Vacations Blog

Fort Knox, in Maine

Did you know that Maine has its very own Fort Knox? It does! They don’t keep any money in it, though. More’s the pity.

Maine’s Fort Knox is located in the town of Prospect, on the banks of the Penobscot River. The fort was established in 1844 to combat possible border disputes with British Canada, after the area was invaded and occupied by British forces during the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Today it is one of the best preserved and maintained fortification in New England.

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A painting featured during ArtCrawl Harlem

Soho and Chelsea may grab all the attention when it comes to New York’s art scene but Harlem boasts a vibrant array of galleries and museums, minus the crowds.   Artcrawl Harlem rounds up some of these art discoveries with a three and half- hour trolley tour that supplies historical background and a reception with food and live music at the end of the tour. For its second year, the Artcrawl focuses on East Harlem galleries and Spanish Harlem history.  If you’ve ever tried to explore Manhattan landmarks in an afternoon, you know that New York’s long stretches of streets and sprawling layout don’t make it easy.  Artcrawl Harlem’s trolley tour gives you easy with 30-minute trolley stops at 5-7 galleries and art spaces, giving you time to actually peruse the art without worrying about parking or schedules. Read More »

Is Your Vacation Safe From Swine Flu?

It’s not just schools that are thinking about the spread of Swine Flu.

Travelers all over the world are talking about how safe their vacation plans are with the widespread H1N1 virus on the loose.  Theme parks are of particular concern for families as they debate whether or not to cancel their trips to some of the happiest places on earth.

Places like Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida are known for their rides and attractions.  But they are also home to thousands of international tourists, crowds and close encounters with other guests and costumed characters.  In other words, it’s a potential gold mine for germs!

Rest assured, park officials at most major theme parks are taking extraordinary precautions to keep their tourist havens safe.  Disney World has installed over 200,000 individual hand sanitizing stations across the parks.  Employees are being vaccinated and taught to closely monitor whether guests they come in contact with show signs of illness, and how to respond accordingly with things like costume changes.  (If you sneeze on Goofy, he’s going to be changing his shirt.)

Experts at the CDC say that theme parks aren’t necessarily any more dangerous than any place else, pointing out that there are numerous opportunities for people to catch the H1N1 virus during their normal day to day activities.

There are, of course, a few things you can do to help stay health while you travel.

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Orlando Makes Kids Smile!

Building on the recently ended 67 Days of Smiles promotion, the Orlando/Orange County Convention&Visitors Bureau is offering kids between the ages of 13 and 18 to win an Orlando vacation.

This time Orlando CVB is teaming up with the Florida Film Festival and KIDS FIRST! to give away  an Orlando vacation for four.  The prize includes airfare, lodging for three nights, rental car, theme park tickets and full filmmaker passes for the 19th annual Florida Film Festival in April, in addition to having their short film premiered at the festival.

How do you (or your children) enter?

Make a three minute video that answers the question “Why does Orlando make you smile?”

AND be willing to pay $25 to enter.

Normally I’d warn people to run screaming from a travel contest with an entry fee, but the Orlando CVB is a respected organization that just finished up a successful contest – including awarding an all inclusive trip to Orlando.

In addition to the contest open to 13 to 18 year olds, there is another category for people 19 and over to enter with a short film answering the same question.  Entries for all categories must be received by January 11, 2010, and winners are expected to be announced sometime in February.

Get everything you need to enter the contest at http://www.kidsfirst.org/Orlando.html.

Photo credit: Britt Reints

A dragster at Firebird International Raceway.

My husband is a huge fan of the drags. I’d never attended a drag race myself, before I met him. As a matter of fact, on one of our first dates we attended a “Jets vs. Funny Cars” event at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, AZ.

Jet dragsters, which are drag cars propelled by a jet engine, undergo a kind of warm-up phase where the driver lines up on the track, then kind of rev’s the engine. The jet “booms” in a succession of five or six hits, and it’s like your breastbone is a bass drum. You can FEEL the percussion in your body. It’s really cool.

(I don’t pretend to have a working knowledge of all of the technical details, here, so bear with me as I muddle through the definitions.)

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Swirling Hurricane at Margaritaville

You don’t have to be a Jimmy Buffett fan to be captured by the zaniness of Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Personally, I’ve never been a fan of Jimmy’s pseudo-tropical, off kilter tunes but I forgot all that as I nibbled jerk salmon and conch fritters.  The sprawling, two-story restaurant anchors the popular Broadway on the Beach shopping  district and tops the list for Myrtle Beach  family friendly activities.  Jimmy Buffett fans are called Parrot Heads and the first thing you’ll see are tons of people roaming around in balloon parrot hats. You’d think this was a draw for the kids but you’ll spot more adults wearing them.  The other spectacle that greets you is a swirling hurricane, complete with sound effects and weather forecasts. Read More »

Orlando Family Vacations

Orlando, Florida is well known as a family vacation destination.  However, one of the common misconceptions I hear from families is that they have to wait until the kids are “old enough to appreciate it” before they can invest in a family trip to the theme park capital of the world.

To a certain extent, I agree.  Places like Universal Studios and even Disney World are not great for kids under five.  They can’t go on roller coasters and a lot of young children are terrified of the rides that are supposed to be made for them.  My daughter was so scared of Magic Kingdom’s Snow White ride that we had to leave through one of the emergency exits.  And don’t even get me started on Universal Studio’s 3D Shrek experience.  (Note to attraction designers: small children are scared of the dark AND graveyards AND ghosts.  Duh.)

It makes sense to avoid these places until your children are old enough to appreciate the hundreds of dollars you’ll be spending in admission prices.

But what if you have one kid who is the perfect age to experience these things and another much younger child?  Can you plan an Orlando vacation that includes activities for younger children?

Absolutely.

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Performed at the White House – Check. Late show with David Letterman – Check. 24 hit singles on the Billboard Charts, 11 CMA awards and 3 Grammy awards – Check, Check and Check.

Brad Paisley at the White House

Meet Brad Douglas Paisley – country music singer, song writer and guitarist all rolled into one.

And now he’s got himself another 7 nominations to this year’s  County Music Association Awards, which by the way – he’s co-hosting again with Carrie Underwood on Nov 11 in Nashville, TN.

Brad Paisley is clean as a whistle – a family guy, and the only thing that keeps him in the limelight (and on the road) is his voice, his lyrics and his guitar.

For country singers, doing the honky-tonks of Route 66 is a rite of passage. Brad Paisley did one better, and got himself instant fame in a TLC special by performing Route 66 (the song) live on a bridge in Kansas.

Being on the road with Brad Paisley certainly doesn’t involve any of the usual hedonistic pursuits that celebrity performers wallow in. So what does it feel like?

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