The Travel Oracle

The Travel Oracle
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  • Who is the Travel Oracle?
    • Contact us!
    • The places we’ve been
    • The Oracle Recommends…
    • Our City Guides
    • Travel Booking Services
  • Our World Famous Kidney Donor Athlete
    • Running Stories
  • Subscribe
  • The Golden Pelican Awards of Excellence
  • Newsletter
The Oracle Recommends...
The Oracle Recommends...
Running the World
Running the World
Feeling Spooky
Feeling Spooky
  • Cathedral Saint Louis from the wall of Fort Saint Louis

    Like a Taste of Paris in the Caribbean

    This week we’re giving you a two-for-one! We’re going to visit the island of Martinique, which was like a toast of Paris in the Caribbean, and Antigua, where we’ll go swimming with sting rays. Why sting rays, you might ask? Well, it’s the Caribbean so…why not! Grab a cool glass of something tropical and join us on the last leg of our journey. The Catch Up This May, we traded our plans to visit northern Italy for an even better plan B, cruising though the Caribbean with our dear friends, Jerry and Shannon! First we got the gear we needed to make our journey easier. Then we visited St. Thomas…

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    Group of people fooling around in a pool

    Plan B-eautiful – Setting Sail to the Caribbean

    August 1, 2024
    Lush, green mountain with two waterfalls coming off either side

    Let’s Go Chasing Waterfalls in the Caribbean

    August 29, 2024
    Man in running clothes, standing in front of a pirate statue and the tower of Bluebeard’s castle

    Finding Pirates in the Caribbean

    August 22, 2024
  • Caribbean island of St. Lucia from the water

    Looking for Mercy in the Caribbean

    Have you ever had an idea about how your day would turn out, only to have something much better happen? This was the day we had on the island of St. Lucia. Why don’t you grab a cup of your favorite bevy and join us as we go looking for mercy in the Caribbean? The Quick Catch up We were in the Caribbean on our very first cruise. Not knowing what to expect, we did a little research to find things to make the experience much easier. We did excursions on the island of St. Thomas where we found pirates and swam with sea turtles. And we did an excursion…

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    Lush, green mountain with two waterfalls coming off either side

    Let’s Go Chasing Waterfalls in the Caribbean

    August 29, 2024
    Man in running clothes, standing in front of a pirate statue and the tower of Bluebeard’s castle

    Finding Pirates in the Caribbean

    August 22, 2024
    Three people at a bar on a ship

    To Drink or Not to Drink, That is the Question

    August 8, 2024
  • Medal for the Tunnel of Light marathon in front of the Snoqualmie Falls

    Looking for the Light at the End of the Tunnel

    Join us this week as we unpack the incredible journey our kidney donor athlete underwent to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Through a tough path, he went looking for the light at the the end of the tunnel at the Tunnel Light Marathon. The Long and Short of it “Great moments are born from great opportunities.” – Herb Brooks The Short Version: Did the work. Believed. Crushed the goal. The Long Version: Although the short version sums up what happened, I hope you’ll take the time to read this. So many feelings and emotions about the buildup and this race that I’m not sure I have the words to adequately…

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    Medal from the Berlin Marathon in front of the Brandenburg Gate

    Surprising Things We Learned about Berlin

    September 7, 2023
    Cascade Express Marathon Part Two: The Rest of the Story

    Cascade Express Marathon Part One: The Build Up

    September 15, 2022
    The NYC Marathon Medal in the center of the Vessel. The Vessel is concentric rings with squared edges made of copper with rings of glass between

    The NYC Marathon – More than a Walk in the Park

    December 1, 2022
  • Lush, green mountain with two waterfalls coming off either side

    Let’s Go Chasing Waterfalls in the Caribbean

    Sometimes it’s good to have a plan and sometimes it’s even better to wander and find a new path. This week we’ll do a little of both. Come with us as we visit the island of Dominica. Let’s go chasing waterfalls in the Caribbean! The Catch Up In case you missed it, we went on our very first cruise with our wonderful friends, Jerry and Shannon, in May. But wait…there’s more. This week we’re visiting Dominica – where we had an excursion booked and we got a little off the beaten path. Surprise – Dominica! The cruise line does a great job of reminding you about your schedule for the…

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    Cast of the Love Boat inside a life ring, with the ocean behind it

    Set Sail on the “For Real” Love Boat

    August 15, 2024
    Man in running clothes, standing in front of a pirate statue and the tower of Bluebeard’s castle

    Finding Pirates in the Caribbean

    August 22, 2024
    Group of people fooling around in a pool

    Plan B-eautiful – Setting Sail to the Caribbean

    August 1, 2024
  • Man in running clothes, standing in front of a pirate statue and the tower of Bluebeard’s castle

    Finding Pirates in the Caribbean

    When you go on cruise, you’re given an itinerary of ports and excursions you can take. What you don’t really know is how beautiful the ports are. You won’t know how fun the excursion will be or what you’ll find when you get off the beaten path. Join us this week as we take the road less traveled where we set about finding pirates in the Caribbean! (Arrrr!) The Quick Catch Up In case you’re new here, welcome! Also, let’s get you up to speed. This May we had the opportunity to go on our very first cruise. We bought all the gear we needed for a frictionless experience. We…

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    Three people at a bar on a ship

    To Drink or Not to Drink, That is the Question

    August 8, 2024
    Cathedral Saint Louis from the wall of Fort Saint Louis

    Like a Taste of Paris in the Caribbean

    September 26, 2024
    Group of people fooling around in a pool

    Plan B-eautiful – Setting Sail to the Caribbean

    August 1, 2024
  • Cast of the Love Boat inside a life ring, with the ocean behind it

    Set Sail on the “For Real” Love Boat

    If you’re as old as we are, you may have spent part of your childhood with Captain Stubing, Gopher, and Julie, the Cruise Director. Thought I’m sure we’d find this show mostly cringe-worthy now, why not join us as we set said on the “For Real” Love Boat – the Emerald Princess? Come aboard! We’ll find out together if it is really exciting and new. Quick Catch Up In case you missed it, we had the opportunity to go on our very first cruise with our wonderful friends, Jerry and Shannon. We went on a pre-cruise shopping spree and decided to upgrade our voyage with the balcony room and the…

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    Three people at a bar on a ship

    To Drink or Not to Drink, That is the Question

    August 8, 2024
    Lush, green mountain with two waterfalls coming off either side

    Let’s Go Chasing Waterfalls in the Caribbean

    August 29, 2024
    Man in running clothes, standing in front of a pirate statue and the tower of Bluebeard’s castle

    Finding Pirates in the Caribbean

    August 22, 2024
  • Three people at a bar on a ship

    To Drink or Not to Drink, That is the Question

    Those of you who follow us know we went on our first cruise in May. It was a 10 day eastern Caribbean cruise that our friends Jerry and Shannon invited us to go on since they each won a free cruise. That being said, it was more of a “free” cruise than a free-free cruise, because there were extra costs that can’t be avoided like port fees and taxes. And then there are extras to consider – like excursions and whether or not to get “the drink package”. To drink or not to drink, that is the question we will explore this week. Offer to Upgrade…for a Small Fee With…

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    Lush, green mountain with two waterfalls coming off either side

    Let’s Go Chasing Waterfalls in the Caribbean

    August 29, 2024
    Group of people fooling around in a pool

    Plan B-eautiful – Setting Sail to the Caribbean

    August 1, 2024
    Cast of the Love Boat inside a life ring, with the ocean behind it

    Set Sail on the “For Real” Love Boat

    August 15, 2024
  • Group of people fooling around in a pool

    Plan B-eautiful – Setting Sail to the Caribbean

    Did you ever notice how “plan B” often ends up to be the better way to go? Join us this week as we unpack how our trip to Venice and northern Italy was transformed into plan b-eautiful – setting sail to the Caribbean. Plan A This year we marked our 15th wedding anniversary and as travel lovers, we wanted to do something epic. (Or more epic than we’ve done previously). We batted around going to Greece before mapping a trip to northern Italy that would include Venice, Milan and Florence. But before we could book even one hotel, fortune smiled on us instead. On a cool April weekday, I got…

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    Three people at a bar on a ship

    To Drink or Not to Drink, That is the Question

    August 8, 2024
    Cathedral Saint Louis from the wall of Fort Saint Louis

    Like a Taste of Paris in the Caribbean

    September 26, 2024
    Caribbean island of St. Lucia from the water

    Looking for Mercy in the Caribbean

    September 19, 2024
  • Sculpture of a yellow unicorn, which a man peeking behind it

    Boston Marathon 2024 Recap

    Usually after a race, especially a big one, I can’t wait to sit down and write a race recap to share with y’all. I’m not really sure why it took me three months to get around to writing about this year’s Boston Marathon but here ya go. I hope you enjoy reading about it much more than I did running it this year. Good Beginnings The day of the race always requires an early alarm. We were fortunate to stay with some new friends in Cambridge at a great little Air BnB. Although Patrick and I were taking different routes to the start line, it was nice that we got…

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    Boston 2022 – Getting There and Being There

    April 6, 2022
    Man wearing a scaly cap, holding a pint of craft beer

    Driving the Snakes Out of South Boston

    May 30, 2024
    Woman holding a beer and showing off her tee shirt that has a shamrock on it and the word "Shenanigans"

    Boston on the Holy Day of St. Practice

    June 6, 2024
  • Bronze statue of Edgar Allen Poe walking down the street, holding a briefcase with a raven flying out of it

    History Nerds and Taphophiles will LOVE This One

    If you’ve been following us from winter to spring, you may have noticed a pattern: So, can you guess where we ended up in April?? That’s right, our legendary kidney donor athlete had to go back to Boston to run the marathon. Have you ever wondered what the spouses of runners do after they kiss their person good bye? Why…we worry for their safety; pray for their success; and suffer anxiety while watching their progress on the course, of course! But this time, I added my own walking tour of the American revolution and some super interesting gravestones. History nerds and Taphophiles will LOVE this one! The Cambridge House Share…

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    Statue of Paul Revere riding a horse with the old North Church in the back ground. There are a line of trees on either side between the two

    The Very Best of Beantown

    August 23, 2023

    Check out the Runnah Hoopla on Day 2

    April 5, 2022
    Man wearing a scaly cap, holding a pint of craft beer

    Driving the Snakes Out of South Boston

    May 30, 2024
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