There were a lot of things I didn’t understand and needed a glossary of terms to get me through a lot of the seminars, but after a year of working with the new social media I have learned a lot.  SO, this year I can really enjoy the conference because I have a better understanding of the lingo.

This past year I’ve spend many hours and hours learning, reading, testing, writing, and spending money on learning how this all works.  Now I think I’m ready to move forward.  So, as part of that process attendance at this year’s Blog World Expo is really an important next step.  I know there is still so much more to learn and now I can get into the details!!

So, John Chow, I think I also deserve a ticket to this year’s Blog World Expo to continue to grow in this New Social Media world!!

PS::  If you register for Blog World Expo using the window above, you can get an additional 20% off the registration by entering RICKNDAVE20 as the promotion code.  Hope to see you there.

As the “old ladies” of IT, we had been in the IT game for over 25 years a piece and knew that the best way to stay young and healthy is to keep working and keep learning.  Well, it appeared that Blogging and Social Media met the challenge.

Unfortunately for me, my “other” business as a management consultant seems to get in the way a lot of the time….as well as my propensity for travel, so I have not worked as hard as I should to achieve my goal of financial freedom.

On the other hand, Bonnie has not stopped networking since we got back from BlogWorld last year.  She has joined so many Meetups, breakfast groups, JV groups, you name it, and it is starting to pay off.  When you meet Bonnie you will see someone who is totally immersed and enamored with New Media Marketing and is happy to share her information with the rest of us.

As such an avid convert, I really do feel that Bonnie should win John Chow’s contest for a free All Access pass to the upcoming BlogWorld Expo. If she does, maybe she’ll buy me dinner…..

Here we are getting ready to head off to another BlogWorld Expo Conference in Las Vegas.  This will be the second year for Bonnie Sainsbury of New Media Rules at www.techcoachtips.com and myself.

Our first year at BlogWorld was an eye opener.  We were just starting to look at the possibilities of this particular medium and working towards making a decision as to moving our individual businesses towards the Blogging world and Web 2.0.  After 3 extremely packed days, we were convinced of the viability of Web 2.0 and New Media Marketing.

We were really happy that we decided to spend a couple of extra days in Vegas to do a little sight-seeing and relax a little as during the 3-day conference they had us so busy with key-note speakers, seminars and of course the Trade Show, that we had hardly any time to do anything else.

Early Registration

The conference runs from October 15-17, 2009 but the reason I am letting you know about it now is that they have early bird registration as well as discounted hotel rates during the conference.  The sooner you book the hotel the better as they will fill up pretty quick. If you book the conference before September 14th, you can save $100 off the conference registration fee. That could pay for a couple of nice dinners or a lot of gambling if you are so inclined.

Accommodation

If you are not a gambler and don’t want to be inundated with slot machines at your hotel, I recommend the Marriott Residences right across the road from the Convention Center.  The Residences are more for people who have come to Vegas to work (or go to a conference).  We stayed here last year and it was very quiet with absolutely no sign of gambling anywhere on the property.

If you like to gamble or it doesn’t bother you one way or the other, the hotels listed on the Blogworld Expo site are very nice and extremely reasonable.  The Hilton is right next to the Convention Center and is actually connected so you can get there without going out in the heat.

Who Should Attend

“Any Blogger, Podcaster, Vlogger, Internet TV or Radio Broadcaster, Social Media expert or producer of any other form of new media content. If you blog, podcast or vlog about business, technology, politics, sports, lifestyle & culture, general news items, or celebrity gossip…if you are a Milblogger, or Godblogger, or advocate a social position you need to be here. Business owners and marketing executives from start-up micro-enterprises to the largest established corporations, this is the one conference where you’ll find the most comprehensive and critical knowledge for growing your business with the latest new media technology, methods and tools.”  from the Blog World Expo website.

If you decide this is something you are interested in attending or want to know more about the conference and/or New Media/Blogging, click on the blue banner at the beginning of this post.  If you do, let me know you are attending and we can hook up at the conference.  I hope to see you there.

Gail created an amazing weekend itinerary for her friends and relatives that was delivered to my hotel room.  It was actually printed on hand-made paper like an invitation.  She had our whole weekend planned out from morning ‘til night. 

Saturday, of course, was filled with wedding events, but Sunday was just as great.  We had brunch at the hotel and then packed ourselves into as few vehicles as we could to head out to Kananaskis Country.  Kananaskis Country was pretty much unknown to most people until the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.  In preparation for those Olympics, Mount Allen was developed to become Nakiska, the Alpine Ski venue.  Another friend and I managed to hitch a ride up the quad-chair with none other than Prince Albert of Monaco who was also there to watch the Giant Slalom.  He was much younger and still had hair. 

Also for the Olympics the Kananaskis Village was born.  The village is comprised of several low-rise hotels with shopping, hot tubs, pubs and other amenities available to guests and casual visitors alike.  There are hiking paths, picnic areas, fish ponds, you name it.  The village is designed to fit into the surrounding panoramic landscape and it is this landscape that is the big draw. 

This IS one of the most beautiful places on earth.  The majestic mountains, the green valleys, the bears, the wolves, the mountain sheep and goats, the deer……you get my drift.  There were some wildlife conservation officers on hand with demonstrations and information on the different wildlife in the area.  They try really hard to educate people while they are in the park in order to avoid any confrontations.  The land does belong to the wildlife – not us – and they need to be left to live their lives as nature intended.  Very little upsets me more than hearing that a bear or other wildlife had to be destroyed because of some human’s stupidity.  They may be cute but they are still wild. 

Anyway, I have a couple of videos and photos of our day at the park that I hope you will enjoy. 

I got up at dawn to watch the sunrise over the mountains.  It was a beautiful site.  We had the most amazing morning – no rain!!  It was the perfect end to a perfect trip weather-wise.  For 21 days we only had rain late one night.  The rest of the cruise the sun was out in full force.  You couldn’t ask for better weather.  So coming into Vancouver and finding sunshine was awe-inspiring.  I should have written a song about it.  Maybe someone from my songwriting class did!!

Gail and I watched the ship coming in past Stanley Park, then under the Lion’s Gate Bridge, and then into downtown Vancouver to Canada Place.  We could see the new Convention Centre with its grass roof and of course the Shangri La stood out from the crowd with its 60 floors. 

We docked next to the Holland America Zuiderdam and awaited our disembarkation.  We said good-bye to our beautiful suite and went to the Lido Aft Deck to enjoy the sunshine and the view.  From there we could see Vancouver, North Vancouver and West Vancouver with all their majestic mountains and parks.  This time the disembarkation was done quite smoothly and we were out fairly quickly meeting our friends and relatives in front of the World Trade Centre (can’t believe they still call it that). 

And so our vacation has drawn to a close and it is time to return to reality.  Thank you all for following us on our journey and if you are looking at cruising in the near future, you can contact your nearest CAA or AAA offices to book a care-free, escorted tour of your own.

Happy Traveling!!

The four of us went to the Mariner’s lunch today in the Vista Dining room where we had another lovely meal.  There was a recipient of the Platinum Medallion today and believe it or not, she was quite young – probably in her twenties.  She decided to do her 700th day on the Westerdam because apparently she was conceived on the original Westerdam.  How cool is that?

After lunch, Gail, Janice and Michael went to the Casino while I went to the Piano Bar to catch up on my blogging.  If I had known that I could get Internet access on Deck 2, I would have done this all along.  The Explorer Lounge on Deck 10 is the Internet Cafe and it sucks.  Why, you ask?  Number One, it’s on the top deck – the higher you go the more sway there is.  Then to top it off, the computer desks are placed sideways or diagonally – perfect for getting even more nauseous.  I guess they thought it wouldn’t look as nice if they put the desks front to back, from bow to aft, but it sure would make working on them a lot easier. 

Here is a lesson in lessening seasickness.   If you are concerned about cruising as motion sickness is a problem for you and you don’t want to take the Sea Calm offered as it puts you out for a couple of days, try these tips:

1.  Always try to sit facing either the front or the back of the ship.  Do not sit across the ship or diagonal. 

2.  Get a cabin on the lowest deck you can.  Some people always book on Deck 1 as there is very little rocking the farther down you are.  For the first part of the trip we were on Deck 4 and even that was 1000% better than on deck 8. 

3.  Carry around green apples.  If you start to feel a little woozy, eating a green apple and crackers if you have them really does help.  There must be something in the pectin that calms the stomach.

4.  Have a drink. This, of course, is optional, but wine seems to help relax a person enough that you don’t feel the motion anymore.  If you can’t or won’t drink alcohol then try ginger ale.

While I was hiding in the Piano Bar, I heard Gail’s name called out as a finalist in the Blackjack Tournament.  Not bad for someone who just learned to play on the ship.  She didn’t win but she did come in 5th.  Janice was also on the board in the Slot Machine Tournament so we were well represented.

Since this would be our last dinner on the ship, we got a few of our new friends together to dine.  It was so nice to have our group together for the evening though it was a little subdued since our trip was coming to an end.

After dinner we went on the Final Great Westerdam Pub Crawl starting in the Atrium Bar.  If you are a young person (under 70) on a cruise and want to get out and have some fun, this is where it’s at.  Again you don’t have to participate in the drinking, but you can join the group as a “support” person and believe me, they are needed.  We had a couple of support people to help this time and they had a lot of fun as well.  We met a lot of our new friends during the initial pub crawl and so have had people to hang out with ever since.  DON’T MISS IT!!

We are now getting ready for our last two sea days before landing in Vancouver.  We had breakfast delivered again but it was too cold to go outside.  The seas were especially rocky last night and pretty rough this morning.  There was a lot of rocking going on.  Here is the one downside to having the bigger room.  They are on the upper floors and the higher you go on the ship the more it rocks.  Not good.

Gail was off to the spa for a body wrap early in the morning.  She barely made it back before seasickness overtook her.  I’d been feeling queasy all morning so after I got her a couple of Gravol we spend most of the day in bed….in our own beds just in case you were wondering.

I wasn’t quite as bad so I went up to the Lido and got us some crackers and green apples to help counteract the upset tummies and then a little later was able to order lunch for us that would stay down.  Since we are in the Superior Verandah Suite we get to rent free DVDs so I went to the Explorer Lounge and got “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”.  So for the afternoon we stayed in bed and watched TV – reminiscent of my trip to Hawaii with another friend, Marlene, a couple of years ago.

Fortunately, the seas died down and so did the stomach rocking, so we were able to get dressed and head down for the Formal Dinner – the last on this cruise.  One of our group, Michael, needs a gluten-free diet and he has been amazed at the wonderful meals that have been served by Holland America for him.  He has to pick from the next day’s menu beforehand and then they prepare the same delicious meals we have but to his special dietary requirements.  I don’t think he will ever want to leave the ship.

After dinner we went to see the Westerdam Dancers and Singers perform again and then off to the Queen’s Lounge for 50’s and 60’s Prom Night.  That was a lot of fun.  Charlie and the HAL Cats mixed it up so there were both slow and faster twisting songs – music for everyone.  There was another contest where one of the entertainment staff would be told where to walk to and then wherever she landed that couple would get a free bottle of champagne. Well, guess what?  I did it again.  Another bottle of champagne to share with my friends.  I could get used to that.

As per usual we then spent the rest of the evening rotating between the Piano Bar and Northern Lights disco until after 2:00 am.  We’ve been trying to figure out how to get room service in a bar rather than our separate rooms for the middle of the night.  I’m sure glad we were feeling better tonight.

We arrived at Avalon, Catalina early in the morning.  Catalina is such a beautiful island with a cute little shopping area, wonderful restaurants and interesting architecture such as the Casino.  The Casino in Avalon isn’t a casino as we have come to known them now but rather reverts back to the old meaning of Casino which is a “gathering place”.  It’s a place to have concerts, meetings, shows, etc.  John Tesh used to have piano concerts there.

It was a beautiful California morning so my new roomy, Gail and I had breakfast on our verandah relaxing and basking in the sunshine. Being in a Superior Verandah room meant we could order breakfast in the morning rather than put a card out the night before.  Just something a little different.

We took a tender over to the island and proceeded to do some shopping.  We found that the further you get from the pier the better the deals got.  If you are planning on visiting the island, making sure to take plenty of cash or traveler’s cheques as a lot of the bike, golf cart, scooter rental places do not take credit cards.  Several people from the ship did the golf cart route as you can see a lot more of the island than if you are just walking.

We met up with most of our cruise friends on the island all pretty much doing the same as us – shopping.  Count Kody, Ann, Diane Fast, the Piano Bar entertainer and myself met for lunch at this great restaurant that Kody goes to every year but we can’t remember the name of and had 1 litre lagers and calamari steak.  It was amazing.  It appeared to be a very popular place as a lot of the ship’s entertainment staff were lunching there as well.

We all managed to make it back on board in time for sail away and enjoyed the music of Charlie and the HAL Cats on the Lido Aft Deck.  It was the eighteenth beautiful day of our cruise.  I can’t believe what great weather we have had on this trip.

There was a whole new bunch in the Piano Bar tonight as we had taken on hundreds of new people in San Diego.  There were 3 couples from Calgary, Alberta, Canada that are even more wild than us.  I don’t think we can keep up to them especially since we have had 2 prior weeks of fun and frivolity.

Disembarkation Day for those ending their trip in San Diego.  This was the worst disembarkation I have ever gone through.  US Immigration and HAL were totally disorganized.  Immigration required that all non-us citizens register whether they were disembarking or not and would not let anyone off the ship until everyone was accounted for.  This took about 4 hours where it usually takes an hour or so.  Some people missed their flights home because of the delay.

Normally disembarkation happens in waves.  People are issued tags with a colour and number of it and when their colour and number is called, they can proceed to disembark.  After the shemozzle with immigration Cruise Director Jimmy announced that everyone could get off the ship now.  Can you imagine 2000 people all trying to get through one door at the same time?  What a nightmare.  Fortunately our group managed to stay together and find the bus for the city tour they were going on.

Since I had to change rooms yet I decided not to accompanying them on their tour so Rick was on his own from this point on with the group.  There were lots of hugs and bittersweet goodbyes to go around.  Our group from Niagara were wonderful and I enjoyed spending time with them and they seemed to enjoy having me around. 

After I got settled in my new Superior Verandah Suite, I took a pedicab to Seaport Village.  The driver was a neat lady who gave me a little tour of the waterfront on the way.  I’ve been to San Diego several times before but decided to take the Trolley Tour anyway and was glad I did.  We had an absolutely crazy driver who could spout off unlimited information about the city and its history. 

I got back to the ship after the lifeboat drill which was really a good thing.  I’d already done all that when I first came aboard.  Then I met my new group from Calgary:  Gail, Janice and Michael.  Gail and I are sharing the Superior Verandah Suite.  I would highly recommend travelling in a room such as this.  It is twice the size of the regular stateroom with a huge bathroom and lots of room to move.  And there are all kinds of little niceties that you don’t get in the other room such as a beautifully soft bathrobe, free DVD rentals, 24-hour concierge and more.  Even if you can only afford a short cruise, it’s worth trying out this life.

I don’t know if the spin doctor managed to blog on this day as he had a lot to do with the group to get them settled in their hotel and take them to the zoo, but you can still check him out at CAA Niagara Travel 

Last day at sea for the first leg of my voyage.  Thank God.  It’s just a couple of days too much.  Rick and I met with our group and then took them to the Disembarkation Briefing and Crew Farewell.  The staff here have been totally confused by the fact that Rick leaves tomorrow and I continue on to Vancouver.

The Mariners’ lunch was today. Every Holland America cruise has a Mariners’ lunch to thank us for travelling HAL.  They have different lapel pins and medallions based on the number of days you’ve sailed with Holland.  There were some people there who have sailed 500-1000 days.  They must the ones that use the cruise lines as their retirement home.  It is a pretty good deal- cheaper than a home.

We had a “dress rehearsal” for our Passenger Cabaret.  Rick had to change his comedy routine as Cruise Director Jimmy did “stupid cruise questions” at the disembarkation talk.  His new act is much better anyway.

We went to the dining room to a final dinner schmooze with our guests but didn’t stay to eat as we had the pre-performance jitters. The Passenger Cabaret Performance was presented in the Queen’s Lounge and it was packed.  All of our guests and the great people we have met during the cruise were there, as well the other performer’s friends.  It was pretty exciting to have such a big crowd.  Everything went off well.  The performances were great and we had a really fun time.  There goes my 15 minutes of fame….

The rest of the evening was spent singing in the Piano Bar and dancing in the disco.  This is the last night for a couple of our nightly group so it’s a little sad so know our group will be changing shortly.  There should a whole bunch of crazy Canucks joining us in San Diego for the last leg.

For more info go to CAA Niagara Travel