Christmas in Washington, D.C. with Family

My latest trip was to Washington, D.C. to spend Christmas with my middle daughter, Allison and her husband Will. We really had a wonderful time even though Will had just had surgery on his knee. He hobbled along bravely as we trekked to restaurants and the Washington Cathedral. I hope you'll enjoy some of the pictures I took there as well as a video of me playing Wii bowling on Christmas Eve!

Traveling to S.C. to be with Family

Last weekend I travelled to S.C. to be with my mother, sisters, brother and their families. It's always a beautiful trip down, across the Bluegrass horse frams and then down through the Smoky Mountains. We got there just as the Christmas Dinner was starting at Eden Terrace and were truly amazed at the beautiful musical program that the residents put on for us. I wanted you to hear this particular performnce of "Sweet Little Jesus Boy," sung by a 92 y.o. man. He pitch was quite accurate and he remembered all the lyrics perfectly as well as using lots of dynamic contrast and feeling.

It was a fun trip and we all got to help my mother celebrate her 82 birthday!

Final Week-end of Cyclocross Finds Liz Victorious

I've spent the last 30 minutes trying to get these pictures to behave and they won't do it so please know that that the pictureon the right is the group of women starting the race and the second picture is Liz about to pass her final competitor to win the race! This past week-end was her fourth and final week-end doing cyclocross races across the country. If you remember, she started out in Louisville the last week-end in October.

She finished today in New Jersey, coming in third yesterday and first today! She has won all kinds of trophies and merchandise and is pretty happy about it considering that she had never done cyclocross at all until this past Fall. I know I don't have to tell you that she doesn't get this athleticism from me but from my mother and one of my sisters who are extremely athletic as well as competitive! If you want to know more about the sport you can either just "Google" it or go to www.youtube.com/cyclocross. The sport really started in Europe and is much better know there but it is quickly becoming very popular here.

It really is quite grueling and there seem to b lots of crashes between fast, curvy tracks and then the times when you must jump off your bike and run with it up steps, through sand pits and across hurdles! Amazing!

Liz Wins Cyclocross Both Days in Boston!!

Well, I hate to brag (not!) but my youngest daughter, Liz, continues to blaze a path across the U.S. winning two cyclocross bike races this week-end in Boston. The thing that is so amazing to me is that it's not just about riding fast. In cyclocross, you ride fast around a hilly and curvy course and periodically, you must jump off your bike and jump hurdles, run through sand traps and across log piles, all while carrying your bike!

She has only been doing this type of racing for a couple of months, but this past week-end, in Plymouth, MASS, just south of Boston, she won her category on both Saturday and Sunday! Let's give her a big hand!!

Chantdoc travels to see Paula Deen cook!

Today I had a real treat! I got to go to the Palace Theatre in Louisville and hear Paula Deen speak and watch her prepare a delicious stuffed pork tenderloin. It was fabulous and Paula was just as nice and down to earth on stage as she is on her TV show. It was such
a treat!
She quite an entourage with her and they all took turns at the mike and sometimes at the stove. She took quite a few questions from the audience and people all over the theatre were shouting out questions not only about cooking but also about her personal life. She answered all of them and more!
Iwas going to buy everyone a cookbook for Christmas but we needed to zoom after the show was over. Maybe next time!

Liz on the Awards Stage again at Cyclocross Grand Prix

Another big day for cyclocross and Liz Cash! It's also er birthday today and she's a big 25!! My baby! I can't believe it! It was a bright but crisp morning and Liz' race went off at 9:15. That's her in the jersey with diagonal stripes down the front. Today she actually wore one o my old jerseys from when I raced with the Louisville Wheelmen. It was so cool!

Today she came in third and although she was disappointed, I was proud as could be. I'll go back this afternoon to see the elite women (pros) race for a solid hour in mud, stairs, ramps, and tight curves. This is an impessive sport!

Traveling by bike at the Grand Prix Cyclocross

Today's a big day if you travel by bike and if you travel to Louisville, KY. Today is the famous Papa John's US Grand Prix of cyclocross and my daughter you see to the right, won second place in her category! It was an amazing course and people had to get off their bikes, carry them and run with them, climb stairs with them, ride through sand pits and mud. It was amazing! I love to ride my bike but just for a leisurely trip. No bike racing for me anymore!
She'll ride again tomorrow. Come on down to River Road and watch!

A new travel method in the family

Right now my youngest daughter is in town for a national cyclo-cross bike race!

She arrived this

morning, driving the bus you see pictured here! I was shocked! I didn't even know that my baby girl could drive a bus. She drove cross-country from Albuquerque. Tomorrow she's racing at 9:15 down on River Road so I must run on to bed now. I'll let you know the results tomorrow in this blog or one of the others! Stay tuned!

Chichinitza and the Mayan Ruins

Have you been to the Mayan Ruins in Mexico? I had never been until September of 2005 but it was an awesome adventure and I learned so much about the Mayan civilization that I had never known before. We were quite fortunate to be there on the day of the Fall equinox and saw a sight that few people ever get to witness. Only two days a year, on the Fall quinox and the Spring equinox, the shadow from the sun creates the image of a snake going down the pyramid/temple. The day we were there, people and cameras and TV/film crews from all over the world were there, hoping the sun would peek out from behind the clouds. It did and you can see the snake traveling down the pyramid. It was phenomenal to think that the Mayans were able to create this in the 1500's! Then they disappeared.

Let's Go to the British Isles

Several years ago, my daughter Alli and I went on a trip to England during her Spring Break from a semester abroad in France. We decided to take the train that goes deep underneath the English Channel, called the "chunnel!" It was quite an experience and we had a wonderful time seeing "My Fair Lady" in London and going to visit my English friend Shirley in her little village north of London.

Of course we also went to see where the Beatles got started and saw the usual sites of London like Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and "the Ritz," where we had breakfast. I highly recommend this trip!

Let's Go to Europe!

Being a professional musician as well as a therapist, I have many reasons to want to visit Austria and Vienna in particular. During the height of the classical period, Vienna boasted the likes of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, "Papa" Haydn, and Ludwig van Beethoven. Can you imagine? Of course there were many other well-known composers there too.

In 1974, my husband and I visited Vienna on two separate occasions and heard the Vienna State Opera performing "Madama Butterfly" as well as "The Flying Dutchman." They were both absolutely fabulous!

While in Vienna, we stayed at a gorgeous hotel called Hotel im Palais Schwartzenburg." I'll never forget it because not only was it an actual restored palace and had period antiques in the rooms. We even attended a chamber music concert there. More on Vienna next time!

The Beauty of the Canadian Rockies

Several summers ago I was invited to speak at an international wellness conference. I was speaking, of course, about music and wellness. I had never been to the Canadian Rockies and was absolutely blown away by the natural beauty of this area. The conference was held at the Chateau Lake Louise and right out my window was gorgeous Lake Louise and a huge glacier that extended down to the lake.
I was also invited to do a recital of healing music and did so with my daughter from Boston who is a professional violinist. The picture to your right shows both the view out of my hotel window and a picture of my daughter and me onstage after the concert. Have you been to the Canadian Rockies? Tell me about it!

My Love of the Tropics

When I was 13 years old, my parents decided to take us all on a fabulous vacation to Nassau in the Bahamas. Of course my sister and I had never even heard of the place, but when our parents started bringing home shiny brochures of cruise ships and beautiful islands with palm trees, we started getting excited reeeaaaaal fast!

The big day came to depart. It was June of 1961 and all five kids plus two parents and grandma piled into our unairconditioned station wagon and headed off to Miami where we boarded a big, beautiful cruise ship to Nassau!

We were there for three weeks and had a fabulous time. We drank fresh limeade at every meal, made from limes in the grove behind out house. My mother made a fresh cocoanut cake from the cocoanut palms growing in our yard. It felt like Paradise!!

From then on, I have loved the tropics and everything associated with them. I have my own steel drums and play them when I need to feel a warm tropical breeze. How about you? What is your favorite destination?

Welcome to Travel with the Chantdoc!

I've always loved traveling. My first big trip was when I was six years old and my parents took us from S.C. to Washington,D.C. to see the capital and all of the monuments there. I'll never forget it because my sister and I climbed the stairs of the Washington Monument and were two tired little girls that night!

Anyway, I got bitten by the travel bug and since then have gone all over the world. In this blog, I will recount some of my travels and recommend places to go, places to stay and places to see. I'll also let you in on some of the great deals that I hear about online and tell you the ones I've tried and been happy with. Happy traveling!