How Do You Choose Your Next Travel Destination?

On February 2, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Travel Tips13 Comments

Deciding where you want to spend your money and time visiting can be one of the more stressful decisions that anyone can make before traveling. There are many ways to make that decision and some of those might be determined by your personality. Some people are willing to throw a dart at a map and randomly go wherever fate might take them and other people use very rigid logic in making that decision. There are times when you pick a location because it has always been on your bucket list and there are other times when you have a fixed budget and you find a place that fits within it.

We choose our destinations based on a mix of all of those styles. We generally start with a relative date in mind and definitely have a budget in mind. From there we generally start searching airfares for a variety of locations as that is often the bulk of the expense and there aren’t always as many options. We try to go to someplace that we haven’t before and we basically start with several cities across those locations and then look for airfares using different apps. A good example of this was our first trip to South America where we looked at Peru, Columbia, Chile, but ultimately ended up choosing Bolivia.

During our time in Europe, choosing a location was far more random, but basically followed the same pattern. We would sit down for dinner on a Wednesday evening and toss out ideas of where to go that weekend and then check prices. Because we were traveling on fairly short notice, availability of transportation and hotels was usually a bigger deciding factor. If there was limited availability, it would normally drive prices up and we would decide to go someplace else.

We are currently trying to figure out our next big trip that will take place in the near future and are struggling with making a decision. Part of that is due to our own schedules and nailing down a time window and part of that is finding reasonable prices for the places that we are considering. We are leaning towards some place in Asia, but who knows if that is where we will end up traveling. This might sound insane to some people who plan things out years in advance, but for us, picking a destination can be as much a part of the adventure as the actual trip. How do you pick the places that you visit?

The Field Museum in Chicago

On January 5, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Chicago3 Comments

We have visited the Field Museum in Chicago a couple of times now and have enjoyed each visit. There are several static exhibits as well as several temporary exhibits, which makes revisiting very worthwhile. One of the main reasons that we decided to go to the museum was because they currently have a Jurassic World Exhibit, which we had heard was really interesting. Unfortunately, it is in an outside tent that wraps around the museum and because of the sub-zero temperatures, it was closed the day of our visit. That didn’t stop us from fully enjoying our time at the museum, though.

Of the permanent exhibits, there are two that are our favorites. The first is the Evolving Planet exhibit and the other is the Tsavo Lions exhibit. Whether you have children or not, seeing the dinosaur fossils and the wild animals displays are always fascinating. You can definitely expect to spend at least four to six hours when you visit the museum, especially if you want to watch any of the movies that are available.

The Field Museum is probably most famous for its exhibit of Sue, the Tyrannosaurus Rex. It holds a prominent location in the main hall of the museum, but the head on the display is not Sue’s actual head as it is too heavy for the display. To see Sue’s actual head, you need to head upstairs and see the exhibit at the rear of the museum where the head is on display in a large glass case. Regardless of how much time you have in Chicago, take time to visit the Field Museum.

Another Day in Paradise

On December 4, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Mexico6 Comments

We spent the last week in Cabo San Lucas, which is our favorite place to go and unwind from our hectic lives. This was definitely a vacation where we pretty much sat by the pool and watched the sun set every day. Unlike normal travel that is filled daily with different adventures and sightseeing activities, our time in Cabo is about relaxation and refueling our batteries. We have been to Cabo many times, so we didn’t plan any activities like parasailing, paddle boarding, or snorkeling. We did go on a jazz cruise out to the arch, however, which was beautiful as always. After a week of silence, we should be back to our normal routine this week. Here are a few photos from our time at the beach last week.