Abrams Family World Travel

World Travel: My Top 10 Memories Of 2010

1. Mornings in Kukljica, Croatia

Waking up, seeing the sun rise over a calm Adriatic Sea and taking a plunge with the water all to myself.

2. River Plate v Boca Juniors

The ultimate club football experience. A genuine grudge match in Argentina’s national stadium (in Buenos Aires) with colours, noises and celebrations I’ve never seen before.

3. Driving through Croatia

We spent two months there this summer. Although I’d spent many months during my childhood in my motherland, for some reason the true beauty escaped me – until we drove there and home this summer. It is truly the most stunning country in Europe (for me anyway).

4. Meeting new people and seeing family members

One of the real joys of travelling is the interesting people you meet and friends you make. I met some fascinating characters. But another huge pleasure was spending time with family, from Croatia to France to Florida to Buenos Aires, and introducing them to my family.

5. Views of Quito

Being the highest capital city in the world has some advantages. Although Quito is a vast concrete jungle, there are some superb vantage points. I loved discovering them to take in the spectacular sights.

6. Rock-climbing with Zenchai in Argentina

With temperatures in the 90s, Zenchai and I went into the rocks at Paseo de Mamagotes close to Capilla Del Monte. Wearing flip-flops, Zenchai wasn’t ideally equipped. Some of the rocks were slippery and when he slid early on, he wanted to turn back. But I convinced him to continue, pretending we were on a pirate treasure hunt, and he persevered. He loved it and so did I.

7. Introduction to Hillbilly golf

At a family gathering for Jamie’s mother in Toledo, Ohio in August, a bizarre game was unveiled. It involved what looked like mini-rugby posts but with an added bar on the top. The only other equipment required were six golf balls with rope going through them. The posts are placed about 20ft apart and teams toss the balls by the rope, aiming to hook them on to the posts. The higher the ball sticks, the better the score. Couldn’t believe how much fun it was.

8. Eating ripe, locally-grown watermelons

You may have gathered my favourite fruit is watermelon. It’s not only fantastic for hydrating and full of goodness, but so tasty when chilled. We had our best watermelons in Croatia and Argentina.

9. Hiking Cerro Uritorco

In Capilla Del Monte, Argentina, where we spent Christmas and New Year, one mountain overlooks the region. It's an impressive beast and hiking it one morning after Christmas was unforgettable not only for the views, but also the challenge and the stunning sense of tranquility and connecting with nature. 

10. Weekend in Icacos, Trinidad

What a special place, so peaceful, colourful and spectacularly photographic. Lake, beach, sunshine and, above all else, a sense of calm and silence I didn’t experience or find anywhere else on the island.

Toledo: Firefighting Emergency

Maybe one day I can fill these...

   

Wait! My time has come. I hear a fire alarm. I better get my fire hat on.

 

Time to slide down the pole.

Now what is the emergency? Oh no! A girl trapped in her bedroom with smoke everywhere! 

We had better get her a ladder and QUICK!

 

Time to get the hoses out. Then everyone will be safe - including all her animals that need rescuing.

Emergency over. All in a days work as a firefighter. 

 

We visited the Toledo Firefighters Museum and to be honest I didn't expect much. However, for a museum that runs solely on donations it was a lot a fun. Zenchai loved play-acting a fire drama. He was interacting with the other children with such gusto and enthusiasm. I felt like one of those proud parents watching their child perform their first Christmas play.

It was also a surprise to see a photo of my grandfather on the wall from 1958. He was once a fire chief.

Fast Facts: 

The museum has been open since 1976 with a fire pumper from 1837 as its centrepiece. Visiting hours to the public are on Saturdays from noon to four with free admission. 

Toledo Firefighters Museum, 918 Sylvania Ave., Toledo, OH 43612.

www.toledofiremuseum.com.

 
  

 
 

Toledo: Hillbilly Golf

You stand about 20 feet away from the target, a type of ladder (which can be made from plastic or wood), holding three bolas (usually two golf balls connected by string) and try to throw it so it hangs on to one of the three rungs.

That, in essence, is the aim of Polish horseshoes, ladder toss or hillbilly golf. I’d never played or heard of it before attending one of Jamie’s family functions recently. But it’s fun, requires some skill and fine judgement and is an excellent game for involving large groups and children with adults (although Zenchai was probably a little too young to grasp it and impatient to wait his turn).

You play in pairs (two against two) and your partner stands opposite, with ‘ladders’ at each end, a bit like stumps on a cricket pitch.

In turn, the players at each end throw their bolas (there are two sets, usually different in colour).

If your bola lands on the top rung you get three points, two points if it sits on the second rung and one point for the bottom rung. It’s that simple.

Some variations of the game have the scoring the opposite way round, with three points for landing on the bottom rung. But the scoring is flexible. You can either play to 21 or, for a (usually) quicker game, to 10, using a cancelling system whereby if one team scores three on their throw and the other team gets the same, no one gets any points. The winner stays on until beaten.

Give it a try. It's about the only form of golf where I'd stand a chance of beating Tiger Woods.

(Claude forget to mention how incredibly brilliant I was at hillbilly golf, especially as this was my first time playing too.)
 

Toledo: To Zoo Or Not To Zoo?

I can understand why some people, out of principal, refuse to visit zoos. Seeing animals in confined spaces so different to their natural habitat can seem cruel.

But at Toledo’s zoo, to the south of the city, there are animals and birds which have been rescued from the wild and therefore probably wouldn’t have survived any other way, although that’s not the case with all of them.

However, zoos can be educational and do provide the opportunity to see animals up close, albeit behind fences and barriers. They also help preserve some species which are close to extinction. This zoo, built in 1900 and the first anywhere to have a hippoquarium, is actively involved in 30 species survival plans. There are 4,800 animals and 700 species.

Most of the animals we saw seemed fairly docile, though, perhaps because it was a hot day. I couldn’t help imagine what it must be like to be an exhibit and have thousands of people each day come to look at you.

While it may not be fun for all the animals, kids seem to enjoy it. There’s a train journey - $2 per ticket – aimed at children that goes around a small open area showing ostriches, giraffes, zebras and gazelles.

 The zoo did have an impressive polar bear with cub, plus rhinos, elephants, white lions, tigers, snow leopards, cheetahs, wolves, hippos etc. There was also a vast selection of snakes and lizards. But Zenchai particularly enjoyed the children’s play area (where chipmunks run around freely) and the monkeys, especially the chimps, orang-utans and gorillas.

Gorillas are an endangered species. The great silverback came straight up to the glass window where Zenchai was standing and stared inquisitively at him.

The orang-utans were more amusing. One approached Zenchai with a mouth full of banana and spat it on to the window and then a younger one came over and, as if he was performing for the onlookers, licked it up! Yuck.

Admission: $11 for adults and $8 for children over two. Open daily from 10am.

 

Toledo: 'The Queen Of The Lakes'

Jamie, who is from Toledo, said to me, “what do people do with their children here?”

Admittedly, we are staying in Michigan, about 20 minutes from Toledo, in the countryside and don’t have immediate access to a car.

But even with wheels, what is there beyond the obvious of parks, pools, libraries, sports etc?

In terms of outings, we had to dig deep and headed downtown, to Toledo’s ‘Frog Pond’, where the SS Willis B Boyer is docked.

It turned out to be a worthwhile move.

Next summer (2011) marks the 100th year since the bulk freighter was first built. At that time it was the largest in the world and named Col. James M. Schoonmaker.

It’s an interesting way to spend an hour, with access to the living quarters for the crew and captain, the engine rooms, diesel and electric generators, galleys, cargo holds etc. You really get a feel for how large these boats are and what life was like on it.

Once labelled ‘The Queen of the Lakes’, the boat has been out of service since 1986, when it was sold to the city of Toledo to be used as a museum ship.

It is immense – 617ft in length, 33ft in depth and weighing 8,600 tons when empty and 23,600 when full to capacity.

But if you think that is big – and it is – there is apparently a German ocean liner SIX times larger!

Admission prices: $6 for adults, free for children. There is ample free parking.