Ms Traveling Pants Has Moved to Another Address!!!

To those that have stumbled upon this link or that have been following since my stories of Arranged Marriages, Camel Rides, Great Paella, and Run ins with some mean Insects.....I wanted to let you know that I have officially moved off this address.

I have a new face, layout with interactive podcasts and videos. Please come and visit at

http://www.mstravelingpants.travel

Sincerely,

Ms Traveling Pants

Beginning of Hurricane Season 2009

With only a day remaining until those of us in Florida enter into a new hurricane season from June 1st through the 30th of November, many are preparing by buying batteries, bottled water, canned soups, generators, extension cords, and the like.

It is with the start of this Hurricane season that I remember my first summer in Florida 2004. It was no more that one month into our lease at a new apartment and with a new car (without garage) that the trilogy of hurricanes came through Broward county and gave us a quick, crash course into Hurricane preparedness. For those that don't remember, it was the year of Frances, Jeanne, and Ivan. Notice that the storms go alphabetically alternating gender of name (Check out this year's names here).

We filled the bathtubs with water, duct taped the sliding glass doors and windows, turned the dining room table on its side to sleep behind, filled up all the Tupperware with water and froze, and filled the radio with plenty of batteries.

For those of you that have not experienced a Hurricane, they are something unbelievable. They are so powerful, unpredictable, and well scary. The whistle of the wind at 100 mph or more makes the foundation of your apartment or house crackle never knowing when it will be over. Then as a cruel joke, after a series of hours you have a small rest and the of eye of the storm passes over making everything seemingly calm. Then, it hits you again for a second reprise of the wild winds, sheets of rain, and offshoot storms.

So I am crossing my fingers for the next few months. Please spare us for yet another hurricane season. However, I will be getting ready. My trip to the store this week will include some of my hurricane favorites: Boboli pizza crusts, peanut butter, couscous, canned veggies, assorted crackers, little cocktail wienies, and nuts. (Notice that I didn't say cheese; although, it is a Ms Traveling Pants staple. It isn't the best when without electricity.)

BTW, I don't know if you noticed that I mentioned that we had no garage during the Frances, Jeanne, and Ivan scare. Somehow, our one week new Silver Honda Accord was safely parked between a SUV and truck. A large tree fell onto the two of them. We were spared.

Good luck to us all.

Do you have any hurricane recipes or survival tips?

Sleep Tight Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite!!

Having stayed in five different hotels in the last three weeks, I must say that I was fortunate to miss the bed bugs (as you know my affinity to bugs and my reactions), but I did sleep tight!  From California to the Carolinas to Jersey and Costa Rica one thing was for sure:

In ALL hotels, regardless of price, state, or country, there is always something very similar....the way the bed is made using military style technique.

Have you ever noticed that getting into the hotel bed is a process? There must be at least 5-7 pillows of all arrays of styles: square, regular, round, long and cylindrical.  Then, you must rip free from the depths of the mattress and frame not just the comforter but the blanket and the sheet.  

As a person that enjoys throwing a leg or foot out to keep my thermometer comfortable, I seem to fight the military style bed making skills that make sleeping the night through rather impossible.  Through my turns and temperature adjustments, I rip the sheets free from their imprisonment and give myself some breathing room. 

In this day and age where hotels are customizing sleeping experiences whether it be with both firm and soft pillows to select from and  sleep number beds, can I get a bed with a non-military style preparation? 

Any comments of your hotel experiences, bed making styles, or bed bugs?