February 13, 2018 - On the Road again and Winter Break Staycation Plans & Travel Germs

Tanya's Daily Scoop
Covering the West Coast & the World
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On the Road again

Hi there! GREETINGS from.....

Yup! We got home last night.

Actually we drove straight from Salt Lake City to choir rehearsal yesterday.

But before leaving Salt Lake City we had 2 stops on our list:

1. Going to City Cakes
​&
2. Going to the Post Office

We said our farewell to Manny & Boomer and were then on our way... ​

And then over to City Cakes - a regular and favorite stop for us in Salt Lake City. We've been getting goodies here for years!!

For this visit however we realized that City Cakes had moved..

And the new location has a few changes - one thing is that new location is a bit smaller, another change is that they removed a number of items off of their menu...Coffee drinks, etc (which was kind of a bummer) the only option now is self serve drip coffee. Dave still ordered a cup, but I was definitely not into that. ​Another change is that pretty much all of the menu items (excluding the baked goods) are now Grab 'n Go.

New location: 1860 S 300 W Salt Lake City, UT 84115 (c)travelincousins.com

Mac 'n Cheese, Nachos, Wraps, etc (c)travelincousins.com

Soups, Chili, and microwaves (c)travelincousins.com

Cookies and cakes (c)travelincousins.com

Cupcakes, tarts, pastries, more desserts (c)travelincousins.com

City Cakes Interior (c)travelincousins.com

Gluten Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar (c)travelincousins.com

Raspberry Lemon Bar (c)travelincousins.com

Well luckily everything still tastes nice and yummy, because I'm really not a much of a Grab 'n Go type of gal.

​In total it was almost an 11 hour drive (including fuel, food, and bathroom breaks).   This was the first of all the road trips on this journey that Dave took the wheel and I took to the passenger seat.

As Elisa puts it - I'm the Forest Gump of driving! LOL

But once I sit down in the passenger seat I just have the most difficult time staying awake!
It's definitely quite a difference.

Basically from the point that we finished eating breakfast and I finished working on blog and the agenda for my board meeting, I was zonked out until we were pulling into Las Vegas!!

Which meant that it was lunch time and we were heading to Vegeway.

Hawaiian Burger (c)travelincousins.com

Popcorn Chickun (c)travelincousins.com

Curly Fries (c)travelincousins.com

No more stops until our very timely pulling up to Long Beach. Dave rocked that drive!

Now to unpack, do laundry, repack, hit up a couple of salons (hair and nails), go shopping and get ready for my next trip...

Hope you have a great day!
-Travelin' Tanya

Elisa's Daily Scoop
Covering Long Island & NYC Boroughs
​CURRENTLY ON LONG ISLAND

Winter Break Staycation & Travel Germs

Hellllo Tuesday!!

This just happens to be the last week before February break during Presidents' week for my girls.  Feels like they were just off for vacation.
Oh well, I always enjoy when they are home.

(photo credit: theatlantic.com)

I think this vacation we are going to do a few fun things near home.
A real STAY-cation!

(photo credit: gardencityhotel.com)

My plans for the week include two afternoon teas experiences - one at The Garden City Hotel in Garden City and another at The Royal Tea House in Great Neck

We will also be participating in one of the events at WinterFest, a four-week celebration in the Hamptons from February 22 - March 18, with food, beer, wine and music events.  I'll be writing about our experience at North Shore Chocolate, Meet Master Chef, Chocolatier & Artist Steve Biscari – Amaral on February 24th. ​

Lastly, but certainly not least, this Sunday, I'm going to have a day with Aunt Ro and we are going to head over to Jamaica to the Rufus King Manor.  

Although this had been on my list of Queens historic places to visit, my girlfriend Sophia strongly suggested I make my way over there for Black History Month.  As a result, I've decided to feature this  New York City Landmark and National Register of Historic Places destination in my article next Monday, February 19th.

Originally, I was going to feature Weeksville, Brooklyn, but considering their tour schedule and some other factors, I thought this historic place would be best to visit in the Spring.  I'll keep you posted!!  

(JFK Terminal - photo credit: travelandleisure.com)

GERMS, GERMS GERMS

Now, totally unrelated to the topics at hand, but very relevant to travel.  I came across this article by Tracy Stewart, Content Editor of AirfareWatchdog.com, which I had to share with you.  It grossed me out a bit, but, being forewarned is being forearmed.  So, break out the antibacterial folks!!!

Ready for this factoid:
"According to a recent study, self check-in kiosks far surpassed toilets as the dirtiest surface in the airport, with an average of 253,857 colony-forming units (CFU) per square inch, compared to an average of 172 CFU found on toilets" as stated in ​the article The Most Germ-Laden Thing at the Airport You'll Probably Want to Stop Touching.  

Stewart goes on to say: "The study, conducted by InsuranceQuotes.com, tested six surfaces across three major U.S. airports, including Atlanta Hartsfield where one kiosk was found to contain over 1 million CFU.

Coming in at 2nd place, the armrests at the gate measured an average of 21,630 CFU, followed by the water fountain push-button with 19,181 CFU. 

Things aren't much better once you board the plane, with lavatory flush buttons measuring 95,145 CFU, tray tables with 11,595 CFU, and seat belts with 1,116 CFU.

To put those numbers in perspective, the average household toilet handle has an average of only 30 CFU."

My only response is EW!

But, it's not all bad (lol) -  The article continues, "not all of the bacteria that turned up in these tests were bad. Some are exactly the type our bodies need to keep our natural defenses in check. But that's only a small percentage and certainly excludes check-in kiosks, which were revealed to contain the largest collection of bacteria most likely to make us sick."

Well folks, I guess it's one of the hazards of traveling, but I'd still never give it up!!

Ernani Silva Exhibit at African American Museum of Nassau County (c) travelincousins.com CLICK IMAGE FOR FULL STORY

I hope you are enjoying all the fun facts and interesting information I have been bringing you this month with the celebration of Black History Month.  

Did you get a chance to read my feature for this week -  A Celebration of African American Culture in Hempstead, Long Island

Lastly, my little Punkin came down with a case of kennel cough.  Poor baby.  We took her over to the vet last night after she has been coughing all day and sure enough, she's sick.

Punkin getting her check up last night at Garden City Park Animal Hospital with her favorite doctor, Dr. Silverman (c) travelincousins

Resting this morning after taking her medication (c) travelincousins.com

She'll be on some cough meds and anti-biotic for a week or so and just resting up at home! No doggie daycare this week!

Have a good one!!
-E
xoxo