When traveling, always take along some zip top bags. These come in handy to store your receipts, tickets, damp swimsuits, your camera when at the beach, guidebooks, snacks, or bottles of nail polish. Don’t put them all in the same bag, however!
Author: Wendy VanHatten
Travel writer, author, editor, magazine editor-in-chief, traveler, co-founder of www.forkscorksandbrews.com
Airport Tips
Early on I promised travel tips and I haven’t given you any for a while. So here goes…If you want to avoid stress, save some time and even money, avoid the major airports. Head to ones close by. For instance if you are traveling to San Francisco, fly into Oakland. Or if you are headed to New York, try Islip MacArthur in Ronkonkoma, Long Island. Check out http://www.alternateairports.com/.
Fall
Check out some Fall Leaves and a Fall Sunrise.
Flip Flops on the Move
The traveling flip flops made quite the journey in September. Visiting Vegas, Paris, and Caesar all in one trip. How do they do it?
Dancing Water
Water dances in Vegas. At least at the Bellagio Hotel it does. Music plays and water jumps, jives, and shoots into the air for a free “concert” every 15 minutes or so. Songs change but the water keeps on dancing.
Cats, Cats, & Dolphins…Oh My
Apparently the Secret Garden at the Mirage in Las Vegas is not really a Secret. After all, people were there. But it is in a garden setting.
This garden just happens to have several dolphin pools. Swimming close to mom this baby dolphin was only 13 days old. Maybe that’s what makes it a Secret. He doesn’t have a name yet.
The garden also has cats…lots of cats. Of course, they happen to be lions, tigers, leopards, and panthers. Five baby tigers, 5 months old, hid and played much like tame kittens. See how they disappeared in the grass. Also, see the fences separating you and them. Apparently nap time called to the white lions. Nothing was going to budge them. Maybe it’s called a Secret Garden because they all look so peaceful.
Definitely worth a side trip to the Secret Garden, bright lights disappear and casino noises fade while you’re there. That’s the Secret…you can have a retreat in the middle of Vegas.
He didn’t eat my flip flops
We’re off to see Tigers up close and personal. Of course, this one isn’t real. Live ones are behind strong fences.
Las Vegas Surprises
These flip flops took a trip to Las Vegas and did so much more than gamble. Follow them as they head past the slot machines, wandered down the path through the gambling tables, kept going past glitzy high end shops, and made their way through the Bellagio Hotel and Casino, past the lobby. You will be surprised as to what awaits you. The Bellagio Conservatory is so much more than a garden and definitely worth the trip. This 13,573 square foot oasis gets a complete make over five times every year. Fall was the theme recently. Complete with a 35 foot tall cider mill, giant carved pumpkins, an animated apple tree, wood sprites, giant glass fall leaves, and an arch of shooting water, to name a few. As you might expect, everything was precisely coordinated. No details were overlooked. When they tell you it always has to look nice in there…they mean it.
Traveling With Large Items
Use this helpful travel tip when you travel with sports gear. Go to http://www.sportsexpress.com/ to find out how to ship your gear to your destination. This works for large luggage, golf clubs, bikes, skis, snowboards, or kayaks just to name a few. There is a charge. So,compare it to the cost and hassle of checking your items on your next flight. It might be worth the cost to ship.
Flying?
Flying somewhere this weekend? Did you know you can check out your seat on http://www.seatguru.com/ to make sure you’re getting the seat that meets your needs. This site also shows where the lavatories or baby bassinets are located as well as which seats do not recline.