Adventure Archives | Sunita Girl

California Adventure Part 2: Train Ride & San Diego

July 16, 2017

We decided that a train ride must occur during out trip out west. We took the Amtrack’s Pacific Surfliner from the train station in LA down to San Diego roundtrip. It was exciting to go on my first train ride. We ended up getting to the train station late thanks to stupid LA traffic that morning and missed our train. It was confusing to find the overnight parking too which added more delay. We ended up parking in an underground parking lot in the Gateway Center Union Station.

However, unlike airplanes, we were able to get on the next train which left 1 hour later without paying any fees 🙂 Additionally the train tickets are cheaper than a flight down there.

We boarded our first train and had to leave our big luggage downstairs to go get seats upstairs. Thankfully Amtrak had Wi-Fi and power outlets available. Also a dining car that had sandwiches available. I was pleasantly surprised that my train sandwich tasted pretty good.

View from the Pacific Surfliner

The views along our route were amazing. We passed right along the coast and beaches. It took us 2 hours and 45 minutes to get to San Diego and the train was on time. It was a very smooth ride. I’d definitely recommend the Pacific Surfliner train route.Continue Reading

California Adventure Part 1 – San Francisco & Petaluma

July 16, 2017

We took a trip to California to visit JT’s family and see what all the fuss about California was about.

For flights we booked a from Orlando (MCO) to LA (LAX) with Virgin America. They had decent rates and comfortable seating. I liked the touch screen monitor each seat had that allowed you to select your own movie or TV show to watch. They had good movies and The Big Bang Theory episodes for free so I was pretty content. They did not have free Wi-Fi though but did have power outlets to charge devices for free.

The screens also let you order food and drinks and even send items to other passengers. The terminal for Virgin America in Orlando was in a decent location in terminal A with a food court close by. The food court had lots of healthy food options. They have Jersey Mike’s which is what I ate, a salad place, and Italian food and a bar place. Note if you’re going to be flying with Virgin there’s a difference between Virgin America and Virgin Atlantic and they aren’t the same check-in place in the airport.

The terminal in LAX was pretty crummy and cold. Of course we ended up delayed there for almost 2 hours waiting for our flight to San Francisco. The only food available nearby was gross Burger King. The LAX airport in general was quite old and dumpy looking in comparison to the Orlando airport. It’s so crappy we had to exit down the plane stairs onto the runway then up 2 flights of stairs with our carry-on luggage when we landed. They didn’t have the overhead walkway. Ugh.

Mexico Cruise Adventure

January 3, 2017

Over Christmas break I ended up going on a 4 night cruise to Cozumel Mexico with JT.
It was sort of a last minute decision but resulted in us getting a BOGO deal with Royal Caribbean.
It was my first trip to a country that the first language is not English although lots of the locals seemed to have basic understanding. I had to try to remember every bit of Espanol I learned in Junior High School.

Day 1

Independence of the Seas

We had to drive down to Ft. Lauderdale, FL and park our car in the covered parking garage. Then a shuttle bus came and took us to the Royal Caribbean Check In station.
Good thing we printed our luggage tags at home before we left because it allowed the porter to collect it from us quickly and start taking it out to our ship.
We each kept an overnight bag with us with the basics in case our luggage was delivered to our room late.

Change of clothes
Pajamas
Sunscreen
Jacket
Toothbrush and toothpaste
Binoculars
Swimsuit
Camera
Sunglasses

After we dropped off our suitcase we went through security. It wasn’t nearly as bad as the TSA airport security. We were able to take 2 sealed bottles of champagne with us 🙂

Then we checked-in with Royal Caribbean and collected our Seapass cards. It’s pretty much the card you need for your room key, port departure and boarding, drink package, and if you link your credit card to it you can use it for onboard purchases. I’d recommend linking a credit card to it so you don’t have to pay a bill at the desk at the end of the cruise. Once the card is linked the purchases are done but be careful not to lose the Seapass card. I got a glittery lanyard and cardholder at the port for mine which was easy to keep with me.

My next Adventure! Becoming a Web Developer

September 7, 2016

After much thoughts and consideration I decided to quit my job and go back to school.

My ongoing struggle with immigration led me to the decision to take time off and deal with immigration, go take classes to improve myself while waiting on processing. Then apply for jobs again once it’s over.

I got accepted at UCF’s Coding Boot Camp Class where I’ll learn to be a Full Stack Web developer and gain skills to become proficient in front-end and back-end technologies.

I want to ride my Bicycle…

July 31, 2016

New Miami Citizen Folding Bike

…I want to ride my bike. It’s summer time! I keep seeing bicycle posts all over my Facebook news feed probably because RAGBRAI season back in Iowa. I’m not that much into biking but it did make me miss my bike so I decided to get a new one. It sucks that I had my helmet and gloves, etc but no bike.

Our Destination Wedding – Tobago

June 3, 2016

Tobago Wedding Morning

We finally had our ceremony for our wedding. We had a small but lovely Hindu wedding ceremony at Magdalena Grand Resort in Tobago.

We were able to pull it off without major disaster. Sure enough there were a few minor annoying incidents but overall it was a success and a great memory.

Here are some of the lessons learned for having a destination wedding.

Iowa to Florida: The epic journey back

March 20, 2016

Wedding planning wasn’t stressful enough so I decided to get a new job and relocate 2 months before our ceremony *sarcasm*

I got a job offer that was able to match my previous job’s salary but located in Florida so I decided to take it.

I had enough of the cold weather in Iowa. Being from Trinidad, I don’t think I could ever adapt to the subfreezing temperatures. Plus, Florida is so much cheaper to fly back to Trinidad to see my family.

Take me to Tobago!

January 23, 2016

Over Winter break we went over to the sister isle of my homeland Trinidad to the island of Tobago.

Tobago is the more resort, touristy, laid back island unlike the busy, industrial Trinidad.

Tobago is an island paradise and less commercialized and busy than some other Caribbean destinations. Which is how I like it.

We stayed for 4 nights at Beverly’s Oasis. Not an all inclusive resort but it suited our needs perfectly. Laid back, clean, well kept and out of the bustle of the Crown Point Airport Area.

International Travel Tips

December 13, 2015

Here are some of my tips for travelling internationally.

Before your trip:

Do research on your destination. TripAdvisor usually has good reviews for hotels and things to do.
Avoid paying extra fees by getting a credit card with no foreign transaction fees and has an EMV chip.
I have a Chase Sapphire Card that I use for travel. It does have an annual fee though. Another great option is Bank of America’s BankAmericard Travel Rewards which has no annual fees. I may switch over and get one of those eventually.
Verify your passport and required Visas are valid and not near their expiration dates.
Remember to bring your Passport and tickets. Keep scanned copies of your passport and visa on a secured cloud storage medium.
Carry a pen with you.
Keep spare clothes in your carry on luggage in case your checked bag gets separated from you.
Bring entertainment with you. Books, tablet, games, music, etc. Purchase airplane WiFi internet package if needed

Des Moines Adventure

November 7, 2015

Des Moines, Iowa

This week I visited the capital of Iowa, Des Moines. Had to go there for an early morning appointment and decided to go sightseeing afterwards. Adventure time! Visited to Zombie Burger + Drink Lab and had an amazing chicken sandwich with a Zombie theme. After lunch I visited the Blank Park Zoo.