InOnce we committed to coming to the Olympics, we knew that we would need some place to cool our heels in between Jeff’s two race walk events 6 days apart. I love Paris, but I don’t love crowds. I knew that we would be well advised to get the hell out of dodge for a few days to recharge, but where? Any easy day trip would not be far enough to lose the crowds or to be interesting enough to spend multiple days. Hopping to more than one town seemed unwise. While I yearned to return to the Cote D’Azure, it is far, expensive and would be mobbed with the whole of France on vacation (at least anyone not staying in Paris for the Games). An exhaustive search left me spinning in circles. I finally settled on what appeared to be a sleepy town at the end of the TGV Line on the Atlantic Coast- Le Croisic. I settled on a gorgeous hotel Le Fort de L’Ocean. After the transportation woes we experienced getting to Paris I was concerned not to have anything go sideways for this leg of the trip. As we settled in on the TGV, I began […]
Disclaimer, this is a One Dress story without actually taking a wedding dress shot. Don’t worry, the dress will come out shortly. Jeff and I used to discuss whether or not we might apply for the Amazing Race early in our marriage. Life then got in the way, then the Pandemic, and next thing we knew we blinked and were married for 16 years. This year saw the return of our travel adventures, dress project, and the unexpected. As we booked this trip, I had some trepidation about my role as translator and navigator for the Paris Olympics. My French is a bit rusty, and it had been 30 years since my days living in Paris and trekking through Europe by train. I planned to brush up on my French and I paid attention to booking our travel in and out of Paris, as I knew that Paris during the Olympics would be a chaotic zoo. We would endure the madness for the race walk and then get the hell out of the city. After an exhaustive search of destinations easily assessable from the TGV (European High Speed Train), I settled on the picturesque, coastal town of Le Croisic. While […]
En Route to the Olympics, we decided to stop in Brussls. Our first few hours in Brussels were a bit of a challenge in terms of navigation. We bought train tickets but after about 45 minutes we became concerned that we seemed to be getting farther from civilization not closer to a city hub. When we finally jumped off the train and realized we were not remotely in the right spot. The inquisitive part of this experience is that we were instructed to get back on the same train traveling the same direction on the same track where we just hopped off…Not at all sure how we got to Brussels….very Blair Witch. What we did learn though is if the spelling of the stop you are headed to isn’t exact, perhaps you should ask for assistance. The 25 minute trek with luggage from the central train station was not too bad because it was downhill. However, ask me how we feel after our hike back up! We easily found our boutique hotel, Made in Catherine (https://madeincatherine.com/en/). It was quaint and well cared for. We were greeted to a very warm welcome at reception. Their one concern was that our room […]
After quite a hiatus, the Salvage clan grew this spring in the form of Cody- AKA- Commander Cody to Dad or CodyChrome to Mom. Cody is the beautiful product of a chocolate litter from Hidden Pond Kennels that will steal any heart as well as your shoes and socks. When it comes to puppies they are the most exquisite of joys and the most exhausting endeavor one can undertake outside of having human children. While much of our day consists of potty runs, training and removing all forms of unmentionables from Cody’s jaws, we took a paws to have a little fun in our yard. Unlike her cousin before her, Cody has no fear of different surfaces, noises or obstacles. Cody was very compliant for about two minutes until she blew the hoosegow.
After a tough Fall, we sought refuge in Aruba over Christmas. It was a good trip and the first time we returned to international travel as a couple. Imagine my surprise when Jeff agreed to a second sun/sand vacation just three months later (you can blame/thank my job for that fact). We debated whether we should return to Aruba or another Caribbean Island that also had a direct flight. Ultimately, the lush green, tropical rainforest of St. Lucia won the round. We found a smaller boutique hotel (Villa Beach Cottages – https://www.villabeachcottages.com/) and decided against a car rental since the driving is on the other side of some tiny, steep, hairpin turn roads. There are options for a helicopter or water taxi from the airport, but the expense and coordination of timing flights seemed like one complication too many so we opted for the standard taxi. Fortunately, it was easy to hire a fixed-rate driver at the airport and Lex gave us a nice history of the Island as we made our way from the Atlantic side over and up the Island, through Capital and up to our little home away from home. We quickly assessed that our decision not […]
It has been almost four years since we took a vacation in February of 2020 right before pandemic began. While it is not a long period of time per se the world has changed and so have we. Long gone was my organized system of a packing list but the way I saw it we were going to Aruba for a week so what could we really need? Fishing out my island attire and snorkeling equipment was no small task. As we sorted through old gear some of which had long expired, I was gifted a pair of old water shoes hiding in my swim fins that I have been searching for since our trip to Australia. Our flight down to our 51st country since getting married was simple and easy. We actually just crossed 500,000 kilometers of travel. Arrival to “one happy Island” was easy as was navigating to our Airbnb hotel. Our accommodation at Modern Boca Catalina was exactly as described, comfortable, well-appointed and situated on a quiet part of the island. We took a walk to the beach which was as close as expected. Our next stop was a pleasant hike to dinner at the California Lighthouse […]
We were supposed to be in Mongolia this summer. Covid-19 had other plans. We still hope to go to Mongolia when it is safe for all. In the meanwhile, we are having local fun with projects with the dress. We decided to stretch the use of our R2D2 stylized dress to include Jennifer hitchhiking with the Millennium Falcon as well as channeling her inner Mother of Dragon vibe as Khaleesi. Many thanks go to our kite pilot Ken Derow (Jennifer’s father) and https://www.kittyhawk.com/ for help with selecting the kites.
During what are clearly times that are unprecedented in our lifetime, with the world facing horrific challenges, we thought we woiud share a warm wishes of love. Both Jennifer and myself are doing well and fortunate to be healthy and still employed. My mother tested positive, but was the rare case in her facility to be declared cured. While we had planned to travel to Mongolia and South Korea this summer, those plans have now evaporated into a staycation. We are lucky to live in a lake community and have continued our One Dress, One Woman, One World from Medford, NJ with our last three photo shoots all taking place at our home. First, we engaged our trusted fur child Munson to liven up the shot. Next, Jeff took the concept of a HoneyDo list to a new level encouraging Jennifer to assist with household chores. However, our favorite shoot so far is the battle of mass produced cream filled pastries that embodied our childhood comfort foods. Without ready access to the supermarket, a few weeks ago we decided to buy some emergency treats to get us through the stay-at-home orders. This led to a marital disagreement. Jennifer grew up […]
After nearly twelve years of often off the beaten path travel, we decided to indulge our inner child and break with our more traditional travel plans and headed down to Disney World for a combination twelfth anniversary celebration and to see the new Star Wars rides and attractions. To state that everything Disney is pure commercialism and regulation is an understatement. From the beginning of our planning there were endless hurdles to circumvent. Their electronic infrastructure is horrible for a company of this size. There were countless challenges to book the activities we wanted. Their website was frequently sluggish, buggy, and overly restrictive. Phone support was rarely an option with hold times over an hour. We tried contacting Disney’s media relations and although all we wanted was information (we probably could have requested free passes) that was like pulling teeth. They blatantly didn’t read our initial emails and returned canned one liners. When they did respond with some detail, they give incorrect information. It was easy booking our trip to Mongolia for the summer than a “simple” trip to Disney World. Given the nature of what we were shooting, we decided to step up our game and modify the wedding […]
For many reasons the last two months have been two of the most stressful months of our lives. We had real issues as opposed to the many 1st world aggravations one normally deals with. We are happy to say we are on the other side of them and deciding to go to Bermuda to combine a bit of work and play seemed like the perfect short Christmas vacation. We went to Bermuda to catch up with our friends and plan future race walking efforts on the Island as well of course to take a few wedding dress photos. It was a perfect time to do it, because the direct short flight meant instead of adding to our stress and spending a day in the airport on either end it was a quick jump to the wonderful island and country of Bermuda. It’s also the low season and while it means chillier days, it also means significantly less people (especially right before Christmas) and much lower rates for hotels (over half off their peak prices). We actually didn’t realize we were miscounting countries all these years and this was our 50th country with the dress. We had many great photos planned, […]
For our 295th photo shoot, we did a project crossover. While typically our publishing company publishes race walking, photography and computer science books, we’ve recently created a new imprint called Salvage America Publications. Given the horrendous political situation in our country, we decided instead of simply reposting other people’s meme’s we would take personal action. In our photoshoot Jennifer is reading from one of our two new project, The Parable of the Peacock. Even Munson is enjoying the reading. Although created in the form of a children’s read-aloud picture book with rhyming couplets, the satire carries a serious message for adult readers. The book uses animal caricatures to represent individuals and generalized populations in contemporary American politics. A prideful, orange-faced peacock is the main character, and a mean, bare-chested weasel from “a far-off land” has an important supporting role. This was a project written by a close friend, Brent Bohlen but published by us. You can order The Parable of the Peacock directly from Amazon or get more information including sample pages from www.peacockparable.com. T-shirts with the graphics on the TV are also available from the peacock site. About the AuthorBrent Bohlen of Springfield, Illinois, retired from a career in […]
We almost got to ride in the Goodyear Blimp thanks to our friend Mike R. and Pep Boys. He won a contest and we were literally headed out on the tarmac when they called it. We did get to sit in the inflated blimp, so technically wedding dress shot #294, but not quite as an exhilarating experience as we were hoping for.
The best laid plans, …. And that’s how our planned trip to Lebanon started. When we first looked at places to visit before heading to Montenegro, I swear we found easy flights from Montenegro to Beirut for our visit to our friend Sandy who we met when she was an exchange student in the USA. In addition to taking in a local’s view of Lebanon I was also planning on giving a talk on race walking. Apparently, they either changed the entire schedule or I was having a senior moment because the only flights into Lebanon landed at 3 AM. Not wanting to do that to Sandy, or us for that matter, we decided to burn a day with a pit stop in Athens. This made the flights easy and we got to have a great dinner and sneak in a photo shoot at the Athens Luxury Suites. A small hotel, they had a simple, wide open rooftop that we could relax on while taking in the Parthenon. The owner couldn’t have been more lovely. It was just a shame we had to leave so quickly. Arriving in Lebanon, we were worried if we’d have any trouble getting through customs. […]
For a well-seasoned traveler, the greatest joy is stumbling upon a hidden gem. A place ripe for tourism, but unspoiled by the negative aspects of hordes of people descending upon an idyllic spot that taint and can destroy the very aspects that make a location great. Such is the case with Lake Skadar in Montenegro. Just an hour outside Kotor and Podgorica we were attracted by the natural unspoiled beauty of the lakes, rivers, islands and lily pads. However, it has the hospitality and kindness that matched the sights that made Lake Skadar one of our favorite stops. Our journey there wasn’t direct. We were only an hour out of the way to hit Albania. It was cloudy and rain was in the forecast so we figured we’d take a nice countryside drive. We quickly ran into challenges as roads disappeared into construction pits. Apparently, they hired the same people that have been “fixing” 295 in NJ for the last decade. The drive was enjoyable otherwise with views of rural farm life and towards the end Lake Skadar itself. We crossed over the border, did a quick dress shot and had some Albanian soup before heading back over to Montenegro […]
Hopping from one country to another, one really doesn’t know what to expect. We had very high expectations of our upcoming stay in Kotor, Montenegro. The walled city, towering fortress, and ancient churches all were a strong draw. However, our optimism quickly waned at the airport when the couple in front of us in line for the rental car were visibility irritated with the staff. When it was our turn in front, we discovered why. The dishonest dramatic upsell began immediately, with the agent purporting that we needed insurance because he would have to put 12,000 euro on the card as a deposit otherwise. He was shocked when I said no worries, I have more than one credit card. Dejected he said he only needed to hold 5,000 euro. Our issues did not subside though. When we walked to get lot for our car, the couple ahead of us seemed more upset and the woman stomped back to the office. When we stepped up, they informed us the car wasn’t here and it would get here eventually, it was being washed. “How long” we asked? We were not given any real answer. So, I joined the woman at the office […]
