The Everywhereist

Ross: home of crazies and drug-fiends. Incidentally, I was just at this Ross in San Francisco last week.

SF Ross photo by Rojer, via Flickr.com.

Kids, I’m beginning to worry. I suspect (though I have no real proof) that, like green eyes and being able to roll your tongue, being a magnet for crazy people is genetically predetermined. Such is true of my mother (though really, she may be more attracted to crazy than crazy is attracted to her. But that’s another story.) And I think it’s true of me, too. (more…)

1. Tom’s Restaurant (facade for Seinfeld restaurant sequences), Morningside Heights, NYC
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   Also immortalized in a Susan Vega song that I have always hated and now have stuck in my head. Crap.

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2. Hanging out with Rand’s grandparents, Bryant Park.
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   We all need not look at the camera for it to be an awesome photo.

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I am extremely excited, and honored, to introduce my very first guest blogger, Christine! Despite a very busy schedule, she look some time to write a post about an important subject (of which I know absolutely nothing): taking your little one to a theme park for the very first time.
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I still remember my first trip to a theme park. My parents took my brother, sister and me to the Magic Kingdom. My aunt, uncle and two cousins came along too. It was a great day. Sunny, lots of ice cream, Disney characters, fun rides.

Now, twenty-four years later, I’m the proud mother of a two-year-old boy, Jackson.
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Isn't he cute? I'm biased, but I think he's gorgeous.

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A couple of weeks ago, my fiancé, Jason, and I were able to take Friday afternoon off; we decided to make the most of it and bring Jackson to Orlando for his first theme park experience. We stayed with my brother, and he came along. All four of us had a ball, and I learned that bringing a child to a theme park requires planning and proper expectations in order to have a good time.

Below are some of my tips for success with small children at theme parks, based on years of personal experience as a child, and my new parental perspective:

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If there is a wrong side of the bed, I certainly woke up on it. I’m not entirely sure how this happened, since I always wake up on the same side of the bed, which, incidentally, is on the right. And despite that, it is, more often that I would like, the wrong side. Sigh.

So, to counteract my craptacular mood today, I’ve listed a few things fantastic things that I found this week. They might not pertain to travel all that much, but they made me smile. If they have the added bonus of making your Friday a little brighter, I’ll consider this already-lousy day saved.

A friend of mine was reading her 3-year-old son a book about pirates. When they came to the following page, he asked, “Mom, where’s Chunk?”

He's basically the coolest kid, ever.

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Someone recently asked me for some tips on fun, travel-worthy outfits to wear on planes. That incredibly elusive combination of stylish and comfortable. And I won’t lie: that is a very, very difficult balance to achieve, but I’d like to think that maybe, just maybe, I’m on my way there.

I’ll tell you now – I’m absolutely no good at coming up with outfits that would work for everyone, especially since so many of you gals out there insist on wearing skinny jeans. I can not wear those. My hips were designed by some miserable higher power with one thing, and one thing only in mind: to ensure that I will never be able to wear skinny jeans (I bet you thought I was going to say childbirth, huh? Don’t be stupid). BUT, I am great at coming up with lists, and picking out some great pieces that will help you put together stellar outfits. They’re perfect to wear on a plane, and are great must-haves for any trip you take. In fact, I can’t remember when I left home without most of these items securely packed into my suitcase.

So I sincerely hope this list helps all of you. Even those of you who can wear skinny jeans. Sigh. Like you need any help. (more…)

I keep trying to figure out exactly how to write about all the restaurants we visit in a city. New York seems particularly overwhelming, because every place you look up seems to have a few hundred reviews on Yelp. Everything consequently averages out to about 3 stars. It is, in short, impossible to know where to eat. And, for me at least, it’s impossible to shake the feeling that something better might be just around the corner. Thankfully, we lucked out on our last trip. With the exception of this dinner, we ate at some low-key, generally budget-friendly places, and I’d return to nearly all of them.

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In the travel world, certain places have an air of exclusivity. You can’t simply sign up for a tour or call up for a reservation. They are open only to the wealthy and connected.

Needless to say, I am neither of those things. So I generally dislike places that are shared secrets among people in the know. If something is amazing, I think that everyone should know about it. But obviously, that would ruin it and make it less amazing, and … sigh. You get the point. Obviously, it helps to tell myself that I don’t want to get into exclusive clubs or restaurants in the first place, because then I never need  to confront the reality that I couldn’t get in.

Which is why, when Rand and I received an invite to dine at the Brasserie at La Esquina, a supposedly impossible-to-get-into restaurant in New York (at least, impossible for the likes of us)  with a group of his colleagues, I was hesitant. It seemed that sort of clique-y, upscale place that I generally shun. And frankly, I’d rather not step into that world at all. It makes me feel strangely inadequate and snobbish all at once.

But, since I figured it would make a good story, and I’m always up for a meal with friends, I put my neurosis aside and decided to have a friggin taco or three.

After dinner, I was of two minds.

1. Everyone should have the chance to eat here.
2. I need to keep this place as secret as possible, thereby ensuring more tacos for me.

What? I’m noble, but I’m hungry, too.

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I am excited. Because recent events may have elevated me from a jobless, slacker owner of a blog, to a jobless, slacker owner of a blog that features guest bloggers.

This is sooo going to make me the talk of the unemployment office.

As some of you may have seen me mention on the blog, or experienced firsthand through my constant nagging, I have been in search of guest bloggers to write for the site. The only requirements are that you either be sarcastic, somewhat knowledgeable about travel, or able to make some gloriously-bad pop culture references in your post.

The inclusion of cute children in your post are a bonus.

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