Join us as we share our retirement adventures
Our travel philosophy
We are the Cajun Explorers and we’re fairly new to blogging but wanted a way to bring along our friends and family as we discover beautiful places to visit. We’re also excited to share our travel tips with you along the way.
We seek out budget friendly travel that provides for fun adventures and great experiences. Since we fly the world on “stand by” airline tickets, we only travel with carry-on luggage and never check a bag. So, we have to be creative with our packing. Finally, all of the travel photos that I take to upload to our site are taken with my iPhone and not a digital camera.
Join us as we embark on our journey.
Tommy & Danny
Recent Blog Posts
- First-Time In Phuket Thailand: From Old Town To The Beach
This is our first time in Phuket, Thailand. Our plan is to stay a few nights in Phuket Old Town. Then, we’ll spend a couple of nights in Patong Beach. After that, we fly back to Singapore and head home. Checking in and getting settled We flew into Phuket from Singapore and arrived early in the evening. The bus to town takes about an hour… Read more: First-Time In Phuket Thailand: From Old Town To The Beach - Big Wonders on a Small Island: Exploring SingaporeThe Republic of Singapore is the smallest country in Asia, approximately 34 miles wide by 17 miles long, with a population of over 6 million people. It’s actually made up of 63 islands and has 4 official languages with English included. It’s both a country and a city. The only two other city-states in the world are Monaco and Vatican City. First Impressions Our first… Read more: Big Wonders on a Small Island: Exploring Singapore
- A 12 day Atlantis Cruise in Asia: Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand and SingaporeI’ve recently posted about our week exploring the beautiful sites of Hong Kong. So I begin this post as we board our Atlantis Cruise in Asia aboard the Celebrity Solstice. We’ll soon explore Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore. Atlantis—an LGBT+ travel and tour company—chartered this cruise. It’s not only our first cruise on Celebrity, but our first gay cruise with Atlantis. No, you don’t have to… Read more: A 12 day Atlantis Cruise in Asia: Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore
- The beautiful sites of Hong Kong—the City of SkyscrapersWe are spending a week exploring some of the beautiful sites of Hong Kong, also known as the City of Skyscrapers. Here’s a travel tip for you. If you’re looking for an inexpensive and easy trip from the airport into Hong Kong, look into CityFlyer. This is a double decker, air conditioned express bus with free WiFi. It takes you to many hotels in Hong… Read more: The beautiful sites of Hong Kong—the City of Skyscrapers
- Exciting Des Moines Day Trips from Covered Bridges to Windmills
There are a number of exciting Des Moines day trips from covered bridges to windmills that are definitely worth visiting. In my previous post, Discovering things to see and do in Des Moines, Iowa I shared the fun sights and local dining experiences we enjoyed during our week stay in downtown. The two day trips we planned during our visit include: 1) the city of… Read more: Exciting Des Moines Day Trips from Covered Bridges to Windmills - Discovering things to see and do in Des Moines, IowaWe are spending a week discovering things to see and do in and around Des Moines, Iowa. So, why Des Moines you might ask? Well, we wanted to get away for a quick trip and we threw a dart at a map. Bullseye lands in Iowa. I must admit we’ve never been to Iowa. Since Des Moines is the capital, I knew that there would… Read more: Discovering things to see and do in Des Moines, Iowa
- Exploring The Sites in Key West For The First Time
We are traveling with friends to Key West, Florida for our first time visit. It’s been on our bucket list for quite some time now. Three people in our travel party (Rob, Danny and Tom) are celebrating their birthdays in March, so it’s the perfect time to spend a week exploring the Key West sites and discover what the city has to offer. Our Key… Read more: Exploring The Sites in Key West For The First Time - A One Week Getaway to Melbourne AustraliaAfter returning the rental car from our Grand Pacific Drive road trip, we flew to Melbourne, Australia for a week. It’s a quick flight, just over an hour. We checked into our 40th floor apartment in a downtown high rise. What an incredible view from our balcony! Arcades and Laneways Melbourne’s laneways are small, tucked away alleys. The arcades are covered shopping plazas. They boast… Read more: A One Week Getaway to Melbourne Australia
- Costco food court Australia and the special menu optionsWe love shopping at Costco, especially when traveling. Recently, we visited several Costco food court Australia locations. We wanted to discover if there are any regional food court menu options and products in the store. While traveling, we always search for unique items not available in Texas. You just never know what you’ll find. I’ve already posted on our visits to Costco Canada, Costco France… Read more: Costco food court Australia and the special menu options
- Australia’s Grand Pacific Drive in a 10 Day Road TripThere are 87 scenic coastal miles in Australia’s Grand Pacific Drive in New South Wales (NSW). You can certainly drive it nonstop. But, you wouldn’t really see much while behind the wheel. Although I won’t be the one driving. I’ll be chauffeured by my wonderful husband, like “driving Miss Daisy”. I planned many stops along the way to explore each area and travel beyond the… Read more: Australia’s Grand Pacific Drive in a 10 Day Road Trip
- A One Week Exploration Of Spectacular Sydney AustraliaSaying goodbye to the Crown Princess and “G’day Mate” to Sydney Australia Our arrival in Sydney by cruise ship gave us a unique view of the city, Opera House and Harbour Bridge. The captain delayed our arrival until 7:00 a.m., so we would have daylight to enjoy the view. Our escort into the harbor is a special celebration that includes water canons and skiers because… Read more: A One Week Exploration Of Spectacular Sydney Australia
- Costco food court Honolulu and the special menu optionsAll of our friends know we love shopping at Costco, especially when traveling. Recently we stopped at the Costco food court in Honolulu, Hawaii while on our South Pacific Cruise. While planning our trips both in the US and in other countries, we always search for local product options not available in Texas. You just never know what you’ll find. I have previously posted on… Read more: Costco food court Honolulu and the special menu options
- Amazing 31-day Cruise in the South Pacific—3 (New Zealand)Welcome to part three and the final post of our 31 day South Pacific cruise. We left Tahiti and we are now sailing 5 days toward New Zealand. Here are the links if you missed the first two posts: Amazing 31-day South Pacific Cruise to Australia—1 (Hawaii) and Amazing 31-day Cruise in the South Pacific—2 (French Polynesia). On Sunday, October 13th, the 20th day of… Read more: Amazing 31-day Cruise in the South Pacific—3 (New Zealand)
- Amazing 31-day Cruise in the South Pacific—2 (French Polynesia)Welcome to part two of our 31 day South Pacific cruise. We will visit Moorea and Papeete, Tahiti in French Polynesia. Click here to read my Part 1 post covering Hawaii. It’s another 5 relaxing days at sea before we arrive at our first stop in Moorea. French Polynesia is a territory of France, so we’ll be able to use our French speaking skills while… Read more: Amazing 31-day Cruise in the South Pacific—2 (French Polynesia)
- Amazing 31-day Cruise in the South Pacific to Australia—1 (Hawaii)We arrived early to board the Crown Princess for our South Pacific cruise and were on the ship within 30 minutes. Great job Princess! I’ll share just a few Crown Princess facts: capacity is 3,080 guests and there are 1,200 crew. Although this is an older ship built in 2006, it was completely refurbished in 2018. There are 14 dining and restaurant options, 8 bars,… Read more: Amazing 31-day Cruise in the South Pacific to Australia—1 (Hawaii)
- Exploring Hearst Castle and the Beautiful Paso Robles VineyardsWe are celebrating my 65th birthday with a 65 day vacation adventure. I know, it’s not a coincidence with the matching numbers. We’re both retired now and since I planned the details for this trip, then why not travel for 65 days? Exploring Hearst Castle and the beautiful Paso Robles vineyards will kick off our trip. I’ll share more details later about the rest of… Read more: Exploring Hearst Castle and the Beautiful Paso Robles Vineyards
- A beautiful wedding weekend in Scottsdale, ArizonaWe enjoyed a wonderful weekend of fun and cooler weather in Scottsdale, Arizona on a trip with our friends Cary, Tom and Autumn. Danny & I had never visited Scottsdale before. So, it was time for a new adventure. First stop, a party at the groom’s house. For our Houston friends and football fans, you may recognize the groom, Greg Mancz. Greg played football with… Read more: A beautiful wedding weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona
- Fun New Year’s Eve Cruise on Harmony of the Seas
We celebrated the arrival of 2024 with a one-week New Year’s Eve cruise on Harmony of the Seas. There were 10 of us who departed Galveston, Texas to visit Costa Maya, Roatán and Cozumel. This is our first time to cruise from the port of Galveston and we are excited to set sail. Before our trip, I noticed that we had a total of 3… Read more: Fun New Year’s Eve Cruise on Harmony of the Seas - Parades, Music and Fun at the 80th annual Sugar Cane Festival in New Iberia, LA
Last weekend we drove to my hometown of New Iberia to attend the 80th annual Sugar Cane Festival (and to celebrate my birthday too 😉). It’s probably been 25 years since we’ve been to this festival and who doesn’t like small town Cajun fun? Our usual first stop each time we head back home is to visit one of our favorite drive thru daiquiri shops.… Read more: Parades, Music and Fun at the 80th annual Sugar Cane Festival in New Iberia, LA - Stress free roadtrip to Oklahoma City and Wichita FallsSeptember has arrived and it’s time for my birthday get away. We enjoyed our amazing adventure in France this year, but now we’re looking forward to a relaxing and stress free roadtrip closer to home. So, we decided to drive up to Oklahoma and visit friends we haven’t seen in a few years. I am not a fan of long roadtrips as they stress me… Read more: Stress free roadtrip to Oklahoma City and Wichita Falls
- The 3 best flea markets for antiquing in Paris-2023 update
I originally published this post in 2022 based on our pre-COVID visit to what I think are the 3 best Paris flea markets for antiquing. I promised to update the information and photos below from our recent 2023 vacation. After visiting all three flea markets, I’m happy to say that these are still tops in my opinion. My favorite past time when traveling is antiquing.… Read more: The 3 best flea markets for antiquing in Paris-2023 update - Costco France food court and the special menu optionsThe Costco France food court has a few menu items that we don’t have in the US. We just returned from France in June 2023, after spending almost three months vacationing there. Our typical routine at home is a weekly shopping trip to Costco. Of course sometimes, Danny makes more than one trip a week. I guess you can say we’re avid fans. A favorite… Read more: Costco France food court and the special menu options
- Car-2-Europe experience for vacation in France. How to find the cheapest price (Results-Part 2)
This post is the update to our original post Car Rental vs Lease Part 1. Part 1 outlined how the Car-2-Europe short-term lease program saved us $1,000-$1,600 off the cost of a 45-day car rental to drive around Europe. Part 2 shares our Car-2-Europe experience with Auto Europe and the results of the process involved with leasing. I originally booked our lease several months before… Read more: Car-2-Europe experience for vacation in France. How to find the cheapest price (Results-Part 2) - A Summer in France: Paris, Week 4–Our First Bucket ListWelcome to chapter 16 of our travel adventures— A Summer in France: Paris, Week 4. This is the final post in our Summer in France series. We are flying home tomorrow. Air Balloon Flight Since we arrived in Paris, I’ve been trying to take Danny aboard the Balloon de Paris. It’s the world’s largest balloon, according to their website. The balloon is also an airborne… Read more: A Summer in France: Paris, Week 4–Our First Bucket List
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