Girl About the World

When trying to figure out what to do in Chicago last month, I was overwhelmed by the options, so I left my fate in the hands of other travelers: I decided that whatever the No. 1 attraction was in Chicago on TripAdvisor, I’d do it.

That turned out to be a Segway tour from City Segway Tours. While this probably isn’t what I would’ve chosen on my own, I’d never been on a Segway, so it was the perfect opportunity to try something new. Plus, I was committed — and even though I’d only told myself about this plan, I always keep promises.

It didn’t start well (I got lost) — but even though I was about 45 minutes late when I finally arrived, the kind folks at City Segway Tours gave me a quick crash course and took me on a shortcut to meet up with my group. (The orientation normally last 30 minutes, so you’ll have plenty of time to get up to speed if you, unlike me, arrive on time.) Despite my ineptitude at riding a bicycle (I’m still nursing a toe injury from seven weeks ago after losing control of an old-fashioned bike), I found the Segway to be pretty intuitive. You lean forward to go, shift your body weight to either side to turn, and stand up straight to stop. It’s pretty simple. After a few minutes, I felt totally comfortable on the contraption and caught up with my group quickly.

The three-hour tour ($70) included whizzing by the Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, Grant Park, Shedd Aquarium, and Soldier Field. My favorite part was cruising along a bike path through a field of wildflowers with the water on one side and the city’s skyscrapers on the other. Even though it’s right in the heart of things, it was peaceful out there.

However, everything didn’t go completely smoothly — in fact, over half of our group sustained some kind of injury from falling (with a little luck and finger-crossing, I was not one of them). Here’s what I learned about having a fun and crash-free ride:

1. Don’t lock your knees. I caught myself doing this at the beginning and tried to correct it, but I still had some pain in the back of my legs that day and the next.

2. Give yourself plenty of room to maneuver. Segways don’t stop on a dime, and one person in our group crashed into another, taking them both out, because some riders were bunched too close together.

3. Take it easy going up sidewalk ramps. One girl’s Segway (and her) tipped over trying to get up a sidewalk. It does throw you off a bit going up these bumps, but keeping the pace a bit slow (but fast enough to make it up the incline) seemed to work out.

4. Stay hydrated. That same girl, bless her heart, later fainted on our journey. Bring along water and/or a sports drink, especially in warm weather. Just because you’re not walking doesn’t mean you’re not exerting any energy.

5. Go at your own pace. When the Segway goes fast enough, it locks up, pushing the bar against your chest. This is normal but definitely took some getting used to — and if I hadn’t been warned about it, I probably would’ve panicked. I took it slow until I was comfortable with the sensation.

I understand the number of spills we had isn’t common, but after seeing enough people wipe out, I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who would suffer a real hardship from falling (pregnant women are already not allowed to ride). Still, I’d definitely recommend it as a fun way to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time and learn about the city.

Traveling full-time requires leaving some things behind -- like little pet shih tzus.

The blogosphere has been rife lately with tales of travelers who give up their permanent home in exchange for a life on the road, making their way through the world without a break. And you’ve no doubt seen the Eat, Pray, Love previews blaring everywhere, championing this idea of leaving your former life for one of globetrotting. Although my goal of getting to 25 percent of the world would be a lot easier accomplished (and ultimately cheaper) if I weren’t hitting just one to three countries at a time, I have to agree with Gadling writer Mike Barish, who recently wrote a post about how perma-travel isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Now, I don’t feel quite as strongly as he does that these leave-it-all-behind bloggers are annoying. If someone has the time and desire to carry all their stuff around in a bag and find a different place to sleep every night, more power to them. I admit there’s something romantic about the idea of being a career traveler — after reading Honeymoon with My Brother while I was still working in an office full time, I was suddenly convinced I needed to follow the lead of the brothers and traverse the world (I even looked seriously into joining a cruise ship staff, which I’m sure can be a fun job but probably isn’t for me).

But if I were always on the run, never sure where I’d be the next week, let alone the next month, and it went on for an indefinite amount of time, I think I’d adapt, but I don’t think I’d be as happy. There’s something comforting about having a home base, and I don’t think it makes any traveler less hardcore or world-savvy to have a place to call home. In fact, I think it offers an opportunity to digest what you’ve experienced. Plus, planning a vacation is proven to make you happier.

So, I won’t be selling all my worldly possessions anytime soon in favor of a nomadic existence, but I will continue getting out as often as I can, greatly looking forward to each trip as it comes, making a dent in that countries-seen goal one fraction of a percentage point at a time.

My mom and I are contemplating taking a cruise this fall (to Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama), and it’s got me thinking about some of the things I don’t like about cruising. Don’t get me  wrong, I’m a fan (as I explain in this post) — but nothing’s perfect. Here are some of the drawbacks as I see them:

1. The limited time in ports. If you’re out exploring, you always have to keep an eye on the time. Forget to watch your watch, and you’ll miss your sailing — and have to hoof it home (or, you know, buy a plane ticket, but that didn’t sound nearly as good).

2. The seasickness. Some people are hit harder than others by the waves of the ocean. I, for one, feel every undulation of the ship, although it doesn’t make me sick per se — but it is a strange sensation. This can be a killjoy for sure, though, for those who are most affected.

3. The cramped quarters. Some ships and some price points will get you more room than others, but overall, space is at a premium. Just try turning around in the shower.

4. The tempting food. I’ve had my fair share of good-for-you cuisine on a cruise, like salmon, greens, and vegetable soup. But let’s not forget nightly dessert, ice cream by the pool, midnight pizza, and cocktails packed with calories. When it’s all there on display — and free! — it’s tough to resist.

5. The hard sell. Cruises are, by and large, a pretty inexpensive way to get around. But they have you captive and want you to buy stuff, of course. When I go in for a fitness assessment, I don’t want to be told the ONLY way I can get to my ideal body fat percentage is by going on one specific (expensive) detox program and drinking seaweed. That’s just not true — and it’s a bit insulting.

Like I said, I think cruises are a fun supplement to other traveling, and I hope to do another before the year’s end. If you’ve been, do you have a favorite cruise line or destination?

(for a full-size version, click any photo)

I say I travel alone a lot, but the truth is, I have one constant companion: Alice. Alice is the GPS on my phone, and she became essential to my life four years ago when I moved to Texas. Texas is big, the signage leaves something to be desired, and, truthfully, my sense of direction leaves something to be desired, too (although it’s much improved with every passing year).

In those early days, it was a constant struggle getting anywhere — to an assignment, a happy hour, a store. I worked 40 miles from where I lived, and although I had that route down pat, veering off it for an errand was just asking to get lost. Dozens of MapQuest maps littered my car, and trying to read while driving — well, that’s a lot like texting while driving, a horrible, horrible idea (put down the cell phone for two seconds, kids!). And so I got Alice enabled on my phone, and life went a little smoother after that.

But Alice is not perfect — she doesn’t know when roads close, she takes exception when you defy her by taking an alternate route (“make the next legal U-turn,” she blares every 10 seconds), and she’s not always up on things. In fact, Alice doesn’t know the Tacoma Narrows Bridge exists, and that’s been connecting Tacoma to the Kitsap Peninsula since 1950.

Needless to say, I use Alice more as an aid than a prophet — she’s like a passenger who lived in the area in 1987 but whose memory of things is sometimes a bit fuzzy. Unfortunately, not everyone realizes GPS systems don’t know it all, like this unfortunate family in Australia. They followed their version of Alice onto a road that was closed due to heavy rainfall, ignoring signs warning them against taking this path, and promptly got stuck for three days. That probably wasn’t the best plan. I’ve been known to follow a foolish route or two of my own, but at some point, logic has to come into play. Sure, technology is great, but it will never replace using the ol’ noggin.

The fun thing about traveling is that you get to meet people totally unlike you — people who’ve lived completely different experiences, grown up with entirely different customs, and whose day-to-day routine isn’t what you’re used to. But every once in a while, you meet someone who’s not so unlike you at all.

Case in point: A few weeks ago, I was waiting for a show at Second City to start (if you’re in Chicago, I highly recommend it — but more on that later) when I started talking with the woman next to me. When she found out I was a writer, she turned to her teenage daughter and told her. The daughter’s done a lot of writing for publications while in high school, and told me she’s heading to college this fall to major in communication.

“Oh, that’s what  majored in, too! Where are you going to school?”

“The University of Pennsylvania,” she replied.

“Oh my goodness — that’s where I went!” I said. I talked to her a little bit about the school and the journalism options on campus. She, much like me, had the opportunity to go to a great school closer by, but chose Penn instead.

“Do you know yet what dorm you’ll be in?” I asked.

“Fisher,” she responded. I just happened to be an RA in Fisher-Hassenfeld my senior year. “I’m going to be in the Media & Communications program there,” she continued. And I just happened to be an RA for that very same program! (We did find one difference: She’ll be on the third floor; I was on the second.)

Sure, in places like New Jersey, it wouldn’t be so weird to run into someone going to my alma mater, but the similarities were pretty amazing — she pretty much was me eight years ago. I like meeting people from diverse backgrounds when I travel, but it’s also nice to meet someone who’s a lot like you.