Flying through the streets of San Salvador on a bus – that was once used to take U.S. children to school – you’ll most certainly be approached by someone trying to sell you something, anything. When I traveled to El Salvador back in December of 2008, just one time, I decided to make a purchase…

I still have this tiny little Christmas card, which is blank and addressed to no one, as a wonderful little reminder of my trip.

Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Happy Holidays!

I tend to avoid ‘bucket lists’ or setting ‘travel goals.’ They add anxiety to my already wound up existence and I can’t take the pressure imposed upon myself despite the fact that I’m driven by discipline and goals. I just can’t bring that dark side of me to my travels. [Yes, that's a taste of what it's like to be in my head, have I scared you off yet?]

If I had to name one ‘soft’ goal, though, it would be going on a whale watch in the Bay of Fundy. The opportunity to see such a diversity of creatures and hopefully, right whales, is something that has always been in the back of my mind. Sadly, we didn’t see any right whales, but that doesn’t mean I look back on my trip with dismay. We saw whales and had an amazing experience. Plus, the New England Aquarium does a good job of providing me updates on what’s going on up there with their Right Whale Research Blog, so that sometimes makes up for it. Check that out, you’ll be blown away by some breathtaking photos and videos.

For the trip, we chose the Fundy Tide Runners because they take you out on a zodiac, a speedy raft that would bring us up close and personal with the whales. Also, it’s what they use in Whale Wars to pester the Japanese whaling fleet and I’ve always wondered what that’s like (disclaimer: we didn’t pester Japanese whaling fleets on this tour).

Fundy Tide Runners also have you wear a full blown life jacket that will make anyone look badass, which my father accomplished quite successfully with his token Bruins hat and sunglasses. His sarcasm coupled with his Boston accent and banter with Dave, our witty captain who had a love/hate relationship with Boston, also helped.

Once we got out onto the water it became clear that the Bay of Fundy is a special place. I’ve been on a lot of boats, swam and paddled through many bays, but there was something about this place that I’m having a hard time pinpointing. The smell was different, it was fresh and crisp. I’ve never seen such a boldness of color in the blueness of the ocean and the dark green trees hugging the bay. The water at times, looked like glass.

At one point during the trip, we even had a little biology lesson. David’s little girl (who was about ten, very talkative and absolutely adorable), spotted krill in the water and snatched it up so we all could take a close look.

Obviously, I couldn’t get my camera to focus on the right thing here, but you get the idea.

After a series of communication with some of the other whale watching boats out in the bay, we began tracking signs for a good sighting. What was great about being in a zodiac was our ability to speed to wherever the last spotting was to catch a glimpse of a whale before they departed.

I didn’t take many photos because I’m not very good at catching a moving target, especially while I’m moving. So I kept my camera on video mode hoping that I would capture something. In this video I found a whale that had sadly lost part of its dorsal fin.

Have you ever gone whale watching in the Bay of Fundy?

We stayed at the Seaside Beach Resort, which was right on the water. We loved it because we could make ourselves right at home. We were exhausted from our travels and in St. Andrew’s we got the chance to slip back into a routine we find ourselves in back home, except with better scenery. After our whale watch, we decided to take advantage of our view, and our charcoal grill. We picked up some wine, steaks and of course,  potatoes, and just relaxed before making the trek back to Boston. It was the perfect way to end our trip.

First, Nissan is giving away an entire road trip. What’s more, it’s a road trip that you get to create yourself. The contest is called My Versa Road Trip. To enter, first you have to create your own virtual road trip using Google Maps and Facebook. Then, Nissan will choose five participants who get to bring their friends on an all expense paid road trip. On-board cameras will document their journey, footage will be turned into a short film and a winner will be picked as a grand prize winner who wins a Nissan Versa and more! The Contest began on September 15, 2011 at 12:00:00 A.M. ET and ends January 20, 2012. You can find the rest of the rules here and in this here video..

So when my journey with Wholly Guacamole and Austin Andrews would allow me to branch out and catch up with the rest of the country on what it means to bowl, I jumped at the chance. Last night, I visited AMF Bowling in Georgia with Jennifer, Austin and Taylor – a fellow New Englander who was also knocking down those giant pins for the very first time.

To begin, I’m not very good at candlepin so my hopes weren’t high for traditional bowling either. Luckily, Jennifer – who was practically a pro – gave us some pointers.

Taylor and I joked in the beginning of the night that we could be the dark horses. Candlepin is known for being more challenging because you have to hit smaller pins with a smaller ball. After a serious rough patch, we did definitely got the hang of it.

So what do you prefer? Candlepin or “big ball” bowling?

You may have noticed that the reason for my travel has overtaken my Twitter feed a bit. I’m on the road with Wholly Guacamole on the Check Your Choice tour with Austin Andrews, a recent finalist on The Biggest Loser. For this campaign, we’re visiting schools and communities across the east coast talking about making healthier choices.

To actually get a better idea of where I’ll be, you can follow our travels on our blog. But until next week, I’ll be swimming in guacamole (can’t complain about that!).

See you on the other side…

——

Disclaimer: Wholly Guacamole is a client of my employer, PAN Communications.

I can’t believe how quickly time has flown since I married, and traveled so adventurously with, the love of my life…

It’s a little strange that I’m not a strong swimmer because of how much I am in love with the ocean. But while I don’t always opt to go for a swim, when I do get close to the water, it is almost always for the ocean. And when I travel, my utter fear reservations about putting myself in a situation in which drowning is a very real possibility, seems to fade. When I travel, I’m truly adventurous.

One of the few things that I absolutely had to do before leaving Nova Scotia was go sea kayaking. When I was asking advice on things to do in Nova Scotia, the incredibly helpful Doug from Authentic Seacoast – who is in my opinion, not only an incredible ambassador for all of Nova Scotia, but an admirable marketer – recommended East Coast Outfitters, which is about 30 minutes south of Halifax. I didn’t think twice and booked it.

After some quick photos, we geared up, got into our kayaks and set sail…

Before getting too far from the dock, our guide gave us a quick lesson on how we should approach the wind, how to turn our kayaks most efficiently and what to do if we flipped. This little lesson was much appreciated because the waters that day were pretty treacherous. Okay, that’s dramatic, but I will say that most of our trip was spent fighting the wind and it included a couple of last minute direction changes so that we wouldn’t be swept out to sea. Surprisingly, I wasn’t scared at all, it was exhilarating. In fact, as we floated through the semi-choppy waters I almost felt invincible.

Then, out of nowhere, a little gust of wind crept in and shit got real. After stopping at a tiny little beach for a snack (our tour was about four hours long), Mike’s kayak flipped while he was waiting for the rest of the group to get back into the water. The wind caught his paddle at just the right angle and it was enough to send him under. He was probably upside down for less than five seconds but that five seconds were the scariest seconds of my life. My entire body went numb and I almost flipped my own kayak.

Okay, that’s dramatic. We were still so close to shore that Mike simply had to stand up after crawling out of his kayak to get a breath of air. Once he was able to get back in we all set off for the journey back.

Thanks to Mike, who’s bravery extended beyond his little mishap (he brought his camera with him with the risk of it getting wet), we got some nice action shots…

In the end, Mike didn’t drown, I didn’t have a heart attack from watching him potentially drown and despite the flip, Mike’s camera made it out okay.

If given the chance to paddle with East Coast Outfitters again, I would do it in a heartbeat.

Our new friend, Mike Holmes.

Not that we’ve encountered many celebrity sightings, but I have to convey that for Mike – my Mike – it was really out of character to so brazenly, in his polite, gentlemanly manner, approach someone while they were eating dinner to get a photo. But that just goes to show how cool of a celebrity encounter this was.

When Mike first apologized, then asked for a photo, Mike Holmes couldn’t have been more genuinely nice about it. He even recommended that we leave the restaurant and head into the lobby where the light would be better. Then, when my dad tried to take the above photo, Mike Holmes spent a few minutes teaching him how to use the camera on an iPhone – which took some patience.

We’re still glowing a little from this surprising run in, but it’s mostly because we were so pleased to see that Mike Holmes is as nice a guy in person as he is on TV.

What’s your nicest celebrity encounter?

Our first stop was the Museum of Natural History and one of my favorite parts was meeting this little guy, who sits near the entrance keeping watch on the visitors.

My second favorite exhibit was of course, the whales. I love whales and I have since I can remember. You’ll see in a few posts that I continued to integrate that into our trip later on.

We also checked out some other nautical specimens, including this gigantic lobster. I’m standing there for scale, I’m five feet tall.

This ugly little guy, a native of Canada, has been creeping down south and today can be found in the New England area reeking havoc on domestic cats, chickens, turkeys, rodents, you name it. It’s a fisher cat. My parents have seen a couple of them while walking my sister and her husband’s dog in a suburb outside of Boston. Though it doesn’t seem so big, that thing would eat their little pug in one bite if it had the chance.

Next we made our way to the Halifax Citadel. Today they maintain some of the routines from when it was in operation, like firing canons every day at noon (except Christmas) and drills. It’s always cool to get a history lesson from another country’s perspective.

Next we visited the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

The Titanic exhibit might have been my favorite part. It was incredibly moving and it brought to light a piece of history that isn’t too commonly known – Halifax’s integral role in the aftermath of the disaster.

In addition to relics from the ship, the exhibit recreated passenger rooms that offer a tiny peek into what it was like for first, second and third class passengers. There is also a beautiful piece of artwork painted on the walls in the exhibit honoring Titanic passengers.

Have you ever been to Halifax? What was your favorite place?