Letter from Whistler
Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia, Canada (Paul Morrison)
To: Director, Park City Kids' Ski School
Dear Mary,
I'm sorry I haven't reported for ski school yet. I'll be there. I'm in Whistler. Every morning I wake up with intentions on returning, and then I help the old woman next door shovel snow that fell during the night. She tells me to go up and make a few turns for her in the dream-like powder, which I do, just for her. I consider it both a gift and a challenge. And I do it for you, Mary. The right thing is the kind thing.
It's a week before Thanksgiving and Whistler has shattered its November record for snowfall—more than 14 feet so far. The 2010 Winter Olympics athletes are here training for the Games. And the resort is nicely priced—until January 31, 2010, you can book a five-night, ski-and-stay package for $111 per person, per night.
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November 24, 2009
Introducing the iPhone PicTranslator
Trekking through Portugal tops my list of fun things to do; attempting to navigate using the Portuguese language does not. In response to every world-traveler's linguistic conundrum, iPhone has unleashed the PicTranslator, an application that can translate any high-quality text in 16 different languages, including Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish. The gadget works on a point-and-shoot technology. To avoid a jumbled response, make sure you are cropping out everything except the words you want translated, plus that you are positioning the camera in a way to avoid glares or shadows. Depending on the length of the text, you should see the translation within 10 to 60 seconds. PicTranslator is currently only translating to English, but it can read a selection of the translated text aloud to you in five of the languages; French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. A useful app indeed, and one that is most likely going to get better. The masterminds behind PicTranslator are already thinking up ways to improve the technology with additional languages, better customer feedback, better quality of translation, and additional apps. PicTranslator can be purchased for $1.99 per month for one language or $3.99 for all 16. Follow them on Twitter for the latest news and updates.
Do you have any other favorite iPhone travel apps? Share them in the comments section.
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October 21, 2009
Currency Exchange Travel Tips That Will Save You Money
Airline ticket and passport (Martin Harvey/Gallo Images/ROOTS)
When traveling, it's easy to forget that exchanging one currency for another country's currency is big business and the companies in the currency exchange market use different standards to set their profit margins. The currency trading market is constantly changing, so it's difficult to know exactly how much companies charge, because it is often masked by changes in the exchange rate. Newspapers and other publications post a daily rate of exchange for the most popular currency pairs, but the values posted may not be accurate. The rates that are published are not real-time rates; they just give you an idea of the value of the currency pair, not what they're worth now. Since all exchanges happen at a specific point in time, it's important to do some research before you pick a company to help you exchange currency. With some advanced planning you can develop an exchange strategy that will save you money every time you travel.
Today's global economy has made the currency exchange market a profitable enterprise for companies who use subtle marketing strategies to entice travelers to exchange with them. Banks, credit card companies, airport merchants, hotels, exchange houses, and brokers all now use the Internet to streamline exchanges through modern technology. Some banks are able to get special rates that increase their profit margins. Credit card companies add extra fees and surcharges to credit card transactions. Airport merchants and hotels add hidden fees to posted rates, which can add as much as 20 percent to the cost of an exchange.
With that in mind, here are a six important currency travel tips that will save you money:
- #1. Be aware of how the exchange market operates. Do some research online or contact a currency broker and ask how the exchange market works. For example, the posted rate for an exchange between the USD and the Pound may be $1USD equals £0.54.42, but the bank or exchange merchant may be getting £0.57.42 for the actual exchange. The £0.03 difference is profit, plus they also may add another 3 percent fee to the exchange, so the exchange can cost you 10 percent or more depending on the actual rate. Credit card companies do the same thing, and then add more fees to the exchange, so you may pay an extra 15 to 20 percent for every exchange.
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October 14, 2009
Travel Q&A: Away.com Readers Need Your Help!
Here are Away.com, we receive dozens of questions each day from readers looking for help planning their travel. Can you help? Here are five recent submissions that we need help answering. If you have advice, we'd welcome your input!
Q: We're driving to Mount Rushmore in May 2010. What's the weather like at that time and does anyone know of any good local hotels? Answer this question
Q: We are planning a trip to the Boston area, including a couple of days in Martha's Vineyard. What's the weather like in early November? Also, any must-see towns and attractions between Boston and M.V.? Answer this question
Q: Is there anywhere to snorkel off the beach in Puerto Vallarta? I'm a relative newcomer to snorkeling so need somewhere safe and shallow in which to practice. Answer this question
Q: Can anyone recommend some kid-friendly attractions in the Mount Washington area of New Hampshire? Answer this question
Q: I'm planning a solo road trip from Tennessee to Grand Teton and Yellowstone. Does anyone know of cheap hostels and good/safe camping? Answer this question
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September 24, 2009
Top Five Tips From a Five-Month Family Road Trip
A family of five stuck together in an RV for five months? Most people shake their heads and have one question: "Why on earth would you want to do that?" When the economy started to falter, my husband's real-estate development company began to follow suit. Hard as it might be to believe, a feeling of excitement is what I felt, followed by a sharp stab of guilt. I quickly realized that the excitement was really just a feeling of overwhelming opportunity. With change, good or bad, comes opportunity if you look for it. Time is a precious commodity and we found ourselves in a rare moment where we actually had time, and we knew it may never come again. The moment seemed even more perfect because of the ages of our three children (11, 8, and 6). After eager thoughts of moving to another country were shot down by my husband, we arrived at a shared enthusiasm for hitting the road to explore all that this great country has to offer. An RV was our chosen method of travel. We created a website to help communicate about the experience at FamilyOffTrack.com.
After five months in an RV with a family of five, here are five tips that I'm sure can help any family road trip.
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September 03, 2009
How to Get the Best Travel Advice on the Web
Hmong villagers in Lao Cai Province, Vietnam (Skip Nall/Digital Vision/Getty)
Getting travel advice the "old-fashioned" way used to require stepping out on the smoker's balcony at your backpacker's hostel and joining the conversation (cigarette or not). That philosophy—talking to your fellow travelers—still applies once you're on the road, but these days it's even easier to get advice via the Internet, plus share your wisdom once you return. And now with the explosion of social media, a new and almost bottomless layer has been added, offering the ability to tap your network of connections and seek advice from people whose opinions you probably trust even more than guys named Arthur Frommer and Rick Steves.
Which gets us to the current problem: Information overload and too much choice. Where do you start? Which sources of travel information are even worth the effort? It's enough to (almost) make you yearn for the days when you could set off with little more than a round-trip ticket in hand, vague itinerary in mind, and a vagabonding spring in your step.
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August 18, 2009
Budget Accommodations: The New Way to Travel
SWEET DIGS: A Paris apartment for rent (courtesy, HomeAway)
In today’s dire economy, travelers with all types of budgets are looking for ways to trim back on their travel expenses. Even if you usually prefer to bed down in a Four Seasons or a Fairmont, finding cheaper accommodation is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. But just because you’ll no longer find mint chocolates on your pillow doesn’t mean you have to scrimp on comfort and safety. In fact, now’s a great time to try out some alternative approaches to finding vacation lodging, approaches that will not only save you money but that will also offer interesting cultural interactions that your usual hotel accommodations can't match.
Couch Surfing
Ever since couples have been fighting, and friends have crashed after a long night out, there have been couch surfers. The idea is simple: If you have a couch, you've also got a place to host someone for the night. However, fairly recently, couch surfing has extended beyond the friend’s couch to strangers’ homes in foreign countries. According to couchsurfing.org, the purpose of couch surfing is “to internationally network people and places, create educational exchanges, raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance, and facilitate cultural understanding." It may seem a bit strange—even somewhat scary—at first glance, but travelers have direct access to locals and their knowledge of a destination, and couch surfers and hosts are vetted and vouched for. Even more fabulous, couch surfing is totally free. And in this economy, that’s just too good to pass on.
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August 03, 2009
Sea Turtle Nesting: Viewing Tips
Erosion on Bald Head Island, North Carolina, eliminating important sea turtle nesting habitat (Jeff Janowski/courtesy, Oceana)
In my post on July 24 about where and how to observe female sea turtles laying their eggs on beaches around the world, I warned that sea turtle populations are becoming endangered as their habitats become less and less safe for them. Here are some tips for how you can be a conscientious observer if you do happen to be lucky enough to catch this wonderful event in their life cycle. Help us defend and protect sea turtles and their nesting sites!
1. The best time to view nesting females or hatchlings emerging is late at night. Turtle tracks—wide indents in the sand similar to a single tire track—may lead you to a nesting site, though females may stop and dig several times before settling on the perfect location. Don't disturb the tracks.
2. Don’t shine white lights on nesting beaches at night. Nesting mothers and hatchlings use moonlight to locate the ocean and can become confused by other sources of illumination. When you’re searching for sea turtles at night, cover your flashlight in red cellophane. Sea turtles can’t see the red spectrum, so you won’t disturb them. And if you own beachfront property, turn off your porch lights at night, or cover them in red cellophane, too.
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July 30, 2009
Annapolis: The Perfect Day Trip
Storefronts and boats at City Dock, Annapolis (Karen Chen)
If you live anywhere within a few hours drive from Annapolis, Maryland, I'd highly recommend taking a weekend or day trip there. The charming city is the state's capital, but surprisingly, does not rank as one of the state's ten largest cities. Instead of a booming metropolis, it's a slice out of a time past, with colonial brick buildings and churches, sailboats floating in the harbor, quiet streets lined with quaint rowhouses and brick sidewalks, and one main street spanning only about four short blocks that's perfect for shopping for souvenirs or knick-knacks, people watching, or making a pit stop for homemade ice cream or fudge. A city of about 37,000 people, Annapolis is small enough to explore on foot, and parking is exceptionally easy to find. Here are some suggestions for some things to do and places you'll want to check out while in the city:
- One great (and green!) way to traverse the city is by bike. Free Wheelin' offers free bike rentals from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. seven days a week, from June 1 to October 1. They're located at the Harbor Master's office at City Dock, above the Visitor Information booth. And even better than free bike rentals? Free bus rides! All Free Wheelin' customers get to ride any Annapolis Transit bus for free as well; all buses have bike racks. Be sure to explore the quaint side streets—you'll find interesting stores and cozy neighborhoods you wouldn't otherwise notice.
- Situated on the Chesapeake Bay, the city is perhaps most famously known as the "Sailing Capital of the World" and boasts a rich maritime heritage. It's nice enough just to stroll along the docks and admire the regal sailing vessels anchored in the harbor, but there are tons of ways to get on the water, too. Dozens of companies rent sailboats and/or kayaks, or board a ferry for a guided tour around the Chesapeake. Check the Annapolis tourism website for all the different options.
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July 22, 2009
Take Care of Your Feet at the Beach
True confessions of a flip-flop aficionado: I love flip-flops. I’m a fanatic. I’ve loved flip-flops since I had my first pair as a child growing up in a mountain town where they were totally inappropriate and rubbed blisters between my toes. I have dozens of pairs and still cannot resist new styles, brand names, or good sales. Whenever I'm at home or going to the beach, you'll find a pair of flip-flops glued to my feet.
Now, having rolled out this confession, I implore you to wear flip-flops, too.
Pavement is sometimes scorching hot from the sun, parking lots or driveways may consist of loose gravel, and sand at some beaches in the middle of high season is often so hot it can burn. And there's plenty of sharp and foreign objects that can be found along the way from your home to the beach. Broken glass can unfortunately be found on sidewalks, in parking lots, or in the sand. Seashells wash up on the beach and often have sharp edges. Sand spurs, a type of tiny prickly weed sprinkled in the sand along some coasts, can be hidden and can hurt your feet. Boardwalks are often made of made of wood and can have sharp splinters. We wouldn’t walk on any of this at home without shoes. Why would we walk on it at the beach? It’s unwise and unsafe.
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