Archive for the ‘Family Vacations’ Category
Saturday, April 26th, 2008

Who are these people? We didn’t know them either, that is until we attended their wedding, uninvited. But you haven’t lived until you’ve crashed a Mexican wedding.
My husband and I don’t normally go uninvited to the wedding of strangers, but cheap happy hour drinks, great Mexican food, and authentic Mariachi music were too attractive to resist. An evening out at a local Mexican restaurant sounded like a great idea. We weren’t planning on the wedding.
Read on . . .
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Tags:brownsville, crashing weddings, jr restaurant and bar, mariachi bands, mexican weddings, southern texas tropical destinations, things to do in brownsville
Posted in Adventure Travel, Beach Vacations, Family Vacations, Food and Wine, Mexico, Texas, Tropical Destinations, United States | Comments Closed
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008

There are some things you must do when visiting New Orleans: Take a Hurricane Katrina bus tour; eat seafood gumbo from a tiny deli on Royal Street; ride a streetcar to the huge St. Patrick cemeteries at the end of Canal Street; and visit haunted houses in the French Quarter. Above all, take a walk along Bourbon Street, but do it in the morning.
Bourbon Street is a magnet for the young and lecherous among us, at night, but a morning walk in the bright sunshine, devoid of the nighttime debauchery, can be a truly pleasant experience. Especially if you are a photographer.
Read on . . .
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Tags:avoiding bourbon street, bourbon street, new orleans louisiana, photography, royals street, taking pictures, wax museum, when to visit bourbon street
Posted in Adventure Travel, Digital Cameras, Family Vacations, New Orleans, Tourist attractions, Travel photography, United States | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

I don’t usually gush about one travel booking site over another, but in this case I must make an exception. As a travel writer, I travel frequently. I recently discovered that an event I needed to cover back home had switched its dates, right over top of one of my flight dates.
I do all my airline bookings online, but I have never needed to make changes before. So, I wasn’t sure what I was in for. However, I pulled up the site’s contact number, and placed a call.
I was in for a big disappointment.
Read on. . .
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Tags:air canada, booking flights, changing flights, expedia ca, making changes to a booking, travel booking agencies, using onling travel agencies
Posted in Adventure Travel, Airline Travel, Budget Travel, Family Vacations, Travel - General Advice, Travel tips | Comments Closed
Tuesday, April 15th, 2008
There is hell on earth, and it’s called, “deep sea fishing.” What was I thinking, or rather, what was my husband thinking when he agreed to a 5-hour deep sea fishing adventure?
We took our first deep sea fishing trip just off the coast of South Padre Island in Texas. To me, it was an adventure; to my husband, it was an unending journey into the depths of hell.
Read on . . .
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Tags:deep sea fishing, osprey charters, seasickness cures, south padre island, texas fishing, treatment for seasickness
Posted in Adventure Travel, Beach Vacations, Family Vacations, Texas, Travel tips, Tropical Destinations, United States | 2 Comments »
Friday, April 11th, 2008

In the army, you never know who you’ll be bunking with. Except Simon Vega had a fairly good idea that the dark-haired handsome guy from Tupelo, Mississippi, was special. Back in 1958, Vega shared army duty with none other than the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. Vega remembers fondly his days with a young Elvis. But remembering his former army buddy wasn’t enough for Vega; only a museum would do. But what a place to put a museum!
Read on. . . (more…)
Tags:brownsville texas, elvis attractions, elvis memorabilia, elvis memories, Elvis Presley, king of rock and roll, little graceland, los fresnos, museum, priscilla presley, record albums, simon vega, south padre island, things to do in south texas
Posted in Adventure Travel, Beach Vacations, Celebrities, Family Vacations, Texas, Tourist attractions, Travel tips, Tropical Destinations, United States | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008

Who owns the most haunted house in New Orleans, Louisiana? He’s a big star, he’s done lots of movies, he’s an Oscar-winner, and he was once married to the child of a King. Can you guess?
Okay, here’s another clue: he lives down the street from another famous star, in fact, a pair of Hollywood notables: Brad and Angelina.
Have you guessed yet? No?
Read on. . .
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Tags:haunted houses in new orleans, haunted houses in the united states, haunted real estate, lalaurie mansion new orleans, nicholas cage houses, nicholas cage most haunted house, tortured slaves new orleans
Posted in Adventure Travel, Family Vacations, New Orleans, Ports of call, Travel - General Advice, Travel tips, Tropical Destinations, United States | 7 Comments »
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008

Ignore its dumpy exterior because if you want to eat in this New Orleans restaurant, you’ll have to get over first appearances. Besides, the place was good enough for celebrities like Steve Martin, Jimmy Buffet, Kathleen Turner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and LeAnn Rimes.
Look for a plain building with a side entrance; one of the entrances probably has a busted door, so you’ll have to go to the side. You’ll see lots of people coming and going; that’s always a good sign of good eats. Once inside, don’t stand around waiting for any special attention, just grab a menu, and place your order.
Read on. . .
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Tags:good food in New Orleans, jimmy buffet, kathleen turner, Mother's Restaurant, New Orleans home cooking, po'boy sandwiches, poydras, seafood gumbo, steve martin, tchoupitoulas, where to eat in New Orleans
Posted in Adventure Travel, Budget Travel, Family Vacations, Food and Wine, New Orleans, Ports of call, Tourist attractions, Travel - General Advice, Travel Destinations, Travel tips, United States | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008

Don’t let the look of the ketchup bottle put you off. You simply must visit this tiny 84-year-old restaurant hidden away in historic downtown Brownsville, Texas. You’ll be able to say you’ve rubbed shoulders in a place where American President, Lyndon Johnson, once rubbed shoulders, too.
And rub shoulders is exactly what happens here – the walls are only about 6 feet apart.
Read on. . .
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Tags:american hamburger joints, best burger joints, brownsville texas, hamburger heavens, the tiniest restaurants in the world, tiny restaurants
Posted in Adventure Travel, Beach Vacations, Budget Travel, Family Vacations, Food and Wine, Tourist attractions, United States, Variety | 11 Comments »
Sunday, March 16th, 2008

Nothing proclaims, “This person is an adventurer” like a Tilley hat. It’s true; look at a group of tourists – the ones in the khaki Tilley hats don’t look so touristy – they look more serious, more experienced, more like seasoned travelers.
Yes, it’s all good when you wear a Tilley hat unless, of course, you (like my husband and world travel companion) refuse to wear the hat’s chin strap. That decision, or lack thereof, can get you into a lot of trouble.
Read on. . .
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Tags:registering your tilley hat, secret pockets in travel clothing, tilley endurables clothing, tilley hats, travel clothing
Posted in Adventure Travel, Beach Vacations, Cruise Ship Travel, Family Vacations, New York, Travel - General Advice, Travel Products, Travel safety, Travel tips | 3 Comments »
Sunday, March 16th, 2008

I was feeling a tad envious as I watched other passengers board the charming Taieri Gorge vintage train. They didn’t even have to drive into Dunedin because the train pulled up alongside our Celebrity ship.
However, had I known how wonderful a day in Dunedin, New Zealand was going to be, I would have merrily waved them on their way, without a second thought.
I found out later those folks didn’t get much of a chance to explore Dunedin (Celtic for Edinburgh) and that would have meant missing so much.
Read on . . . (more…)
Tags:architect R A lawson, baldwin street, cadbury world, dunedin casino, dunedin new zealand, dunedin octagon, dunedin train station, first church of otago, new zealand ports of call, otago farmers market, otago harbour, speights brewery, steepest street in the world, taieri gorge railway
Posted in Adventure Travel, Cruise Ship Travel, Family Vacations, New Zealand, Ports of call, Tourist attractions, Travel - General Advice, Travel Destinations | Comments Closed