Embarrasing Travel Gear

Too funny! These items could be very embarrasing!

http://www.independenttraveler.com/blog/?p=522

I think I'm going to have to snag a TUGO, for sure!!!

What NOT to pack (in your checked luggage)?

I find myself reading articles like this, and really want to share this with everyone!!!
Most of it seems like common sense, but sometimes we forget....
Here is the article:

http://www.consumertraveler.com/today/what-not-to-pack-in-checked-luggage-when-flying/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tripso+%28Consumertraveler.com%29


There’s a general consensus about what travelers should definitely not check:

Electronic equipment:

- computers
- phones
- cameras
- I-pads

Valuable items:
- jewelry
- silver

Essential documents:
- travel papers including confirmation slips
- prescriptions and medications
- insurance papers
- passports
- sensitive work-related materials
……….and the list goes on.

Travel iPhone Apps

Christopher Elliott, you're the best!

Here are his personal recommendations for his 5 favorite iPhone apps to use while traveling:

Aroundme — Where’s the nearest hospital? How about a good hotel? If you’ve ever landed in a city and wondered “what’s close by?” then this little app is the perfect traveling companion. It tells you where to find the closest banks, bars, gas stations and movie theaters, thanks to your iPhone’s built-in GPS.

Cheap Gas! — In your search for inexpensive fuel, it’s impractical (not to mention wasteful) to drive through your neighborhood to take a real-time survey. This free app does all the work for you, pinging the site GasBuddy and displaying the cheapest fuel in your area. Want to get there? This app will show you a map, too.
google_protectAndRun("render_ads.js::google_render_ad", google_handleError, google_render_ad);

CheckPlease — If you’ve ever wondered how much to tip your server at a restaurant, this is the app for you. Just type in your total, give it a percentage, and it handles the rest. Perfect for someone like me, who is really bad with numbers. This app even lets you split the bill among several people. There’s a 99 cent version that cuts out the ads and a better display, but for me, the free version works just fine.

FlightTrack — Ever wondered where in the world your flight is? FlightTrack offers a ready answer, allowing you to follow any flight worldwide. You can scan live flight maps that include weather radar, check gate numbers, and search flight schedules up to 11 months in advance. This nifty app even allows you to send an email update with your flight status to a friend or colleague. The basic version of this costs $4.99.

WorldMate — For most business travelers, WorldMate needs no introduction. Its new iPhone app offers a variety of must-have features for any traveler, including a currency converter, flight updates, integration with Google maps, and an online travel planner with the ability to consolidate your itinerary. Some of the more advanced functions require that you plunk down $39.99 for the “gold” app, but if you travel a lot, it’s worth the investment.

http://www.tripso.com/today/5-almost-free-iphone-applications-you-absolutely-must-take-on-your-next-trip/

Passports Now Required

Thank you to Travel Leaders for posting this informative article:
http://www.travelleaders.com/suntime/265835

Helpful links:
Here is the link to the U.S. Department of State website, with further info on the WHTI:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html

Here is the link to more information about the U.S. Passport Card:
http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppt_card/ppt_card_3926.html

Applying for a NEW passport? Here is the link for these forms: (you do need to apply in person, but can fill out the forms in advance)
http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/first/first_830.html

Swine Flu and Travel, Everyone's Talking!!!

Thank you to Yahoo News for this article: (please read it!)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20090427/ap_tr_ge/us_travel_brief_swine_flu_airlines;_ylt=Ag42NS.ZdLz5koQcgDUbHtQ8sM0F

As of right now, the airlines have not cancelled any flights due to the Swine Flu.
Many are offering a waiver to make changes, but most are to change your ticket by a week or two at most.....

(Yahoo News) U.S. health officials declared a public health emergency Sunday, saying 20 swine flu cases have been reported so far in New York, Ohio, Kansas, Texas and California, primarily linked to recent travel to Mexico. Canada became the third country to confirm human cases of swine flu Sunday and multiple nations including New Zealand and Spain also suspect infection. Some are moving to quarantine travelers from affected regions and advising their citizens to postpone travel to certain areas in Mexico.
U.S. officials said they will begin asking travelers about illness if they're entering the country from regions with confirmed swine flu.

As of right now, Northwest Airlines, American Airlines, United Airlines and Continental Airlines are all offering some form of waiver. Each are a little different, and none are a full refund that I've seen.....

Twitter's the word...Twitter...tweet tweet!!!

Here are some of my fav's

Travel Leaders (of course!!): http://twitter.com/travelleaders

Andrew Zimmern (love this guy!!): http://twitter.com/bizarrefoods

I'm a huge Disney fan (this twitter site is un-official, but I like it): http://twitter.com/TheDisneyBlog

Another great site with great YouTube links, thank you to The Disney Blog: http://thedisneyblog.com/2008/06/26/disney-parks-slowly-moves-onto-twitter/

Barbados: http://twitter.com/BarbadosTravel

Do you have a favorite that you'd like to share with me? Please drop me a line!!!

Prevent your Frequent Flyer Miles from Expiration!!!

Thank you to Money Blue Book, for posting this great article:

This post dates back to October 2007. I'm sure there are updates to these programs, but here are some great tips to keep your account active....

I used to fly a lot and racked up a lot of frequent flyer miles over the years, but now I have to be extra careful. Airline travelers who don’t use their frequent flyer miles…well, frequently, may soon discover that their miles have expired. It is a growing trend, but airlines have shortened the time period that an account can remain inactive before miles expire. In most cases that time period ranges between 1 to 2 years.

Here Are the Expiration Policies For Some of the Biggest Airlines(current Oct 2007):
AirTran: Points in A+ Rewards expire after 12 months.
American Airlines: AAdvantage® miles expire after 36 months of inactivity.
Continental Airlines: OnePass miles do not expire. There is a written policy that says they do, but the airline does not enforce the policy.
Delta Airlines: Delta SkyMiles expire after 2 years of inactivity.
JetBlue: TrueBlue points expire one full year from the date that they are earned.
Northwest Airlines: Northwest WorldPerks miles expire if none are earned for 3 calendar years.
Southwest Airlines: Rapid Rewards points expire after 2 years.
United Airlines: Mileage Plus miles expire after 36 months of inactivity. Starting December 31, 2007, miles will expire after 18 months of inactivity.
U.S. Airways: Dividend Miles expire after 18 months of inactivity.

How You Can Easily Prevent Mileage Expiration
The way to prevent your miles from lapsing due to inactivity is to simply generate miles-earning activity for each airline that you have an account with. Other using than using a specialized miles-generating credit card rewards like the Starwood Preferred, another relatively easy way is by making a purchase at the airline’s own shopping portal, where you earn miles for each purchase. This will allow you to earn a few miles, enough to reset the inactivity clock. Most of the popular stores such as iTunes, Best Buy, and Circuit City can be found at each airline’s shopping website.

Links to the Major Airlines’ Shopping Websites:
American Airlines: AAdvantage® eShopping
Continental Airlines: ShopOnePass
Delta Airlines: Delta SkyMile Shopping
Northwest Airlines: WorldPerks Mall
United Airlines: Mileage Plus Mall
U.S. Airways: Dividend Miles Shopping Mall

Make Sure Your Purchases Count To Reset the Account Activity Clock
--- To ensure that you receive mileage credit for the purchase made through the airline’s shopping portal, make sure your shopping cart is empty before doing the click through. For example, don’t visit Best Buy, add something to your cart and then revisit Best Buy by clicking through the airline’s shopping portal website. You may not receive mileage credit for the items already in your cart. Visit the store through the airline’s website first before making purchases to receive proper mileage credit.
--- There is no minimum mileage you need to earn to reset the inactivity clock. If you can make a quick purchase for a $1 item that allows you to accrue a few miles towards your frequent flyer plan, that is sufficient to reset and prevent expiration.
--- One way to track your miles and monitor your most recent activity in each of your frequent flyer accounts is by using USA Today’s downloadable MileTracker application.

Getting Around the 3-1-1 Rule

This article was published by Leslie Baumann, M.D. (The Skin Guru)

I have read several of her blog entries, and found them to be helpful in many ways.
This blog entry was from May 2007, but I thought my readers might also find it useful!!!

You can click HERE to read the full article

Here are some tips from her column:
1. Yes, toothpaste counts. Put a travel size tube in your plastic bag to start.
2. Remember, the rule is that containers can't be larger than three ounces - so don't try to bring the remaining three ounces of a six-ounce shampoo bottle.
3. Your eye cream can double as a nighttime facial cream (that's what I do when I'm traveling). Similarly, a separate eye cream isn't absolutely necessary - just pat your regular moisturizer around your eye area. Let your products do double duty.
4. Look for stick foundation, rather than liquid, so your makeup doesn't take up valuable space in the plastic bag.
5. Bring lipsticks and lip balms instead of glosses to save even more space.
6. Avoid liquid eyeliners and eye shadows - stick to powders to avoid problems.
7. This is the one time you will hear me recommend a bar soap for the face (but look for the gentlest you can find). These don't need to go in the bag.
8. Save your favorite perfume samples or visit a department-store perfume counter and pick some up before you leave. They're a huge space saver.
9. Going to be outdoors during your trip? Buy sunscreen when you arrive. Not only will you save precious room in your luggage, you'll ensure that the sunscreen is at maximum potency (unlike years-old tubes you might have lying around the house).
10. One thing you should never skimp on when flying is hydration. Look for small spray bottles of water that you can mist on your face during the flight. Follow that up with moisturizer, and you'll lock in moisture to fight the effects of airplane air.
Finally, take inexpensive, small items that you won't mind leaving behind. Flying internationally? Think of it as freeing up room to shop the duty-free stores on your way home.

Disneyland Sept 2008

I had an amazing time in California, visiting Disneyland and California Adventure Park. I attended a conference here, and they treated us like royalty. We had fabulous motivational speakers!! It really pumps you up!

The slideshow you see here includes lots of pictures.
Pictures of:
-- My hotel room at the Disneyland Hotel
-- Susan Egan (who played Belle on Broadway) absolutely amazing!!
-- Richard Sherman, one of the Sherman Brothers. He and his brother Robert were Walt's right hand men for songs!! His playlist includes: Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, It's a Small World, Parent Trap, The Jungle Book, Winnie the Pooh, and so much more!!!
-- Out and about around the parks



Here is another picture of the Sherman Brothers

(copyright release wikimedia)

Disney World Sept 2007

Anyone who's ever met me, KNOWS that I absolutely LOVE Disney, and all things Disney.
I have visited Disney World several times. I've stayed on site at Disney Resorts, and also have stayed off site at different hotels.

I get excited helping to plan your vacation to Disney. I have many suggestions and tips that have proven useful for most people.

Please contact me to help you plan your Disney Vacation today!!!!

Here is what we did in Sept 07:
Day 1: Flight to Orlando, checked into our hotel "Disney's Pop Century". Pop Century was a great value resort, the food court was large with many selections, and a lot of places to sit. The refillable cup was a good deal. We then headed off to Downtown Disney. Visited the toy store, and ate at the counter service 'Earl of Sandwich', awesome sandwiches!!!!!!! I was quite impressed.
Day 2: Played at the 'bowling pin' pool, which was heated, so that was nice. Basically hung out at the resort most of the day. Took naps, and headed over to the Magic Kingdom for the Halloween Party. We ate dinner at the Crystal Palace with all the Pooh characters. The buffet was good, nothing extra special, pretty much exactly what we had expected. We all dressed up in costume for the Halloween party, so that was fun. The halloween party started at 7pm, and we made it until about 8:15pm before it started to rain. The first parade was rained out, but we did watch the 2nd parade, which was amazing, and nothing like any other parade Disney does. We also seen Cinderella's carriage, and the villian show before heading back to the hotel.
Day 3: Ate breakfast at Boma's at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Always our favorite. They have a wonderful breakfast buffet, with made to order omelets, fresh fruit, bread, etc. Spent the day at Animal Kingdom. Watched the Nemo show there, excellent!!! Ate dinner at Ohana's at the Polynesian Resort
Day 4: We started at Epcot to do the Nemo ride there, then headed over to the Magic Kingdom. Watched the afternoon parade, and then ate dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. Great food, served family style, and character interaction that we love! We also visited the Baby Care Center. This impressed me, it felt like home with the high chairs, changing tables, tv set up, etc. It was perfect for those few minutes to feed the baby, and wind down a little bit.
Day 5: Ate breakfast at Chef Mickey's, good food, good character interaction, very upbeat and fun. Went over to the Magic Kingdom to visit the princesses. Ate lunch at Cosmic Rays. Ate dinner at Cinderella's Gala Feast at the Grand Floridian with Cinderella, Prince Charming, the stepsisters and stepmother.

If you need more info on any of these things, please feel free to contact me!!