Susan Getgood - Snapshot Chronicles Roadtrip

Drop of Hope

June 20, 2009 by Susan Getgood

DropOFHope_backfacebook I was updating the Blogroll and We Recommend pages this morning. In the process of adding the URL for SIGG water bottles, one of the products we recommend instead of purchasing water in plastic disposable bottles, I found SIGG’s fundraising campaign for the Jane Goodall Institute.

For every Drop of Hope bottle (a special design just for this campaign) purchased online, SIGG will donate $5.00 to the Institute. The money raised will be used to help improve clean water access in Africa.

If you are thinking of buying a water bottle this summer to save money and conserve our natural resources (by not contributing more disposable plastic to our landfills), consider a Drop of Hope.

SIGG also offers free shipping on orders over US$50.00. Buy two – one for you, one for a friend, and a cleaning brush or replacement cap. You’ll be good to go, and SIGG will contribute $10 to the charity.

Snapshot Recommendation: San Diego Wild Animal Park

June 14, 2009 by Susan Getgood

One of the highlights of our trip to San Diego a year ago was a visit to the San Diego Wild Animal Park in Escondido. It’s one of those places that I wish were closer, as I could go back every day and not be bored.

The facility itself is remarkable, but I encourage you to save some of your splurge money for one of the Park’s special experiences.

We did the Photo Caravan Safari, and chose the last tour of the day, which departed after the Park closes. Being among the only guests in the park is in itself cool, but you cannot beat the experience of feeding a giraffe.

New this summer at the Wild Animal Park, a Wilderness Ridge Mule Ride.

More pictures from our day at the Park.

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Welcome new author Mary Cardwell

June 8, 2009 by Susan Getgood

My friend Mary Cardwell and her family are going on a month-long trip out west this summer, and I was thrilled when she agreed to join me here on the Roadtrip to chronicle the trip. Her twin sons may even chime in with a post now and again to give us the kids-eye view. Watch for her first post later this week.

Father’s Day Excursions

June 6, 2009 by Susan Getgood

I have two Father’s Day excursions for you, one worth the drive if you are in the Boston area, and the other well worth a weekend getaway. Both are annual events; you go this year or you wait until next.

The Boston area – Stow MA

Every year on Father’s Day weekend — June 20 & 21 – the Collings Foundation in Stow opens its doors to visitors for Wings and Wheels Weekend. It’s a great opportunity to see the Foundation’s collection of vintage aircraft and automobiles. You can also book a ride in one of the vintage aircraft, but this must be done in advance. $10 adults, $5 kids.

Family eats in the Stow area: La Provence in Concord (review) and Nancy’s Airfield Cafe in Stow.

Central Vermont – Quechee

The Quechee Balloon Festival in Quechee Vermont is well worth the trip North. Dave and I went years ago, and last year we finally made it back with Douglas. There are activities all day long, but the highlight is the balloon ascensions in the morning and early evening. This year, we are planning our weekend to attend the Balloon Glow on Friday at approximately 8:30 pm. Balloon rides are available, but should be booked in advance.

Local accommodations: There are motor inns nearby in Quechee and White River Junction, but I recommend going a bit further and staying at the Kedron Valley Inn in South Woodstock. If they are full up, try the Woodstock Inn, and if you like bed & breakfasts, the Inn at Chelsea Farm, our Vermont neighbor.

By the way, if you are looking to visit the Woodstock area, we also rent our house. Check it out on Cyberrentals. This year, we will be there on Balloon Fest weekend, but we have lots of other availability this summer as we have just started renting it.

Back to the balloon festival. Admission is $10 adults, $5 kids; tickets are good for the entire weekend and dads accompanied by a kid are 1/2 price on Sunday.

Family eats in the Woodstock/Quechee area: There are a lot of great restaurants in the area, but if the family has spent the day at the festival, you want something fast and friendly. For lunch, I recommend the Farmer’s Diner in Quechee and for dinner, Bentleys in Woodstock.

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Memories of Hong Kong May/June 1989

June 3, 2009 by Susan Getgood

Twenty years ago this week, I was in Hong Kong visiting a college friend. I arrived late in the evening on Saturday May 27th and flew home Sunday June 11th.

Midway through my trip, on June 3rd & 4th, the Chinese government cracked down on the protesters in Tiananmen Square.

I had a decent 35mm SLR camera, and took a fair amount of pictures during my stay, but the only four I can find at the moment are the ones on display in the downstairs bathroom. I’m sure the photo album is buried somewhere deep in the basement. I looked, but could be down there all day and still never find it. I have a husband who likes to move things.

So, since I really should be writing a chapter for my marketing book, I decided to share some of the memories, and let you imagine the setting.

My first full day was Sunday June 28th. My college friend and I joined the 1.5 million people who paraded through downtown Hong Kong in a Democracy Demonstration. There was (and still is ) a strong democracy movement in Hong Kong focused on retaining as many of the colony’s freedoms as possible following 1997 reunification.

I still remember how to say “Down with Li Peng” (Premier of the PRC) in Chinese although I wouldn’t even dare to try and spell it 🙂

The balance of the first week was spent exploring different parts of Hong Kong. I have small memories as well as big ones. Breaking a heel on the way to the top of Victoria Peak and having to find a cobbler (which we did). Wandering around the different neighborhoods when I was on my own; my friend could only take some days off. Having lunch at the Vocational Technical Center Hotel School. Man Mo Temple. Shopping in a street market. Taking the ferry from Lantau Island, where my friend lived, to Hong Kong proper. The Star Ferry. Playing Pictionary with a group of my friend’s neighbors and colleagues.

It was during that game of Pictionary that we saw the first news about the crackdown on CNN. And the world tilted just a little bit.

After the crackdown, my plans for the second week changed. We cancelled a planned day trip to the mainland. Instead, I took a jetfoil to Macau on June 5th. On Wednesday June 7th, there was a General Strike in Hong Kong, and I remember just walking around, observing. I still have the scissors I bought to cut some cloth to make black armbands, but the armbands are long since gone. The week wrapped up with the Dragon Boat Festival (and I KNOW I took pictures of that) and souvenir shopping. Most of the rice bowls I bought have been broken, but I still have and use the chopsticks.

Fittingly and almost a reflection of the mood, toward the end of the week, a major tropical storm approached the island, with warnings ranging from Signal 1 to Signal 3.

And then I flew home — from the old Hong Kong airport. The one that was so close to the buildings you felt you could reach out and touch them as you landed.

I would love to go back some day. See what Hong Kong is like post-reunification. See what it is like in more normal times. Certainly, many of my experiences were no, or not much, different than they would have been in quieter times.

Yet, I can tell you — nothing was the same either. The events in Tiananmen Square changed Hong Kong the two weeks I was there. Hopeful, exuberant, defiant the first week. Somber, saddened but still defiant the second.

That’s what I will remember the most about Hong Kong.

It endures.

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