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| 2014 SAN DIEGO TRAVEL & ADVENTURE SHOW |
In
previous years we have enjoyed our excursions up to Los Angeles for
travel shows held at the downtown convention center. So when we
heard about the 2014 San Diego Travel and Adventure Show, just a
short drive away, we couldn't resist. We found it to be a pleasant
change from the crowded and larger Los Angeles Travel Show. It
offered over 100 exhibitors, four stages with speakers, entertainment
and cooking demonstrations to choose from.
Listening
to award winning travel authors, photographers and popular
televisions hosts is my idea of a day well spent. We also perused the
many exhibit booths which offer a great opportunity to visit with
representatives from all over the world. There were contests to sign
up for and lots of freebies like pens and candy. Ron could have won a
contest for eating the most Jelly Bellys which were
generously provided at the Fairfield, California, booth. Fairfield,
located 36 miles from San Francisco, is the town where they are
produced.
We
spent most of the day concentrating on the speakers; here are the
favorites:
--Jim Cline, Professional Photographer. JimCline Photo Tours
I
very much enjoyed the dozens of professional photos that he
presented on a large screen for viewing and his commentary on each
one. Jim has the ability to bring scenes alive by including people
and activities. He said, “A picture talks to me because of the
people in the photo.” He shared personal stories as well as some
valuable photography tips.
He
has the patience to wait for the perfect lighting and action in order
to get an awesome photograph. He said he likes to go slowly and often
returns to the best locations. I could identify with this because I
like to take my time and return to favorite places. He inspired me to
try to improve my photo taking by concentrating on just one thing at
a time—for me it will be adding people and other actions to make
the scenery more interesting. After that I am going to figure out
the F stop for depth of field—needless to say he uses it a lot.
--Samantha Brown, Host of Travel Channel's “The
Trip 2014”
Samantha recently returned to the Travel Channel after a
hiatus, which included giving birth to twins. She was as animated and
exited about travel as ever. Her charm and sense of humor make for
some great stories.
She
tries to go for a walk when she arrives at a destination to get the
experience of everyday life. She loves to visit strip malls in the
US to find authentic food.
Some
of her quotes: “It's never in the must see, its always in the
mundane.” “Search for the comma, not the exclamation mark.”
“Create a ritual; do one thing the same everyday.” “Don't spend
all your time in the past; it's important to be relaxed and in the
moment.”
To
find out more about what she is up to visit her new website.
--Patricia Schultz, author of
10,000 Places to See Before You Die.
Patricia
has the uncanny ability to make every place she talks about sound
like you need to visit. One of the many spots she chose was
Slovenia—Ron and I both agreed it would be a good place to go. It
is a small country, about the size of New Jersey, with a population
of only two million. It has the Alps, castles, lakes, parks, and the
beautiful old and centrally located capital city of Ljubljana which
is 160 miles east of Venice. I'd better get planning while he is
still interested.
I
have never considered visiting Ethiopia, however, Patricia described
it as one of the most fascinating countries she has ever been to. It
lies on the Horn of Africa. Another place she has visited multiple
times and loves is Petra, Jordan. She typically doesn't make return
visits—because there is still so much new to see.
--Don Wildman, Host of Travel Channel's Mysteries
at the Museum
There
are over 17,000 museums in the US, all with stories to tell. He
visits them with the intention of learning the stories behind the
artifacts he sees, never forgetting the resourcefulness of the museum
staffs. He has found that they love to share information and will
give you more time if you call ahead to make arrangements. Stories
related to the mysteries surrounding artifacts that he has discovered
in his travels are the theme of his popular travel show.
His
thoughts on this subject reminded me of how I remember the stories
behind the places I visit long after I have forgotten the facts. I
still love the story our tour guide told about the small country
church in Normandy that was converted into a hospital during WWII.
We could still see blood stains on some of the benches. The
physician, who ran the hospital, returned many years later to find
it. From then on he returned for an annual event that the
parishioners held in his honor.
I
also enjoyed a story from our recent trip to Beijing about the
“Seventy-Year-Old-Door” at the Temple of Heaven. The door was
built back in the 1700s for an emperor who felt his health was
failing him. The door would shorten his walk to the ceremony. He was
afraid that too many people would use it, so he made a rule that you
had to be 70 or older to enter through the door. Unfortunately, he
was the only one to ever use the door, because in all of the
successive dynasties no emperor ever again reached the age of 70.
After listening to all of these speakers it would be
difficult to leave without a yearning to get “back on the road.”
Samantha Brown said “There are only a few things that mark a fresh
start in life, and travel is one of them.”
*****
We
left about four p.m. to head over to the Spaghetti Factory in the
nearby Gaslamp area. This is our new favorite restaurant—great
atmosphere, well priced meal and delicious food. I don't know of
another place in San Diego where you can get a senior meal for under
$10 , including salad, entrée, dessert and beverage. Add to that
fond memories from a first visit to the San Diego Spaghetti Factory
with my parents and our two young children back in the 1980s. I just
wish I could find the old photo of our standing in front. I know it
exists in one of the boxes stashed in my closet.
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| ENTERTAINMENT STAGE |
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| TRAVEL SHOW BOOTH www.SirenSkirts.com |
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