What to do when you are stranded overseas

Being stranded far away from home can be a frightening and frustrating experience. A lot depends on where you are stuck, who you are with and what options are available to you. Being stranded can mean a lot of different things. Most importantly, you need to keep your wits about you and consider all the options.

If you are going to be stranded longer than just a few hours, you need to consider finding accommodations. When stranded in an airport, this isn't hard to do. Most airports have tourist desks where you can get help finding a room. If you are not in an airport then the local tourist office or visitor center would be the best place to head.

Having access to a computer will make finding them a lot easier but isn't necessary.

If there is a chance that you will run out of money, you need to make contact with someone back home who can help you. Almost anywhere in the world, you can get money transferred to you through Western Union. If you are an American Express cardholder, their local office can cash checks drawn on an American Bank even in foreign countries.

If you are an American traveling abroad, the American Embassy can be of assistance to you. They can help you contact people at home and they can help you get back on your feet if you have been robbed or lost your documents or credit cards. It is always a good idea to know where there is one when you are traveling outside the U.S.

If you are just stuck and money isn't an issue then this could be one of the best adventures of your life. I can't imagine anything better than being stuck in London for a day or two, or three or four. The same can hold true for almost any city, large or small. Cities like Amsterdam, have tours that will pick you up at the airport and take you on a tour for the number of hours that you have. This is also great if you have a long layover.

Try to think of being stranded as an extension of your vacation or a vacation added to your business trip. Use your time to make new friends, have a great meal, see some new sights, go to a spa and have a massage or just take a nap.

Charming Places to Stay in Kennebunkport, Me

Kennebunkport, Maine has been a popular vacation spot with generations of the Bush family and many others. If you don?t happen to be among those who have a summer home here or are a year-round resident, there are still plenty of places for you to stay so that you can enjoy everything that the area has to offer.

Captain Jefferds Inn

Rumb Line Resort

Just a short drive away from the Bush family compound, this is more motel than hotel. It is a two level building which is considered a resort because it has both an indoor and an outdoor heated pool, indoor and outdoor hot tubs and spas. Free wireless Internet access is offered in every room. The Admiral's Table is open nightly during the summer season and is famous for its Down East Lobster Bake. There are a variety of rooms and suites available including two rooms that are offered to smokers. The prices here are reasonable and include a Continental breakfast, as well as full use of the facilities including the fitness center. We had a very comfortable stay.

The Kennebunkport Inn has one of the premier locations in Kennebunkport and is a local landmark with over 100 years of service. If you are looking for a first-class experience, this is the place for you. The inn is a former merchant?s mansion that has been turned into an elegant accommodation. The Inn has 49 rooms but not all of them are located in the main building so if you prefer to be in the historic part of the building, be sure to request that when you make your reservation. The Inn is convenient to lots of shops and restaurants. Rates include a Continental breakfast and there is dining available at the inn. Additionally, you can order spa services and have a completely relaxing getaway.

The Nonantum Resort offers an oceanfront location which is slightly outside the center of town. There are two buildings at the resort, The Portside, and The Carriage House. There are also two restaurants and lots of planned activities during the summer months. There is a heated outdoor pool. The Carriage House was originally opened as an inn in 1884 and has been greatly expanded over the years. Some of the rooms are in a Victorian style and some are more modern in design. The Portside rooms have ocean views. There are family rooms in both buildings. The resort is family-owned and a family member is the innkeeper. Breakfast is included in the room rate.

The Maine Stay Inn and Cottages is the perfect place to stay if you are traveling with family. The cottages sleep additional people and several of them offer the option to connect with the cottage next door. Not to say that the Inn isn't a romantic couple?s getaway, it is perfect and the complimentary breakfast will be a wonderful treat. The inn is located within walking distance of lots of the historic village attractions, dining, and shopping.

Captain Jefferds Inn is a magnificent bed and breakfast inn located within walking distance of all the fun in Kennebunkport. With 16 unique and gorgeous rooms and suites, you will certainly find on that will suit your taste and pocketbook. Breakfast is served in two shifts and can be communal or private, you choose. Three courses are served and it is all absolutely delicious. Tea and coffee are served in the afternoon along with sweet treats and cheese and crackers. You can eat it in the sunroom, outdoors or where ever you feel comfortable. We loved this place.

These are just some of the wonderful accommodations that Kennebunkport has to offer. Why not plan your vacation, today.

My Hotel Horror Story

This hotel horror story takes place in Brussels. I am an over-planner. I am always so careful about my choices. I do a lot of research. Which just goes to show that even with the best intentions and plans, things can still go wrong and this one went very wrong.


I am going to leave the hotel unnamed to protect, well it isn't to protect the innocent that's for sure, but let's just say this hotel is a grand dame in Brussels. As we walked into the lobby we had no idea that anything might be wrong. it is absolutely gorgeous, a belle epoch beauty.

As we were checking in I heard the woman who was checking us in ask the other man who was helping us in French "it is a non-smoking room isn't it", he just shrugged and went on with what he was doing. Of course, he had no idea that I am fluent in French.

With our room key in hand, we head toward the elevator. In this part of the lobby there is a beautiful old-fashioned brass elevator, no that one was not for us, we headed farther into the hotel with our bellman. We went up several floors and the bellman opened our door. We walked in and gave him his tip. He went off with our two friends to their room. We walked over to look at the bathroom and noticed that the toilet was running. We jiggled the handle but it wouldn't stop. We grabbed the bellman from the hall to see if he could help. He couldn't get it to stop either.

He called down to the desk and told them our problem. They told him to take us to another room, which he did. He had a master key so he could get us in. As soon as we entered this room I was hit by the stench of cigarette smoke and also saw the ashtray in the room. Oh no, I said we had a non-smoking room. He called down to the desk, this really annoyed me because they knew we were non-smoking.

Okay, they sent us off to a new room. We walked in and put down our suitcase yikes there was already a suitcase in the room, he had just let us into someone else's room. You guessed it, the bellman called the front desk again and off we went again. This was now room number four.

This room was okay. Not much to look at, the colors were garish and didn't match but the bathroom had been renovated and it was beautiful, it even had a bidet. Okay, we were pretty happy now. Later that evening when I was walking around the room in my stocking feet I found a damp spot on the floor. I figured they must have steam cleaned the carpeting.

We woke up at 7 a.m. to an unusual sound. Tap, tap, tap it took me a while to figure out where it was coming from. There was water dripping from our ceiling onto the floor, right about where I had felt the damp spot earlier. I called the front desk and told them that we had a water problem. About 10 minutes later a knock on our door and the plumber was there. "You have water?” he asked. I just pointed to the ceiling, the look on his face was comical "Oh" was all he said and then he left.

Five minutes later a knock on our door, it was the bellman we had to move to another room. We had to pack with no notice, grab our robes and toiletries and head down the hall. Enter room number five. It had stained drapes and wallpaper and a bathroom light that hummed every time we turned it on but that seemed like a small thing after everything else.

We met our friends and headed down for breakfast. One of our friends almost caused an international incident when he toasted raisin bread. They literally yelled at him, "You can only toast bread" evidently in Brussels raisin bread isn't toasting bread. Then our other friend tried to walk out of the breakfast room with a newspaper. The Maitre’d acted as if we had just stolen the Hope Diamond. Nope, you can't remove the newspaper.

The staff at this hotel had the worst attitude I have ever encountered. No one was ever nice or friendly. It was just awful.

When I got home I contacted the owner and was given a full credit for our stay and even for free this hotel cost too much. They offered me an additional free stay in a suite and I didn't take them up on it, once was quite enough for me. If ever there was a hotel that is surviving on past glories, it is this one.

To find out the name of the hotel, follow the link .

Cruise Port Review: Santo Tomas de Castillo, Guatemala

I am not even sure where to begin to describe this cruise port. Let me see!  Ugly. Worthless. Smelly. Forgettable. Worst ever. I am running out of adjectives.  I think you get my message. Actually, I should have gotten the message when I saw the options for excursions and the reviews of said excursions. The private excursions company that my cruise consolidator hooked me up with didn't even offer any. 

When you looked at the port, it is a port, an active port with containers, trucks and stinky fumes. Just what every cruiser is hoping for. 

Now in the distance, you can see some mountains and lots of greenery. But the only thing you can do at this port in the beating sun is to visit a metal building which houses local craftspeople. I am not someone who enjoys haggling and I refuse to be overcharged, a bad combination in this part of the world. 

We opted to stay on board. We did climb to the uppermost level of the ship to get what views were available to us but had we not stopped here, it would have not been any sort of loss in my opinion. 

I am still pretty stunned that they even took us here, Santo Tomas de Castillo, Guatemala has nothing whatsoever to recommend itself to tourists. 

Tennessee: Visiting Elvis' Graceland

If you are in the Memphis, Tennessee area, you must take the time to tour the most visited private home in the world. Graceland, on Elvis Presley Blvd. is the home Elvis Presley purchased in the late 1950s and today it stands as a monument to the man known as "The King". If you plan on visiting Graceland, you need to plan ahead.

It is advisable to purchase your tickets online before you come. You have a choice of how much you want to see on your visit. The basic house tour was $38.75 for adults. You can save if you are a senior or if you have AAA or if you become an Elvis Insider. A variety of other options are also offered depending on how interested you are and how much you want to spend.

A large parking lot is located across the street from the mansion. Parking was $10 per vehicle and $15 for large vehicles. You then walk through the blue canopy into the main building where you pick up your tickets. You will have your purse checked, are handed a self-guided audio tour, have your photo taken, and then have to climb onto a bus that will shuttle you across the street to the mansion.

If you are expecting something the size of Tara you will be disappointed. By today's standards, this is hardly big enough to even be called a mansion. It is smaller than most new home construction. You walk in through the front door and enter the foyer. On the stairs leading upstairs, there are three of Elvis' favorite guitars. The tour will not take you upstairs into the bedroom and private areas of the house. In life this was private and they have decided it should remain so.

The formal living room is on the right and it is the first room you walk into. At the far end, you will see the grand piano. There are pictures on the wall and in many ways, it seems as if family members will be down soon to sit on the 15-foot white sofa. The decor looks as if it is still 1977, and the reality is, time has stood still here since the day Elvis died.



You are guided by your audio tour through the dining room, the pool room, the basement, the kitchen, and the jungle room. It isn't a long tour and before you know it you are back outside and standing in the carport where Elvis parked some of his famous vehicles.

The tour continues to the office that his father Vernon kept in the rear of the house to the trophy room where you will see his many awards, Grammys, platinum records, and costumes he wore both during his performances on the stage and in the movies. There is a lot to see in this building and it is very interesting. On display are the clothes that both he and Priscilla wore on their wedding day as well as some of Lisa Marie's baby clothes.

While you are on the grounds you will see Lisa Marie's swing set which looks like any other swing set from the 1970s. It is no more elaborate than what any other little girl would have had in that time period.

The Racquetball court has been converted into a museum housing some of his later costumes and awards.

The last stop is the meditation garden and this is where Elvis is buried with his parents, twin brother, and his grandmother. It is a very serene place and no one was talking much. The whole area was surrounded by flowers that are sent almost daily by adoring fans. Elvis has not been forgotten by the hordes who loved him in life.

For anyone who grew up in the era of Elvis, Graceland is a must-visit. Even if you are too young to have known him in life, this is the story of a simple and good man from Mississippi who had a big talent. He shared much of what he received and was adored by many. He never forgot where he came from, which was Tupelo, Mississippi. From a poor working-class family, Graceland became home to his parents as well as his grandmother.

His plane the Lisa Marie can be visited with a more extensive ticket as can his automobiles. Depending on how much you want to spend, how big a fan you are, and how long you have you could really almost spend the day doing just this. Needless to say, there is a gift shop and you can purchase a mug, postcards, tee shirts and lots of other items. Even a cookbook with the all too famous fried peanut butter and banana sandwich recipe.

It is expensive to visit Graceland but it is expensive to maintain a collection like this. If you are a fan, don't hesitate. It is not as luxurious as you may expect but it is much homier and you get to know the real man as well as the rock and roll icon.

The joys of driving to and from Florida

On January 1, for the last three years, we have left home in Connecticut and headed west and then south to end up in Ocala, Fl. Most of our friends don't understand why we do this and even more so that we only drive 250  miles a day. We stop 4 nights on the way down and more on the way back.

Why don't we just drive it in two days or fly? First, there is not a convenient airport to Ocala and second, it would mean buying a car. Plus we are too old to drive it in two days, we would be exhausted and we wouldn't get to see anything.

Instead, we drive to somewhere in Pennsylvania, usually around Hazelton, there is a Fairfield Inn that we like with a Damon's Grill in the parking lot. This way we don't have to worry about where we are going to eat dinner.

Our second night is spent in Virginia, it may be Staunton, it could be Winchester or sometimes Harrisonburg. All of them have a lot to recommend them. We love the Museum of the Shenandoah in Winchester, the Stonewall Jackson Hotel in Staunton and the prices in Harrisonburg. 

The third night is spent in the area around Lake Norman in either Davidson or Mooresville. Both of them have a lot to recommend them including comfortable accommodations and excellent restaurants. Davidson also has some fun shopping options. 

The fourth night on the road is always in Savannah. We stay in the same Fairfield Inn every time if a room is available again because of the restaurant in the parking lot, a Houlihans. 

On the way back home, I go a different way, we stick to I-95. We drive a little farther the first day to Bluffton, South Carolina. If it is a Sunday, we know where the Catholic Church is and we have stayed at both the Fairfield Inn and the Candlewood Suites. Candlewood Suites has a great restaurant in their parking lot, the Oakatie Ale House. 

The second night is somewhere in the vicinity of Wilson, NC. The determining factor is usually price. One year we chose Smithfield and discovered the Ava Gardiner Museum. 

Our third night in somewhere near Chantilly, Va. We have chosen a variety of destinations, again the price is the determining factor. This year we chose the Hyatt Place. We have stayed at Holiday Inn, Marriott and Fairfield Inn in the past. We spend several days here visiting our friends and also visiting historic houses in the neighborhood. 

This year was an exception, we drove straight up 75 into Georgia and visited the Jimmy Carter Historic Site and Andersonville. We spent the night in Americus at a Best Western Plus hotel.

We spent our second night on the road in Greensboro, NC at a Springhill Suites. Another year we spent several nights in Roanoke, Va so I could visit the sites there. 

We are pretty flexible about where we stay depending on what we plan to do in the area.

Now you have a better idea why I don't particularly find the option of flying to Florida all that appealing, there are so many interesting places to visit along the way.