Tag Archives | Mike

2012 The Year of the Dragon

According to Chinese tradition: “The dragon is a legendary creature in Chinese folklore. The image of dragon is blurred, strong, mystic, noble and untouchable. It is the symbol of power. Chinese emperors wore imperial robes adorned with dragon symbols.”

2012 truly was a “Dragon” of a year for us on  many levels.  It brought us Luci’s first trip to Asia.  It was Mike’s first attack by leeches.  So here it is, our Dragon year in a nutshell:

Key Stats: 

Biggest month in traffic:  June 2012:  19,604 unique visitors

Biggest day in traffic:  June 5, 2012:   1,921 unique visits (Thank you Google!)

Countries visited:  4  (Thailand, Cambodia, Canada and Spain)

Royal palace

The Royal Palace in Bangkok.

Number of posts written: 64

New Twitter followers: 2127

Number of travel photos taken:  1,653

Movie Stars spotted:  Jon Hamm (AKA Don Draper from Mad Men), Mathew Broderick, Ben Stein (No it wasn’t a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off convention.)

Number of blood sucking leaches removed:  1

Sponsored blog outings:

Prince Edward Island, Canada

San Francisco Weekend

Most rustic accommodation:  Our treehouse in the Thai jungle.

Most elegant accommodation: It’s a tie between the Waldorf Astoria in NYC and Hilton Millennium Bangkok Hotel.

Favorite Meal:  This one is easy.  It was our first taste of Cambodian Amuk Soup in Siam Reap, Cambodia.  It is a mix of ginger, mint, and other spices.  Soooo good.  The entire meal cost us $5 USD.

Most popular Google search terms:  Fontainebleau and Travel Ideas for Couples

Strangest Google search term:  Ways to meet Korean women (good luck finding that on our site whoever you are in Internetland.)

ice cream cone

COWS Ice Cream in Prince Edward Island

Best dessert:  COWS Ice Cream in Prince Edward Island.  We may or may not have went back 7 times during our three day visit.  Thanks to Cailin for turning us onto the delicacy.

Scariest moment:  It takes a lot to unnerve us whist we are traveling.  But while we were in Barcelona, we got boxed in during a protest clash between police and an angry mob with drums and chipmunk signs.  Not really sure what it was all about.  But both sides were fired up.

What books we read in 2012: 

Mike: The Night Trilogy by Elie Wiesel, Stand for Something by Gordon Hinckley, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy by Stieg Larsson, A Journey by Tony Blair,  A Moveable Feast  by Ernest Hemingway, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, Drive by Dan Pink, Built to Last by Jim Collins, Great by Choice by Jim Collins

Luci: Ghost Solders by Hampton Sides, Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford by Julia Fox,  1776 by David McCullough, Year of  Wonders: A Novel about the Plaque by Geraldine Brooks,  In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson, Heaven is For Real by Todd Burpo

Travel Blogging Conference attended:  1  TBEX (Travel Blog Exchange) in Colorado.  This was our second year attending TBEX.  We were not disappointed.  Candidly, we thought that it was even better than the first.  Both TBEX and 1000 Fights were a lot more organized this go around.  We made some great connections.  We also were finally able to meet in person two of our blogging buds:  Overyonderlust and Worldlillie.  We have decided NOT to go to TBEX 13.  We want to try a different blogging convention.  Any ideas?

Most popular Post:  This one surprised us a little.  50 Ways to Say I Love You.

Luci’s fave post of 2012:  My favorite post for the year is “Our Day of Decadence.” It was one of the best days of my life!  My day of chocolate.

Mike’s fave post of 2012:  I would have to say that our post on the Traveling Innkeepers is my favorite.  Dan and Becky were so gracious to us.  We loved our time in Prince Edward Island.

Angkor Wat

We are jumping for joy that 2012 is done. Now onto 2013!

We rarely give a peek into our “non-travel” lives on this blog (way too boring.)…but this year was a whopper for us.  Luci’s work was dominated by several pieces of legislation that she worked on tirelessly for two years to pass, only to be placed on a statewide referendum and repealed.  Major bummer.  Mike’s boss left the company early in the year and was replaced by two new bosses.  Despite the challenges we have faced, travel continues to be an escape for us.  Escape is not the right word, more like an old friend that we only get to see once a year, someone that strengthens and encourages you when you are with them.  Something like that.

Of course we had our fair share of good fights this year as featured in our many posts.

To all of those couple travelers out there, we wish you the very best in 2013.  Stay tuned to 1000 Fights, we have some pretty amazing plans for 2013!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Couple Travel

 

Traveling as a couple is rough!  We have been a couple for over 15 years, and traveled to 25 plus countries on 5 continents. One thing that we have learned traveling over this time is that traveling together can be the best and worst.  We thought that we would offer you some handy tips on how to travel together.

Traveling with a man-

“Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men.”  -Joseph Conrad

Traveling with a man is truly a test of patience and will power.  We want to arm you with some tactics that will make your next holiday much more enjoyable.  So let’s start with the basics: Hunger.

1 Hunger-One of the intriguing features of male physiology is the constant need for…..food.  In the bible of understanding all men aka: The Godfather note when big decisions need to be made…food is included ie  “Leave the gun bring the cannoli.”  A little known fact is that 61 scenes involve food.  Why?  Men need Man Fuel.  It makes everything go much better.  Those little mini-meals they serve on long haul flights?  Not gonna cut it.  Ladies in order to combat this challenge plan your meals.  Make time for food!  A little planning goes a long way.

2 Directions-Just like the pitiful scene of Napoleon at Waterloo or Lee at Appomattox, asking a man to hand over his sword and ask for directions is just as humiliating.  Admitting defeat, even in the face of insurmountable odds, is next to impossible!  Instead, might we suggest that if possible you approach by using rule number one.  “Hey I am starving…is there anyway we could stop by this store/café and grab a quick bite?” (see rule #1)  At the same time… this will give you a chance to inconspicuously ask for some pointers on where the heck you are.  The invention of GPS has quite possibly single handedly saved our marriage.  It is now a travel must.

Traveling Couple Love

 

Traveling with a Woman

“The great question that has never been answered and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is ‘What does a woman want?”   -Sigmund Freud

It’s all about the journey, not the destination.  Men, for whatever reason have a “let’s get there attitude” when traveling and doing other things. As women, we tend to focus a little more on the path.  Men: build in a little extra time into your schedules.  Be flexible. Here’s an example from our recent trip to Venice which turned into another 1000 fights. We were driving from Triste, Italy to Venice.  We were looking through tourist books and spotted an amazing castle cradling the bay outside of Triste.  It wasn’t in our plan.  Mike had an Excel spreadsheet that kept a strict schedule with everything we were to see that day and the castle wasn’t on the list. He didn’t even know about the castle. Of course Mike was like, “Gotta get on the road, got to see Venice, got to obey the spreadsheet.” After a fight that resulted in zero pictures of Mike and I together at the castle (in fact, Mike wouldn’t even take pictures of me-our friends were the photographers), we went to the castle.  We ended up seeing one of the most incredible sites of our entire trip.  Mike admitted he was wrong three weeks after the trip, and I have a few pictures of a fairy tale castle in Italy. Guys take the hint.  Be flexible.  Slow down a little and enjoy the ride!

A little more talk and a little less action

Couple travelTalk.  Women need to talk.  We need to communicate.  We need to discuss.  Guys: a couple of different options for you.  Some of you are talkers as well, so no problem.  Some of you are good listeners, no problem.  If you are neither or your name is Mike, a few ideas for you.  Let your spouse known that you need some time to talk. You finally have some time together, and for women it’s all about communication. If you don’t know what to talk about, we suggest “The Book of If: Questions for the Games of Life and Love” by Evelyn McFarlane and James Saywell.  On a four hour drive through Croatia, we found out a lot about each other. Like, “If you could fire someone from work, who would it be,” or “If you could relive one romantic date from high school just as it was, which would it be.”  Some answers we had to plead the “fifth.” But overall, it’s a great way to get a conversation going.

Of course one of the most important part of a successful trip as a couple is the place.  Why not try one of the Club Med all inclusive resorts?  Sun, sand, and your sweetie what more do you need?

There they are, a few ideas to help you travel as a couple.  So get out there and explore the world together!