Tapestry Travel

01/24/2024

I was delighted earlier this month when I was asked by RedFin to contribute to an upcoming article on their blog about Orlando, Florida. Can you guess what I love about Orlando? (Psst.. Tapestry Travel's tip is Tip #10!)

Explore 11 activities in Orlando - stunning nature, culture, theme parks, and more all in one wonderful city.

12/03/2023

In today’s reel: A glimpse into the deep forests of Uganda’s Kibale National Park, where chimps reign supreme.

Kibale is home to over 1500 chimpanzees, living in individual communities that can number into the hundreds. The forest is also home to several other species of primates, but you’re more likely to see these smaller monkeys and baboons along the roads and outskirts of the park. Why? Because deep among the trees they are hunted by the chimps.

When we arrive, the rangers quickly go over the expectations -one of which is silence when we are in the woods- and hurry us towards the vans we have just barely stepped out of. We’ll only learn later that they’ve gotten a tip on where members of the local chimp community have been spotted, and it’s actually been a difficult two weeks for finding them. We take off in the vans and after a short drive, with our ranger Bosco in tow, we pull to the side of the road and tumble out onto the edge of the woods. Immediately the air is ringing with shrieks, screams, hoots… It is by far the most primal thing I’ve ever heard. Bosco exchanges a few words with the other ranger who is taking half our little group and then steps into the wall of leaves. “We’re going TOWARD that sound?!” My roommate whispers to me. She looks worried but I feel strangely giddy and can’t speak, so I just grin and nod vigorously before stepping into the darkness beneath the canopy.

The woman in front of me is much taller than I am and has a large jacket tied around her waist that catches every branch and sends them whipping violently into my face. Bosco is not much taller than me but he moves quickly and expertly across the uneven terrain, a rifle slung over his shoulder (“To scare aware the forest elephants,” he tells us. “How often have you had to fire that thing?” the Australian asks. “In 8 years…” he says, thinking, “only twice.”).

It’s hot and humid in the forest and and while I’m grateful for the protection of my long sleeve shirt and pants, I’m sweltering. We pause a moment and listen. Our chimps have gone quiet. But Bosco must have a hunch for this, as he looks around and carefully picks up a trail no one else can see. We start the mad dash again.

It’s then that I feel a painful stinging on my forearm. Am I imagining this? No, something stings there. Then on my stomach, a sharp sting, and again, on my back. I look down at my trousers, which I have dutifully tucked into my socks to protect myself from siafu, or safari ants. What do you know, they are COVERED in the little buggers. What I failed to tuck in? My shirt. And now they are under my clothes, eating me alive. I resist the urge to scream and start ripping my clothes off, but I can’t help a few frantic whispers, “There are ants on me! The ants are biting me in my clothes!” My compatriots within earshot give me silent looks of alarm, but also move quickly away like it might be catching. I am running through jungle, trying to shield my face from branches and avoid stepping through a rotted log, slapping at my torso in a desperate attempt to either shake the ants free or (gross) squash them. Anything to stop the biting. Just when it feels like I’ve mostly succeeded, there is movement in the shadows off to our right, and we are not alone. A full grown chimpanzee is moving quickly through the jungle with us. “They have moved out of their territory,” Bosco whispers, “if they encounter the neighboring group, there will be trouble.”

We follow him or her and find another and another. At one point during the pursuit I think, “This is the most exciting thing I’ve ever done.” They lead us ever deeper into the woods, where a number of chimps sit in a line along a log, having a snack, including some young, not quite babies. We follow another chimp on the move to a spot among the trees where about 7 more relax for a time. One of the most senior grey-bearded males of the group is there. Bosco tells me his age and he is only a year younger than me. Time bends. We have an hour with them but it feels like a handful of minutes. They watch us, watch them. I don’t know why but a lump catches in my throat and the next thing I know, a silent stream of tears is leaking embarrassingly from my eyes. I am grateful for the masks we have to wear when are this close to them, so no one can see me weeping like a crazy woman. I think only Bosco and the other ranger notice. Then, a distinctive hoot in the distance catches the chimps’ attention and Bosco tells us it’s a call that means someone has found food. They peel off, one by one, and lope towards the call. More emerge from the green that we didn’t know were there. It is time for us to leave them, but we all seem to be headed in the same direction. Then a fight breaks out further ahead of us. We can’t see it, but chimps run by at full speed. These beings that seemed so serene moments before now show just how powerful they can be. The woods are full of thrashing and screaming. I am right behind Bosco now so I can pepper him with questions and our quick pace is suddenly stopped when a giant male steps out of the trees, not four feet from me. He’s the alpha of this community and Bosco and I both freeze. The male casually swings past us and walks -nay, struts- directly in front of us, as if he is personally escorting us out of his forest. Bosco turns and whispers to me, “It seems we have a new guide…” He estimates we got to see 30-40 individuals today. The most they’ve seen in weeks. You can tell how pleased he is. “This is why we hurried you,” he says with a smile.

There is more -about the elephants and smelling one we couldn’t see and muddy tracks the size of hub caps, but I digress. When we step back onto the asphalt road, even though it is empty and quiet and flanked by trees, it feels a hundred worlds away. “It’s a little jarring-“ I say to Bosco, and he finishes, “returning to civilization.” “Yes.”

We walk back to the ranger station, but my brain is still back in the world of the chimps.

12/01/2023

Well, I can't figure out how to put a caption on these reeels, so you'll just need to head over to the page. :) Here's a collection of clips from my stay at Amboseli National Park in Kenya. Amboseli is made up of semi-arid grasslands and gets very dry. However, because of its close proximity to Mt. Kilimanjaro, the run-off of melted snow feeds underground rivers that manifest in Amboseli as springs -feeding year round lakes and swamps. The access to water supports wildlife in the area all year and is credited for the huge herds of elephants that Amboseli is known for. I know the Mara gets most of the attention when it comes to savannah parks in Kenya, but Amboseli sits very close to my heart now. There's nothing like touching down on a teeny airstrip in the middle of nowhere in a tiny safari plane, and stepping out to see wildebeest, zebra, and a whole host of antelope just milling about in the distance... And the ELEPHANTS. Oh, the elephants!

11/30/2023

I just learned how to share reels from Instagram, so… Get ready! 😂 If you were wondering where I was in November, the answer is East Africa! Here is a tiny window into part of my trip: Safari in Kenya’s iconic Maasai Mara National Reserve. This stunning savannah park shares a border with Tanzania’s equally iconic Serengeti, and the grazers -namely wildebeest, zebra, various antelope- cycle in and out of the two parks throughout the year, crossing the dangerous Mara River, and closely followed by predators -namely big cats and their various hanger-ons, like the hyenas- in what is called The Great Migration. I was there on the cusp of the short rainy season, so the park was beginning to green and the massive herds had already moved south (our guide joked that the wildebeest we saw here didn’t have their passports, so they couldn’t go to Tanzania with everyone else 😄). In spite of that, the wildlife viewing was still mind-bogglingly incredible, and what you see in this little clip is simply a fraction of what I was able to see. Not to mention, the landscapes… “Mara” means spotted, and the story goes that the acacia trees that dot the otherwise vast grasslands are what give this region its name. Anyway, much more to share on the way!

08/23/2023

Postcard from the High Road to Taos:

We leave Santa Fe in the morning, and start down the High Road to Taos. It’s not the most direct route, but it is considered the most scenic, so… away we go.

On the outskirts of town, the landscape gives way to putty colored cliffs and outcrops dotted with sagebrush. Rocks that look like not-quite-hoodoos. Hawks wheel overhead and crosses regularly dot the highest of the hills. In the distance, a series of very straight protruding cliffs look like an enormous palace out of the corner of my eye. The road climbs and winds through tiny towns where shops with signs along the road try to catch the attention of passersby -pottery, baskets, chiles -“we can ship!” Petite fields of corn and patches of sunflowers buddy up to the houses.

The road climbs. Up, up… Slowly less of the sandy ground is visible, as the land fills in with juniper and pinon. The car crests another ridge and suddenly it is deep green forest below and soaring ponderosa pine alongside. “Entering Carson National Forest” says a roadside sign. The square brown adobe houses with their flat roofs give way to tall, stacked houses with steeply pitched metal roofs. They look like Southwestern ski chalets.

The next tiny hamlet of houses we drive through is settled into a valley shaped like a green bowl, with log lean-tos for livestock and an incredible log aqueduct poking out of the tree line. The water rushes through it and Clare and I spot it and say, “WOW,” at the same time.

The road climbs, ever higher. It seems impossible that we can just keep climbing. We come across soft green and gold fields bordered by forested mountains. Spruce and aspen with their snow white bark and ever fluttering leaves. Knee high pink flowers whose name I wish I knew sometimes straggle along the road, and scores of pretty black-eyed susans decorate the side of the highway.

When we do finally reach Taos, I don’t realize at first that we’ve arrived. The outskirts of town seem perched on a mountain top (with still higher mountains at its back) and the first thing you see is a wide open vista, with what looks like all of New Mexico spread out below. In the center of the old town, amongst the old adobe buildings with their National Historic Landmark plaques, you can’t see this -the evidence that the town of Taos sits roughly 1500 feet *higher* than Paradise on Mt.Rainier -but all the while I can’t stop thinking of it. Tomorrow we drive to Colorado. Will we ever drive down? Or just keep driving up?

08/22/2023

Postcard from Bandelier:

To reach Bandelier National Monument, one must take a public shuttle from the nearest town. The shuttle is actually more like a city bus, and it runs a circuitous route between the respective visitor centers of the town and the park. It makes visiting the park easy, however, I have grander plans: Get off the shuttle shortly after entering the park and hike the 2 and a half miles down into the canyon in the same way that all visitors prior to the road’s construction in the late 1930’s once had to -getting a bird’s eye view of the ancient Pueblo ruins during the final descent. History, a little bit of hiking, but mainly history, is how I pitch this. My daughter nods knowingly.

We board the bus -the only passengers with hiking poles- and wait for our bus driver. He saunters up a moment or two later from somewhere outside and climbs aboard.

“How are we all doing?”

“Gooooood…” Comes the chorus. Spinning around and suddenly intensely serious, he squints and looks us all over, gets a quick headcount, and introduces himself before launching into a speech.

“This shuttle has two stops!” He announces, pacing the aisle. “The Juniper campground and the Visitor Center! We might pick up more people at the campground…” He trails off, shifting his gaze out the window and furrowing his brow, as if imagining these strangers boarding at the campground. “The ride will take about 25 minutes! And the last shuttle out of the canyon leaves at five…” He trails off again and simply stares at us all. One woman laughs and says, “So you better get on!” The driver’s eyes snap to her face as he raises one eyebrow and mutters darkly, “Unless you want to stay the night down there…”

Turning and climbing into the driver’s seat, and slowly and deliberately buckling his seatbelt, the thought flits through my mind how bus passengers never seem to have seatbelts. We pull away from the visitor center, navigate a turn or two in town, and get out on the main road to Bandelier, where our driver proceeds to drive the shuttle at whatever top speed it can reach. Wow, we ARE going fast, I think, as the doors and windows and seats rattle violently down a road that certainly doesn’t LOOK rough, but maybe is if you’re going 60 in a bus. My daughter turns to look at me with giant saucer shaped eyes as we careen around a sharp mountainside curve in the road. The navigation appears to be more complex but we only barrel on faster, the rattling and shuddering of the bus so loud, no one is attempting conversation. I look over to see my spouse white knuckling the railing next to him. I have to bite my tongue to keep from laughing out loud at the absurdity of it all.

Within minutes we are rolling into the empty campground. The bus pulls alongside a lonely bench, the wheels slowing but never stopping, and I realize this is the trailhead and we are clearly going to blow past it. The driver punches the gas and the bus takes off again with a lurch.

“Oh! Whoops, sorry, can we get off here?” Stomping on the brakes, the driver glares into the big rearview mirror. “You didn’t tell me you wanted to get off here!”

“Sorry, yeah, we thought we were stopping here! And we’d just… get off.”

“I did stop!”

“It wasn’t a very long stop…” I sort of involuntarily squeak-laugh, which causes a few other passengers to nervously laugh, their faces looking as if they aren’t sure whether to continue to chance it with this fellow or follow us out into the 90+ degree heat and vast wilderness.

Whoosh, the doors open, we scurry off, and the bus roars away. All that is left is utter silence, a certain stillness, the empty bench. The wind sweeps up through the grasses for company, but otherwise we are totally alone.

“Alright!” I say cheerily, unsnapping the little stays on my poles with a pop, “Let’s do this!”

08/21/2023

Postcard #2:

Dear Travellers,
You should know I am not a napper (never have been, just ask my poor mother). But yesterday I *may* have gotten a little too much sun, didn’t realize that’s why I wasn’t feeling too well, crawled under a coverlet with a sweatshirt on at 2 in the afternoon, fell asleep for an hour, and woke to reveal some burned shoulders and a really cute heat rash. 😳 You guys, I know better than this! 🙈 Let’s all remember to wear our sunscreen and stay hydrated. It’s just that the morning was so exciting, it was easy to get swept up in it all and not realize anything was amiss until I was standing in a little patch of shade blearily wondering why my eyes felt sunburned… But I digress.

Yesterday -oh, yesterday!- yesterday was the first day of the 101st Santa Fe Indian Market -the largest native art market in the country- which brings in over 700 master (we are talking exhibits at the Met and fans lined up for autographs level) and emerging artists from tribal nations across the US and Canada, and nearly 100,000 visitors. It is both spectacular and overwhelming. Not to mention that’s only the *official* market we are talking about. Street after street, THE market eventually meets other, informal, markets. It just goes on and on. One artist was describing to me how this street would meet this market and that one would meet another, and I joked, “And then you end up in Taos?” He laughed and said, “Basically!” I have been to some very busy markets and medinas in my time, but there is something different about wide open American boulevards being filled with hundreds and hundreds of pop up tents. The little warrens of alleys and shops in the markets and medinas of India and Morocco, though busy as anything, are somehow less intimidating. Maybe because you can’t see the endlessness of it? You just keep turning corners? I don’t know, but it was a lot to take in.

Not to mention, there are some SERIOUS collectors out there. And some seriously incredible art. From the very traditional to ultra contemporary. The best part was getting to speak with some of the artists and hear the stories around how pieces are made or what inspired them. Not everyone can take time to do that at an event like this, when the big fish are the private collectors and curators of museums and galleries, so it was really special when it could happen. (Is there such a thing as making a museum request, because oh man, I met someone that needs a gallery room at the SAM tomorrow!!)

Then I took my sun-soaked crash and woke up feeling burned, but less bleary.

Which was good, because we had dinner plans at Jambo Cafe -a fabulous East African/Caribbean restaurant- and then a glorious train ride out into the New Mexican countryside to watch the sunset, whilst listening to an Albuquerque cowboy sing Spanish love songs, John Denver, and Outkast.

Until tomorrow,
H

08/19/2023

Postcard from the Road:

Dear Fellow Travellers,

Having a beautiful time in Santa Fe! Today we visited the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum (one of my favorite artists), the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis (so peaceful), the Loretto Chapel (the spiral staircase really is a marvelous piece of engineering!) the New Mexico History Museum, dozens of shops, and finally, had a fantastic dinner at the acclaimed Coyote Cafe. We also got to see some hoop dancers performing in the street, getting people excited for the opening of the 101st Santa Fe Indian Market tomorrow. There are SO many booths being set up in the plaza and on the surrounding streets -I even spotted one banner with Salish art on it -I’d recognize those graceful black and red whales anywhere. ☺️

Bye for now!
-H

08/10/2023

Hello, Travellers. By now I'm sure you've heard about the terrible wildfires that devastated communities across Maui yesterday -including the near total destruction of historic Lahaina. Hawaii is a destination that shares so much of itself with the world, and while Lahaina has long been enjoyed by tourists, it was also a working town with families and businesses and schools and so much history... I wanted to make sure folks know about some of the opportunities to support residents at this time:

The Salvation Army, Hawaii and Pacific Islands Division, is providing food and resources for evacuees: https://fundraise.salvationarmyhawaii.org/give/508336/ #!/donation/checkout

Maui Food Bank is providing food for displaced community members: https://mauifoodbank.org/donate/

The Maui Strong Fund distributes funding to local nonprofits that focus on disaster response, relief and recovery for locals: https://www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/maui-strong

Please consider joining Tapestry Travel in giving back to a community that has given so much to so many! 💗🌺🌈

07/30/2023

I have some exciting news to share and a BIG thank you to give! Once again, Tapestry Travel was voted Best Travel Agency by our community in the Best of South Sound 2023 business awards! I continue to be bowled over by the love, appreciation and support shown to Tapestry Travel by my clients and community and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. 💗😊 It’s such an honor and your belief in my small business really does encourage me to dream bigger every day! I love exploring the world with you and I look forward to all our journeys yet to come!

06/29/2023

This is game-changing news, friends! The Northwest has had a notoriously difficult time making it to the Caribbean -neither of our dominant airlines have ever had a plethora of schedules headed that way, and the ones that do sometimes require overnight stopovers in glamorous destinations like… Charlotte. But guess what?! Alaska Airlines has just announced that soon all of us sun-starved little PNW-ers will have direct, nonstop access to the Bahamas! 😍 Well, well, well… 👏👏 Let’s find you a beautiful spot on the beach to relax on this winter and break up the monotony! Who’s going first? 😄

06/22/2023

Remember how we talked about “you can’t VIP yourself?” Here’s a perfect example: How many conversations did I have that ended, “…and please reach out when you have clients visiting and we’ll…” -insert all the surprises here (I’m not going to spoil them!!). Let me explain:

Wednesday afternoon I headed up north for another invite-only industry event. Considerably larger than last week’s, the focus here was on Hawaii, and brought reps from the Maui Ocean Center, Maui Tourism, and from properties all across the islands. (Plus it was hosted at another beautiful Seattle locale, this time overlooking Lake Union). It was great re-connecting with a few folks I’d met with in Las Vegas, learning about some new properties and exciting changes on the horizon (a brand new Hawaiian Cirque du Soleil show in residence in Waikiki next year?!) and simply talking about, well… you! “I have clients heading there this summer who LOVE diving and snorkeling, what do you think of these beach recommendations?” (10/10 would recommend 🙌) “May I take a couple driving maps for my clients?” (Yes, and please take pens and reef-safe sunscreen for them too! 🌞🐠) “I have some great clients staying with you later this year, I’ll definitely reach out!” (Surprises! 🌺)

Such a productive and lovely evening! (And look at that view!)

06/20/2023

I slid off the social media map again last week, but I have a good excuse! Here’s a week in the life at Tapestry Travel…

- The first of our summer clients returned from a week long adventure in Arizona -a relaxing resort stay in Sedona, followed by a trip to the Grand Canyon by rail (yes, in one of those incredible glass-domed observation cars!), rounded out with a stay at an adorable boutique hotel in Scottsdale. They’re one of those couples that proves to me yet again that a bit of adventure keeps the spark going! Next up, the Mediterranean…

- Our brand new departure bags arrived just in time for me to stuff one with treats and ship it off to one of our East Coast clients that’s traveling next. It’s a graduation celebration and an epic family adventure -more on that soon, because it’s too amazing not to talk more about.

- Multiple 2024 travel requests came in -40th birthday travel for a favorite returning client!; a referral from a beloved past client!; brand new travellers who found Tapestry Travel online! Let me tell you, Italy is going to be a hopping spot next summer…

- I made a little trip up to Seattle to meet with several travel suppliers visiting from Southern Africa (we’re talking Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, and Botswana). What an absolute treat to be able to connect in person. I got to see some gorgeous pictures (House boats on the Chobe River! Elephants wandering through luxe safari camps, sipping from the pool!) and hear some amazing stories about wildlife conservation and the work being done by these properties in partnership with local communities. Doing good by people and the planet + forging local, personal connections with travel suppliers = travel industry things that make my heart sing.

- And finally, as of yesterday, I finished a MASSIVE itinerary for a 61 day sabbatical trip traveling this summer (5 countries, 3 continents! 18 flights!!). Sure, your itinerary will always have the answers to those big specifics (When is my flight? Where is my hotel?), but imagine it like a telescope, zooming in on the small details: From how to reach those turquoise blue lakes in Banff, to local restaurant recommendations in Palau, to what time is that farmer’s market open in Kauai?, to how to maximize a single sight-seeing day in Quito, Ecuador; to how long will it take me to walk to that butterfly garden in Santa Elena, Costa Rica? Around the world in 61 days, indeed!

What’s up this week? More client departures, more itineraries to roll out for summer travellers, more industry events! Summer is starting at a sprint!

06/05/2023

It's World Environment Day and I'm doing a little show and tell of travel essentials I like that bypass single use plastics! Advice and... A little silliness, because I can't help it! 😄

06/04/2023

Paris Las Vegas vs. Paris, France! 😄 (I guess I need to go to Paris, TX next…)

Here’s some VIP talk… I spent a few days at Paris Las Vegas earlier this year for a conference, which includes several days of networking with suppliers and tourism boards. I make a beeline at trade shows to talk to folks at the places where you are staying and in the regions that you are going to. I tell reps that *you* will be visiting and we make plans to keep in touch. I track down suppliers that I think could be helpful resources for your trip, or for trips you have told me you want to take, or places you’ve told me you stayed at before and love -even if we’ve never planned those trips together! I figure the more I know, the better I can help make your travel memories extra special. 😊

05/31/2023

Recently I heard a hotel supplier talking about the client/travel advisor/hotelier relationship, and they said a phrase that stuck with me: “because your client can’t VIP themselves!” And that is SO true! I think it’s one of the reasons I love celebration travel. Honeymoons, birthdays, anniversaries! Graduations and babymoons. ☺️ You’d be amazed how well I get to know resort and hotel concierge staff before you arrive, so that we can put something together that’s extra special for your celebration. 💗 But to be honest, even when there is no special occasion, every Tapestry Travel client has access to VIP amenities, experiences and service. Whether it’s on-board cruise credit, or resort credit; complimentary room upgrades; or travel experiences only accessible through an advisor... And sometimes, yep, your VIP experience is just the product of good old-fashioned legwork. (I once spent several days calling various government officials across a particular Caribbean island in an effort to get clients a reservation to visit a bird sanctuary… You COULD do this… or you could be the VIP). 😎

05/23/2023

A little glimpse behind the scenes this morning… Confession: I get totally overwhelmed when it comes to social media for Tapestry Travel. (And don’t even get me started on marketing -something I basically don’t do! 🙈) Sometimes it feels like a second job -one that I really overthink and lack focus on. So, because your travel agent thrives with a little structure, I started a 10 week course this morning to help me come up with a better plan to stay in touch. 😊 (Maybe the newsletter will even come back you guys! 😂)

04/11/2023

Tapestry Travel has been nominated once again for Best Travel Agency in the South Sound! It was such an honor to win in 2022. ☺️ If you'd like to cast your vote again this year, you'll find us under "Things to Do" and "Travel Agency." Thanks so much for all the love!

Vote once per day from April 10th through April 28th!

03/15/2023

Little announcement... Things happen quickly around here! It's mid-March and Tapestry Travel's 2023 travel calendar is officially FILLED. At this point in time, I can no longer accept anymore trips traveling in this calendar year. You might be asking yourself, wait, how did that happen?! Well, some of our clients secure their spots on our travel calendar more than a year in advance of their travel! If you know that you'd like to take a big trip in 2024, make a note in your calendar to touch base by this summer at least. 😊 This is especially important for summer national parks trips, any expedition style cruising (like to the Polar regions or the Galapagos), or complex multi-destination trips. Also, please note that returning and referral clients do get priority during busy planning times, (and let's be honest, are sometimes able to quietly slip onto the calendar... Not always, but sometimes!) so if you are a brand new client I encourage you to reach out well in advance. Lastly, and MOST importantly, thank you so much for your business! It's an overwhelming honor to be so busy!

02/17/2023

Out of the office until 2/22, because I’m spending time with my favorite little adventurer in beautiful Arizona. Yesterday we explored the Tucson Mountain District of Saguaro National Park, and today we’ll go hike in the Rincon Mountain District. 💗🌵🌞

01/17/2023

Have you been wondering when Tapestry Travel's client book is re-opening to new client inquiries? If you have, the answer is (hopefully!) the end of February! 🥳 It's been a busy few months servicing current and returning clients, and to make sure I have the bandwidth to give every trip the attention it deserves, sometimes I just have to put a pause on taking on any new clients. This hasn't stopped you from knocking at my door though, so I think we'll all be excited when I can open that client-roll up again! 😂 The best part? Once you're in, your trips get first dibs on my calendar. ☺️ I genuinely miss you after your trip has travelled and we are no longer in each other's inbox! So I'm always happy to welcome a returning face. 🥰 Okay, let's all count down to the end of February then...