the ice on frozen ponds, you can treat 7 kinds of poison ivy and you’re a Twins fan. I grew up watching the Twins on TV with my grandpa and we frequently went to games at the Metrodome. When I found out that work was taking me to the Twin Cities the first thing I did was arrange to see a Twins game with my pal Chris. The brand new Target Field is a spectacular place to see a game and I was grateful to be able to catch a game in its inaugural season.

Target Field, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Al’s Breakfast:

Not too far from our hotel was the campus of the University of Minnesota and not too far from that is a tiny little restaurant called Al’s Breakfast. This place is amazing. It used to be an alley between two buildings until someone decided there was room for a restaurant and put a roof on it. The whole place measures only 10ft wide! Because it is a small cramped place, there are only 14 stools along the bar and those next in line patiently wait along the wall for a seat to open up. The wait is worth it, not only is it such a unique place with crazy garage sale decor, but the food is amazing. It is a tasty off the griddle, home cooked, put some meat on your bones kind of breakfast.

Nice Ride:

All over the Minneapolis/St. Paul you can find Nice Ride kiosks where you can rent bikes for a nominal fee. You can ride all over the city  and never be more than a short pedal from a return station. Still not following? Its like a Redbox for bikes, rent here, return wherever. Conveniently there was a kiosk right outside of our hotel and we saw them all over town.

Officers at the Bridge

This is the Bridge where the Captain spends most of his time. The bridge serves as the navigational, command and control center of the ship.

Navigational Map at the Bridge

View of the Bridge while arriving at port.

View of controls at the Bridge.

Here are some pictures of the engine control room. There are over 5000 alarms in the engine control room. The engine stretches the entire length of the ship filling up 10 compartments. The ship is equipped with backups for everything including backups for the bridge with phones, radios, backup generators etc.

Engine Control Room

Gauges and garlic in the engine control room.

Did you know that cruise ships are superstitious? Apparently having garlic in the engine control room is a good omen or something. I never could get a straight answer on that.

More engine control room

Laundry is something that is often overlooked when it comes to a cruise vacation. Mainly because you are on vacation and you don’t have to think about it! But you got to wonder… a cruise ship has got to produce a lot of dirty laundry what with all the sheets, table cloths, napkins, towels, etc. And how big does this laundry room have to be to take care of all this laundry? On average a cruise ship does about twenty loads of laundry a day. This doesn’t sound like a lot but when you factor in the the fact that one load of laundry can be up to 250 pounds- that’s an intense washing machine. That means about 5,000 pounds of laundry a day.

One intense washing machine.

Laundry press for sheets and table cloths.

Crew uniforms fresh from the dry cleaners.

Did you know that most cruises have a dry cleaning service available aboard? It’s fast, easy, pretty inexpensive and you don’t have to worry about losing your ticket because they will deliver it right to your cabin.

Cooks in the kitchen preparing food.

On average a person on a cruise ship will gain a pound per day. That means if you go on a seven day cruise you should expect to come home about seven pounds heavier. Now you know why I was trying so hard to lose five pounds before my vacation. And we can owe it all to these guys- the chefs and cooks for preparing all that delicious food. Oh and all the excessive trips to the buffets before and after dinner.

Lots of plates.

More food preparation.

You’re probably thinking… man when I go on a cruise I stuff my face silly! How much food does a cruise ship go through? Well on average a cruise ship will go through 400-800 eggs a day, 200 pounds of strawberries, 82 pounds of cookies, 1,000 pounds of potatoes, 25 gallons of ice cream, and 6,895 liters of milk. Safe to say that’s a lot of food. The most popular ingredients used on the ship are flour, garlic, onion and salt. Most food is picked up at your original place of embarkation but they pick up fresh fish along the way.

One last tidbit of information before we say adieu- You know one of the best parts of any cruise? The outstanding service you receive from the international (and national) crew. Aboard the Celebrity Mercury there were over 55 nationalities represented and over 800 crew members aboard. So remember to take a look at their name tag and take a look at where they are from.

I hope these pictures and accompanying information helped satisfy your craving for a look behind the scenes of a cruise ship.

I think I laughed out loud a little on the plane when I saw this one. It prompted me to actually take the SkyMall Magazine home with me. In my mind this chair is only good for one thing…taking ridiculous pictures. I bet they’re flying off of the gigantic shelves they sit on. You can purchase the Brobdingnagian Sports Chair at SkyMall for $149.95.

www.fiveintraining.com

I met Reid six years ago at college. Summer love really is what it was- although it quickly blossomed into more. Then he left. He left me dazed and confused stuck in a world of college textbooks, crazy roommates, and sad feelings. But, we soon discovered why he was meant to leave me alone for a few semesters. He left me to be with her. And although he worked crazy long hours and saw very little of her, I know in some way it helped.  He couldn’t take away the pain and sickness associated with the treatments, or unsurety of it all, but he could just be there. I was glad to sacrifice because it was scary and even though I had just met all of them- I quickly loved them as my own.

Reid’s little sister Chelsie was diagnosed with cancer her freshman year of College. It turned everybody’s little world upside down. Even mine and I had barely met her. But now it’s been five years since she has kicked the nasty tumors behind and now we can rejoice and officially say she is cancer-free (it’s the way to be).  To celebrate Reid and his four sisters are running a marathon and raising $25,000 for cancer research. But of course in true DTM (Dotting The Map) fashion they are running it in Dublin, Ireland as part of Team in Training with the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society.

However, it’s not all daisies and lollipops- they need our help. They need help raising the money. So visit their blog (daily) and if you feel so inclined to donate, awesome. But if you can’t- could you pass the word along? Everybody knows someone with cancer, or someone who has lost someone to cancer, so join the fight, because they know it’s going to be tough running a marathon but they know it’s even tougher battling cancer.

Sunset in the Inside Passage, Alaska

Last week we had the pleasure of forgetting our everyday world and enjoying an honest to goodness vacation. Sure we travel quite often, more so than the average couple with a baby, but I wouldn’t really classify them as vacations. They are still work dealing with all the rental cars, hotels, food, and sightseeing. It’s exhausting. But this time we just enjoyed each other’s company and the beautiful world around us.

It’s true that this wasn’t our first time to Alaska. And it most definitely won’t be our last.  As much as I love Hawaii, I think Alaska may have it beat as our favorite place to visit (I guess it’s only fair I give Hawaii another shot).  Anyways, we boarded our Celebrity Cruise and we were treated…well like celebrities! The staff was the most friendly, the service excellent and have I mentioned the food yet? Pretty much amazing! All my foodie friends are going to die when we post our Eating Around series from this cruise.

Anyways, here are of the highlights from this vacation:

This was our ship, the Celebrity Mercury.

We boarded our ship in Vancouver, BC on Sunday and we were just so excited. The first day of your cruise is the best because the promise of the week ahead of you is the best feeling.

Hubbard Glacier

We had a stateroom with a balcony which is a MUST for an Alaskan cruise. Plus it made a world of a difference having a baby, we could be outside enjoying the scenery while she was napping. If we hadn’t had a balcony we would have missed this beautiful glacier. The hubbard glacier is huge- six miles wide! It was the highlight of the trip for me. Absolutely breathtaking.

Delicious treats onboard Celebrity Mercury.

Suffice it to say we stuffed our faces silly on this cruise. As you should on any cruise. However we came back and had each only gained 3 or 4 pounds. My last cruise was a 3 day cruise and I gained 5 pounds. I guess I held back a little this time! We enjoyed world class dining aboard our cruise. A post about that will come later.

Mount Roberts Tram, Juneau, AK

One of our port cities was Juneau. We opted to take the tram up to Mount Roberts to see the view of the city and watch a movie about the Tlingit people. The movie was amazing but unfortunately the view not as great, since it was extremely cloudy. It was still very much beautiful.

Creek Street, Ketchikan, AK

We didn’t do any shore excursions because we had BabyTravels with us and played things by ear. We were very laid back which made all the difference. When we got off the ship in Ketchikan (which turned out to be my favorite port) we walked a couple of blocks to Creek Street. An area that is connected entirely by boardwalks.

Hilarye and BabyTravels

This is BabyTravels and me on formal night. Everyone onboard was in love with her, especially the crew. We had to allow at least 20 minutes extra for anywhere we went because people would stop us to talk and play.

Can you tell we had an amazing time? It was hard to leave. Alaska is a place I will visit over and over again. There is something so pure about it’s beauty and so refreshing. It’s awe inspiring. In fact, words cannot even describe it. You’ll just have to expirience it for yourself and I really hope that you do. Have you booked your cruise yet?