Hello London!

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Vieiw of the Thames snaking through London from Darwin Brasserie.

When David called, we were halfway into the second year of the pandemic. He had cabin fever and was bored out of hius mind up in Alaska, and I had been struggling with this gnawing feeling that my life was getting stagnant and I was just biding my time before dying. Sounds dumb, but that's where my mind went. So wo hen he told me that hius remedy for his he was feeling was to book a trip to London to see a favorite DJ of his Yotto, my response was, "I want to go!". His answer was "then come!"

So I did!

(Feel free to jump right to the photo gallery below if you like.)

The trip was wonderful, but I must say, I learned a few things about international travel while on this adventure. I thought I would share the things that were in my blind spot that I would do differently next time.

The Airline Ticket

I booked my flight through Lufthansa directly. I got a great price, and I was excited to be flying on a European airline, since they tend to be nicer and less like getting on a Greyhound bus. When I booked it, I did see that it was actually operated by United Airlines, which is part of the Star Alliance group of airlines. That had happened in the past for other flights I have booked, and I had never had problems with related carriers before. So I forged on ahead, happy about my booking that came in below $600.

Well, that ended up causing problems when it was discovered that my names did not match up on my documents. This is more important and scrutinized when traveling internationally and there is a passport involved. When I went to check in online, as I always do for my domestic flights, I got all the way to the end only to find out that the name on my airline ticket was different than what is on my passport. “Names do not match, please check in at the airport” was the message I got.

I looked more closely at the name that was on my booking, and saw that there was an extra L in Elisabeth. It was spelled Elilsabeth. And I know why. My MacBook Air has always had a known issue for which there is no cure, and that is that the keyboard repeats stroked randomly. So my keyboard threw in an extra L just for fun, and I didn’t notice.

Should be easy enough to fix. So I got on the phone with… Lufthansa? United? Well, since the flight was a UA flight, I called them first. I spent 40 minutes on hold, and when I finally got an agent, she told me the name could not be changed. Why not? Because it was booked through Lufthansa, and they had ultimate control of the booking. Welp, there goes an hour. Hung up and called Lufthansa next. I got an agent within 5 minutes, yay! I told that agent the deal, and she attempted to change the name on my ticket. She goes into the system, to find out that an agent at her level does not have access and can’t change my name. But, I could rebook the flight at whatever the cost was currently, and they would refund the original ticket. I looked and by then, the same trip was already at $1,200. So I wasn’t about to do that. She suggested I call United again and maybe have them put it in their record that the name was misspelled but everything else was fine. So I called United back. Another 40 minutes on hold. And when I got the last agent, the final answer was, just check in at the airport and good luck.

So I leave super early, giving myself like, 4 hours lead time before my flight. I get to the International terminal at SFO, and because I was so early, there was no one at the United check in counters. I walked right up to an agent who was happy to help. I told her the situation, and she takes a look.

“I see. Your name has to be exactly the same as what is on your passport. Your ticket is missing your middle name.”

“wait, it’s not the extra L in my first name?”

“No, that’s no big deal. Misspellings happen. It’s that your ticket says Elisabeth Lyon and your passport says Elisabeth Ann Lyon.”

“Oooh! Damn, I didn’t even think of that.”

She checked me in, and all was well. I merrily proceeded to my gate.

The lesson? Always make sure the names on your documents match exactly, and proofread your name in case a faulty keyboard spells your name wrong!

Cell Phone Service

One of the wonderful conveniences that we enjoy these days is being able to use our own phones anywhere in the world when we travel. I remember well the days when internet cafés and land lines were the only way to communicate with home. On my last trip abroad to France, the service was pretty easy to figure out and I do not recall having much trouble getting connected. This time around, it was pretty difficult.

My carrier is Verizon, and a few days before I left I looked at international calling plans to set up. I wasn’t sure how much I would need, and I saw that there was the ability to call internationally already in place, it was just charged by the minute. So I thought, that sounds fine. I’ll just use that.

My flight lands and I’m now in Heathrow, able to connect to my Facebook Messenger via wifi, but I was not able to send an SMS. Huh? I thought I had set that up. So I manage to get a few messages to my friend Jerry, who was already there, and told him the situation. He said that he and the boys would meet me at the Brixton Underground station and take me to our airbnb. Awesome. Now I just have to figure out how to get cell phone service.

I found a Three store in the airport, and the person there said all I had to do was buy a sim card and it would work locally. Great! So I got a $25 sim card and swapped it out. But for some reason, I still could not send or receive an SMS. I continued on my journey and managed to make it to the Brixton Underground with the help of a sweet young lady who was leaving the airport terminal at the same time as I was. So I got to Brixton, but I had no way to reach my friends! I went up to the street, hoping they would be standing right there. Nope. I walk back and forth, and then see a Body Shop across the street with a big sign that said “free wifi here”. Oh thank God. I walked into the store, asked politely if I could just use their wifi to reach my friends. they said of course, and I was able to reach Jerry, and he said Stay right there! We’ll come get you. And within 3 minutes I was hugging my friends and we were heading to the airbnb.

I tried all day, here and there, to figure it out, with no success. Finally, as I was struggling to get to sleep that night, I thought, well I’m up, may as well see if Verizon has a chat and I can ask wtf via their website. I successfully got an agent on the live chat.

Ok so here’s the deal. A sim card can make calls and texts to anyone with a local number. Meaning in London. I was trying to connect with my friends who had USA numbers. That’s why it wasn’t working! Then I said well I though I had the international plan, and the agent said nope, you only have the plan that calls local numbers. What I needed was the beefed up plan, that does it all… and that would be $100 extra, for one month. But I didn’t need a month, I needed a week. Could I do it for 10 days? Nope. The only option was one month. So I had to suck it up and get the $100 plan if I wanted to not be limited to wifi. Which was essential since I never knew where I was going to be if I needed to connect with the boys. So that was that.

The lesson? Double check with an actual agent at your wireless carrier that the plan you are getting does what you need it to do. Just a quick call. It would have saved me quite a bit of anxiety once I entered the UK.

A Week in Maui, Hawaii

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This trip was delayed by a year and a half. I was about to get on a plane in April of 2020… and we all know what happened in March of that year (no really, it was a global event). Me and my friend who I was going to be visiting in Maui had been talking about risks starting in late February, keeping our finger on the pulse of the pandemic and trying to decide if it was going to be safe enough… and then it was all decided for us. The state of California, where I live, shut down on March 19. So the trip was cancelled… but Hawaiian Airlines was willing to give everyone with a cancelled flight credit and the opportunity to rebook for a later time at no charge. So on December 30, the day before the deadline to take advantage of that credit, I booked my flight to Kahului for October of 2021. And that is when I took this trip.

It was a beautiful week with light showers here and there, but otherwise the weather was great. The temperature was in the 80’s most of the time. I was so happy to be wearing sundresses. I spent a lot of my time hiking and doing my best to relax.

I’ao and Waihe’e Ridge Trail

The first place I went to was the I’ao Needle State Monument, right after I got off the plane and got my rental car. It was only 9:30 in the morning, so I took advantage of that time before heading over to my friend’s house in Kahului in the late afternoon. After a quick trip around I’ao, I drove around back and forth on a sketchy narrow road, searching, searching, and finally found the start of the Waihe’e Ridge Trail. For most of that hike, I was gasping in awe at the views that just got better at every turn of the trail. After a day enjoying my first hikes in Maui, I headed to my friend’s house in Kahului.

La Peruse Bay

That weekend, my friend and her two kids hung out while daddy-o was working on a video assignment. On Saturday, we went on a tour of the Surfing Goat Dairy Farm, followed by a goat cheese tasting and then goat milk cheesecake for dessert. Then on Sunday we went for a seaside hike at La Perouse Bay, where we found lots of lava rock, wild goats, and a lot of inspiration for paintings and other types of art. The beautiful sunset at the end was the icing on the cake.

La Perouse Bay

Waterfalls and Chocolate

On Monday morning, my friend joined me for a tour of the King’s Garden, where we learned all about the history and the plants of this beautiful garden, along with a lesson at the end of the tour on how to make chocolate sweets. We were the only ones on the tour, which was luxurious, and our tour guide was great. I had no idea there were so many types of ginger!

Lahaina and the Kapalua Coastal Trail

From there I headed to Lahaina, where I found the Kapalua Coastal Trail, which meandered behind all the resort hotels and ended at the Mahana Ridge Trail, which was a surprise bonus as I had not seen that in my search for hikes in Maui. I was excited to try this mystery hike, so I embarked, and I saw only 2 other people the whole time I was walking. At one point, the grass grew as tall as me! Despite the warm downpour of rain that I got caught in on the way back, it was a wonderful day of walking and discovery. I even saw two weddings happening along my journey.

And after all the hiking, I went to my hotel in Lahaina and chilled out. I had reservations at a good restaurant that evening, but I didn’t feel like moving my car out of the really full parking lot there for fear of not finding one when I got back, and it was raining anyway and there was a restaurant in the hotel. So I went the easy route and had dinner there - a nice dark porter and seafood chowder. Nice way to end the day.

The next morning, after some brekky, I went over to the pool and proceeded to burn the skin on me that sees the sun about once every 3 years. After I checked out at 11am, I headed to the public beach right in front of the hotel and relaxed for about another hour. I even went in the beautiful water! Anyone who knows me well knows what a big deal that is - I’m not a fan of the ocean. But I went in and it was glorious. After a day of beach and goofing off, I met my friend and her family for dinner at 5 Palms in Kihei.

Haleakala

Of course I had to. I have already been here twice, but it’s just something I had to do while I was here. I went further than I did on my previous hikes, but I still did not get to the first cabin. Maybe someday I’ll accomplish that. This place was just as mesmerizing as always, and I even saw a strange little bird that came right up to me. At the top it was pretty cold. I found a nice young man to take a picture of me as I shivered and thought about my warm car below, which I scurried to right after that picture was taken.

Oh, and I was in poke heaven for like, 3 days. I went to Foodland twice and my meals were mostly poke and wakame, with Hawaiian beer to wash it down (when I was not driving). I discovered the one made with oyster sauce, that was my favorite. It was my main motivation to climb out of that valley for 90 minutes which was hard a.f. I kept thinking to myself, when you get to the car, your reward is poke and coconut water, and to take my shoes off. It absolutely helped.

My motivation. I could not eat enough poke!

the amazing poke bar at Foodland

Kula Botanical Garden and the Lavender Farm

My last two visits in Maui filled my eyes with flowers. Kula Botanical Gardens was magical… I felt so at peace there. I was all alone to wander, finishing my botanical tour with a nice extended moment of relaxation on a bench under some trees dripping with flowers. Meditative. Peaceful. Grounding. Beautiful.

Parting Shot

When it was time to head back to the airport, I decided to wander around for the last hour and see if I could find just one more surprise neat-o thing. Well, I found it, in a local beach that was right behind the airport. There were racing boats lined up, one of then with the name Miso Phat Sushi, a sushi restaurant that was on my list of great places to eat but was hard to get into because of its popularity. I’ll have to try to get there next time.

I wish I had found this earlier. It was so chill. It felt like a beach that was truly where the locals go. I mean, this is where they keep their racing boats, so… that’s my guess.

One more picture of the poke bar at Foodland, OMG.

I thoroughly enjoyed the aloha spirit while I was here. Mahalo, Maui, for a lovely week.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

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Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 onion chopped

  • 3 large cloves garlic minced

  • 1 jalapeño diced and seeded

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 1 teaspoon chili powder

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 14 ½ ounces crushed chipotle style tomatoes

  • 3 cups chicken broth

  • 1 tsp. Baking soda (to cut the acidity)

  • 2 Tbsp flour

  • 14 ½ ounces can black beans rinsed & drained

  • 1 cup corn drained if canned

  • 1 lb. chicken (I used chicken breast tenders)

  • ¼ cup cilantro chopped

  • 1 l½ lime juiced

  • 1 avocado sliced

  • corn tortillas cut into short strips

  • ¼ cup olive or sunflower oil

  • salt

Instructions

Heat ¼ cup olive oil over medium-high heat a small pan. Add tortilla strips in small batches and fry until crisp. Drain and salt.

Set instant pot to sauté. Heat olive oil, then add the onion, garlic and jalapeño and cook until onion is softened. Add spices and cook a few more minutes to meld flavors.

Add diced tomatoes, broth, and chicken to the pot. Close lid with vent closed, and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Natural decompress for 10 minutes or so, then open vent. Put pot on counter. Pull out chicken, pull apart/shred, and set aside.

Mix the 2 Tbsp flour and the baking powder in a small bowl. Add some broth and mix in so it's smooth. This is to avoid getting lumps of flour in the soup. Add mixture to the soup. Return the pulled chicken to the pot. Add corn, beans, cilantro, and lime juice, then add salt and lime juice to taste.

Spoon soup into bowls and and top with short tortilla strips, sour cream, and sliced avocado.

Elisabeth's New England Clam Chowdah

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Ingredients

  • 3 strips thick-cut bacon

  • 4 tablespoons salted butter

  • 1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

  • 1 rib celery, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

  • 2 bay leaves

  • 3 medium-size yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼-inch cubes

  • 1/3 Cup all-purpose flour

  • 2 cups clam juice, bottled + from the canned clams

  • 1 pound chopped fresh clam meat, about 4 cans (2 minced and 2 chopped)

  • 1/2 tsp smoked salt (or to taste)

  • 2 cups heavy cream

  • 2 grinds black pepper

Instructions

  1. In a 2- to 3-quart pot on high heat, boil the diced potatoes in the clam juice until tender, 4 - 6 minutes. Test the potatoes for doneness so they do not overcook. Drain the clam juice into a bowl and set the juice and the potatoes aside.

  2. While the potatoes are cooking, set a stew pot over medium-low heat. Add the bacon and cook, turning occasionally, until crisp. Remove the bacon, leaving the fat in the pot, and crumble into small pieces; set aside.

  3. Add the butter, onion, celery, thyme, and bay leaves to the pot. Cook, stirring often, until onions are tender and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes.

  4. Return the crumbled bacon to the pot and stir. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally. Add the flour gradually, stirring continuously, until a thick paste forms. Slowly add the clam juice, 1/2 cup at a time, incorporating it into the mixture before adding more.

  5. Add the potatoes and clam meat. Keep stirring 3 - 5 minutes, until the clams are warmed through, but not so long that the potatoes get overcooked. Add the heavy cream slowly; then stir in the black pepper. Add the smoked salt and adjust to your taste.

Feel free to adjust the heavy cream to your preferred consistency. I like my chowder thick, so 2 cups was just right for me. Discard the bay leaves before serving.

Additional Notes: Although this is made with cream, it freezes fine because the heavy cream has a high fat content and the chowder starts as a rue, which helps the chowder stay homogenous and not separate when being reheated. When reheating, thaw it slowly in the refrigerator first, and then on the stove over low heat. Try not to let it get to a boil. Many supermarkets carry frozen, chopped clam meat in 1-pound containers, which is fresher than canned and just as convenient. Simply defrost before using.