Travel plan idea blog

Rome for the rich and the thrifty

Nice article here on Rome. They have hotel, restaurant, nightlife, shopping, and sightseeing recommendations for those who want to save and those who want to splurge.

Related: Rome walking tour (comments included in the main blog part due to server problems I was having back then).
Trevi Fountain picture
Rome restaurants
Rome with kids part 1
Rome with kids part 2

Costa Rica: Resort suite by Arenal or organized tour?

Both of the articles I'll talk about here are more like ads but as long as we recognize the newspapers might be trying to sell us something I think we can look at the articles somewhat objectively.

I don't have a week at Lost Iguana, but if I did this deal would be nice:

The Lost Iguana Resort & Spa is on the edge of the Arenal Volcano. This 42-room property also has a Golden Gecko Spa. For $999 per person, the Pura Vida package, you get a luxury suite (usually $255 a night), a $500 spa credit (its most expensive treatments are $120, which means you can have several treatments in your week), your meals at the Blue Hibiscus (excluding alcohol), a zipline adventure and an evening nature tour.

My 2 days are costing about $440 but I think that only includes some meals. Also, that's for the room, not per person.

I don't see the special on Lost Iguana's site. It was reported here.

Here's another article about Costa Rica. This is a 10 day tour for $995.

Since both these trips are the same price, I'd say it's a pretty tough choice. A week in the resort overlooking the volcano and relaxing or the more active see a few different parts of Costa Rica in an organized tour?

Has swine flu got you thinking about summer travel plans?

With all the talk about swine flu spreading and possibly becoming a huge worldwide issue I'm curious if anyone here is rethinking their travel plans? SARs had a huge impact on travel and I don't remember the same talk about possible global pandemics back then.

Should airlines charge travel agents to sell tickets?

I've got a lot of midterm grades to sort out so let me just revisit an old topic of discussion with this article. Actually the old topic is the value of travel agents but I'm not sure that's really related to the current question: Should airlines charge travel agents to sell tickets?

Apparently some airlines have talked about charging travel agents to sell airline tickets. The president of ASTA, Chris Russo had this to say:

They don't call me looking for an airplane seat. They call me to help them plan their vacation. They call me because they have a last-minute business meeting in London. They call because they want me to plan their family reunion next summer or because they have a funeral to attend. They call me for my assistance, for my expertise and for the value I provide them, and they are willing to pay for my services. They know they can go online and find out the price of everything. I sell them on the value of everything.

Sounds nice, but I don't see exactly how this relates to airlines charging travel agents to sell plane tickets. I get that he's saying customers (at least some of them) need travel agents but what does that have to do with how airlines distribute tickets?

Travel to Mongolia improves autistic child's condition

I found this article really interesting. A while back I wrote about traveling with autistic children but this article is about traveling to help autistic children. Apparently one father noticed that riding horses and being around shamans helped his autistic kid.

Pretty amazing stuff:

Trekking across the Mongolian prairie on horseback, Isaacson says, Rowan's behavior was changed dramatically.

"Rowan was not cured of autism out there," Isaacson stressed. "The word 'cure' is not in my vocabulary for this. Rowan came back without three key dysfunctions that he had. He went out to Mongolia incontinent and still suffering from these neurological firestorms -- so tantruming all the time and cut off from his peers, unable to make friends -- and he came back with those three dysfunctions having gone."

Great Wolf Lodge, YTB, tour request poll

This article is about a place I almost visited, Great Wolf Lodge. The one I almost went to was in the Poconos but I guess all 12 are fairly similar.

Anyway, I was going to visit Great Wolf Lodge with my wife and 2 other couples. There was some 3 bedroom suite that was going to cost us $190/couple or something if memory serves. I had to cancel because that was when my grandfather got sick (you may remember the AA / JAL drama and the mystery of the missing clock motor and handles).

Anyway, the other 2 couples went - my friend said he'd be willing to go back but that it was more for families than for couples.

This article also dredged up some memories. Remember all the fun we had talking about YTB? I am not as negative on network marketing as most people, but the commenters talking about how great YTB (and how I was a big liar) was just made me shake my head. Anyway, YTB might be finished - we'll know more after the dust clears from the lawsuit by California and the class-action lawsuit.

Let's wrap up with this tour company's blog. They asked their readers to pick a destination they'd like to tour. I didn't notice the results on their blog but they were in the press release I got:

Madagascar, with 941 votes
Antarctica, with 910 votes
Ireland and Scotland tour, with 836 votes
Croatia
Bali
Brazil
Costa Rica
Papua New Guinea
Norway and Sweden
France
Philippines
Belize

Which of those have you visited? I'm going to Costa Rica this summer. And went to Cebu in the Philippines but really didn't see much of the country beyond a transvestite bar (I'm going here next time). My wife often talks about Antarctica but I worry about the cost. One of these days I will certainly get to Brazil - I mentioned a while back that a friend and I wanted to start a Brazil tour business for less touristy carnavals than the one in Rio (he was always going to do most of the work since he is the one who lived in Brazil for several years but we both seem to have lost some of our initial enthusiasm).

Which hotels do celebrities like to party at?

Here's some celebrity travel gossip from The Kiwi Collection, which promises to find the best luxury hotels. This bit of news involves, "The only hotel in southern California to earn the distinction of an AAA Five-Diamond and Mobil Five-Star rating for 11 years."

I suppose that may not be an exceptional travel experience for Lindsay Lohan, George Clooney, and Cindy Crawford but it sure would be a new experience for a modest travel blogger like myself:

Diana Jenkins hosted a party at The Peninsula Beverly Hills to launch her book Room 23, featuring George Cooney, Cindy Crawford and others in that hotel's room 23.

As far as I can tell, the book is a collection of photographs taken in a suite at some hotel (maybe the same hotel where they had the release party?) and the subjects include lots of celebrities.

Anyway, if you check out that hotel and the pictures of some others I think you'll be pretty impressed. Of course you'll be looking at some of the most expensive hotels in the world...

A few news things I thought were interesting

Here's some advice for shopping around for vacation deals. I felt a little better after reading that some of the cheap cruises you see advertised actually end up costing you more thanks to port fees and things. My cruise is in August, peak season of course, and I think our inside cabin is around $850/person for a 7 night cruise. So I see the ads for $60/night and wonder what I'm missing...

Red Lion Hotels seem pretty dog friendly. No fee. No deposit. Can join the Red Lion R&R Club and earn 500 points per stay. A drawing for a year's worth of pet food.

Here's an article on rail travel in America. Personally I would love to incorporate some train travel into a vacation plan. I have a friend who was invited to a wedding in California. He doesn't fly but he loves the train. However from New York to California the train was going to cost him something crazy. I don't remember exactly but it was several thousand dollars. Wouldn't it be nice if train travel were more practical in America?

Bookit.com is having another short sale with some of the same properties as last time including a Hilton in Costa Rica that looks nice. Last time it was $99, regular $289 or about 65% off. This time it's $49, regular $149 or about 65% off. This confuses me. Maybe we're talking about different classes of rooms or maybe the regular price has changed.

I would do some investigating but I'm pretty busy correcting midterms and working out my own summer vacation details. I am going to Costa Rica, but I'm visiting the Arenal Volcano area and then staying at the Beacon Escazu near SJO. This will be my first K Hotel experience and I am really looking forward to it. The Beacon Escazu happens to be offering 15% off through bookit.com's sale if you want to come check it out with me... The hotel's own website (linked above) promises 20% off and has some packages.

I was reading the eco package since I am going to Beacon Escazu and the Arenal Volcano - the eco package says stay at the Beacon Escazu and explore the Arenal area. I thought the Beacon Escazu was near San Jose airport - about 3 or 4 hours from Arenal. Also, they talk about JSO ariport while I thought it was SJO. Airport codes.This one I might have to investigate. I want to book the right flights this time!

UK Firm plans to Recreate Titanic Maiden Voyage

The 100th anniversary of the maiden voyage of the famous and ill-fated Titanic is still a couple of years off, but apparently there is already interest in celebrating the anniversary. This UK newspaper reports that a commemorative cruise in 2012 will replicate the maiden voyage of the Titanic as accurately as possible - authentic food, music and other entertainment. If you are interested, you can already book your trip at the company's website After watching the film version of Titanic, I would think twice about booking one of the cheaper cabins down in the bowels of the ship. Just in case.

If you are a Titanic fan, there are plenty of other reminders of the ship, both in the UK and North America. In Liverpool, you can still see the building that was the headquarters of the White Star Line; and the city's Maritime Museum has exhibits on the ship.

In Halifax, Nova Scotia, over 100 Titanic victims are buried in the city's Fairview Lawn Cemetery and the city's Maritime Museum of the Atlantic has a small but interesting exhibition, which includes one of the ship's surviving deckchairs. And New York, which of course was meant to be the final destination of the Titanic, has many Titanic memorials and reminders, including the Titanic Lighthouse near South Street Seaport, and a Wireless Operators' Memorial near Battery Park. This site has plenty of information on virtually every Titanic related site in New York.

This blog has talked before about airlines charging passengers extra according to their weight. United is the latest US airline to come up with an official policy to charge overweight passengers who can't fit into a single seat. And the UK carrier, Ryanair polled their passengers on the subject and apparently almost half of them (the slimmer ones, I assume) though that a "Fat tax" was a good idea.

Just a quick follow-up from my last blog entry. I did at last get to visit the famous Unclaimed Baggage Store in Scottsboro, Alabama. It's slightly disappointing in that it is just like a huge thrift store, although it is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area and hard to believe that all those items were left on planes or in peoples' lost luggage. The most exciting part of the visit was having to go to the store's basement because of a tornado warning - we later learned that the tornado passed within a half mile or so of us. My 12 year old son had wanted to be a tornado chaser when he grows up - now he's not so sure.

Guest entry by Mancunian

The Palazzo Hotel in Las Vegas: experience & review

Here's another report from my parents about their trip to Las Vegas.

We went to Las Vegas in early April and stayed at the Palazzo Hotel. We'd seen pictures on the internet before we booked the Palazzo, but we were still impressed by the luxury of it all. The lobby was grand with its fountains and sculpture, and there were plenty of friendly and helpful staff on hand for check-in.

It didn't take long to get to the casino since you pass through it on the way to the elevators for the guest floors. We were happily surprised to see plenty of penny slot machines which we visited often during our stay.

The rooms in the Palazzo are actually suites, and ours was larger than any we'd ever stayed in. The sunken living room had a big comfortable sofa and a nice big flat screen TV. There was also a dining table & chairs plus a desk. The living room was open to the bedroom which had its own big flat screen TV and the bathroom had a flat screen TV as well. The elegant marble bathroom also had both a tub and a separate shower.

But for us, the best feature of the room was the view. We could see the Strip and watch some of the outdoor attractions at the hotels across the street. And when you want to sleep, the remote control roman shades & curtains are a very practical luxury.

We were fortunate to get a tour of the hotel by one of the very knowledgeable staff. We went to the Lamborghini showroom which is right in the Palazzo. There were lots of Lamborghinis and several other exotic cars, including a Bugatti Veyron and a couple of Ferraris. It was great to see them up close and very interesting to find out that events can be held there. Now if only we can think up an event.

While touring the pool areas we found out that the Palazzo is Silver LEED certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and is the largest LEED-certified building in the world. One of the Palazzo's many energy efficiencies is that the swimming pools are heated with solar power.

The Palazzo is connected to the Venetian Hotel which has beautiful painted ceilings. We took a quick look at the 134,000 square foot Canyon Ranch Spa Club which is accessible from both the Palazzo and the Venetian. Canyon Ranch Spa has an extensive menu of services, including massages, wraps, scrubs, skin & nail care, some of which sound quite exotic.

Both the Palazzo and the Venetian have several celebrity chef restaurants and there are plenty of other places to eat as well. We especially liked the Palazzo's Dal Toro Ristorante because the food was excellent and it looked right into the Lamborghini showroom! Both hotels have their own concierge suites with separate check-ins, lounges, and other amenities. Both have shows with well known entertainers. Both have many wonderful designer shops and there is even a rare book store (Bauman's).

The Venetian has its own unique features besides the painted ceilings. There are canals and there is both an indoor and an outdoor gondola ride. We went on the indoor gondola and our Italian gondolier's singing was very good! We've been told that the gondola ride is pretty authentic and hope one day to check that out for ourselves.

The Venetian also has a town square with restaurants and entertainment. Although it's inside, the décor makes you feel that you are outdoors.

We were glad we stayed in the Palazzo. We enjoyed the luxury and services and although there are over 3000 suites and it was booked to capacity, it felt pleasantly busy but never crowded. We just wish our stay had been longer.

Capriotti's Sandwich Shop in Las Vegas: review

Not too long ago I was writing about eating in Vegas and soon after that I got an email inviting me to review a Capriotti's Sandwich Shop. My parent's were actually headed to Vegas, so the timing was pretty good and they went. Here's their review.

We recently made our first trip to Las Vegas. We went for a friend's wedding and stayed five days, so we had a short 'must do' list, just enough to get a taste of Vegas. Besides a trip to Red Rock Canyon, the penny slots & the Lamborghini showroom at the Palazzo where we stayed, one 'must do' was lunch at a Capriotti's Sandwich Shop.

There are about 20 Capriotti's locations in the Las Vegas Valley to choose from, and we went to the one on Eastern at Anthem. Capriotti's has a nice selection of hot and cold subs and sandwiches, including some called "Cap's Specials". There are even several vegetarian 'meat' sandwiches.

The "Bobbie" Special had been recommended to us - turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing & mayo - yum. It was a hard choice, but being New Yorkers, we also decided on a "Capastrami" Special - hot pastrami, cole slaw, swiss cheese & Russian dressing. We both had half of each and they were delicious. The small (9") size was quite enough. At $6.50 for the "Bobbie" and $7.50 for the "Capastrami" the prices are very reasonable for what you get.

The staff was friendly and helpful, and since it was a beautiful day, we were able to eat at one of the outside tables.

We definitely want to try the other sandwiches, and there are Capriotti's in several other states including Pennsylvania & New Jersey, so we may be able to do that soon. When you get a chance, we recommend you try a Capriotti's sandwich as well.

Visit The Moai On Easter Island

Remote and mysterious, Easter Island holds a great deal of appeal for travelers around the world. Recognized as "the navel of the world" and Rapa Nui by the Polynesians, this small, volcanic island, 14 miles long by 6 miles wide, lies some 2000 miles off the coast of Chile. Rich in culture and history, it is believed that Polynesians first settled the island some time between 300 and 1200 AD. During this era, the natural environment and geology changed radically, as trees and lush vegetation were soon replaced by strange monoliths carved from volcanic rock, known as Moai.

Following the discovery of the island by a Dutch seaman, Jacob Roggeveen, on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1722, the population had dwindled to less than 100 by the mid-1800's, as many died from disease and tribal warfare, or were enslaved and deported to Peru. Considerable recognition is given to Policarpo Toro Hurtado, an officer in the Chilean navy, who convinced the government of Chile to annex the island in 1888. Today, much of the original culture has been lost, but an estimated 3500 permanent inhabitants still speak their native language of Rapa Nui. Although some engage in farming, sheep herding, and fishing, much of the economy is based on tourism, as even sheep farming has been almost abandoned since the 1960's.

Certainly, the Moai are the main attraction, the silent sentinels of Easter Island built some time between 1000 and 1500 AD. It is believed that these amazing, gigantic heads were used in some sort of religious ritual, or as monuments to the gods and ancestors of an ancient civilization. Rano Kau and two other volcanoes, now extinct, tower above the Moai on raised ceremonial platforms, known as ahus. Various ahus such as Akivi, Akahanga, and Tongariki support anywhere from 7 to 15 giant monoliths; the largest of these at Rano Raraku stands almost 70 feet tall. Some statues wear a light red Pukao or stone hat, perhaps to symbolize a chieftain's headdress or a ruler's crown, which is often as large as 8' tall and 8' in diameter.

Visitors can explore the grassy, rolling hills and shallow volcanic craters that make up the 15,000 acres of Rapa Nui National Park, preserved as a World Heritage Site since 1935. This huge outdoor museum is divided into 7 sections with a number of quarries such as Rano Raraku, the site for most of the stone used in the Moai, Ahu Akivi, where all 7 statues face the ocean rather than inland, and the ruins of ahus at Vinapu, similar to Machu Picchu. Other points of interest within the Park are Anakena, a popular beach and camping site, and the crater lagoon of Rano Kau, which is one of only three sources of fresh water and a sheltered area of foliage and a few Moai.

Just above the lake on the crater wall lies the small, ceremonial village of Orongo, an interesting archaeological site of the 18th and 19th century Make-Make and birdman culture. The village, now restored, consists of over 50 stone houses surrounded by large boulders with totem-like carvings of birds, turtles, and other symbols. Here, the "messenger place" served the warrior king of the birdman cult, where people carved small figures of half bird and half man as part of the competition to bring back the first egg laid by the sea tern. With the arrival of the Make-Make culture, the religious rituals and carvings of the ancient Moai inexplicably disappeared.

Travelers can hike the small trails within the Park or ride horseback along the north coast; however, all types of vehicles are available to rent if you prefer.
Park Admission - $10

A visit to the Museo Antropologico Padre Sebastian Englert, named after a German priest who first explored the island in 1935, is about a 20-minute walk from the center of Hanga Roa, the capital. The Museum has an extensive collection of press releases dating back to 1840, over 5,000 photographs of archaeological and cultural interest from 1910 to the present, and numerous books and articles in several different languages including a few in the local Rapa Nui language. Two unique exhibits in the Museum include the coral eye of a Moai, which was discovered in excavations at Akakena, and another of four female statues, which seems to indicate that a few queens may have ruled the island. The Museum also houses a wealth of scientific research and information in the Mulloy library, gathered by the renowned anthropologist Dr. Mulloy. The library supports fieldwork and cultural study for scholars visiting Easter Island.

Hours: Tues & Fri - 9:30 am to 5:30 pm; Sat, Sun, 17 Sep, 24 & 31 Dec, & Holidays - 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. Closed 25 Dec, 1 Jan, Good Friday, 1 May.
Admission: $2 - Adults; $1 - 60 & over; Free for students, professors, members of the military, etc.

Other activities on Easter Island include year-round canoeing, scuba, or surfing from the small harbor of Hanga Roa, and the two-week Tapati festival in February, a combination of traditional music and dancing among families competing in the island's annual election of the queen.

Many of the Moai have been relocated to private collections and museums in countries around the world including the Louvre in Paris, the British museum in London, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, and the grounds of the American University in Washington, DC. Indeed, the Moai remain one of the unexplained wonders of the world, remarkably similar to Stonehenge and Egyptian obelisks, but so far apart that it is difficult to explain their similarity. Whether you're interested in archaeology, geology, culture, or the ancient history of Easter Island, it is a fascinating place to visit.

Accommodations: Several reasonable hotels, guesthouses, and other accommodations, as well as stores, restaurants, ATMs, and Internet cafes, can be found in and around Hanga Roa.

Chile's national airline (LAN) offers the following 5 to 6 hour flights, with fares ranging from $600 to over $1300:

From Santiago: Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun (return flights, Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sat)
From Papeete: Monday & Thursday (return flights, Sundays & Wednesdays)

(Note: Easter Island has the longest runway in Polynesia, a viable alternative for landing the U.S. space shuttle.)

Sharon L. Slayton

Sardinian based tour operator / hotel site - website review

The following is a paid review:

CharmingSardinia.com is a Sardinian based Tour Operator specialised in luxury holidays in Sardinia, Italy. I have never been on one of their tours, so I'll do my best to provide a review based on what I see on their website, Charming Sardinia.

They claim to be native Sardinians available 24 hours a day and promise 5 star hotels as well as smaller hotels away from the main tourist spots for a more authentic "Sardinian touch". They talk about family vacations, cruises in Sardinia with Catamarans, Gulet or luxury yachts, and golf.

One thing I noticed was that while the review request said they were a tour operator, the website seems more designed to sell you hotel rooms. For example they have a "wellness & relax" section but these are hotels / resorts with spas. Same thing with the golf section - you don't get a tour - you get hotels near golf courses.

So I clicked on one golf course (I just chose it randomly) and saw three recommended hotel links. At Hotel Pullman, which looks nice in the pictures, the cheapest room is over 1,000 euros for 3 days in June (the minimum stay).

It's tough to compare this site to other hotel sites. Did they really choose the best hotels or just the ones offering the best commissions? Hopefully they chose the best ones, because they are Sardinians and they are in a position to really help people coming to their island. However, without trying them out I can only offer a qualified recommendation. I just don't know if they really help you out 24 hours a day (or even why you'd need their help at a luxury resort).

However if you are going to Sardinia I don't see any reason why you wouldn't include this site in your hotel search.

UK travel complaints and destination weddings

Here are a few funny complaints collected by UK travel agents. I wonder if any of the travel agents that read this blog can share something equally silly?

"I was bitten by a mosquito - no-one said they could bite," a holidaymaker complained. I can relate.

Here's one on how a foreign wedding is actually cheaper than a domestic wedding in the UK:

According to a recent report from market research firm Mintel, the average cost of an overseas wedding is £6,000 - leaving couples a spare £14,000 to fritter away on swimsuits, suntan lotion and building castles in the sand.

Then there is a list of things you want to consider before planning a destination wedding.

Here's an article from Australia explaining that the airlines can not keep doing business the way they are now (heavy discounts, not enough business class passengers, etc.).

Western Massachusetts travel attractions, Cancun, Riviera Maya

Here's an article with some interesting stuff to do in western Massachusetts. That's not real far from me in New York but somehow I never considered it. There's some Norman Rockwell stuff (a museum and his old studio). There are some mansions that used to be vacation homes for Astor, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, and Westinghouse. There's the Tanglewood music festival.

At first I thought it might be a folk festival because of the Dave Carter / Tracy Grammar "Tanglewood Tree" (this video is not travel related - just some nice music you may be interested in):

Apparently it is classical, jazz, and pop. No folk but I like jazz and classical enough to look into getting to the festival one of these years.

Here's one about Cancun (focus on families but it seemed like a college kid /party spot when I was there in 2001).

Also in the Yucatan, we have this one on luxury in Riviera Maya.

Here's an old Riviera Maya travel plan contest entry if you're interested. Here's another old related blog post.

What to do in San Diego?

Question: I am heading out to San Diego this weekend with my girlfriend for a week...staying in the Mission Bay area. Anyone have any suggestions on things to do, places to eat, and anything else I need to know? Thanks in advance.

Assorted answers I was able to collect:

SD Zoo is cool. SeaWorld is a nice visit also. So is the aquarium. And the wild animal park (up towards Escondido) is also pretty darn good.

As for food, visit their Gaslamp district. TONS of great resturants there to choose from. Plus it's a nice area to walk around at night, so usually you just stroll through the area until you find something you like. I think there are around 150 something different resturants in that area, so you definitly have alot of options.

Finally if you want to spend a "cheap" afternoon, they have a pretty nice huge Mall they're proud of downtown. Just be careful of the parking at the mall. Each level is a different fruit or veggie and alot of times they look alike. LOL - Horton Plaza!...I've been lost plenty of times there. Make sure u mark down the fruit/vegetable area you parked at on your validation ticket. Even more important is making sure you take note of which store you walked by coming from the lot into the mall.

Old Town Mexican Cafe in the "Old Town" area. Fun/casual- good for any age group. Best Mexican food I've ever had. And I've had alot living in CA for the past 23 years. Go for the Seafood Tacos.

For fast food: Hodad's in Ocean Beach or find a Rubio's somewhere and get a fish taco. or Da Kine's Plate Lunches, if they are still around. IN-N-Out Burger.

Buffet Food: Onami's at Fashion Valley Mall

Eye Candy - Whiplash: Fashion Valley Mall, Pacific Beach or pretty much anywhere in SD

Piercings: Dr. Jefe's in OB

Picnic/JetSkiing/Boat Rentals: Mission Bay

Day at the Beach: Coronado

Gambling/Shopping: Viejas Casino and Outlets

If you go to La Jolla get a reservation at George's on the Cove Saturday night. Great fresh seafood, sit on the roof for awesome sunsets (don't worry, they have heatlamps) - it's a must do. Also, for pre-dinner beers, check out the Karl Strauss brewpub - great beers, nice ambiance. Can't recommend La Jolla more highly - however, it's 20 minutes away with some highway driving, so make sure one of you stays sober.

If you have car, I recommend driving down Sunset Cliffs (literally a road that goes along the cliffs after you get through the downtown) then drive out to Cabrillo Point. It's a National Monument so you need to pay or have a park pass.

If you and your gf play golf, Torrey Pines is amazing. Again, you'll pay - but well worth a look. If you want to play Torrey, you'll need to camp out overnight, and put your name in first thing when the pro shop opens. Otherwise, you have NO SHOT at playing Torrey.

Make sure that you take a game in at PETCO! That's a beautiful ballpark. The Padres are atrocious but what can you do?

Summer vacation taking shape: Costa Rica, LARPing, and NCL cruise

My semester ends on June 19th. I need some time for grading and I have to present a paper at a conference in Seoul July 3rd and 4th. Then I have to judge a speech contest July 17th and 18th.

Between July 19th and 26th I will fly to New York and spend a few days with family. On July 30th I check in at a hotel in Costa Rica (Arenal Volcano area). I may try out two different hotels around Arenal so I may end up in Costa Rica before July 30th.

August 2 I check in to Beacon Escazu, part of the K Hotels collection, which looks fantastic. August 5 I check out and fly back to New York.

August 7-9 I do some live action roleplaying in Pennsylvania. August 14-21 is an NCL cruise to Bermuda (my parents and sister & brother in law will be sailing with us). I am getting $500 off since I finally got my NCL credit card points. I will now dump the card because it's time to try a Royal Caribbean cruise I think.

August 21-23 is more live action roleplaying. This LARP is in Connecticut.

A few days after that I'll probably fly back to Seoul for the start of the fall semester (August 31). But before that I'll spend a night at New York's Crowne Plaza Manhattan to review this newly renovated property for you.

All in all, I'm very happy. I'll see family in New York and on the cruise. I'll see friends at the 2 LARPs. My wife and I will have some time to ourselves in a country we've never visited when we go to Costa Rica. It's a very nice combination of experiences. There's some luxury at the hotels, some roughing it at the LARP campgrounds, and some in-between on the cruise where we have an inside cabin.

What do you guys think about my choices?

Interesting claims in Crete vacation ad

Here's an interesting press release:

Greek God or a 100 lb. weakling?
Isle of Crete Vacation to the Rescue
May 26-June 2
(Memorial Day Holiday)

7 days of Adventure at our Singles Only Resort
4 WOMEN for EVERY MAN

Inclusive Features of our Trip:

7 Nights SINGLE OCCUPANCY accommodations in a DELUXE ROOM at an intimate family owned, singles only hotel, where you are known by your first name on the very first day
Air Conditioning and In Room Safe (STI Only)
7 Breakfasts, 1 Lunch and 6 (4 course) Dinners.
Enjoy homemade Cretan cuisine, using mostly organic from the resorts garden and the local village
Kettle tea and coffee making facilities in all rooms. Replenished daily
Welcome cards and flower in rooms
Welcome Reception
Cooking demonstration on Friday with Mama Katerina
A complimentary bottle of olive oil and a jar of olives from the families own olive groves
Two pools and an outdoor Jacuzzi.
Sun lounges and colorful gardens
Airport Transfers
Taxi on Call (at your own expense)
Bus stop outside of hotel. Only 10 minutes to restaurants and nightlife.
Provision of shared courtesy rooms on our day of departure
Exclusive Singles Travel Features:

Your Own DELUXE ROOM for 7 Nights
Air Conditioning and In Room Safe (STI Only)
Visit of Chania including a Delicious Seafood Lunch hosted by Vassilis, the owner of the hotel - SPECIAL INCLUSION ONLY FOR STI GUESTS
Greek Night with Entertainment - SPECIAL INCLUSION ONLY FOR STI GUESTS - Bring your Greek God/Goddess Attire!
Group Photo
Expert and Professional Assistance
Private and Secure Chat Reserved Exclusively for Members on Your Vacation
Meet other single, like minded travelers who wish to socialize and make new, maybe even life long friends

Featured Activities

Horseback Riding, Bicycle Touring, Exploring, Music / Events, Spas, Wildlife Viewing, Beaches, Culinary, Hiking / Trekking / Walking, Once-in-a-Lifetime, Cultural / Arts, Photography, Scuba Diving, Snorkeling, and Wine Tasting

I'm not sure I understand why single women would sign up for this when their chances of meeting someone are relatively poor. And I don't understand the 100 pound weakling stuff. Going on vacation doesn't really make me feel extra buff or anything.

This Santorini travel plan is kind of related.

Vacation ideas with a Toddler

Question: The wife and I are looking to take our first "real" vacation with our 15 month old daughter, and I wanted some takes on what vacations "work" with a small child of that age. Thus far, every trip has been to visit family, even if we stayed in a hotel. I have no doubt that my daughter would love a beach trip, so it's really about finding a place which will have a couple of fun things to do aside from playing on the beach/pool, preferably a place that has some babysitting services, and ideally a place that allows us to prepare SOME of her food in the room - really all we need for that is a fridge. Things like costumed characters (like in Disney) are a bonus, but I suspect she's really too young to enjoy a "theme park" type of vacation.

I've started looking around - I know the "beaches" chain caters to families, and Atlantis in the Bahamas seems to offer certain accommodations targeted at families as well. Since we are looking to go before the summer, I don't think a domestic beach trip would really be warm enough.

Also, how big a pain is it to get a passport for a toddler? I'm dreading forcing her to sit still while we wait in line at our local passport office.

Anyway, thanks for any advice you can offer. I know there are a lot of parents on this site, and a lot of travel gurus, so I thought I'd benefit from your collective insights.

1. I would tell you to take lollipops on the flight, and a laptop so she can watch Sesame Street, or whatever you think she would like to watch. Read this.

2. As far as the passport - It's really easy. We had our toddler get one, we got it done at the post office. Very easy.

I know people get scared off w/ kids but we went to Punta Cana, DR with a 1 and 4 year old. A lot of positives, the hotel was only 15 minutes from the airport which helps a lot with the kids. Most resorts have a ton of kid themed activities.

The hotel we went to = Melia Caribe. Great place. Has a Flinstone's land. Prices good. Food very good. Beach is amazing. Can't recommend it enough. The kids loved it. All the rooms are suites w/ refrigerators, etc.

3. Don't discount the Disney trip - 15 months might seem too young, but I did it with my son at that age (and my daughter at 3 years old) and they both loved it. He still remembers it to this day, 4 years later.

4. We went to Vermont when my oldest daughter was around 15 mos. and walked the historical villages/outlets while adding things like train rides and sightseeing tours. We were also able to get her naps in while driving between destinations - planned to do something in the morning and later in the afternoon.

Maybe I'm not the norm, but I never really enjoyed vacations when the girls were toddlers because most of what we did had to accommodate their needs. Now that they're older, vacations are a lot more enjoyable.

I sort of loathe taking the little one away from the child-protected house! I'm a freak about her safety admittedly.

5. For the passport, you can get the picture done anywhere and just bring the paperwork to a local Post Office that has a passport window. We got the picture at CVS in about 5 minutes and waited about 10 minutes at the Post Office.

We have taken our son out of the country twice and he's 4. We went to Aruba and Grand Cayman. Aruba when he was younger was easier and more enjoyable.

We were looking into Beaches for our next trip, but got the impression it caters more to slightly older children.

Consider length of flights and direct flights into the equation.

6. Think about looking into cruises if you don't want to be stuck at one place and I like to see a bunch of places, I highly recommend cruises if you have young ones. For example, we've taken two cruises with Norwegian Cruise Lines, one to Europe and one to South America. The boats have a day care center on the boat so you can spend time with the kids, pools, etc and also have them babysit, etc if you want to do a dinner for two in one of the restaurants. Look at it like a 'moving hotel'. The other plus is they have day tours at each spot (strollers are fine as well) and many of the tours are very kid friendly. Something to consider.

We are considering doing a Disney cruise which we've heard are fantastic for families and for young children which is no surprise. They have top notch daycare on a Disney Cruise.

7. Too young for DisneyWorld. You have to push them around everywhere at that age. They can't ride on hardly anything - which also means YOU can't And they'll never remember it. Age 4-5, depending on maturity is generally ideal for a first Disney trip.

Rent a house at the beach. Kids love playing in sand, and it's easy to pop back inside for a nap.

8. Having been there and done that my only suggestion is that where ever you go find a place that rents strollers,cribs etc. Packing all that stuff for a road trip is a mess. Also suggest you stay in a condo or similiar that includes laundry facilities.

9. Cape May, NJ: went with my son last September when he was a year and a half. Perfect for a 4-day weekend kind of thing. We stayed in Cape May, walked around the town and went to the Cape May Zoo. We also spent a day in Wildwood, which is about 15 minutes away and features a HUGE boardwalk/amusement park. My son had a fantastic time on all the kiddie rides. We're thinking about going again this year.

A few press releases: Hotels.com Tuesday sales, Our hotel room, New Hampshire ski town

Hotels.com is having a 24 hour sale. This happens every Tuesday and every Tuesday the hotels on sale are different. Now we have:

Los Angeles:
Hacienda Hotel from $63
3 star, 3.5 guest rating, 70% recommended

Chicago:
Hotel Felix from $114
4 star, 4.3 guest rating, 75% recommended

Miami:
Newport Beachside from $68
3 star, 4 guest rating, 87% recommended

San Diego:
Paradise Point Resort & Spa - A Noble House Resort from $101
3.5 star, 4.1 guest rating, 82% recommended

This next one is also related to hotels: London - (April 1, 2009) - iBAHN, the worldwide leader in digital entertainment and Internet solutions for the hospitality and meeting industries, today announces the results of an online campaign to create a hotel room designed by the public.

The online collaboration produced some interesting results, now available on the Our Hotel Room website, (www.ourhotelroom.co.uk) which show that almost 20% of respondents rate tiered internet connectivity, including a free base service, as top of their wish list.

This third one mentions hotels trying to drum up summer business in a ski town: Now, six local hotels have banded together to bring summer back to this island in the White Mountains National Forest.

And unlike other ski towns, there are a strong host of reasons why.
Thanks to the White Mountain National Forest, Waterville Valley is home to the oldest network of hiking trails in America.

Hikers have been exploring Waterville Valley since the 1800s, when a group of guests at Greeley's Hotel formed the Waterville Athletic and Improvement Association. The association is still in existence today and continues to oversee the valley's 100 miles of trails, which range from easy walking paths to heart-thumping ascents. Visitors can stroll around Corcoran Pond in the Town Square, wander the woods and search for wildflowers, or hike up the 4,315-ft. summit of Mount Osceola. No matter the location, there's always a view.

The website has all winter pictures though...

A couple of articles on travel safety

I'm busy entertaining my in laws, so two quick articles for you today:

1. This one talks about how doctors should ask their patients if they travel. I guess that means you should tell your doctor if s/he does not ask:

Robert Frenck Jr., MD, advised that pediatricians inquire about travel because more children are traveling internationally. "It is important to incorporate these questions into well-child or well-baby visits." Frenck is professor of pediatrics, division of pediatric infectious diseases at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

2. This one talks about Mexico. I've been getting press releases from Cancun tourist organizations about how safe Mexico is but I haven't been publishing them. Cancun probably is safe (but I don't know). This article says most of the violence is directed at police and army and drug cartels.

Back from MT

Well my day in the country was pretty good. We drove about an hour to Gapyun and stayed in a pension. I've written about these before if you're not familiar with the idea.

This one was basically 3 little cabin-type things. The one we were in had a bedroom, kitchen / living room area / bathroom. There was also an upstairs area that you had to climb a ladder to get to that was pretty useless.

They did have a nice yard and our dogs had some fun with the new smells. I wasn't too thrilled when we arrived at 1:40 and hat to wait 1.5 hours to get in the room. Check in was supposed to be at 2:00...

But we spent that time walking the dogs and stuff so it wasn't too bad. When the construction workers started walking around and one of our dogs went nuts barking for way too long we certainly wished we could get in the room (he's fine as long as he doesn't see any humans).

But my wife wants to go back anyway. I guess she can forgive them since the owners really do seem to care about dogs and it's so easy for dogs to have fun there. Plus the room / cabin thing was cheerful enough.

Going on a little trip today: MT

Today is the College of English MT or membership training. This is kind of like a retreat where the people in a club or other organization get out of the city, rent a big place in the country, barbecue a dinner, play silly games, and drink all night.

It's a kind of bonding thing pretty common in Korean culture and the university actually encourages its students to go do these MT things.

They also encourage the professors to come along so we can chat with a few students, judge the drag queen competition (I did mention silly games, right?), and then go to bed while the students drink all night.

Last year I ended up going to bed around 3:00 0r 4:00 AM (I guess the drag queens took a while to get their curtains on and looking like dresses) in a room with about 5-10 other male professors.

This year I'm renting my own room nearby and driving up with my wife and dogs so I can chat with the students and then go back to my own room with my family around 10:00 (and skip out on judging the contest).

And when I'm not busy at the MT we'll take the dogs for walks in the country and watch some Sopranos DVDs (season 6, part 2). It's a one-day Friday night only getaway, but we're looking forward to it. Plus it's better than the alternative...

A few articles for you on flying comfortably and cruise stocks

This article talks about flying business class cheap on Openskies, an airline I had never heard of. Seems like a good one to be aware of though.

If you don't get to fly business class cheap, this article talks about flying more comfortably in coach. Having flown a number of 14 hour flights in coach, I think I've picked up a few things. Eye covers, good headphones, extra pillows, emergency exit seats if possible, asking at the gate if they can reseat you so you have empty seats around you....

Here's an interesting one if you're looking to invest in stock. I'm no expert but I don't feel that it's an especially good time to get in the market overall. Maybe some cruise stocks are good deals now - I have no idea. But some companies want to sweeten their stock by offering onboard credit for a cruise when you buy some stock.

And this vacation idea - a few months in Rome studying Italian and I'm sure enjoying Italy during study breaks.- is exactly the kind of thing I wish I did more often.