7 Destinations to Visit in Your Lifetime

Here is my ultimate travel list of 7 destinations that everyone should visit in their lifetime.Hawaii_silhouette

  1. Connect with family – Visit where your parents were born and raised. Learn how they grew up, listen to childhood stories, and get to know the experiences that shaped your parents lives. Look at the photos from their childhood and visit those locations to see how they have changed.  Ask questions about achievements, struggles, silly stories, and the mundane daily tasks.  Find the storyteller in your family, and just listen.
  2. Research your ancestors and stroll through your homeland, as far back as you can discover. Learn your history and culture.  Try the food.  What is the national activity or sport?  What traditions have carried over into your family?  Watch for all of the faces that look like you.  Find gravestones and landmarks with your family names (maternal and past generations).  Walk through the living history of your ancestors past.
  3. Seek out Adventure! Try something that gets your heart pounding.  Adventure can be found in your backyard, just start somewhere.
  4. Push beyond your comfort zone – Travel alone, visit a big city, stretch your physical limits, go beyond your usual activities. Now is the time to try something new, that scares you, just a little.
  5. Visit Poverty and a place of hardship – Volunteer and contribute to improve an impoverished area or situation. Provide assistance after a natural disaster.  Helping others and seeing how little some people live with will remind you how much you really have, and leave a better appreciation of how good your life is.  Make the world a better place, by starting in your hometown and make this part of your life style.
  6. Take a mini Luxury Vacation – Save up for an opulent getaway and indulge in a wildly extravagant trip. This will teach you the value of saving, waiting, and anticipation.  Reward your discipline and discover the abundance available in exchange for hard work.  Find the activity and location that will motivate you to set higher goals for achievement.  Learn what your definition of “Success” looks like.
  7. Find your Peace – Where is your Happy Place? Different for everybody, and never marked with an X on the map, your place of peace is the journey of discovering who you are.  And for that precious moment, you will know, it is exactly where you are meant to be at the exact moment.  Once you find it, finding your peace is easier each time.

Orpheum Theater Phoenix | Arizona History and Architecture

Orpheum Theater
Orpheum Theater

My favorite, and the most luxurious theater in Phoenix is the Orpheum Theater in downtown Phoenix.

Home to performances from the Phoenix Theater League, comedians, and high quality shows. Capacity is less than 1400 seats, which means there really are no bad seats.  Even mediocre views are easily avoided by skipping the last 10 rows lower level or last 5 rows on the balcony.Orpheum stage

Originally opened in 1929 in the Spanish Baroque architecture style, the 1997 restoration gave the theater amazing acoustics and modern lighting while keeping the Roaring 20’s class.  The theater itself is beautiful, with new details inside and out to be discovered during every visit.

Orpheum balcony seating from lower level
Orpheum lower level seating looking up to the balcony

The seat rows are a smidge close (not as much leg room as Phoenix Symphony Hall).  Seats on the interior aisle are a great option for taller people or anyone needing a little more room.

Orpheum lobbyBeverage bars serving wine, coffee, and light snacks are open before and during intermission for performances. The bathroom lines tend to be short and fast moving.  Every comfort is provided in the Orpheum.  The ground level lobby is small, venture downstairs to the lower level bar (not always open), large area for mingling, and restrooms.

Orpheum seating

Performances at the Orpheum are a great excuse for date night, family afternoon matinees, girls’ night out, and more.  Incorporate one of the nearby restaurants for the perfect dinner and a show event.

orpheum

Beach getaway in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico

Outside of San Juan, just a few minutes from the Airport, is beautiful Isla Verde district of Carolina, Puerto Rico.  Close enough to Old San Juan for the tourists, convenient for business in San Juan city center, and perched on the northern coast beach.  We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott, but any of the beach front hotels in Isla Verde or Condado are a good choice.  The area is a popular destination for business conventions, family vacations, and weekend getaways from the Mainland South and East Coast cities.

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Tempe Center for the Arts

A friend of mine won tickets for a Production at Tempe Center for the Arts and was kind enough to invite me.  I watched this beautiful facility built several years ago (2007 was just a few years ago, okay) and this was my first visit.TCA_1

Sunday afternoon offered a ChildsPlay production, with shows ideally suited for young people.  This is a great opportunity to introduce children to the arts and etiquette of live performance.  The show included intermission and a Q&A session with the audience after the show.  Such a great event for children!

The center has ample parking and a nice view of Tempe Town Lake.  The refreshment bar offers snacks, drinks (including adult beverages), and outside patio seating.TCA_3The center has ample parking and a nice view of Tempe Town Lake.  The refreshment bar offers snacks, drinks (including adult beverages), and outside patio seating.TCA_2There are multiple auditoriums for shows, gift shop, and gallery.  I am very glad that I have finally been inside Tempe Center for the Arts and I look forward to future events there.

 

 

Mayans in Cancun, Mexico | Exploring Mayan History Steps from the Beach

The most well-known Mayan ruins and archaeological sites are in the interior of Mexico and Central America which can be difficult to visit, often requiring long car or bus rides.  The nearest airport to Chichen Itza is Cancun and then it is still several hours travel by car.  There are two noteworthy Mayan sites located within Cancun.

El Rey
El Rey

El Rey
El Rey

El Rey is located along the Hotel Zone of Cancun, tucked away behind large trees and a small sign.  For 43 pesos (per person) this hidden gem is an old Mayan village for exploration.  The area surrounding the structures is cut back leaving very little shade.  The site opens at 8 AM for the coolest temperatures.  There are plenty of signs in both Spanish and English translation.

View of modern hotel in the distance at the El Rey site
View of modern hotel in the distance at the El Rey site

The entire site takes less than an hour to walk and take a few photos.

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The Mayan Museum, Museo Maya de Cancun, is just down the street from the El Rey site.  The museum opens at 9 am, one hour later than El Rey, allowing for a full morning of Mayan history. At a mere 57 pesos, the entrance fee is one of the best bargains in Cancun!

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