The World

Sunday, July 9, 2023 by  

A mother picking up her child from a playdate once said to me, “I just came across your website and didn’t know you had a long career on television or traveled anywhere. And here I thought you were some Fairfield County shut-in Mom because you’re always with the kids and bake & craft and they come back home with cookies & stuff.”

I seriously had no comeback.

I just politely ushered her and her sweet daughter out the door, brownies & artwork in hand. It’s important to note here that this woman is an executive whose nanny usually picks up the little girl who’s been coming over for years. The Mom blurted her judgmental comment of which she certainly knew nothing about…ah, yes, one should never assume.

True, I’ve had an illustrious career distinguished by multiple journalism awards, blah, blah, blah. But being a mother has 

been & always will be my most important job. And true, I don’t send kids back home with their homemade goodies on a paper plate saying, “Susie was such a good girl and did you know I’ve been to more than 60 countries over 150 times on 5 continents? Have a nice night.”    

What riled me was that any Mom would think any other Mom was a “shut-in” just because she liked being home with the kids. All the kids, their friends and friends of their friends. Yeah, I like that! I like being home with my family & my pets. I’ve been fortunate enough to choose to stay home because I wish to. I’m grateful for it. I like that I only have to go to the radio station once a week & can write from home when the kids are in school. I don’t mind if a Mom works in an office, works from home, doesn’t have a job or doesn’t choose to keep working. Moms should not judge one another, they should support each other & their choices.  

That night, memories of my travels flitted through my mind… trains, ships & air on countless flights & logging tens of thousands of miles sailing through the Adriatic Sea, Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, Pacific Ocean, Andaman Sea, Denmark Strait, Red Sea, English Channel, Sea of Marmara, East & South China Seas, Gulf of Alaska, Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Aden, Suez Canal, Sea of Crete, Ionian Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Baltic Sea, crossing the International Date Line via ship, learning preventive pirate safety measures through the Suez Canal, and giving a big thumbs up to our US Air Force pilots during a fly-by over our vessel in the Red SeaEnjoying cool places like Malaysia, Egypt, China, Russia, India, Japan, Ireland, Turkey, Venezuela, Scotland, the Philippines, Germany, former Yugoslavia, Taiwan, England, Mexico, Hong Kong, Denmark, Spain, Guatemala, Sweden, islands throughout the Caribbean, and most of our own beautiful States from the top of the Haleakala Volcano in Hawaii to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, to snowy Killington Peak in Vermont and sunny San Diego, California & most everything in between.  

Coming from a large multicultural family, I eagerly welcome different traditions, different people, different views, and my travel experiences are packed with wonderful memories & world lessons … with a handful I’d like to forget. Sure, those are the best stories but for another time…

I’ve been a dinner guest at Parliament, a special guest at a Royal wedding, and a Thanksgiving guest in Turkey. I’ve enjoyed divine spa treatments on the beaches of Malaysia and wretched at the sight of travel friends drinking snake blood in Taiwan for a dare. Ewww! (Yes, they became very ill!)

I’ve been to Tianamen Square before the ’89 crisis, to Berlin before the wall came down, to Sarajevo before the war, and to Cancun before President Reagan attended an economic summit there making that once-quiet getaway in Mexico a carousing hub for partying tourists. 

I’ve been stuck at the top of a pyramid in Chichen Itza & stuck in a remote beach bathroom in the dark in Marbella Costa del Sol when the door handle broke…and so did the light!

I’ve kissed the great-great-great-great-great…on-and-on direct descendant of Christopher Columbus, a duke, and a well-known European prince who kisses like a lizard. Yuck! Traveling can be good and not so good!

 

 

 

 

I purchased my 1st major piece of jewelry in Hong Kong along with 100 rolls of film. Yup, took a lot of pictures then, too!  I’ve been traveling to Europe & around the world since I was just a few weeks old. So let’s take a little photo journey throughout the years:                                 GERMANY with Mom

                       GIBRALTAR                                                                             BARBADOS

MALAYSIA – apparently I liked stripes!

 BERLIN WALL

JAPAN

INDIA

 

Stark contrasts in India, just a walk away

Beautiful Taj Mahal mausoleum on the Yamuna River, commissioned 1632. Sweet monkey.

And below is the Red Fort, Palace of the Mughal Emperors, AGRA, INDIA 

Great Wall of CHINA – Odd that we don’t notice these things when we’re younger but why am I standing over that mountainous edge just for a photo!?

Autumnal view through the Wall’s window, Graffiti on the Wall, and LOOK at those STEEP steps!!

 LONDON Summer Ball

HONG KONG                                                                BOMBAY

CALIFORNIA

TAIWAN

Kinsale, County Cork, IRELAND

        PHILIPPINES                                                  DUBROVNIK, YUGOSLAVIA (former)

    ST. MAARTEN                                                     ROYAL THEATRE LONDON

SOUTH CHINA SEA

SPAIN

    SEVILLA                                                                                 CADIZ

The GREAT EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS at sunset…breathtaking

GREAT SPHINX OF GIZA, sitting on the steps in a PALACE IN EGYPT

BEIJING UNIVERSITY

MONTREAL

St. Basil’s Cathedral. MOSCOW, RUSSIA  

ST. PHILIP, ATLANTIC COAST

I was able to photograph the bride during their ceremony at CHIANG KAI-SHEK’s MEMORIAL

     VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA                              PENANG

                                                                          BARBADOS                                                                        

SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN

TURKEY

HUALIEN

JAMAICA

                             OSAKA                Great Pyramid – oldest of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World

GOETEBERG, SWEDEN

Beer from vending in KOBE….and 26 years later with my Hello Kitty backpack in SCOTLAND 

CHICAGO

My Dad getting us on the helicopter to see the Haleakala Volcano in HAWAII & later the waterfalls

KYOTO

        TAROKO GORGE, TAIWAN                                           LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND

ISTANBUL

 Getting stuck at the top of the CHICHEN ITZA Pyramid in MEXICO. Daddy saved me!    And we left the arena immediately in tears in VENEZUELA! 

            PUERTO VALLARTA                                                     TIANANMEN SQUARE

MARBELLA, COSTA del SOL

TURKS & CAICOS

CARIBBEAN ISLANDS (my Mom snapped these shots)

Attended Trinity College, DUBLIN, IRELAND… And visiting a hilltop monument in Ireland 

ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, Archipelago, Pacific Ocean

KIEL with my Granddad

NARA, JAPAN

  MT. KILLINGTON, VERMONT                                    THE GRAND CANYON

BERLIN

ASCOT, EAST BERKSHIRE, UK

ROYAL ASCOT

                             GUATEMALA                                                 DENMARK

BRANDENBURG GATE, EAST/WEST GERMANY age 9

DALLAS

LLANFAIRPWLLGWYNGYLLGOGERYCHWYRNDROBWLLLLANTYSILIOGOGOGOCH, WALES   Longest town name in the world!! This is the train station.

LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND

AMISH COUNTRY, PENNSYLVANIA

                   MARBELLA                                   A. EINSTEIN MEMORIAL, WASHINGTON, D.C.

                                  NEWPORT, R.I.                                                              ILLINOIS

WALES

                                 IOWA                                                            KEY WEST

   TEXAS

SOUTHEAST ASIA

         ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS                        OUTER BANKS, NORTH CAROLINA

6 bucks for this hostel in EAST ASIA

                               ENGLAND                                                                IRELAND

      KREMLIN, MOSCOW                          ADRIATIC SEA                                  SUEZ CANAL

SULTANAHMET CAMII Blue Mosque, circa 1609

            GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORDS, NYC                          PARK CITY, UTAH

If you know me, I’ve been snapping photos of kids or with kids for over 3 decades.

Look at these precious children from SARAJEVO & CHINA, simply beautiful!!!

               MONGOLIAN barbecue in ASIA                                  MILLENNIUM in EUROPE

NEW LONDON County

                         NEW YORK CITY                                                    ANDALUSIA

          WESTERN ASIA with my Mom when I was 5.                     EAST GERMANY when I was 9.

MAUI

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC                 SNOWBIRD, UTAH                                BERMUDA

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY for GRAND DEPART of TOUR de FRANCE

More CARIBBEAN Island pics with Mom eons ago

           BEAR MOUNTAIN                                  MEDITERRANEAN SEA                       CATSKILLS

                          BERLIN Zoo                                              BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

                        SOUTH AMERICA                                                        NEW JERSEY

GREENWICH Polo

                           BALTIC SEA                                                                          BAY OF KIEL

                    ARABIAN SEA                                                       ATLANTIC OCEAN

FLORIDA

Flying to MARTHA’S VINEYARD – our 9-year-old daughter co-pilots 🙂

DUTCH WONDERLAND

MEDITERRANEAN

VALLEY FORGE

VICTORIA & AUSTIN, TEXAS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Reagan’s Procession

NEAR EAST around age 5

THE PENNINES

                                  LABOE                                                                        MALAGA

CHEYENNE SPRING, COLORADO                                                     CANCUN

                    HAMBURG                                  HADRIAN’S WALL built by the Romans 122 A.D. 

                   TURKS & CAICOS GRACE BAY                                          LANCASHIRE, UK

NEVADA

             CORPUS CHRISTI                          LIME ROCK                                    KIEL-WIK

                                  CONNECTICUT                                                          PHILADELPHIA

                            INDIAN OCEAN                                                                             NYC

               VALLARTA return                          THE HAMPTONS                            SAN DIEGO

              SUEZ CANAL, built circa 1860                                            YORK, ENGLAND

                      THE EVERGLADES                                       Elvis’ home, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE

             NEW HAMPSHIRE                                                  SNOWBIRD in UTAH

Photo taken from our towel on a Caribbean beach, eeek

Chillin’ in OCHO RIOS

       Old Capitol Building, WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA                                       ILLINOIS

                            SCANDINAVIA                                                 SAN ANTONIO

THE KEYS, PROVIDENCIALES, KOBE & THE BAHAMAS

bright spot flowerThe Bright Spot  – Home Sweet Home ~ As I’ve stated many times on-air, online and in person, my very favorite place to be in the whole world is home with my family & furbabies, feet up in my little white socks, a pony tail, Greek salad & a good family movie.

There are loads more places & photos, but this pictorial refutation has clearly served its purpose. The real point here is don’t judge people especially if you’ve never gotten to know their background. As my friend, Sara, so succinctly put it regarding the woman’s comment – “Honestly, some nerve!!” We laugh because, seriously, one can only chuckle at the mother’s unapprised statement at this point. 

Let me just say to that mother who assumed I was a “shut-in” because I like to craft with the kids & make their day magical – there is no greater job than raising the next generation of kindly world citizens, travelers & defenders of Earth & her gifts. That’s my gift back to this planet that’s been a joy to traverse, study, explore & relish!!    


Bianca

Dolphin Trainer

Sunday, June 14, 2015 by  

Cruise ship 2How we kept it a surprise I have no idea! After weeks of planning and several days cruising across the Atlantic on the gorgeous Norwegian Breakaway, we landed at King’s Wharf and headed barely after daybreak onshore with our Little One.

“Why are we leaving so early? Where are we going?” Still mum, Phillip & I guided our inquisitive daughter to a huge, weathered wooden door battered by storms but fixed firmly in place by its centuries-old surrounding stonework.
Her eyes grew wide as we knocked loudlyDolphin Trainer, Dolphin Quest, Bermuda, Hawaii, baby dolphins, feeding dolphins, gating, measuring, loving dolphins (18) on the door. No one was around but us. A short while later, the door creaked open and we were led into a large courtyard – the National Museum of Bermuda at the Royal Naval Dockyard. It was clear it would not open to the public until later that morning.

We walked through the dockyard until we came to a building where a young woman greeted us. She knew the day had been a surprise for our daughter. When she explained to our Little One that she would be joining her team for a day of dolphin training, the excitement in the room was electric! Then she was handed a Dolphin Quest swim top and felt very official. “Wow!” she whispered under her breathe.Dolphin Trainer, Dolphin Quest, Bermuda, Hawaii, baby dolphins, feeding dolphins, gating, measuring, loving dolphins (15)

Our daughter’s dream of loving, studying, and safeguarding marine life just took another leap forward. Years prior, our family had only swum with the dolphins. Jamaica. Bahamas. Florida. But this was different. It wouldn’t be just a 45-minute encounter with a group. When we saw that Dolphin Quest in Bermuda offered a Dolphin Trainer for a Day program, we booked it for our daughter straightaway.

She spent the day with 8 dolphins including 2 baby dolphins just 3 months old ~ talk about over the moon!

Our Little One gained experience in fish preparation, dolphin feeding, gating, hand signaling, dolphin relationship building, swimming, measuring and dolphin training.

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I’m not sure who had more fun, the dolphins or our darling!

Dolphin Trainer, Dolphin Quest, Bermuda, Hawaii, baby dolphins, feeding dolphins, gating, measuring, loving dolphins (17) Dolphin Trainer, Dolphin Quest, Bermuda, Hawaii, baby dolphins, feeding dolphins, gating, measuring, loving dolphins (31)

Dolphin Trainer, Dolphin Quest, Bermuda, Hawaii, baby dolphins, feeding dolphins, gating, measuring, loving dolphins (16)Later that day, she enjoyed lunch with her mentors and when we picked her up at the end of her session, the dolphin trainers said they had never had a person know so much about marine life before and that she was the most excited participant they had ever had in all their years and that she would be a welcome participant for their 5-day training program there or in….Hawaii!! Yeah, looks like that may be the next dolphin destination! I’m ready to pack…

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bright spot flowerThe Bright Spot  – Our daughter has been waiting 5 years to swim with her beloved Beluga, Juno.

Beluga, Juno, Mystic Aquarium, touching whale, touching Beluga

She learned about the program when she was 5 years old but the rules require people to be a minimum of 60 inches to get in the tank with the whale.

 

So guess who’s 59 & 3/4 inches?!?

Yes, I think we are heading to Juno before summer’s done! (photo of Little One with Juno left). It’s truly a pleasure to empower children’s interests.

Click here for the story about Juno at 5: Harmony & Magic

Click here for the Florida dolphin swim at 6: Pixie Dust & Dolphin Kisses

Click here for Dolphins in Jamaica at 7: Paradise for Families

Click here for Winter & Hope at 10: A Dolphin’s Tale

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Bianca