Starling Travel

When we were in California last February, we were able to visit Star Trek The Tour. It is currently at the Queen Mary and is destined to travel to 40 U.S. cities, but we couldn’t be sure Salt Lake City was on the list, so we saw it while it was in California.

Star Trek The Tour is a collection of the props, sets and costumes from all the Star Trek television shows and movies. The coolest part was the staff allowed us all to take as many pictures and video as we wanted. I took so many pictures that I could fill the screen with them all. Here a couple of highlights:

When you first walk into the place, the Guardian of Forever is there to greet you. They let you walk up to and jump through it all you want. It’s awesome!

There were dozens of these exhibits with props from the original series. I loved how much attention to detail they gave them. Some of them were labeled as props, but repainted. Others were in original condition. If they were replicas, it said so on the little card.

Here is Captain Picard’s office with his desk and even a photo from Deanna and Riker’s wedding. It was fun so see all of the sets from television in real life.

You can see ALL of the photos I took here:

• Star Trek The Tour - a photoset on Flickr

At the end of the tour, you go through a Star Trek Experience. It was a lot of fun and this video doesn’t really do it justice:

Download this video for your iPod

The experience leads you out into the gift shop. If you think that it’s just ordinary Star Trek paraphernalia, then you would be mistaken. I bought my Starfleet Academy school ring there and I haven’t been able to find anything like it anywhere else. Not even The Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas has them.

Ssandart got video in the Borg Simulator. Since these kind of rides make me motion sick, I avoided them. Looks like they were pretty cool, though. Skip to the 2:06 minute mark to see the video of the simulator:

Here’s a commercial for Star Trek The Tour on YouTube:

A special thank you to Wil Wheaton for announcing this on his blog:

• WWdN: In Exile: announcement two of four (collect them all!)

I wouldn’t have known about this if I hadn’t read it in his blog, so I’m so glad I was able to play with all the fun at Star Trek The Tour!

I watch JetSet every week mostly just to see Zadi. She’s energetic and I love to see what she comes up with for me. Imagine my surprise when she does a big segment on travel on the cheap. Enjoy the dancing Darth Vader, but stay for the tips on travel.

They highlighted these sites:

• megabus.com - low cost, daily, express bus service in the US: Sure, they can get you low fares, but only from 21 cities. Unless you live in a MAJOR metropolitan area, you won’t find it very useful.

• CouchSurfing: I’ve talked about this site before here: Starling Travel » CouchSurfing: Travel On The CHEAP

• TripUp - Travel Planning and Travel Reviews: You supposedly can look at other people’s vacations in the area, but after a little looking, I found lots of trips logged, but no information other than a map and the dates they went. I didn’t find anything here worth signing up for.

Thanks, Zadi for showing us what’s new in travel on the cheap! Keep up the good work!

Ryanne and Jay are in Cambodia right now. They have posted two videos of their experience here:

Momentshowing: VIDEO: Cambodia, Day 1

Momentshowing: VIDEO: Driving around town, Cambodia

If you have ever wanted to visit a different country all the way around the planet, click on over to Jay and Ryanne’s video blog and watch their two videos about their stay in Cambodia.

Kitykity took a weekend without her husband and children to go on a solo adventure. She visited some friends and then returned to Biloxi, Mississippi to see how much of her beloved city was left after Hurricane Katrina. You can see what she saw here:

• solo adventure, part 5

She has other videos for this trip showing her visits with friends and her thoughts on the long drive. She also took a photo every hour while she was on the trip. You can click on this picture and it will take you to a slideshow of the series:

It was such a vivid reminder to see her photos every hour. So much of a road trip is on the road. I forget that when I plan one.

Last year, when we visited San Antonio, we took a tour of the San Antonio Botanical Garden. I filmed a walking video for Starling Fitness and it is finally ready!

I’m offering this DVD for $5 including shipping and handling in the continental U.S. If you live elsewhere contact me and we’ll figure out how much it will cost to ship to you.

Order Starling Fitness Walking Videos Here

Here is a glimpse of what the walk will be like:

Video Description:

I was lost and unprepared for the hot Texas weather, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the garden’s beauty. From the native Texas grassland areas to the indoor fern grottos, I filmed all that the San Antonio Botanical Garden had to offer.

Wander along the garden paths. Watch the birds fly past you and squawk at you from the trees. Smell the herbs and flowers in the garden for the blind. Breathe in the humid air in the fern grotto. Explore the historical homes of Texas’ past. Chase down the golf cart. Can you keep up?

If you are missing the beautiful greenery that Texas has to offer, you can enjoy it every day with this video.

Order Starling Fitness Walking Videos Here

We have been staying in Yellowstone for the past couple of days collecting more photographs and video clips than you could shake a stick at, but we couldn’t save this one until we got home. We saw a huge group of people stopped at the side of the road yesterday. That usually means that there is something interesting to look at. It also usually means that the safest thing for us to do is to drive away slowly because there is always somebody getting too close to the wildlife.

In this case, everyone was gawking at, photographing and rushing across the street in front of cars to see a black bear. They are so rare in Yellowstone these days that it was well worth my time to stop. Since there was a large river between us and the bear, I even felt safe enough to get out of the car.

There had been two bears feeding on the carcass of another animal, but this one had eaten enough and was leaving.

This wasn’t the first time I’ve seen a wild bear in Yellowstone, but this was definitely the best. I felt safe because it would have taken him a while to get across the water, so I could retreat to my car if I needed to and he was completely unimpressed by us.

I’m so lucky to see a wild bear in Yellowstone and even luckier to be able to share it with you.

Update 05-02-07: I’ve added this map to show you approximately where we saw the bear. He was midway between the West Entrance and Madison Junction.

We actually couldn’t see what he was eating. It looked furry, but it could have been a rotten log full of bugs or anything, really. It was hidden behind a large tree.

See tomorrow’s entry for Michael’s photos of the bear. He was able to zoom in on his pictures and get a lot closer than I could with my video.

• Starling Travel » Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Photos

Update 05-04-07: We initially called this a black bear, but it appears to be a grizzly. Learn how to tell the difference.

When your town gets cold, show them what cold REALLY is: hold an Ice Sculpture Competition! Josh Leo reports on the Ice Sculpture Competition in Holland, Michigan.

• Wandering West Michigan » Blog Archive » Holland Ice Sculpture Competition

I love his questions:

“Have you ever thought about maybe going into a different type of sculpting instead of something where you are constantly freezing your butt off?”

“Well, actually, I prefer cake decorating.”

You can see more of Josh Leo’s videos featuring his home state here:

• Wandering West Michigan

If you thought traveling to Michigan in the middle of winter would be a bad idea, Josh has a whole bunch of ideas to keep you busy.

If the snow is getting you down, watch this lovely video from Tango Diva. She took this video back in September in Half Moon Bay, California. If you are wishing you could escape on the back of a horse to a beautiful retreat, this video is for you:

Click To Play

Here is the corresponding blog entry:

• Tango Diva - Tango Diva Travel Blog » Blog Archive » Video blogs!

She talks about traveling to Europe and other destinations. You can keep up with the Tango Diva Travel Blog here:

• Tango Diva - Tango Diva Travel Blog

All the snow is Salt Lake City is getting me down, so it was nice to see this beautiful vista and imagine that it was me riding that horse!

This is a different kind of travel video that is a walking tour of the Scott Matheson Wetlands Preserve Walk in Moab, Utah. It is film of a walk around a wetlands preserve. There is no narration or corny descriptions of what you can already see. All you have are the sounds of footsteps, birds singing and maybe even a little water (although the Utah desert is not really known for water).

Here is a glimpse of what the video is like:

I have released two similar DVDs to this in the past: Swami’s Beach and Sugarhouse Walk. This video was created to watch while walking on a treadmill, but it’s a great introduction to Moab, Utah.

Estimated Distance: 2.0 Miles
Estimated Speed: 2.3 mph
Time: 52:00 Minutes

I’m offering this workout DVD for $5 including shipping and handling in the continental U.S. If you live elsewhere contact me and we’ll figure out how much it will cost to ship to you.

Order Starling Fitness Walking Videos Here

You can see the route I walked here. The video goes around the loop twice. I tried to be crafty when I was filming it so you wouldn’t notice, but just now I realized that I have to tell you that I walked the circuit twice, so that you would know the accurate mileage.

Video Description:

It was a hot day and the signs all over Moab said, “Did you remember your water?” I brought a bottle of water, but I was filming, so I couldn’t just take a swig of it. Halfway through the walk I could hear every swish it made in my backpack, wishing I could take a drink. The dry heat seemed to suck all the moisture out of my body, but the Scott Matheson Wetland Preserve was shady.

The trees protected me from the blistering sun. As I walked along the trail, I filmed wildflowers and I could even hear birds. I wanted to hide in the shade of the house at the end of the trail and watch the birds from its quiet solitude, but I was intent on walking. Investigating the little-known paths was a bonus because I found my way to Kane Creek. I turned around and walked it all over again. When I was finished, I enjoyed the red rocks and watched the off-roaders drive by.

Then I turned off my camera and gulped down all my water in one fail swoop. Should have brought two bottles…

Order Starling Fitness Walking Videos Here

For More Information about the wetlands preserve:
The Nature Conservancy in Utah - Scott M. Matheson Wetlands Preserve

My secret to being able to pack a lot in a small toiletry bag is Bagettes. They are tiny ziplock bags that allow me to pack a wide range of medications in a small container. I also use Bagettes in my purse so I can carry pain reliever. I found these at Michael’s Arts and Crafts because they are also incredibly useful for holding beads, knitting markers or any number of other craft items.

Here are some tips for using these little ziplock bags wisely:

• Label your bags: Using a Sharpie marker, write the contents on the bag. My vitamin bags aren’t labeled. If they weren’t so brightly colored, I might mistake them for a different pill. So many pills look the same that it’s safest to label the bags.

• Label the instructions: If it is a drug you’re not familiar with, it’s essential that you include the dosage and instructions (like I did on the Mylanta bag shown).

• Do not use these for prescription drugs, especially if you travel on airplanes. The TSA is searching bags and if they find prescription drugs that are not in their original prescription bottle, it could delay you or worse, you could end up investigated for drug charges.

• Replace them often: These bags are cheap and come 200 in a tiny box. If you start to have a little bit of wear on the bag, replace it. There’s no point in letting them wear out completely and having loose pills all over your purse or toiletry bag.

Since I have found this package of Bagettes, I haven’t had to buy another. I only used about 15 bags total, so a box of 200 is basically a lifetime’s supply. I think I spent four bucks for that box, so it’s a great deal. I wish Amazon.com sold them so I could link you to them, but I did find them online in a couple of places:

• JoAnn Arts and Crafts - Bagettes Heavy Duty Reclosable Bags

• Guildcraft Arts and Crafts - Bagettes 4″ x 6″