January, 2014 - Lili on the Loose

28 01, 2014

Sleeping in Airports

By Lili|January 28th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Tips|Tags: aiports, Atlanta, Charlotte, Denver, Kansas City, nap, noise, North America, sleep, sleeping, travel, Travel Thursday|0 Comments

Airports would definitely not be on my recommended list of a “good place to sleep” but sometimes necessity requires it. And I certainly have slept in my share of airports (or at least tried to catch a few winks). Thankfully none of these were caused by delays, but usually due to awkward layovers between flights. It just doesn’t make sense to leave the airport during a short 6 hour layover to try to find a hotel for just a few short hours of rest. So here are some of my experiences while sleeping in airports: Denver, CO: I’ve arrived too

25 01, 2014

Souvenir Saturday: A Buying Guide for Snow Globes

By Lili|January 25th, 2014|Categories: Buying Guide, Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: buying, buying guide, collectable, collection, glass, glitter, guide, memento, memories, plastic, snow, snow dome, snow globe, snow globes, souvenir, travel|0 Comments

Last time we talked about the history of snow globes. Today I wanted to share some things to keep in mind when purchasing a snow globe as a souvenir: Glass or Plastic: This is really a personal preference but I find most of the plastic snow globes to appear very tacky, so I prefer glass snow globes. However, glass does pose the challenge of transporting a fragile object during the trip, as well as the flight home. It is a good idea is to ask if the merchant has the original packaging or has a way to wrap up the

20 01, 2014

Travel Missteps: In the Dark of the Night

By Lili|January 20th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2013, airport, Belize, Caye Caulker, Central America, dark, driving, finish line, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, golf cart, group, island, lost, Mayan Encounter 2013, ocean, race, racing, runway, tour, tour group|0 Comments

"Now stay here, turn off your engines, and be quite! I'm going to see if the coast is clear." "Can we get arrested for this?" "No, not likely. This isn't the states. Possibly a bribe, that's all." We waited quietly in the dark while we watched one of the golf carts slowly make its way onto the unlit runway. Its little front lights getting dimmer as it blended into the darkness. Minutes went by but it seemed like an eternity to my excited and frightened mind. Then the golf cart came back. Our guide motioned for us to come over

14 01, 2014

What is this SSSS on my boarding pass?

By Lili|January 14th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Tips|Tags: airport, boarding pass, check in, chemical swab, full body scan, Homeland Security, pat down, redress number, Secondary Security Screening Selectee, Secondary Security Screening Selection, security, SSSS, travel, Travel Thursday, TSA|3 Comments

The dreaded SSSS, something no traveler ever wants to see on their boarding pass. Don’t know what it is? Consider yourself lucky. But for the curious it would appear in the corner of your boarding pass and it means “Secondary Security Screening Selectee” or “Secondary Security Screening Selection.” It means either you are “randomly” selected or are on the permanent Automatic Selectee list and will be subjected to extra security. This can include thorough bag searches, full body scans, pat downs, and chemical analysis tests, which can then lead to additional “back room” screening if the TSA agent feels it

11 01, 2014

Souvenir Saturday: A Brief History on Snow Globes

By Lili|January 11th, 2014|Categories: History, Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: America, Austria, Britain, collectible, Europe, France, history, invention, lightbulb, memories, momento, snow, snow dome, snow globe, snow globes, souvenir, travel, Vienna, water globe|0 Comments

The origins of the snow globe is unknown, however there are records of these items dating back to the mid to late 1800’s in France. It is assumed that snow globes were initially created to replace the glass paperweight. Early snow globes showed miniature Christmas or religious scenes. One of the first “travel” souvenir scenes was that of the Eiffel Tower to commemorate the International Exposition in Paris and the 100 year anniversary of the French Revolution in 1889. Snow Globes became a popular collectable during the Victorian era in England. Erwin Perzy I While a few companies

6 01, 2014

Travel Missteps: Una blosa con hielo, por favor?

By Lili|January 6th, 2014|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2013, ankle, Antigua, Central America, cobblestones, Costa Rica, Costa Rica Adventure 2012, duck tape, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, group, Guatemala, ice, injured, injury, Mayan Encounter 2013, soda, spanish, sprain, tour, tour group, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site|0 Comments

Getting injured can be one of the worst things that can happen to you on a trip. For me, it is becoming a standard fact of travel. After spraining my ankle and then nearly fracturing my nose in Costa Rica, I decided to be extra prepared on my next trip. So I brought a thorough first aid kit and 2 ankle braces (so I could swap them out and not wear one every day). I thought I was prepared, little did I know I was wrong. On my second day of exploring Antigua, Guatemala I sprained my right ankle just

1 01, 2014

2013 Year Highlights and 2014 Upcoming Travel Plans

By Lili|January 1st, 2014|Categories: Travel, Upcoming Travel, Year in Review|Tags: 2013, 2014, Actun Tunichil Muknal, Antigua, Belize, blog posts, Caye Caulker, Central America, CES, chocolate, climb, food, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, golf cart, grandpa, group, Guatemala, highlights, hike, Las Vegas, Mayan, Mayan Encounter 2013, meetup, museum, mythbusters, Panama, Pyramid, racing, rum, savings, shark, Smithsonian, snorkeling, St. John, swim, Tikal, tour group, travel plans, triceratops, upcoming, upcoming travel, upcoming travel plans, USA, USVI, Washington DC, work, year in review|0 Comments

Goodbye 2013! You were a good year. Here are some of the travel highlights: I went to Las Vegas twice for work, and had the opportunity to experience the craziness that is CES first hand. My favorite food experience was learning the history and how to make chocolate in Antigua, Guatemala. There is a 3 way tie for the “I never thought I’d…” Climb to the top of a Mayan Pyramid at Tikal, Guatemala Hike over a mile into the earth and free climb rock formations to see Mayan sacrifices at Actun Tunichil Muknal in Belize. Swim with sharks near