posted by Charles H. Russo on Sep 9
By: John Simmons
“Maui No Ka Oi”, translates quite simply to Maui is the Best! And if you’ve ever traveled to the Hawaiian Islands, you know exactly why this catch phrase is so popular- because Maui, also known as the “Magic Isle”, is filled to the brim with art, culture, and enough history to sink a whaling boat.
The island of Maui is the second most popular tourist destination in this south pacific island chain. Nearly 120,000 people call this 727 sq. mile isle their home, while pineapple and sugarcane are still their key exports. 2.5 million visitors each year travel to the golden-white sand beaches, mile-high mountain peaks and scores of breathtaking, natural waterfalls, all creating an ideal backdrop to the most relaxing vacation of your life.
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Sep 5
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a Traveler’s Health section that can be a great resource in planning your vacation. There are tips on traveling with children, travel for the disabled, airline travel, traveling with pets, etc. If staying healthy while on the move is a concern, then check this website out before you go.
posted by Charles H. Russo on Sep 2
Surprisingly the Spanish online travel market is not saturated by the emergence of aggregation and comparison engines; there is still space for newcomer(s) to enter this segment of the online travel industry. That’s what Minube.com (that literally means “My Cloud” in Spanish) did today by launching this new flight/hotel aggregator “Minube”.
Minube.com referred itself as being a web 2.0 site. A simple, clean and original design withgreen, red and orange clouds! It uses features that made Web 2.0 sites so convenient such as the suggestion search box; as you type in a query it will display the available cities/countries/airports dynamically via some AJAX. Pretty useful when you don’t know how to spell those Spanish cities or when you don’t know the airport name of your destination.
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Sep 1
One in three drivers suspected of driving while ‘over the limit,’ but subsequently found to be below maximum permissible levels of alcohol, nevertheless tested positive for a range of drugs, reveals research in Injury Prevention.
The findings prompt the authors to call for routine drugs testing in all drivers who are suspected of being over the limit for alcohol.
The researchers base their findings on 2000 blood and urine specimens taken from drivers who had been stopped by police on suspicion of driving while ‘under the influence’ over a period of two years in Ireland.
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Aug 21
People have been drawn to the rugged coast of Maine throughout history. Awed by its beauty and diversity, early 20th-century visionaries donated the land that became Acadia National Park. The park is home to a number of plants and animals, and the tallest mountain on the U.S. Atlantic coast. Today visitors come to Acadia to hike granite peaks, bike historic carriage roads, or relax and enjoy the scenery.
posted by Charles H. Russo on Aug 21
Mother England.
There’s no place like home.
I am always at a loss for an answer when people ask me where I am from. In 30+ years I have moved house 30+ times, so you can appreciate my confusion. I have lived in Cardiff, capital of Wales, for the past few years, but I am (very) English.
I thank Wales daily for her hospitality. She provides a kind of safe comfort, like that of an over-stuffed chintz armchair in the parlour of an affectionate great-auntie; the sort of great-auntie who pinches your cheeks and plies you with cake. However, despite England’s dubious history, England is my mother and therefore has my heart.
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Aug 12
When I visited Key West, Florida, I was puzzled by their reference to themselves as The Conch Republic. So, I did a little research and thought I’d pass the amusing story behind this designation along.
In order to try to stem the flow of illegal aliens through the Keys to the mainland, the US Border Patrol set up a blockade of the Keys in 1982. This angered the free thinking populace into seceding from the Union.
After one minute of independence, the new Conch Republic surrendered to the US and demanded reparations. Keys residents consider themselves to have dual citizenship. The Republic has a flag, issues its own passports and heartily celebrates its independence each year.
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Aug 6
Earthcomber.com – Cheaper than a GPS and just as good.
Don’t think anyone is going to “giva giva you a Garmin” this Christmas? No worries. With the Earthcomber.com services you will have GPS functionality at your fingertips for free. Now you will be able to smile and perhaps even laugh in the face of TomTom using businessmen and Garmin carrying soccer moms.
The Earthcomber.com service is a web based GPS program that works as a stand alone website, but really shines when used with your cell phone. Smart phones, especially the iPhone really make the Earthcomber.com service shine.
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Jul 12
By Adam Winters
Are you planning a holiday? Consider New Orleans. The city provides a fun-filled holiday for the entire family or even for a couple. Situated between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, New Orleans is a frequented tourist destination because of all that it offers. From museums to gardens, aquariums to night clubs, from exciting bars to exotic restaurants, and of course Mardi Gras, the place has it all!
You can begin the exploration of New Orleans with a boat ride in the Mississippi. Make sure you choose a good tourist guide for the cruise so that as you take a tour, you can also get a lot of information about the venerable city. Many tourists will enjoy a break at the Chalmette Battlefield, a historic site.
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posted by Charles H. Russo on Jul 11
Koh Phi Phi is one of the nicest places I came across traveling, I arrived a few weeks after the tsunami and to be honest the people of Koh Phi Phi had done a fantastic job of clearing up the debris. It was quite heart breaking as people were still diving around the shores looking for bodies and cleaning up the debris which was scattered out to sea.
Even though the island was now clean and safe there was very few tourists here, I would have said that there was about 50 of us. Which for an island which has around 2000 rooms was of great concerns for the locals. It was heartbreaking to be watching CNN and BBC news on the island which was reasonably immaculate considering what had recently happened, yet rather than the news channels broadcast how well the locals and tourists had cleaned up and got pretty much all of the coastal towns, villages and islands up and running again. The news channels were still telling people to stay away and were showing video clips from weeks previous. No wonder people didn’t want to go! I suppose do you show bad footage to get people to donate and help get relief work undertaken quicker or do you say that Koh Phi Phi etc is back up and running fine and people then don’t donate? Well personally I would have done the second and at least allow the locals to get their pride back and line their pockets themselves.
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