2010 - Lili on the Loose

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

18 05, 2017

Getting Over Eating Alone

By Lili|May 18th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Tips|Tags: 2010, Lake Placid, Lake Saranac, New York, North America, NY, The Quiet Life, Travel Thursday, USA, work|0 Comments

I use to be incredibly shy and introverted. So I already knew my first solo business trip back in 2010 was going to push me to my limits (and it did right away with sitting in the cockpit of an airplane!) But, I figured it would be fine. I'd be at a resort with my clients and all their employees. I'd have my meals with them, I'd get to know them well. It would be good, it would be fine. It wasn't. It turns out that this three-day employee conference I flew out for...actually only had the "trade show floor" open

15 04, 2017

Souvenir Saturday: Larimar, Stone of the Caribbean

By Lili|April 15th, 2017|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2010, 2011, Caribbean, Charlotte Amalie, Cocoloba Shopping Center, conch, Coral Bay, earings, jewelry, Jolly Dog, Larimar, necklace, ocean, paradise, St. John, St. John 2010, St. John 2011, St. Thomas, USVI|0 Comments

Larimar is a stone only found in the Dominican Republic, but you'll find jewelry made from the stone throughout the Carribean as the "Official" stone of the area. It's beautiful aqua blue color does remind you of the ocean waves. I have 3 pieces of Larimar jewelry, all purchased at various places of the US Virgin Islands. The first piece The first piece, is actually my newest acquisition, as I got it right before leaving the USVIs on St. Thomas in Charlotte Amalie at a market usually serving cruise ship passengers. We had arrived by ferry and right after exiting found

12 11, 2016

Souvenir Saturday: Genuine Sea Glass

By Lili|November 12th, 2016|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2010, 2011, 2012, beach, Caribbean, Central America, Costa Rica, Costa Rica Adventure 2012, Montezuma, ocean, Sea Glass, St. John, St. John 2010, St. John 2011, USVI|0 Comments

I often look for unique sea shells when I'm on vacation, but natural or genuine Sea Glass is like winning a treasure hunt! Sea Glass comes from broken glassware that are tumbled and grounded against the sandy sea floor and can take anywhere from 20-50 years before it reaches it characteristic weathering of frosted coloration and rounded edges. There are rumors that people use to refer to them as "Mermaid Tears", morning drowned sailors. Sea Glass has become so widely used as "gems of the sea" that they actually have a rating, as well as some colors are rarer than

6 08, 2016

Souvenir Saturday: St John Clay Works

By Lili|August 6th, 2016|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2010, 2011, Caribbean, clay, Clay works, handmade, Maho Bay Camps, potter's wheel, pottery, pottery wheel, St. John, St. John 2010, St. John 2011, USVI|0 Comments

Hands on experiences are always the best, and I had a chance twice to visit the Maho Bay Clay Works in St John, USVI and make my own pottery. This was my first little bowl I made, and it actually turned out pretty well! It use to be a nice purple color, but an Irish flag once got caught in some water in the bowl and the color changed slightly. I have another pot at this same trip in 2010, but it came out very weirdly so haven't taken a photo of it. My second trip I was more

18 01, 2016

Travel Missteps: Don’t Look Under the Ledge

By Lili|January 18th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2010, 2013, beach, Belize, boat, California, Caribbean, Caye Caulker, Central America, fear, fish, G Adventures, Gadventures, GAP, grouper, island, Little Maho Bay, Maho, Mayan Encounter 2013, Mermaid, Michigan, ocean, paradise, snorkel, snorkeling, St. John, St. John 2010, The Little Mermaid, underwater photography, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, USVI, water|0 Comments

As a young child, my favorite movie was The Little Mermaid. I loved swimming and spent my childhood on the beaches of California and the Great Lakes of Michigan pretending to be a mermaid. On my first trip to St. John USVI, it was my first time snorkeling in years and I was excited to try out my new equipment and underwater camera. I swam out to a rocky outcropping near Little Maho Bay Beach and got a little snap happy as I hadn't expected the water to be so clear or to see so many fish so close to the

14 09, 2015

Travel Missteps: No See Ums

By Lili|September 14th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps, Travel Tips|Tags: 2010, 2011, beach, bites, bug bites, bugs, Caribbean, itchy, mosquito, no see ums, ocean, paradise, rum, sand, sand flies, snorkel, snorkeling, St. John, St. John 2010, St. John 2011, USVI, vodka|0 Comments

The US Virgin Islands are full of amazingly beautiful sandy beaches. And those beaches are often infested with small biting and blood sucking insects sometimes called No See Ums, Sand Flies, as well as many other names. They are almost invisible but their bites can swell up and look like mosquito bites. They can also carry/transmit diseases. They are also not fast, if you are moving quickly into the water, you'll likely not get bit, but its when you walk back through the sand, sit on a towel, or have stand sticking to you or your shoes that they can hitch

2 05, 2015

Souvenir Saturday: A Weapon for a More Civilized Age

By Lili|May 2nd, 2015|Categories: Geek, Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2010, All Work and Some Play, Anaheim, business trip, California, Disney, Disneyland, lightsaber, Movie, North America, Star Wars, USA, work trip|0 Comments

I've written before about my dash through Disneyland, but wanted to show you the awesome lightsaber I built! This is the lightsaber when its "retracted". There is a button that activates the sound and light, and you kind of just throw it upwards to make the lightsaber come fully out. I picked purple as its my favorite color! After you select the base hilt (and if you wanted a double bladed lightsaber) you then select the color, and then select the various hilt customizers. One cool feature not many know about these custom lightsabers is that

8 03, 2015

The Sounds that Travel with Us

By Lili|March 8th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories|Tags: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, All in the family Italy 2005/2006, Asia, at the heart of it Ireland 2009, Backpacking it in England and Scotland, Belize, BuzzFeed, California, Canada, Caribbean, Central America, Christmas in Germany, christmas music, Costa Rica, drinking song, England, Europe, Germany, Good Food in San Francisco, Guatemala, House of Cards, Ireland, Italy, Japan, ke$ha, kesha, Las Vegas, Linkin Park, Mattafix, Mayan Encounter 2013, memories, Mexico, Nevada, North America, paradise, Robert Post, Sailor Moon, San Diego, San Francisco, Scotland, Sister Cities Japan 2004, song, songs, sound, sounds, St. John, St. John 2010, Toronto, USA, USVI, wild rover, Yea! Sports|0 Comments

BuzzFeed recently had an article about the sounds from Italy that will fill you with Wanderlust. And it reminded me of all the sounds I associate with certain trips. Here are some of my top highlights that will instantly take me back in time: Toronto: Theme from House of Cards Google Play and Amazon had the first episode of House of Cars for free. I figured, sure why not, lets see what the hype is all about. I watched the first episode on my flights out...and got hooked. At night I'd watch House of Card before falling asleep. San Diego:

14 10, 2013

Travel Missteps: Disney Dash

By Lili|October 14th, 2013|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2010, All Work and Some Play, Anaheim, business trip, California, castle, Disney, Disneyland, Ewok, Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones, lightsaber, North America, parade, Pirates of the Caribbean, PMA, roller coaster, Star Wars, USA, work|0 Comments

In February 2010 I had already had a busy travel month by getting delayed twice in St. John, and once I arrived home I only had a few days to pack and get ready for a work trip to Anaheim, CA. On my first day in Anaheim it turned out I had a free afternoon. It was suggested I could "swim at the hotel" or go to the "welcome drink reception." But nagging me from my window was Disneyland. I worried if I headed to Disneyland that I'd get a call from my co-workers asking where I was, or some other emergency would