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Tagged With "California Highway 20"

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Re: Qantas eyes more UK-Oz nonstops

GarryRF ·
After sitting on an airplane seat for 12 hours it's an absolute pleasure to ride an exercise bike in Kuala Lumpur Airport - before my onward journey to Oz. Just for 20 mins so the lower part of my body regains the will to live. I thought a few minutes jogging would help me - until I realised I had presented myself as a moving target to the Airport Police. The thought of a 17 hour direct flight in cattle class is awful. Maybe travelling in business class - with room for my arteries to...
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Re: Frankfurt: Not Just for Business

George G. ·
I liked your description of the Rubens exhibit that tied together his inspirational objects and sketches. Adds so much more to an art exhibit instead of just hanging a painting with the title. I also fell into the trap of not visiting Frankfurt when I only lived about 20 miles away for about six years. I did really enjoy the Frankfurt Zoo and their Christmas Market.
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Re: 12 Countries ask vouchers instead of refunds

Paul Heymont ·
In a conversation with Travel Rob last week, I set out my minimum conditions before a bailout or other relief can be discussed: 1) All boarding to be by efficiency, no priority for anyone except physical need 2) minimum one free checked bag for all flights over 250 miles (under 250, you should drive or take a train, anyway) 3) elimination of most nuisance fees 4) minimum 32" pitch with no more than 2" recline 5) 20-year cap on exec salaries...CEO to earn max 20x full-time flight attendant...
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Re: Mission San Juan Capistrano, California

PortMoresby ·
Rob, can you tell us what we're seeing in the last photo? PS: I love your layout seeing it on my desktop computer. A small phone screen doesn't do it justice.
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Re: Tips to help with packing no matter where you are going

Paul Heymont ·
I know what Marilyn means about not overpacking...I recently found a picture of us with our luggage on a 2-person trip to France 20 years ago: a pair of 32" suitcases and a flotilla of small ones around them. Of course, now that we pack Kindle instead of books, that's one down...and overall, we're down to not much luggage. Another useful packing tool is gallon and 2-gallon ZipLoc-type bags (there are even larger sizes available!). Their big plus, aside from compression and sealing is that...
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Re: October 12, 2016: Randy's Donuts

DrFumblefinger ·
Yummmmm. Randy's donuts are great!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 20, 2014: The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California

IslandMan ·
Thanks for the pic Ottoman. I have traversed this bridge on 2 separate visits and and was fascinated by its size, architecture and grandeur.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 20, 2014: The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California

DrFumblefinger ·
It is a great photo of a great bridge! And likely a rare day. Most of the times I've been in SF the fog and gloom preclude a nice photo of the Golden Gate.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 20, 2014: The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California

GarryRF ·
I would recommend renting a bicycle at Fishermans Wharf. Take your time crossing the Bridge Stop at Sausalito - Starbucks - Take in the beautiful surrounds. Watch the Fishing Boats. Take the Cycle track and head for the Ferry at Tiburon. Come back to SF on the Ferry and watch as the City rises from the fog. Great day !
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day: Jan. 16, 2014: Liverpool Victoria Gallery

GarryRF ·
My favourite time to visit attractions is May-June-July. Before the little monsters are released on school vacation. Liverpool has hundreds of things to do - no exaggeration ! Here's 128 to go on with http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/A...seyside_England.html Liverpool makes a good hub for visiting nearby Chester with its 2,000 year old Roman Walls and Tudor Buildings. The River Dee and North Wales. All using local public transport - mostly trains. You can get a flight, Liverpool - Dublin from...
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Re: Biggest Apple Ever: NY Gets 54M Tourists, Expects More!

DrFumblefinger ·
Are you sure that number is correct? Paris does just over 20 million visitors a year.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 2, 2014

GarryRF ·
After being married for 40 years, I took a careful look at my wife one day and said, "Forty years ago we had a cheap house, a junk car, slept on a sofa bed and watched a 10-inch black and white TV, but I got to sleep with a hot 20-year-old girl every night. Now, I have a £500,000 home, a £45,000 car, a nice big bed and a large screen TV, but I'm sleeping with a 60-year-old woman. It seems to me that you're not holding up your side of things." My wife is a very reasonable woman. She told me...
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Re: A Visit to Ireland: Part 1) An overview of the Country and its People

GarryRF ·
When I go to my local Pub in Liverpool I'll have a choice of Beers. Heineken Dutch Lager - San Miguel Spanish - Carlsberg Danish - Stella Belgian - Fosters Australian - Sagres Portuguese. Plus many local brews. Old Speckled Hen, Bishops Finger and my favourite Newcastle Brown Ale. Served in a Pint - 20 ounce - Bottle. With a half pint glass. It keeps cooler in the bottle ! Liquid Toffee ! Not a light Beer. Lots of Flavour and quite potent. I've found bars around Ocean City Maryland who serve...
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Re: Do you Like these Hotel Tipping Tips ?

Dave B. ·
Before I retired, I traveled quite a bit on business, both inside the U.S. and abroad. I still travel frequently to racing and club events, but almost all are in the U.S. or Canada. That said, here’s my take on tipping: Restaurants – According to the sources I checked, in the U.S. the Federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13. Most states have set higher amounts, but food service workers are still generally paid much lower wages that other ‘minimum wage’ employees. Unless the...
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Re: Do you Like these Hotel Tipping Tips ?

DrFumblefinger ·
I certainly understand GarryRF's comments completely. A guest has a right to expect a good quality meal with good service. That should be part of the dining experience. That said, because I was raised and have lived in Canada/USA my life, I have a sensitivity to food service employees not being paid well and being stressed by their employers. So I tend to follow Dave B's guidelines (thanks for outlining these, Dave!) If I see a waitress is trying hard, I'll leave the 15% tip (and don't come...
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Re: Where Gumbo was #22. Skull Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, California

Paul Heymont ·
Lesson learned! I should have Googled Skull Rock instead of speculating about animated films!
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Re: Where Gumbo Was #17: Death Valley, USA

Former Member ·
So beautiful those Desert Holly
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Re: Where Gumbo Was #17: Death Valley, USA

Paul Heymont ·
Yes, it's really amazing how colorful and varied desert plants can be. Did you also see the blog from a few weeks ago on the "Spine Garden" of cacti in Arizona? It's at https://www.travelgumbo.com/blo...zona-s-sonora-desert
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Re: Where Gumbo Was #17: Death Valley, USA

Former Member ·
Oh thank you i will check it out
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Re: London's Tower Bridge, inside and out

Marilyn Jones ·
It's been nearly 20 years since I took the tour...you wrote an excellent article and your photos -- especially the one of the entire bridge -- are wonderful!!!
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Re: It wasn't scary enough, so now...no floor!

Ava ·
This is becoming more common with some older coasters, and most fans enjoy it. I'm not crazy about it, but at least it's different.
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Re: California Gardens 2017: Gold Country, Part I

DrFumblefinger ·
Luv your garden posts! They've taught me to look at the micro of a garden, not just the overview. Thanks for this!
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Re: California Gardens 2017: Gold Country, Part I

PortMoresby ·
A nice observation, DrF, both aspects of the "art" I speak of.
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Re: Italy: Giant tour bus, tiny street

Amateuremigrant ·
Yay ! One up for bus drivers ! I drove a 10m DAF bus 20 times from Oslo to North Cape and back. One place in the Lofotens required me to reverse down a winding dirt track with rock on one side and sea on the other with about 2ft of clearance on either side. Thank the lord for power steering and BIG mirrors. Bus drivers deserve all the tips they get !
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Re: With no Emirates order, A380 production may end

Professorabe ·
Apparently, Emirates have just signed an agreement to purchase 36 Airbus A380s (20 firm orders plus an option for 16). The total value of the deal is reported to be around $16bn.
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Re: Kettering, Northamptonshire: Where Gumbo Was (#38)

GarryRF ·
When I was researching the history of the land my house is built on I opened up so much information. During WW1 the land was used for a temporary Army Camp. Many new soldiers were from Wales - 20 miles away - who spoke no English ! But on the 8th June 1917 Capt. (later General) Patton arrived in the Port of Liverpool England on his way to France. He took a train to Litherland Railway Station and stayed here in my garden until he left to catch a Train from Liverpool to London. I often find...
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Re: The Getty Villa, Part 2: The Art

PortMoresby ·
I love the jewelry for the intimacy with the wearers I imagine, and the frescos which, to me, are the most alive of all the Roman artistic expressions. Sculpture and mosaics, to me, much less so. I also love the key and perfume bottles, imagining the individual hands that held and used them.
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Re: The Getty Villa, Part 2: The Art

DrFumblefinger ·
Thanks for the comments, PM. It is a fascinating collection, very extensive and thorough. What I was striving for in this piece is to give the reader a sample for what's there and why the museum is worth visiting. My favorite piece of the ones in this gallery is the toy, the very last one. I can imagine some father lovingly crafting it for his child. The glass products amazed me. Several of the sculptures were grand, especially the one of Hercules (which Getty was very proud of), but the...
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Re: Route 66 - Pasadena to Needles

Paul Heymont ·
I've only had the pleasure of a small part of the road (east of Flagstaff and yes, passing that corner in Winslow, Arizona, but Route 66 is pretty much the symbol of the feeling so many of us have, of wanting to discover a past still visible in the present, and worth holding onto. Another good book for "shunpikers" is George Cantor's "Where the Old Roads Go: Driving the First Federal Highways of the Northeast." It's an easy and rewarding read even if you're not setting out on Rte 6, Rte 20,...
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Re: Cruising California's 17 Mile Drive

GarryRF ·
Fine houses in their pristinely manicured gardens. Don't think I could even afford the taxes. I do like the areas that remain untouched by golf and the hand of fortune. I prefer the untouched to the "candy box tin" painting of nature. I've been to many places where the presence of paupers - like myself - detract from the ambiance of opulence. Even today I had a note attached to my car, that parking in a non-designated zone was being selfish. Even though they were full !
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Re: Cruising California's 17 Mile Drive

DrFumblefinger ·
Far be it for anyone to say you are selfish, Garry! It is one of the most expensive places to live in California, but I suspect all those drivers going through help subsidize the neighborhood more than that homeowners might want to let on. And I'm not sure most of us could afford the taxes, even if we wanted to. Being an average guy, this is just not my scene.
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Re: Cruising California's 17 Mile Drive

Mac ·
Breathtakingly expensive if I recall. I'm surprised that you are allowed to take photos without paying into the local coffers! :-)
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Re: Cruising California's 17 Mile Drive

DrFumblefinger ·
I'm also surprised there's no per photo toll imposed on the great unwashed masses visiting the shores of the drive, Mac!
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Re: Cruising California's 17 Mile Drive

Mac ·
Well, the unwashed mass did enjoy his time there.... :-)
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Re: Norway To Come Out With Cool New Passport

Paul Heymont ·
Actually, Citibank offered that option some 20-25 years ago, and I had my picture on one. It didn't really add anything to security; the clerks never looked at it any more than they look at signatures now. That's why chip-and-PIN beats chip-and-signature: unlike the counter clerk, the machine DOES check for authentication!
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Re: Cruising California's 17 Mile Drive

GutterPup ·
The views are really pretty, but no motorcycles??
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Re: Cruising California's 17 Mile Drive

DrFumblefinger ·
Cars and bikes are fine, JP, but hogs aren't. The road is good enough so I suspect the home owners (much of the drive is through residential areas) don't want the noise of a big pack of motorcycles passing their gates and fine-trimmed lawns.
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Re: Wawona Hotel, Yosemite National Park, California: Where Gumbo Was #60

Dr.Y ·
Looks like a very nice and comfortable place to stay!
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Re: Serra's Church, Mission San Juan Capistrano, California. Where Gumbo Was #46

PortMoresby ·
Somewhere I've got a snapshot of a very young me with a tiny lady holding an object who had insisted my friend take our picture in the garden together. It was in the village of Petra, Majorca and she officiated at the small museum commemorating Junipero Serra's birthplace. I was spending the summer on the island and every student educated in California knows his name almost as well as their own. The address of my high school was El Camino Real, Father Serra's road from mission to mission and...
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Re: Marriott to offer free wi-fi to all its Rewards member

Paul Heymont ·
I think you're exactly right, PortMoresby. For quite some time, we've looked mostly at the inexpensive chains precisely because they offer clear and valuable perks: Free breakfast, free parking, free WiFi. Our occasional high-end hotels through Priceline have sometimes moved the per-room fee down to a lower tier, but after you've paid $20/day for parking, $11.99 a day for WiFi...not so lower! The two-tier WiFi issue is becoming a bug for me, too. I recently stayed at a DoubleTree by Hilton...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, December 11, 2014: Jeffery Pine, Sentinel Dome

GarryRF ·
Nature has so many works of art that sometimes you need to stop and breath. Like so many photographers of nature - you need a keen eye to capture that precious moment. I once found that perfect scene and took a photo of each member of the family standing in for a "Portrait Picture" Until I was asked by a group of maybe 20 people to move along ! I'd started a Kodak Moment where there was just a passing glance 20 minutes ago !
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, April 29, 2014: Water Lilies, Mission San Juan Capistrano, California

Paul Heymont ·
The lovely lilies make it a bit easier to swallow the disappearance of the birds... Sorry for the bad pun, but this cartoon may explain why the swallows don't "come back to Capistrano!"
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, April 29, 2014: Water Lilies, Mission San Juan Capistrano, California

Paul Heymont ·
More on the swallows, which now mostly nest a few miles away: Staff at the Mission of San Juan Capistrano are trying to lure the swallows back by playing male swallow mating calls, hoping it will attract the females to the traditional nests, and that they will be followed by the males. Here's a VIDEO from the Orange County Register, and more INFO from the Mother Nature Network.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, September 26, 2015: The Famine Memorial in Dublin & Happier Present Times

GarryRF ·
It's good to see the Irish economy is making excellent growth after the 2007 crash of the "Celtic Tiger" Maybe - one day - we'll see some of the $20+ Billion contribution England made to help their recovery, coming back home !
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Re: Under the Cirio Tree

DrFumblefinger ·
What an odd tree! I've been to Baja but never saw one. Guess I've got an excuse to go back now!
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Re: Under the Cirio Tree

My Thatched Hut ·
There are in the Sonoran Desert part of the Baja Peninsula. I drove the peninsula and back. But who needs an excuse to go. It is one of my favourite places.
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Re: Las Vegas Celebrates the Chinese New Year!

GarryRF ·
There are only a few destinations where all the family over in the US and us English can meet. Vegas, Florida and New York. So we all went to Vegas to meet up. Walking along the strip towards NY,NY. 9 Fine Irishmen looked like an attractive bar - so in we all went. They had real "Pint Glasses" - 20 ounce. Not the 16 ounce we've had to suffer ! But after a few minutes we were frozen. They do love AC in Vegas. Too much like Ireland. Freezing cold. So we moved outside and sat in the shade...
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Re: No place like home? 41% of Americans stayed there!

PortMoresby ·
Is there a difference between those who can't afford to travel and those who believe they can't afford it, but could? I cannot tell you how many times those with far greater resources than I have said to me that they wished they could travel. The obvious reason is priorities, not lack of funds. To tell you the truth, I'm surprised it wasn't higher than 41%. I'm also surprised at what they describe as "the other end of the spectrum", those who took more than 20 days. A measly 20 days being...
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Re: No place like home? 41% of Americans stayed there!

Paul Heymont ·
You're certainly right about the prioritiess and affordability; I've never understood, for instance, couples who put off having a glorious honeymoon in order to pay for a fancy wedding. Or who save for years for a big trip instead of camping with the kids while they are young... At the other end, though, there are lots of people who've had very hard times the last few years, and may be cashing in vacation time for home repair or mortgage payment. And as for the 20 days (4 working...
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Re: A Road Trip Gallery: Jane's Garden

Paul Heymont ·
Of course, I don't know the actual size of Jane's Garden, but I have the sense that it isn't huge. And yet, the variety of shapes, spaces, textures and things you've shown could keep even a much larger space "busy!" Thanks for a great morning view!
 
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