Samantha Brown http://samantha-brown-blog.travelchannel.com Samantha Brown shows you all her favorite places to stay, dine, and meet new people. en-us Copyright The Travel Channel http://samantha-brown-blog.travelchannel.com/template/sambrown/images/sambrownblog300.png Samantha Brown http://samantha-brown-blog.travelchannel.com Samantha Brown shows you all her favorite places to stay, dine, and meet new people. http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html PostZinger/v.1.0 Santa Fe (crew) http://samantha-brown-blog.travelchannel.com/rss-read/santa-fe-crew Travel I hate heights. I'm only 5''3", and that's really as high up as I ever like to go. Our office is on the 12th twelfth floor, and I can't go near the windows. It's bad, not even a fear really, but an all-consuming, shaky legs, cold sweat... I hate heights.

I'm only 5''3", and that's really as high up as I ever like to go. Our office is on the 12th twelfth floor, and I can't go near the windows. It's bad, not even a fear really, but an all-consuming, shaky legs, cold sweat terror. So it makes perfect sense that I'm about to go up in a hot- air balloon.

We're in New Mexico and for the past week, I've been more than content to take in the scenery from ground level. In fact, I was all ready to take some great photos of the crew lifting off. I was even going to wave!

But, no. Website photos need to be taken, and it's my job and ... ohhhhh, man.

Getting into the balloon is surprisingly harder than it looks, and, of course, I trip on the way in and land at the bottom of the basket. Liftoff is surprisingly smooth. At least, I assume it is. My eyes are squeezed shut, and I'm clutching the sides of the basket so hard, I can't feel my hands. I'm actually not afraid of falling or crashing into power lines or rabid pigeons, and with my eyes closed, I don't even feel like I'm 150 feet in the air.

(Did I mention I got up at 4 a.m. to do this? Insult to injury, that's what that is.)

(I'm sure the good people down below in Albuquerque are also glad I skipped breakfast.)

Ten minutes into the flight and our pilot takes pity on me, dropping the balloon lower (I'm sure it had nothing to do with us needing a shot of Sam from up above.) I manage to take a peek, and we're now less than 10 feet off the ground, floating over a lake, which is fine with me. I figure if anything goes wrong now, all those swimming lessons at the JCC Day Camp will come in handy.

As we drift along, skimming the treetops, I manage to pick off a few shots here and there (one-handed, there's no way I'm letting go of the basket.) I figure if I can survive indoor skydiving in Orlando, this is at least less windy. The view is amazing, and I manage to hold it together as we begin to climb higher. Passing over the freeway, semis honk at us as we sail by, and each time our pilot pulls the cord, the neighborhood dogs bark up a storm.

A wide field comes into view, and our pilot lets us know it's landing time, noting we might want to secure all lose objects and hang on tight. Landing a hot air balloon is a lot less graceful than taking off, and our basket crashes into the ground, bouncing and skidding across the dirt. We finally come to a stop, and it tumbles over, dumping us out. At last, I'm on solid ground.

We crawl away from the basket, and get ready for Sam's landing. The wind shifts and her balloon sails over us, out into the distance. There's no way I'm going back up to catch her.


santa fe lesley grossman hot air balloon samantha brown blog great weekends ]]> Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:44 -0400 http://samantha-brown-blog.travelchannel.com/rss-read/santa-fe-crew LA (crew) http://samantha-brown-blog.travelchannel.com/rss-read/la-crew Travel Injuries I Have Sustained in the Last Six Months of Production: Sprained ankle (flip- flops, meet slippery wet floor.) Concussion (oh, hi there, steamep pipe.) Sprained wrist (I ...don't even know.) Poison ivy (tip: don't use a cheese grater... Injuries I Have Sustained in the Last Six Months of Production:

  • Sprained ankle (flip- flops, meet slippery wet floor.)
  • Concussion (oh, hi there, steamep pipe.)
  • Sprained wrist (I ...don't even know.)
  • Poison ivy (tip: don't use a cheese grater on it.)
  • Food poisoning (ugh.)
  • Sliced fingertip (I still have no feeling there.)
  • Seasickness (that was fun.)
  • Broken toe (poor little lefty.)
  • Strep throat
  • The flu
  • Allergic reaction to antibiotics for said flu (insult, meet injury.)
  • Broken blood vessels in both eyes (sexy!)
  • A wide variety of bumps, bruises, scrapes, and scratches
  • Fire- ant bite (oh my god, that was painful.)
  • Burnt hand (Kids, listen to your science teacher. Microwave'd glass is hot.)
  • Waterslide rash (I swear.)
  • Rug burn (ow ow ow.)
  • More sunburns than I can count.
  • Not to mention all the times I've bruised my pride.


And thanks to L.A., I'm charred once again. After a day of shooting on the beach, I'm in a state. I've got on two shirts, a hat and SPF 65, and I still look like I took a ride under the broiler. You know those sun charts that tell you how long you have until you burn? I have pale skin, red hair and blue eyes; add all that up and it just says DON'T LEAVE THE HOUSE. SERIOUSLY. I'm not even supposed to get too close to the toaster. Or a photo of the sun, if we're being honest here.

Upon returning to New York, it's itchy, painful and ... well, you don't need to hear the rest. I'm a veteran sun-burn-er, but this ain't right. I immediately visit My-Brother-in-Law-the-Doctor, aka Dr. Danny. He takes one look at me and, shaking his head, says I've bested myself and now have sun *poisoning*. Guh?

I always thought sun poisoning fell under the same heading as the girls who complained of craaaamps every time we had to run the mile in gym class -; it wasn't real. Nope, says Dr. Danny, you've been poisoned. Slather yourself in this ointment (ew), and stay away from the windows.

Six days later, I get off the couch, and I've molted, leaving a Lesley-shaped outline behind. Season two, I'm getting a Travel Channel beekeeper outfit.


los angeles samantha brown lesley grossman production injuries ]]> Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:56:15 -0400 http://samantha-brown-blog.travelchannel.com/rss-read/la-crew Brooklyn (crew) http://samantha-brown-blog.travelchannel.com/rss-read/brooklyn-crew Travel Brooklyn is Huge I'm not originally from New York, so I'm not terribly familiar with all of the boroughs yet. I spend the majority of the time in Manhattan - where our office is and where I lived for the first few years. I've had friends in... Brooklyn is Huge

I'm not originally from New York, so I'm not terribly familiar with all of the boroughs yet. I spend the majority of the time in Manhattan - where our office is and where I lived for the first few years. I've had friends in Brooklyn, but I'd just go visit and we'd go to a bar or a restaurant, and then I'd go back to more familiar parts. Long story short, I never really explored Brooklyn as a neighborhood. Turns out it's huge.

We had a very eclectic shoot in Brooklyn. We spent some time in very dapper neighborhoods, but washed it down with trips to Coney Island and DUMBO - much more casual places to spend a few hours. There aren't many places in the world where you can have a beach and thriving boardwalk AND a quiet brownstone neighborhood AND an artists' haven AND a massive, green park AND an urban shopping district - among others.

Speaking of Coney Island - what an awesome place to go see. Sadly, a lot of Coney Island is slowly going away, but we were fortunate to be able to catch a sSideshow act, get a Nathan's Hot Dog (in between the hundreds Joey Chestnut shovels down), and walk along the boardwalk. On the weekends in the summer, it's pretty crowded, but the beach is still a nice respite from the madness of Manhattan.

I was a tiny bit concerned when making plans to shoot in Brooklyn that it would be difficult to find places interesting and interested in having us. Sometimes, the mystique of television wears thin in major metropolitan areas, but the folks in Brooklyn couldn't have been nicer and couldn't have been more gracious. I can't wait to go back in a capacity other than work.


brooklyn samantha brown michael petrella blog coney island dumbo ]]> Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:55:02 -0400 http://samantha-brown-blog.travelchannel.com/rss-read/brooklyn-crew