Travel Missteps - Lili on the Loose

10 06, 2019

Travel Missteps: What you don’t want to see on a beach vacation

By Lili|June 10th, 2019|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2015, beach, Florida, Miami, Miami Beach, Miami Heat, North America, ocean, South Beach, swimsuit, work trip|0 Comments

I had been shopping for clothes for my upcoming Egypt trip, and I had found the pretty swimsuit top at an outlet mall an hour outside of Miami. I was already a bit shaken up after a fiasco with my Uber, so as soon as I got back to my hotel, I eagerly threw on the swimsuit to head out to the beach. Except...I couldn't. The dang security badge was still on! And there wasn't any nearby stores that could take it off. I was pissed. Thankfully I had an old ugly swimsuit as a backup, but it was a good

4 03, 2019

Travel Missteps: Snack for a Sheep

By Lili|March 4th, 2019|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2009, at the heart of it Ireland 2009, Europe, Ireland, Ring of Kerry, Ring of Kerry Overlook, sheep|0 Comments

It will make for a cute photo, someone said, as I was handed a sheep. For a brief moment I cuddled with it, like it was a puppy. But the hungry animal saw my hair, and started eating it like it was grass. It wouldn't let go, and my mother continued to snap photos as I tried to figure out some way to get the sheep to stop or a way to set it down. The shepherd just laughed and laughed as the sheep snacked away. My hair felt pretty disgusting after that, but...the photos are pretty funny. Travel Missteps

18 02, 2019

Travel Missteps: The Lost Sunglasses x6

By Lili|February 18th, 2019|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2012, beach, Central America, Costa Rica, Costa Rica & Orlando Adventure, Costa Rica Adventure 2012, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, Isla Tortuga, La Arenal, La Fortuna, ocean, River Journey, Sunglasses, Turtle Island|0 Comments

Showing off my new cute sunglasses! I was happy to find them the day before because I had already had one pair of sunglasses break (and ducktape wasn't enough to fix them), and I had left another pair at a hotel, and lost another pair. So this is sunglasses number 4 for a short trip. And I loved these glasses. Cute, cheap, but still polarized! Of course, they didn't last long. I tried to hold onto them as we all hung out in the waves. All it took was a huge wave and bam they were gone. I was forced

4 02, 2019

Travel Missteps: That One Consistent Mistake

By Lili|February 4th, 2019|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: bag, keys, packing|0 Comments

One consistent mistake I make is safely packing away my keys (or hats/gloves when on a tropical trip in winter) deep in my bag. I always think, "I've got to keep this safe!" And every single time I take a shuttle or uber home, I end up having to rifle through my bags on my porch in the dark trying to find the keys now deeply buried in my overstuffed bags. I now add a checklist item to my packing list to put the keys somewhere higher up in the bag to try to combat this, it seems to be

21 01, 2019

Travel Missteps: When Walking the Walk is Painful

By Lili|January 21st, 2019|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2008, Alamo Square, ankle, Cable Car, California, Good Food in San Francisco, Lombard Street, North America, Painted Ladies, Postcard Row, San Francisco, USA|0 Comments

It's 2019, and I injured my ankle in late December of last year. As I start yet another round of physical therapy it reminds me of my first trip to San Francisco back in 2008, around 6 months after ankle surgery. I had been in a cast for months and then physical therapy after that. Everyone said I'd be ready for the San Francisco trip, but it was rough. All the walking up and down steep hills killed me with each step. And sadly that is what I remember most from this trip. Struggling to keep up with my family.

7 01, 2019

Travel Missteps: Meow Wolf Dreams

By Lili|January 7th, 2019|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2017, House of Eternal Returns, Meow Wolf, New Mexico, North America, Santa Fe, sleepwalking, the Charter, USA|0 Comments

One Christmas Eve in 2017 I found myself overwhelmed by the spectacular immersive art exhibit called Meow Wolf, House of Eternal Returns. It's hard to describe. You start by being told the Charter, a sort of government organization investigating a family and their home due to portals to other worlds that have opened up in their home. As you wander the exhibits Charter minders and lab assistants monitor you. I explored this place for hours. There are no maps or instructions, you just wander around. Maybe you hit a wall and it makes music. Press a button and lights change. Duck under a

18 12, 2017

Travel Missteps: Security Scare

By Lili|December 18th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2017, bomb, California, dog, Fantasy Lands 2017, John Wayne Airport, North America, Orange County, security, SNA, TSA, USA|0 Comments

I'm currently on the second of three trips this month! But earlier this month I was in California for work, and on the way home triggered a massive security response at John Wayne Airport. You know...the usual. Fearing traffic, I got to the airport very early. That is when I realized Orange County Airport is pretty small and that I had a full bottle of water still to drink. So I found a bench and sat for an hour before heading through security. The bench I picked was occupied by a 40-50's gentleman with his stuff strewn all over. He was on

4 12, 2017

Travel Missteps: A Bump in the Night

By Lili|December 4th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2010, 2011, Caribbean, frog, Maho Bay, Maho Bay Camps, ocean, paradise, St. John, St. John 2010, St. John 2011, USVI|0 Comments

On my second trip to St John, USVI I once again stayed in the tree-house like canvas tent cabins of the Maho Bay Camps. It was relatively cheap, eco-conscious, and amazing views! However, the tents were getting a little worse for the ware. Small holes dotted the roof and screens. Doors wouldn't fully close. But, when you are in paradise, these complaints fade away. Iguanas lounged on the deck. Hermit crabs scurried underfoot (after being captured and released by a young child.) Gekkos in your tent became your friend as they would eat the bugs. Rain would lull you to

20 11, 2017

Travel Missteps: Strip now!

By Lili|November 20th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2011, Austira, Bavaria, Christmas, Christmas in Germany 2011, clean, Europe, Germany, Munich, pantless, pants, Salzburg, strip|0 Comments

We had been traveling for hours in the cold. Over 4 hours to be exact. On trains, and metros, and taxis. We wanted to get into our comfy rented apartment and crash before heading back out to Munich's Christmas Markets. But it was December 23rd in Germany, and most everything would be closed for a few days over Christmas. So we dropped our bags at the entrance and went off in search of food and supplies. After getting plenty of provisions, we were ready to climb the 4 flights of marble stairs (luggage in tow). However, our German housekeeper was...quite

6 11, 2017

Travel Missteps: Flooding the Bathroom

By Lili|November 6th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, Asia, bathroom, bidet, Japan, Sister Cities, Sister Cities Japan 2004, toilet, Tokyo|0 Comments

Source Japan was fascinating to us. I mean, how could it not be? We were a group of 10 high school students, some away from home for the first time, as part of an Exchange Group with the Sister Cities Program. And as students, we were joking and horsing around taking it all in. I remember just after checking in, we all raced to one room (thankfully not mine) and were checking out all the buttons on the space age toilet the hotel had. It could play music and sounds. It could warm the seat. And it had buttons