great takes on family travel in the U.S.

Everyone needs a girls’ night every now and then, and Dallas has lots to offer women of all types.

A women-owned business that considers itself one of North Texas’ premier girlfriend getaway destinations is MD Resort Bed & Breakfast. To help keep costs down, rooms are available from $109 - $299 a night and it’s BYOB and snacks. Bring on the wine coolers and peanut M&M’s. There is complimentary tea, hot chocolate and popcorn, and they offer a full home cooked breakfast and activities such as playing games, jokes, poems, movies, lounging at the pool or just hanging out, and massage and spa services. In addition, occasionally they host scrap booking retreats and murder mystery weekends.

Or you could escape to The Westin Galleria with your girlfriends for a pajama party in luxurious Heavenly beds and pampered in-room spa treatments. This package includes a “superfoods” breakfast for two, $25 spa credit per person, two robes and a 4pm late checkout. You can call 1-866-716-8137 and ask for rate plan WIGRLPKG. This is one of many local girls’ getaway lodging options.

The Spa at The Crescent, on the lower level of Rosewood Crescent Hotel, is a great getaway for women who want to refresh their mind, rejuvenate their body and enrich their spirit. They offer over 77 health and beauty treatments to make you happy in your own skin. Some of these treatments include purifying algae, rare mud and essential oils and herbs for your body. What better way to relax with friends.

Laughing is a fun, happy way to bring people together, so stop by Ad-Libs, an Improv comedy troupe that performs three nights a week in downtown Dallas. The subject matter comes directly from the audience, creating interactive entertainment with a loyal following. It’s fresh, energized and a great way to create wonderful memories for the years to come.

Want a little culture with your girls’ getaway? Dallas Arts District is a 19-block area near downtown and the largest urban cultural district in the country. Explore the arts with your friends by viewing art, enjoying music, watching some theater and dance or just site seeing.

100 acres of land with over two thousand showrooms featuring more than 35,000 product lines makes up the Dallas Market Center. It’s the ultimate spot for buyers searching for gifts, home accessories, men’s, women’s and children’s clothing as well as containing restaurants and a lounge with panoramic views of downtown. Shopping and bonding go hand-in-hand.

Finally, if sports are more your thing, the American Airlines Center is home to Dallas Stars hockey (NHL), Dallas Mavericks basketball (NBA), Dallas Desperados Arena football, concerts and other events.

Thanks to Saquan for the martini picture!

With children home for the summer, I’ve been trying to find ways to get them out of house and having fun without spending too much money. There are lots of kid-friendly things to do, but finding the ones that work when you’re feeling broke can be more of a challenge. This translates into our spending a lot of time at parks and playgrounds, because you know what? The parks in the Dallas metro area are extremely varied, educational, beautiful and, best of all, free.

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The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is huge and spans three counties.  These are the thirteen things I love about this area in just Marin County (north of Golden Gate Bridge) and only about 30 minutes from the city.  Most of the time, I don’t think of these as part of a national park, but a destination in and of themselves.

1. Bolinas Ridge-a beautiful ridge for hiking or riding that offers views of the shoreline 200 feet below.
2. Fort Baker–beautiful little park for picnics and has the Bay Area Discovery Musuem
3. Fort Cronkhite-a dog friendly ocean beach, good sand castle opportunities, and the crashing waves are not too overwhelming for kids
4. Kirby Cove-just over the Golden Gate, this beach is usually only frequented by locals, not too many tourists are willing to make the mile long hike to get to the beach
5. Marin Headlands–good bird watching and great for road and mountain biking
6. Muir Woods National Monument–I love the trees, but really think this is overrated, if I was a tourist, I would just take a hike on Mt. Tam starting at Pan Toll and walk to Stinson Beach, lots of redwoods and not too many tourists
7. Muir Beach-close to Muir Woods and the Pelican Inn, an English pub, offers all sorts of beers to cool off after a hike on Mt. Tam
8. Muir Beach Overlook–spectacular vistas of the Pacific and of the valley, it feels as if you could fall into the fog sometimes
9. Nike Missile Site-described as an educational cold war museum by the parks dept. it offers tours Wednesday through Friday and on the first Saturday of every month.  Take the elevator to down to the missile area.  A nice break from hiking and a bit of history, to.
10. Olema Valley–bed and breakfasts, campgrounds and access to Pt. Reyes National Seashore
11. Point Bonita Lighthouse–built in 1855, this lighthouse is reached by crossing two bridges, tours are currently closed, but it is worth checking back with the park service to find out if it is going to re-open, still a beautiful drive, hike and picnic area
12. Stinson Beach–my favorite beach for swimming, surfing and sea kayaking, the southern end of the beach offers fun little pools and crab catching
13. Tennessee Valley–a flat ride of only 2 miles will place you in the protected cove, you can hike up to an old missile site on either side of the beach

Golden National Recreation Area is the best part of the bay area.  It offers a respite from the concrete, a glimpse into the past and serves up the crashing waves of the Pacific next to the peacefulness of  a redwood forest.  Highly recommend you visit any of these places if you live or visit the bay area.

Consider a trip to Apalachicola, Florida, on the Gulf Coast south of Tallahassee, if you are looking for an authentic, original experience in a town known for fresh seafood and quaint fisherman village amenities. With miles of beaches, nearby national forests and plenty of golf and fishing to keep you busy, Apalachicola is a vacation paradise. Here are a couple motel recommendations sure to enhance your experience:

Apalachicola River Inn

Right on the water, each recently remodeled room in this lovely two-story motel has great views across the Apalachicola Bay. With two on-site restaurants, Boss Oyster and Caroline’s River Dining, the inn is also a short walk from historic downtown Apalachicola with many retail therapy options.

Rancho Inn

This family-oriented Inn, with views of the water, features double and king rooms, along with a suite for those traveling in larger groups. Locally owned and operated, the friendly staff is available to help arrange any charter or activity that might catch your interest.

Best Western Apalach Inn

Located on the panhandle of Florida, each room in this inn is equipped with free Internet access and cable television. Add a complimentary continental breakfast, and you are off to a great start each morning. Rates start at $95, and include free parking.

No matter where you stay, don’t forget to try the oysters when you visit!

Photo courtesy of Apalachicola River Inn.

I had a chance to meet with the Juha Huttunen and Leo Koivulehto when they came to the April Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco. I was especially excited because they were from Finland. American competitiveness in the post-American world depends on our ability to attract foreign entrepreneurs like Juha and Leo to build successful businesses in the U.S. and/or targeting the U.S. market. So I’m excited about the progress they have made with TripSay .

We also shared our passion for travel and the different and complementary strategies that UpTake and TripSay are taking. At UpTake, we are a travel search solution focused on aggregating word-of-mouth across all travel communities out there, including TripAdvisor, Yahoo!, and TripSay. TripSay, on the other hand, is pioneering social travel tools to enable you to get filtered tips and recommendations from a network of passionate travelers and your friends.

TripSay is just getting started. Be forwarned that social travel “is about the people” so TripSay feels like a bar or club where you’ve arrived about an hour before the rest of the crowd is coming. So it will feel more full of life once more people sign up.

TripSay Groups is a nice way to get started if you don’t have many friends

The issue with new social sites is building up your network from your existing friend base or connecting with people with similar interests. Groups are a great way to get started if your friends haven’t adopted TripSay yet.

Examples of Groups

I joined the hiking, beachbums, and New York City groups.

Tips from the Group

Within the group, people can offer tips. You can also add tips to destinations and things to do when you add them to your profile. For interest-based groups, the tips are pretty spread out across geography. But for a destination specific group, like New York City, there is the potential for group members to share tips with each other with a focus on that destination.

Group News Feed

You can also see a group “news feed” that highlights what the group members are doing within the TripSay site. This is very Facebook-like in seeing what other people are doing. As people build relationships with other group members

Group Message Board

Groups also have a new message board where people can share ideas and ask questions.

Maps-Based Approach is Great for Discovery

TripSay also has a nice maps based approach that allows you to find other points of interest or destinations. Its graphically interesting and complementary to the search-based approach that we have taken. It is somewhat reminiscent of TripAdvisor’s well hidden map-view of products, but more community-driven, or new entrant PlanetEye .

Other Social Travel Sites

I confess I haven’t spent as much time looking at other Social Travel sites other than TripSay. But here is a list of some others that might have different strengths and good ideas.

• WAYN - Largest, most succesful social network for search
• TravBuddy - Well established travel social network with forums, blogs, community.
• Dopplr - social network of frequent travelers, share upcoming itineraries and trips
• RealTravel - travel blogging platform
• Tripwiser - focusing on road trips, people create itineraries, sort of like Yahoo Travel! Planner
• Tripwolf - New travel social network that just announced 10,000 users.
• YowTRIP - looking for investment; finding travel partners; experts, groups, good tips and good travel companions.
• Hereorthere - travel blogging site with community comments
• Driftr - photo oriented sharing site, create your itinerary, share phtos, tag items. Sort of like real Travel and yahoo! Planner
• TripTie - remixing travel itineraries. users share trip itneraries and then you can use that to create your own

Congrats again to TripSay! We wish them success in this new phase of their company!

Off the Beaten Subway Track:  New York City’s Best Unusual Attractions is a recently released guide helping visitors and locals in the Big Apple find hundreds of off beaten track destinations in New York City.

We recently interviewed the author, Suzanne Reisman to learn more about the city and her book.  Suzanne is a graduate of Columbia University (MPA) and New York University (BA) and a freelance writer. She is a contributing editor for Travel & Recreation to BlogHer.org, and her writing has appeared in Metro, New York Family, City Limits, New York Nonprofit Press, and Young Children. She and her husband live in New York City.

1. What is the most romantic destination in your book?
Since Off the Beaten (Subway) Track features mostly offbeat and unusual sites, nothing exactly fits the mold of romantic destinations.  However, the garden at the Mt. Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden (421 E. 61st St.) is a lovely step back in time, as well as surprisingly peaceful, given its proximity to the FDR highway.  Concerts are offered regularly throughout the summer.

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My kids and I found this green cheeked conure parrot in our backyard. It was returned to a very grateful owner. You can see flocks of these parrots in the wild in Brazil and Argentina.

Chicago is a terrific place to visit-especially in the summer while it’s warm and the lakefront is full of activities. But, it can also be an expensive destination. Inevitably, there will be cab rides to pay for and meals to buy. One way to enjoy Chicago without the sting of a high credit card bill, is to find low cost accomodation. Save your money for that game at Wrigley Field or to attend a taping of Oprah, and book a cheap hotel.

Here are some budget hotels to choose from:

1. Arlington House: This is a great option for its cheap rooms and terrific location. It has clean rooms  and is located in a convenient neighborhood, right next to Lincoln Park. This could save you a lot on cab fare!

2. Sheffield House: Again, nothing fancy. But, the rooms are clean and you are two blocks from Wrigley Field. You can actually hear that “swing, batta batta, swing”!

3. Heart of Chicago Motel: This is an old staple for cheap and dependable lodging. It has free wireless and free breakfast (can you really ask for more) and is located in one of Chicago’s old stately neighborhoods. You can walk about at night and pretend you live in one of the million dollar homes.

Chicago has plenaty of cheap accomodation options if you are willing to forgo some luxuries. Saving money on your hotel will free up some cash for all the great sights and scenes that Chicago has to offer. So, what are you waiting for?

Thanks to Dan Taylor for hotel bed picture!