SEA LIFE Aquarium at Legoland acquires 2 spotted eagle rays

New resident

In the murky depths of the giant main tank at Legoland California’s SEA LIFE Aquarium in Carlsbad (north of San Diego), you can make out two new residents – the inky black bodies with bright white spots, long tails and uniquely shaped snouts of eagle rays.  Eagle rays are extremely smart creatures that can actually be trained and these two are juveniles that may grow to have wingspans up to 8 feet long.

The eagle rays, which have very flexible rostrums, or noses, are being trained to recognize a small orange traffic cone in the water. Read More »

Summer vacations are officially here. I read that on the internet, so you know it’s true. Speaking of the internet, welcome to it. We’ve been expecting you.

This is where the travel happens, and to a lesser extent, the magic. Enjoy.

*********

Have you ever been conned by a hotel? It happens. Oyster can help you avoid the sneaky stuff.

LEGOLAND has added a water park. No assembly required.

Flying through Houston? Hungry? There’s a new La Salsa in town.

Win a trip to Shanghai! Seriously.

The Euro is down, rent a villa!

A nerd’s eye view on Moloka’i.

Are you ready to party, Columbus? The Park Street Festival is coming!

See the top beach houses. Rent them.

The Gulf feels the oil spill right in the wallet (and elsewhere).

Oahu is all about the pampering — and we’re not talking diapers.

Starwood Preferred Guests get free stuff! Are you one?

Pottery Games? Not in the house.

Kaua’i is all about the golfing — and we’re not talking, wait, yes, we’re talking about golf.

Winter Park, Colorado has gone to the jazz.

Tomorrow is Oceans Day — see what Disney is doing.

*********

And that, as they say, is that. They know who they are.

If you would like to be featured in a weekly edition of Travel Around the Internet contact us via email or Twitter. It could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship (see, Facebook).

No Nemos here.

When most people think of Legoland, they imagine giant Lego sculptures, and an amusement park.  Which is pretty much what it is, actually, an amusement park appropriate for children ages 3 to say 12, as long as the 12 year old doesn’t have to hold your hand, of course.

Less obvious when you think of Legoland, at least the San Diego, CA location, are the water-related features.  The park has an adjoining aquarium that charges its own admission fee or a discount with “park hopper” tickets.  It is opening a new water park on May 28.  And within Legoland itself is a mini water wonderland perfect for children to cool off on a hot day of amusement park fun. Read More »

I'm guessing you pay for the view.

It’s probably fair to say that most people immediately associate the Eiffel Tower with France.  Why wouldn’t they?  The tower was built by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 World’s Fair held in Paris and has had over 200,000,000 visitors since.  It has been in more movies than Sandra Bullock and has inspired people from all over the world (just like Sandra Bullock!).

When I learned that my friends and I were going to be in Paris for overlapping visits we decided to meet – and of course the Eiffel Tower was the obvious spot. We met at the base in the summertime, which is a good thing, had we been there in the winter it would have been an ice rink and I’ve got weak ankles.

We met at the base and through a series of lifts and stairs we were soon(ish) at the top. Yes, it’s every bit as spectacular as you hoped it to be.  Later, over wine at some Parisian sidewalk café we discussed the tower and its power and the mystique that it carries.  One thing led to another and soon we were sharing stories of other “Eiffel Towers” that we had visited. It turns out there are quite a few.
Read More »