I get this question ALL the time on Yahoo! so I thought I’d put my standard response here. All I’ve learned about traveling when it’s cold.

Traveling anywhere in winter climates is both a good and a bad thing. Good because it is probably the off season (unless you’re traveling to ski) so it will be cheaper. Bad because it means you’ll be cold.

Growing up near Palm Springs, Ca I was born with a fear of being cold. That famous question, would you rather die of cold or heat, always elicited the ‘heat’ answer from me. I was honestly afraid of being cold. One winter my family celebrated Christmas in the local Big Bear Mountains so that we could have a white Christmas. It was beautiful, but skiing and sledding were only interesting to me for a little bit until I got so cold I was just miserable

When my husband attended Loyola of Chicago, we moved to Illinois for a couple of years. I finally had to face my fear of intense cold. It turned out to be not that scary, and yes, I’m still a wimp when it comes to cold. I hate being cold. The secret is to learn how to stay warm. Even though we’re back in California now, I feel empowered to travel to cold climates because I know how to dress and pack to stay warm.

I always start with good long underwear. On advice from my aunt, I paid top-dollar for silk underwear, and it was worth it. Much thinner and easier to wear than cotton, it wicks sweat better and keeps you much warmer. It’s hard to find though, but REI always carries it online. On top of that I always wear running technical socks under my boots, jeans or wool pants, long-sleeved shirts under long-sleved sweaters under down jackets. The keys though are the gloves and the hat/scarf combination. I always prefer a scarf to ear muffs because I hate ear muffs, but my hubby loved ear muffs so it’s personal. The gloves though are essential. If it’s really cold, use thin knit gloves inside mittens, otherwise get double-layered gloves with insulation in them or go for just mittens. Mittens are always warmer, but they don’t allow you to articulate your fingers. The hat should be cute, but warm knit. It doesn’t matter much what kind of hat, but any insulation up there will keep you DEGREES warmer than without.

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During the month of December, we read Eat, Pray, Love for our bookclub.  Sorry for the delay folks on the discussion, I’ve been moving across the country.  So now that we’re back online, it’s time for us to discuss it.  

We’ll begin today by general impressions of the book.  Did you like it or not?  Why?  What was your favorite part? 

Post your comments below, either by typing them into the comment section or by posting a link to your reflections on your own blog…

Read my reflections here….

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You’ve probably used Google Earth to map things, that or you’ve used a program that uses their software to run their own maping system.  In this, Wayfaring.com is not unique.  However, this new kid on the block has an interesting take on the traditional ‘create your own maps’ thing, namely that they allow you to add what they call ‘waypoints’ along the way.  These waypoints can mark destinations, of course, but also you can say something like “Look up here to see the top of the Lincoln Shrine peaking out above the orange groves” which adds a lot more to your little map.  Your maps are usually made public, like the walking tour of Redlands, CA, my home town, that I made (you can make them private if you want).   These then are searchable so that you can find maps made of areas that you’re traveling to that will help you find the best of the best of your travel destination.Wayfaring.com is still in beta, which means that sometimes you’ll run into gliches.  Be patient with them, I’ve been having trouble getting the initial ‘centering’ search to work but I emailed them and they said it should  be fixed soon.  I love trying out new sites and finding cool tools that will help me build helpful resources for fellow travel-planners.  I expect you’ll find some of my tours popping up around here soon…Check it out, let me know what you think. 

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The husband of the couple we’re living with now was raving about this cool new folding technique.  Try it, you’ll go hunting down T-shirts just to have fun.  It REALLY works!

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Ok, so you’ve positioned yourself to meet new people, what’s the next step?  Whether you’re traveling and looking to meet locals or just looking to make new friends in your own home town, getting out there and meeting new people can be intimidating.  Believe it or not, going someplace where there are people to meet is the biggest hurtle.  Once you’ve done that, here are 3 things you can do to make friends fast:

Step 1: Introduce yourself as someone looking to make friends.  “Hi my name is Suz, I’m (enter reason you’re in this location, eg: traveling around the world for a year).  I’m new to this area (this pub, this sport, this school) and I don’t have any friends yet so I thought I would introduce myself.”  Feel free to ‘close the deal’ after they introduce themselves by asking them if they would like to be your new friend.  This generally elicits a laugh, which leads to more conversation, which leads to friendship.

Step 2:  Share something personal.  True friendship is where you can share everything about your life with the other person.  Don’t assume this immediately upon meeting someone, it just makes you look self-centered.  Do, however, share something personal.  By this, I mean more than just your name, profession and a comment about the weather.  Share how traveling has changed you or what inspired you to travel to the location you’re in or something you’re scared of.

Step 3:  Exchange contact information and set up a second time to hang out.  This is easiest to do by inviting someone out for coffee or a meal or to join you on your local sight-seeing trip the next day.  A second time spent together will solidify the relationship as being more than just a one-time meeting to being a friendship.

So…

I’m Suz, the writer of this blog, and I’m a new travel writer.  Although I love writing, I’m finding it to be a solitary activity and I’m looking for online friends.  Would anyone like to be my friend?  Leave me a comment…

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