Training for a Tri

HCC: With just a few chapters left to write, my fellow LGs and I are almost done with the book. Kind of like cramming for finals, we've hunkered down over our computers, fortified ourselves with coffee and chocolate, and have pulled more than a few all-nighters.

Now we're ready to shoot for a different kind of challenge: training for a triathlon. We had plenty of practice on the road, between running stairs in Cusco to prepare for our 26-mile Inca Trail hike, biking the 20-plus miles around Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and practicing our strokes while at surf camp in Byron Bay, Australia. Still, it's been awhile since we've pushed ourselves physically.

Unlike marathons, triathlons require a lot more equipment. To help decide what kind of bike to get, how to find a wet suit that fits, and how to move faster through the transitions, I went to a triathlon education night in New York City organized by Dr. Jordan Metzl, a sports physician and six-time Ironman triathlete. You have to sign up to see the webcast, but it has a lot of useful information. We'll keep you updated on which triathlons we'll be doing, and would love any training tips from those of you who have done one before.

A Day in the Life of the Wienermobile Girls

Molly is one of two Lost Girls criss-crossing the country in a Wienermobile—yes, that's the frank-on-wheels. You can read more about her hot dogging adventures at clicking here

by Molly Fergus

After eight months on the road, we’re skilled at convincing ourselves we have sort of normal lives. Each morning we wake up, hop in the company car, and head to work.

That’s what we tell ourselves, anyway, until we have a day like this past Saturday in southern Tennessee. At each of our three events, we were startled by both the randomness of our lives and the generosity of the people we met. A rundown, for your enjoyment:

7:45 a.m. Drive through Lawrenceburg, TN, which we discovered is the hometown of Fred Thompson, Law and Order actor and brief Republican presidential candidate.

8 a.m. Arrive in Loretto, TN, a two-stoplight town.

10:30 a.m. Give two jazzed high school students a ride around the block.

11 a.m. Meet the owner of Tietgan’s Super Rama grocery store in Lawrenceburg, TN. He treats us to sandwiches (made with Oscar Mayer lunch meat, of course).

12:10 p.m. Ask if anyone knows Fred Thompson.

12:15 p.m. Decide no one knows Fred Thompson.

1:45 p.m. Cruise through Amish country.

3:45 p.m. Meet a group of six from Full of Faith, a Tennessee-based ministry that feeds the homeless; they assemble and deliver hundreds of sandwiches each week made from…Oscar Mayer Bologna, of course.

3:55 p.m. The Full of Faith members pray for us; we’re flattered and also really enjoy hearing the word “Wienermobile” in a prayer.

4:30 p.m. Head to our home sweet Hampton Inn.

Travel Blogger Eats for Free in NYC!!

Jen: As I sit here in my office, polishing off an $8.50 Lenny's tossed salad and $2.25 organic tea while a space heater melts the slush off my boots, two thoughts cross my mind: 1) I need to run, not walk, out of this steel gray city and not look back til Spring and 2) it's slightly tragic that the cost of my lunch alone was more than 1/3 of The Lost Girls' daily budget when we were on the road. Fortunately, Amanda, Holly and I are planning a trip to China in April (our first one together since returning from our RTW adventure - yay!) so that assuages my wanderlust enough to get me through the day.

But trying to eat on the cheap in one of the most expensive cities in America? Well...considering my insatiable addiction to dining out, an utter lack of cooking skills and the extensive list of take-out numbers I already have programmed in my cell, that just seemed way too daunting a task for this New Yorker. But as luck would have it, one of my favorite Lost Girls of the Week, Courtney Scott, recently set out to prove it could be done. Embarking on a culinary challenge of epic proportions, Courtney managed to satisfy her every hunger whim for an entire week (and counting) without spending a single cent.

For a detailed account on how she accomplished such an extraordinary task and the current state of her stomach, check out the below.

Bon Appetit!

*****

Courtney Scott on: Free Eats Week
I've passed my one week mark, still feeling good, and finding a plethora of diverse snacks to satisfy almost all of my cravings. I'd still love to find a nice fat eel and avocado roll, but hey, Free Eaters can't be choosers! Health-wise, this week's diet has run the gamut. On the nutritious side, I've eaten locally grown apples, organic corn salad, braised fennel, hummus and even freshly pan-seared tilapia. On the more glutinous side, well, the list is long: Dark chocolate, gelato, pizza, artisinal cheeses, cured meats, chips, brownies, and to-die-for bread pudding. I think my fat intake has even been upped this week, despite the small portions!

I haven't bought any groceries, ordered takeout or paid for a restaurant tab in nine days, allowing me to put more money towards my looming college loans. Although I began this experiment out of curiosity, I'm saving a heck of a lot of cash-o-la and may not shutting down my Free Eats operation any time soon! Through this week's research I've discovered dozens of free and cheap specials around the city, and will continue to share my tips as the list keeps growing.

As any New Yorker can attest, New York City is a miserable place to save money. Those who choose to reside here often sacrifice savings to pay astronomical expenses, but we do it to experience the magic of the greatest city in the world. Free Eats Week was a reminder to myself that, with a little perseverance, creativity and an open mind, there are alternative ways to save...and have delicious fun in the process!

For extensive coverage and up-to-the minute updates on Courtney's Free Eats Week, visit Abroadrview.com

Free Eats Week has also been featured on:
Midtownlunch.com, Eater.com, NBCNewYork.com, BuzzFeed.com, CityFile.com, TheFoodSection.com, MediaBom.tv, Williblog.tumblr.com, LarryFire.wordpress.com, Bankergonebroke.com, SuperSillyUs.com, KaufmanHerald.blogspot.com, Gothamist.com, Preash.net, Open.Salon.com


About Courtney:
Courtney Scott is a vibrant freelance travel journalist and on-air personality based in New York City.

As a correspondent she has appeared on national television including MTV’s Total Request Live and The Rachel Ray Show. She has been a contributing editor for CondéNet’s Jaunted: Pop Culture Travel Guide, and her travel writing has been featured on PeterGreenberg.com, Trazzler.com, The Lost Girls and Examiner.com.

Courtney’s photo coverage of this summer’s garbage crisis in Naples, Italy and prostitution rise in Treviso, Italy captured the attention of Peter Greenberg who featured her photography in his New York Times Best Seller, DON’T GO THERE!

Courtney experienced incredible success during her career at MTV Networks, lived in New Zealand and Italy and has explored four continents. She has survived a harrowing boat crash on the Mekong River, hitchhiked across Milan in a windowless truck, danced the Haka with Maori natives and interviewed Hollywood celebrities on the red carpet.

She focuses her writing on what she knows best: independent travel, budget travel, women travel, food, culture, lifestyle and entertainment. Through her writing she has inspired young professionals across the world to begin exploring life outside the corporate cubicle. She is driven by the connective power of travel journalism and will continue to motivate, educate and entertain through her writing.

Contact me: CourtneyNYC@gmail.com Blog: http://www.abroadrview.blogspot.com/

Creative Ways to Save for Travel: Move to Latin America

by Kyle Hepp

So the last time I blogged for Lost Girls World, I had just married my Chilean husband, was adjusting to life as a newlywed expat in Chile and trying to save money for a trip around the world.

Well, guess what I’m doing now – still trying to save money for a trip around the world. No surprise their, we’re planning a major trip that should last for 1 to 2 years, so we need major cash.

My husband and I paid off our wedding and our previous credit card debt in December from 2007, and from there we started socking away every extra penny. It took all of 2008, but we currently have about $21,000 in the bank. I’m proud of how much we have saved, but I know we have a long way to go to reach our trip goal of 60k (10k for an emergency fund and 50k for making our way backpacker style through Latin America, Europe, Asia and Australia).

The Lost Girls were hoping I could give a little advice on how to save money for a big trip like the one we’re taking, so before I created this post, I thought long and hard about what to tell you.

I could list off the typical tips – Stop going to Starbucks and put all your latte money in savings, put all your change in a jar, create a budget, don’t eat out, etc.

But, the truth is my husband and I haven’t done any of that. We live like ballers in Chile and we’re still saving. We’re not financial rockstars in the sense that we make really wise investments or know a lot about banking and money. The big secret is, we live in a third world country and I make a first world country salary.

So yes, I’m telling you that before you even take your big trip or whatever it is you’re saving up for, you should move to Mexico, or Chile, or really anywhere in South America. Santiago, where we live is actually one of the most expensive countries, but this strategy is still working for us.

Because honestly, living costs in developing countries are much lower. And if you’re creative you can think of a way to make a U.S. salary and work that to your advantage. I currently own my own destination wedding photography business, blog for 4 different companies and I do online operations for a mystery shopping company. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

My working hours are crazy, I bust my arse to make my money. It’s worth it. Within two years we will have saved up for the trip of the lifetime. And we’ve done so while continuing to maintain a high quality of life – living in a nice loft, going out regularly, continuing to travel on smaller trips, and having a maid come once a week. Are you jealous? Well then, move to Chile!

Honeymooning for a Living: The Globetrotting Bride

New York-based publicist Lyla Gleason has what most would consider to be a dream job—she jet sets around the globe, showing off destinations to journalists who write for the glossiest of travel magazines. Who wouldn't want to fill her shoes (or at the very least, carry her bags?).

Recently, this PR maven embarked on a very different kind of journey: she took a trip down the aisle. While preparing for her wedding and the honeymoon that followed, she discovered the few online resources were really devoted to the intersection of marriage and travel. So Lyla decided to create her own blog, The Globetrotting Bride which features travel destinations for bachelorette trips and honeymoons, travel-friendly beauty products, wedding/honeymoon fashions, gift ideas, expert travel tips and more. Here's how her latest project got off the ground....

*********
Lyla: I’ve always had a passion for travel. Between my yearly trips to Florida to visit my grandparents, teenage visits to Europe, a college semester abroad and dozens of girlfriend getaways, couples vacations and family trips, I’ve always said “yes” to a fun-filled getaway.

Spending spring semester of my junior year in Rome was one of my favorite travel experiences. Getting to take art classes and actually visit the famed works of art was unbelievable. And, don’t get me started on all the yummy pasta and gelato, amazing fashions and cute guys. Since then, I’ve explored much of Europe and my favorite cities remain: Rome, Istanbul, Venice, Paris, Amsterdam, and Brussels.

As it became time to choose a career, my travel addiction helped lead the way to my becoming a travel publicist in New York. I’ve worked in several PR firms where my clients included hotels, resorts, destinations and airlines around the world. While this sounds very glam (and it sometimes was), there were definitely flight delays, cranky journalists and long, grueling itineraries. And to think, my mom thought I was a “travel agent” while my friends thought I was really going on “vacation” every time I packed my bags for a press trip.

All in all, I got to see some amazing countries and I met lots of interesting people. Some of my career highlights include going on South African safaris, playing croquet with Robin Leach in Antigua, learning to fly-fish in California and flying to Jamaica to help couples “test drive” a one-day honeymoon.

When I was planning my summer 2008 wedding I realized how few wedding blogs really covered topics related to the honeymoon and all of the other fun wedding-related trips like bachelor/bachelorette trips, pre-moons, scouting trips for destination wedding, etc.

To me, getting married meant getting a travel partner for life so the honeymoon (or honeymoons) was at the top of my to-do-list. In fact, since I met my husband three years ago, we have been on many fun-filled road trips and far-away getaways. Sometimes we go for romantic, kinda fancy getaways like Riviera Maya in Mexico, sometimes it’s a spa getaway like our St. Lucian mini-moon and now and then it’s a road trip to visit friends and family (he drives, I sing and take pictures). And when you think about it, weddings are all about romance, and what's more romantic than an exciting trip shared with your partner? So traveling together can also be a fun way to bring back the romantic magic of your wedding, even many years later.

I dubbed myself the Globetrotting Bride and started blogging to share my passion for globetrotting, travel and packing tips, suggestions for romantic and bachelorette getaways (my girls took me to Bermuda) and scoop on travel-friendly products. Whether you’re a bride-to-be or a travel fan like I am, you can visit me at www.globetrottingbride.com. I’ll be sharing reviews from my personal travels including the hopefully two more honeymoons we’re planning to take this year.

Lost Girls Field Trip: Andros Island-Part 7

Jen: While I wouldn't trade my position as 1/3 of The Lost Girls writing team for anything in...well...the world, I recently spread my journalist wings and accepted my first solo assignment: a 9-part web series on Andros Island for the pop culture travel site, Jaunted.com. But even though I temporarily flew away from the nest, I felt compelled to bring my stories home to you, my favorite TLG readers. I'll admit that this, my 7th post, is a bit on the random side (sorry all you bonefishers out there), but quirky enough to justify reading! So enjoy The Great Bonefish Debate and stay tuned next week for Cage-Free Swimmng with Sharks!
*****

"The Great Bonefish Debate": With a little time to kill in the Nassau airport before we hopped a puddle jumper to Andros Island, my travel buddy Mark and I had decided a little "Welcome to the Bahamas" drink was in order. So we pulled up a few bar stools at Marshall's--it's in the domestic terminal--and ordered our first of many island rums. It was Marshall, the delightfully friendly owner, himself who poured our drinks before asking us to fill out his NFL fantasy football card. Since I’m pretty much a college-ball only gal (Go Seminoles!), I can only hope I didn’t lose too much money for poor Marshall that day. But I digress!

It was there in that little tiki hut that the Great Bonefish Debate was sparked. That may sound random, but with a vast expanse of mangroves and flats, Andros has earned the title of "Bonefishing Capital of the World" from the international community of avid anglers. So it’s only natural that it came up in conversation. Well, in this case I specifically asked Marshall about bonefishing, but same difference. It’s not that I don't know my fishing: After all, I’d gone on numerous catfish expeditions with my dad in Mississippi when I was a kid. And later, I'd dutifully watched Brad Pitt cast his reel in the film “A River Runs Through It.” But admittedly I was kind of a bone head when it came to the specific art of bonefishing. Luckily I had Marshall to clear things up...

In the brief time we had before dashing off to catch our flight, Marshall explained that many people don’t even keep the prey they catch, but he says bonefish are one of the absolute sweetest tasting swimmers in the sea, so they make for an excellent meal if prepared properly. Since there are an extraordinary amount of bones in bonefish--yeah, that I kinda figured--you have to know a very specific "snap and break" process, which Marshall described as squeezing the body just so in order to then rip all the bones out in one whack. While even he doesn't know how exactly it's done, he has Bahamian friends who do, he insisted.

Once the fish is clean, Marshall continued, he likes to fillet it, top it with onions, lime juice, salt, pepper and spices and cook it to perfection. Well that all sounded pretty straight forward to me. In fact, I was genuinely excited to sample this supposedly delightful cuisine.

But the second I arrived at the Small Hope Bay Lodge and began speaking with the knowledgeable staff and actual fishermen, I realized pretty quickly I'd probably never get a taste. My tale horrified some and delighted others, but everyone agreed that bonefish was probably one of the last sea creatures you’d want to consume. Not that it isn’t possible, but it’s not worth the hassle--and it would be in strict violation of the bonefishing code of conduct, which generally deems the sport catch and release only.

From what I’ve been told, actually catching a bonefish is a pretty rigorous process that requires immense physical endurance and strict concentration. I won’t even attempt to get into the technicality of it all, but for those who are interested, you basically balance on the edge of a boat or stand knee-deep in water, watching, waiting and stalking the fish for hours in the hot sun. That didn’t sound particularly appealing to me either, but some friends I met at the lodge are wildly passionate about it.

In the end, I never did resolve the Great Bonefish Debate of "too eat or not to eat." But maybe that's the point: There's no one answer to the question!

For more info on Fishing Vacations at Small Hope Bay Lodge, visit http://www.smallhope.com/Fishing.html

*****
Dying to view my entire Andros blog series to date?...Of course you are! Click here to re-visit Part 1-7!

What you don't know about Kansas City, MO

by Molly Fergus

Out of nowhere, it seems, the travel industry is buzzing about Kansas City, MO.

SmarterTravel.com named the town one of its 5 Destinations to Watch in 2009– which also includes the decidedly more exotic Riviera Nayarit and Peru. Shortly after, Jaunted compared the city to Teddy Grahams, and of course a slew of travel blogs criticized the ranking.

Needless to say, we wanted to get in on the action. So after six days in the City of Fountains, we present our five things to love about good ol‘ KC-MO.

1. The Power and Light District We were afraid that this restaurant and shopping district, which the Kansas City utilities opened late last year, would feel too artificial. Instead, we found a thriving eight-block hub of shops and restaurants that are delicious, lively and even kind of swank.
2. The barbecue From the old school, fluorescent-lit Arthur Bryant’s to the “white linen” pulled pork at Jack Stack, KC knows its meat. ’Nuf said.
3. The airport MCI is as hassle-free as airports come. Each gate boasts its own security terminal, and the average TSA wait time hovers around five minutes.
4. The cultural mix Straddling the Missouri-Kansas border, Kansas City feels solidly Midwestern and gracefully Southern all at once. Case in point: You won’t have to choose between Culver’s and Chic-fil-a.
5. The Oregon Trail For about a day we couldn’t figure out why Independence, MO sounded so dang familiar. It turns out the Oregon Trail began in the Kansas City suburb…and when we played that ancient Apple computer game, we stocked up on oxen in Independence.

Molly is just one of two Lost Girls criss-crossing the country in a Wienermobile—yes, that's the frank-on-wheels. You can read more about her hot dogging adventures at clicking here