Listen to Beth Harpaz - AP Travel Editor talk with me about New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year!

What a great way to start the New Year! The travel editor at the AP and I had a nice chat on her weekly podcast.

I think it turned out really great - about making Travel a New Year's resolution priority. Just click on the link, or paste it into your browser.

http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3?http://pod cast.ap.org/data/audio/20070102/20070102092942-916 .mp3?NAME=TripsandTrends&SITE=ORBEN&TYPE=podcast

If you want to hear other travel podcasts - or subscribe to Beth's RSS feed, just click on this link.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/fronts/PODCAST?SITE=N YKIN&SECTION=HOME#TripsandTrends

Wishing each of you the very best in 2007.

Carol

Teaching kids about sharing with others at the holidays

We have lots of traditions with our grandchildren, but none is more special than our “sharing” trip we take during the Christmas holidays. This is a tradition that any parent or grandparent can start with their own family.

Our grandchildren, now ten of them and counting, are pretty typical of most middle class children of today. The have lots and appreciate little. They don’t take a lot of time from their own worlds to think about others and how children who aren’t as blessed as they are, might be spending their holidays.

So, one afternoon during the holidays, we take them all (or as many as we can gather) and head for a toy store. They each have $15 to spend on a child. They can pool their resources to buy something bigger, or they can pick individually. They think carefully about what a child who may get nothing except their present might really like. We guide only a little and mostly watch in amazement at the thought that goes into their choices.

We then deliver the gifts to a local fire station. The firemen are wonderful with the kids and talk about what a wonderful thing they have done. They talk about distributing the toys – and they let them climb on the fire equipment and learn about fighting fires.

We try to go for a treat, but sometimes their schedules are so tight that we’ve got to get them home and back to their busy lives, only hoping that they have thought just a little about another boy or girl – even for a moment.

I saw this on another blog (http://thoughtgarden.blogspot.com/) and really liked it. We all have our own list of "must dos" in our life's journey, and this list is a pretty good start! Seeing all 50 states and taking a long road trip are obviously two of my favorites!

See how your life's list compares -- and maybe add a few new ideas to your own.


01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath
08. Said “I love you’ and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm over water
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa (it was closed for repairs!)
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten tipsy on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China (actually doing that this next week!)
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe or raft trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal (or bird) for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Traveling with the GrandKids -- and not a GameBoy in sight!

We recently returned from a trip with two of our many grandchildren to San Diego. We have a tradition of the "48 inch Trip". It started with the older ones to Disneyland when they were 48" tall and could go on the big rides. It was a highly anticipated event! Now the kids have all been there multiple times, so we're started looking for alternative destinations.

San Diego was great. We stayed at The Dana on Mission Bay http://thedana.reachlocal.net/; an older property that has been completely renovated and was a perfect location right on the water.

In 4 days we went to Sea World, Legoland (about 45 minutes from SD), the Zoo and had a day at the beach and playing in and around Mission Bay -- a sternwheeler ride from the neighboring Bahia Resort, paddle boats on the bay and swimming at the motel. We all had a ball.

Under-discovered Gems in our National Park System

What could be more American than our National Park Service? People everywhere express interest in exploring these symbols of our national heritage. The parks range from large and well-known, like Yosemite and Zion, to small and obscure, like The Golden Spike National Historical Park and Moore’s Creek National Battlefield.

The parks are divided into several categories including National Parks, National Historic Parks, National Monuments, National Seashores and more. The difference is not just the significance of the park, but also the funding and, therefore, staffing and amenities of each location. In all, there are over 400 locations maintained by the National Park Service and they do a great job keeping everything maintained, accessible and enjoyable for the millions of annual visitors. The parks are truly one of the gems of our tax-supported services.

Each park, monument, seashore and more was designated due to some unique characteristic worth preserving and showcasing. From the intricate lacework of Wind Cave in South Dakota, to the fragile eco-system of the Florida Everglades, the park rangers are well informed and eagerly teach visitors about their park. The Junior Ranger program for kids in some of the larger parks is better than a year of science and history back home.

So what are some of these lesser known locations of special significance? Here are three that you might want to include in your next trip.

Big Bend National Park – Located in far south Texas, this park is visited by less than a million people a year and stretches over 800,000 acres, with three distinct eco-systems. The Chisos Mountains loom from most every vantage point in the park. In the spring, the desert portion of the park is alive with wild flowers and animals of every description. And finally, the canyons of the Rio Grande make a spectacular trip via rubber raft or canoe. The Santa Elena canyon is spectacular with the canyon walls rising 1500 feet on one side to Mexico and the same distance on the other in the US. The nearby town of Lajitas (outside the park) boasts the only “international” golf course in the US when one hole has an optional green across the canyon to Mexico! Retrieving your ball and scoring the hole is difficult since there is no physical connection to the green.

Little Bighorn National Monument – This Park gets our vote for the best ranger talk. The site of Custer’s last stand presides over the valley below with such visual splendor that one can easily imagine the Indians camped below and the obedient men under the direction of General Custer being led to their slaughter. As the wind blows over the site, the rangers do an incredible job of setting the mood, the facts and the story of Little Bighorn. Armed with the knowledge of the battle, an audio tour is available as you head out through the actual battlefield.

Dry Tortugas National Park – On of the least accessible of all our parks is Dry Tortugas, 67 miles off the tip of Key West. Best reached by several companies who offer “fast Cat” service to the island, the history and the remains of Fort Jefferson mix with the wonderful snorkeling to make for a great day trip, or a multi-day stay for the adventurous, since there are no improved campsites on the island, no lodging, no bathhouses and no drinking water available. Fort Jefferson dates to the early 1800s, when it was constructed to protect the Gulf of Mexico. This is one of the parks that has fallen victim to the loss of Park Rangers, partly due to the desolate conditions there. Fortunately, our guide for the boat trip had become knowledgeable about the history of the fort and provided excellent “ranger” descriptions for our group.

The National Parks website at http://www.nps.gov/ is a treasure trove of information, whether your visit is to a famous or not-so-famous park. If your goal is to visit many of the national parks, be sure to pick-up your personal “Passport” at your first park – a clever and unique way to catalog your visits. The National Parks Pass is a bargain at $50 a year for unlimited access to the parks with a 50% discounts on use fees within the park. The Golden Age passport is available to those 62 and older and is good for a lifetime. Our disabled citizens are also entitled to Golden Access Passes, regardless of age. See the website for complete details.