May 25, 2006
5 summer vacation travel plans
I just wanted to think out loud about the first 5 entries to the writing contest. In a few days I'll be writing checks and making PayPal payments totaling 1,000 US dollars so I'm going to give this some serious thought. Here are my preliminary thoughts on the early entries.
The summer vacation writing contest got off to a good start with the Morocco vacation itinerary. The author, Robert Ward, took this trip and offers the kind of advice that can really help newbies in Morocco. For example, "From the Pension Dalila, you can arrange a $200, 4-day tour of the Moroccan interior, with everything but food included in the price. The first day, you’ll depart from Fés in a chartered taxi..." All in all, a very solid entry, and a few comments show some signs of discussion/experience sharing which helps.
The second vacation plan was a Western US baseball vacation itinerary starting on July 15th. I thought it was an excellent itinerary and I'm surprised there weren't more comments on this unique idea. Specific hotel recommendations would be helpful, but the author does advise to find roadside motels to save money and this is a viable option for people who don't need to plan every little detail. I emailed this one to my friends who like sports. Another very solid entry.
The third contest entry was kind of a his & her vacation plan for Mount Kilimanjaro and an African Safari. Like the second entry, this unique travel plan really caught my interest. The first few days there are two different vacations and then they meet up later. Why didn't my wife and I ever think of that?
The fourth contest entry was the first to Washington D.C. and the second US travel plan. This 5 day Washington D.C. itinerary was possibly the only one to include a pre-trip section. I thought this was a very nice addition and I'm sure that getting the tickets the author recommended in advance is a smart move. Personally I prefer Washington DC in the winter because the city seems so empty and there are no lines if you go when congress isn't in session. But I'm sure there's something to be said for going in summer when it's not too cold. What can I say, another great vacation. I see that determining the winners will be tough.
The fifth vacation itinerary was for 10 days in the Tampa Bay area. The vacationers were going May 20, 2006 - May 30, 2006 so they should be in Tampa now, Have fun and thanks for the great entry! One of my favorite things about this vacation is that there was some very meaningful discussion generated with many useful tips. Of all the contest entries, I think that so far this one has generated the highest quality discussion/comments.
Well that's only the first 5, but you can already see that determining winners is going to be very difficult. As a professor I can be a fairly ruthless grader, so I'll manage. Still you always hate to see some excellent efforts go unrewarded and some must in this contest.
It's not too late to leave your comments on any of these 5 travel itineraries.
Posted by James Trotta at May 25, 2006 12:21 AM