Archive for April, 2008
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
Guns, knives, hand grenades, alligators, and bottles of water — these things will be confiscated if you try to take them through American airport security. But what currently is allowed in your carry-on luggage?
Since the terrorist attacks of 9-11, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has changed its mind repeatedly on what is and what is not allowed onto a plane. Nail clippers, once taboo, are now okay. But what about foods? Can you take your lunch onto the plane? What about lithium batteries? A camcorder? What about a tube of face moisturizer?
The answer is “Yes,” to some things, and “No,” to others. If you are still unsure, here’s a quick checklist of some of the most common items allowed and those disallowed in airport security.
Read on . . .
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Tags:airport security regulations, cleaing airport security, tsa, what can't I take through airport security, what is not allowed in my carry-on baggage, what's allowed in my carry on baggage
Posted in Adventure Travel, Airline Travel, Budget Travel, Canada, Cruise Ship Travel, Family Vacations, Food and Wine, Travel - General Advice, Travel safety, Travel tips, Travel with kids, Variety | Comments Closed
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
Airport layovers are seldom part of the travel experience we usually anticipate with joy. However, if you must be stuck in an airport, then make it the Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
We recently spent several hours there while awaiting our connection to Houston. The time flew by in this bright and cheery place. But the designers need to give their heads a shake. There’s a feature in the women’s washroom that gives pause for thought. Especially if you are visually impaired.
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Tags:airport washrooms, chicago ohare airport, finding power for your laptop in an airport, houston airport, major american airports
Posted in Adventure Travel, Airline Travel, Family Vacations, Travel - General Advice, Travel safety, Travel tips, Travel with kids, United States, Variety | Comments Closed
Monday, April 28th, 2008
“Why do you have to travel so much?” he asked.
“Why do you have to breathe?” I shot back.
For some, travel is an addiction to adventure; for others, travel is a way to survive, in the same way that breathing oxygen ensures our continued existence. The knowledge that an escape has been planned can make our daily routines — our weekly drudgery — that much easier to bear.
But what if you can’t afford to travel? That might be, but that shouldn’t stop you from having a rejuvenating adventure. Some of the best escapes are right in your own backyard. But like all travel, they’ll take a little planning.
Read on . . .
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Tags:can't afford to travel, games for kids, kids and travel, suggestions for traveling in city, traveling with children
Posted in Adventure Travel, Budget Travel, Cemeteries, Family Vacations, Travel - General Advice, Travel tips, Travel with kids, Variety | 2 Comments »
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
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
Looking for drugs? Do you need a tooth fixed? Or maybe you just have a yen for a darn good taco.
A visit to Brownsville, Texas is great but you must spend at least one day in a foreign country when in the area. And that’s so easy to do, because Mexico is just a short drive, or walk, away.
You can choose from a variety of entry points (International Bridges), but double your fun with a drive up Hwy 281, the “Old Military” highway, and hang a left at Progresso.
Read on . . .
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Tags:armed Mexican border crossings, brownsville, cheap dental care over the border, cheap Mexican prescription drugs, crossing the mexican border in brownsville, progresso mexico dentists, staying safe in mexico
Posted in Adventure Travel, Budget Travel, Food and Wine, Mexico, Texas, Tourist attractions, Travel - General Advice, Travel safety, Travel tips, Tropical Destinations, United States | 4 Comments »
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 »
Saturday, April 19th, 2008
Okay, call me a traitor, call me a fool, call me any name you like but I had to take the chance. I made a decision, before a recent trip to southern Texas and New Orleans, to leave my heavy Olympus Evolt E-300 DSLR at home. I replaced it with a sleek little 12-megapixel Fuji FinePix F50 compact digital camera.
My husband looked at me askance as he repeatedly asked me if I still wanted to take my DSLR camera. I told him, firmly, “No.” That I would take my chances. And that I would live with my decision. Only time would tell if I had made a terrible mistake . . .
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Tags:choosing a camera that's easy to carry, choosing a small compact digital camera instead of an S, f50, fuji finepix, good 12 megapixel digital compant cameras, olympus evolt, small digital cameras, travel photography
Posted in Adventure Travel, Cruise Ship Travel, Digital Cameras, New Technology, Photography tips, Texas, Tourist attractions, Travel - General Advice, Travel photography, Travel Products, Tropical Destinations, United States, Variety | Comments Closed
Friday, April 18th, 2008
“Oh, look a snake!”
The urgency in my husband’s voice was alarming. We had just been warned by a local Texan to watch out for snakes inhabiting the bushes. And sure enough, in one of the older, more deserted, most appealing graveyards, just outside of Brownsville, along Highway 281, a snake crossed our paths.
Read on. . .
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Tags:brownsville, hwy 281 texas, Mexico, old military highway, old texas graveyards, progresso, snakes in texas, texas civil war cemeteries
Posted in Adventure Travel, Cemeteries, Texas, Tourist attractions, Travel - General Advice, Travel photography, Travel safety, Travel tips, United States | Comments Closed
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 »
