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By admin, March 10, 2010 4:03 am

Elvis Preston King
307

Why Elvis Preston King the NEW King Takes Cruise Vacations with His Dream Girls!
There is nothing like a cruise to please Elvis and his top dream girl all at the same time.
Number one Elvis Preston King never takes diving trips. It’s too dangerous and Elvis thinks his chauffeur is a lousy driver! And for sure if other drivers were to come face to face with Elvis and one of his stunning 18 year old dolls he could cause a deadly accident or at the very least a traffic jam backed up for hours!
Elvis likes how you check your bags at the port and the Magic Wizard whizzes them to his room before he get to his suite. Elvis only accepts suite rooms with a balcony which he says is really romantic for his girls!
Elvis likes tradition, Elvis likes elegance and to be treated like Royalty. After all Elvis Preston King is the NEW King and he is today’s Royalty. He expects to be treated that way. On the RIGHT CRUISE he gets such treatment.
Some times Elvis likes to dress up in his Tuxedo and reminisce when he was the King of Rock and Roll. The formal dinner is the only way Elvis likes to dine. Although he has been known to ask for room service and order the buffet but private in his room. Also he loves it when the chef cooks his peanut butter and fried banana sandwich and sends it up to his room in lieu of the midnight buffet.
On one cruise Elvis broke down and sang “Are You Lonesome tonight?in a lounge and caused a commotion still talked about to this day on this particular cruise line. Oh yes Elvis has a disguise. But you can see it is really him if you look closely. He is graying and fat but it’s him alright.
Remember how Elvis had to rent the whole movie theatre to go to a movie. Well now he goes widely unnoticed at the movies on a cruise ship and he loves going to the movies on his cruise vacation most of all!
To find out which cruise you can catch Elvis Preston King on you need to do a Google search for future articles by Elvis Preston King the New King!
Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at seniorplayboy1@yahoo.com

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By admin, March 8, 2010 4:03 am

Stephen Schochet
43
12:30:19

During the silent era it was thought a waste of money to make a movie with more than one star. Personalities like Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton were considered potent enough box office on their own. But with dwindling attendance during the great depression MGM decided to feature Hollywood’s first all star ensemble cast in Grand Hotel (1932) starring the mammoth egos of Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery, John Barrymore and Greta Garbo. The director Edmund Goulding was unable to let Joan Crawford and Garbo have any scenes together for fear they might try to upstage each other. Although she complimented her Swedish co-star’s beauty, Crawford hated Garbo’s demands for top billing. Knowing that Greta hated tardiness and Marlene Dietrich, Crawford was constantly late and played Dietrich’s records loudly on the set.
Crawford had another classic encounter with rival Bette Davis on the set of Whatever Happened To Baby Jane (1962). Betty, knowing that Joan was the widow of Alfred Steele, the former head of the Pepsi Corporation, had a Coke dispenser brought in for the cast and crew. When Joan was late Bette, an often nasty woman but a total pro, would proclaim loudly,” Is the Widow Steele ready yet?” Joan retaliated by lining her dress pockets with weights so in a scene when Davis had to drag Crawford’s nearly dead character across the floor, she almost broke her back.
Male stars don’t always get along either. On location in Japan, for the filming of The Teahouse Of The August Moon (1956), Glenn Ford paid a visit to his co-star Marlon Brando’s dressing room. “Marlon did you eat one of the chocolate chip cookies my wife sent me?”. “No I didn’t Glenn.” “OK.” Ford hesitated at the door. “Marlon, all you to do was ask, you didn’t have to take one.” Ford left to shoot his next scene giving the infuriated Brando time to go into Ford’s dressing room and smash the remaining cookies with a sledgehammer.
Another Ford, Harrison, had a dustup with Brad Pitt during the making of The Devil’s Own (1996). At first Pitt was excited to be working with the older actor, but his enthusiasm waned as the script focus moved away from his sympathetic young Irish killer to Ford’s middle-aged, happily married policeman. Ford perhaps threatened by the younger star, accused Pitt of trying to be an apologist for the IRA. The film was delayed almost every day for hours as Pitt, Ford and director Alan Pakula would argue about the script. The budget skyrocketed to over ninety million, became a box office failure and led to Columbia Pictures head Mark Canton, being fired. During the production when the two had stars had fight scenes together they took out their frustrations by landing real blows.
An all star male cast can make it hard to stand out. Steve McQueen had been so desperate to appear in The Magnificent Seven (1960), he had intentionally crashed a car and used his minor injuries to temporarily get out of his television series Wanted Dead Or Alive (1958-1961). He snuck down to Mexico while he was “recuperating” to work on Magnificent. His new challenge was how not to be overshadowed by the movie’s star Yul Brynner. The colorful, bigger than life Brynner was actually five foot nine (same as McQueen) and concerned about his height on screen. For the first scene between Chris (Brynner) and Vin (McQueen) the Swiss Mongolian actor built a hill of dirt that would allow him to tower over his co-star. But Steve kept blowing his lines. Before each new take he would kick some dirt out from underneath Yul’s hill. By the time he got the scene right Brynner was nearly standing in a hole.
Sometimes the most petty arguments will break out between male stars and their leading ladies. A tender scene in the Bishop’s Wife (1947) was delayed because Cary Grant and Loretta Young couldn’t face each other. Both insisted that their left profiles were more their more photogenic half and strongly pushed for that position in front of the camera. After the standoff lasted a few hours the furious producer Sam Goldywn came down to the set and shouted,” If I photograph only half, I pay only half!” The problem was solved with Young gazing out the window and Grant coming up from behind, placing his arms around her and gently resting his chin on her shoulder, so both left profiles remained in full view.
Ten years later Grant fell in love his leading lady Sophia Loren while making Pride And Passion (1957). Their co-star Frank Sinatra got extremely jealous. Trying to make friends Loren explained to Sinatra in Italian that she was worried about her English for upcoming publicity interviews. As usual the devil took over Sinatra. He advised her to use foul language in every sentence. Especially the “F” word which was a term of endearment to Americans. When Sophia conducted her first press conference the shocked reporters asked her where she learned to speak like that. After a few good belly laughs, she was advised to make Cary Grant her new English teacher.

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By admin, March 6, 2010 4:02 am

Susanne Pacher
1081

Being the architecture buff that I am, I have really been looking forward to checking out Toronto’s free architecture festival: Doors Open. A few years ago I went to Chicago with a few friends for a May long weekend, right at the time when Chicago’s architecture festival was on, and I am really happy that Toronto now has an architecture festival of its own.
The architectural period I am most fascinated with is the Jazz Age and the early part of the Great Depression, the era of the Roaring Twenties and the much less roaring Thirties, when the Art Deco skyscraper really came of age.
So it was only fitting that my good friend Shauna, another aficionado of Art Deco, and I would pick a few beauties dating back to that era from the 144 buildings that opened their doors to the public for free. We started with the Beaux-Arts / neoclassical Canada Life Building, built on University Avenue, Toronto’s biggest thoroughfare.
At 17 stories it was the tallest building when it opened in 1931. We admired the lobby with its thousands of decorative details, guilded ceilings and marble floors and columns. Then we took the elevator up to the 17th story Tower Room, a rather small room with windows on 3 sides and beautiful views of downtown Toronto, that previously was used as a boardroom.
The final touch was the “Canada Life Environmental Room?in the newer Canada Life Building next door which houses a variety of plants and aquatic creatures along walls made from lava rock. It looks like a tropical rain forest and is a joint project with the University of Guelph to study the effect of plants on indoor air quality. Quite a serene place that is used for meetings, presentations and even weddings.
Just about 10 minutes away at 320 Bay Street we visited the next architectural beauty: the Canada Permanent Building, also constructed between 1928 and 1930. It features Classical Revival Styling with Art Deco influences and the visually astounding Banking Hall with its marble floors, high ceilings, and Art Deco chandeliers, reproductions that were hand-crafted from photographs as the original chandeliers were lost when the building closed. The Safety Deposit Vault with its exquisitely crafted brass gates, is also accessible, it has now been turned into a conference room. Last but not least, we admired the elevator doors that are decorated with bas-relief brass panels, showing a variety of mythical figures, as well as an original mail chute from the 1930s, the only such mail chute in Toronto still in active use today.
Our next stop was the Design Exchange, actually the former Toronto Stock Exchange Building. It was completed in 1937 and shows a much stronger Art Deco and Streamlined Moderne influence. The masterpiece of streamline design is the Inco Staircase, constructed in stainless steel with lacquered birch handrails. A very interesting feature is the suspended light fixture with vertical fluorescent tubes behind ribbed transparent panels.
The most spectacular portion of the Design Exchange is the former Toronto Stock Exchange trading floor. It features 8 giant murals, 4 on the west and 4 on the east side, painted by Canadian artist Charles Comfort, which portray topics from the 1930s such as transportation & communication, pulp & paper, construction & engineering, agriculture, the oil industry, mining, nickel and gold production. The Trading Floor has rounded ceiling corners and triple banding that stretch around the room.
We walked one floor up from the Trading Floor and saw an interesting exhibition on examples of low-cost yet effective Canadian architecture, showing recent public buildings (libraries, university buildings, community centres) that were built at half or even one third the cost per square foot of an average condominium building (C$303 per square foot). Behind the PSF exhibition we also visited the “TSA Poster Competition” which exhibits entrants in the Toronto Society of Architects poster competition celebrating May as Architecture and Design Month. On the north side of the building we also visited the only permanent collection of modern Canadian industrial design in the country where we admired post-war designs of tea kettles, chairs and furniture, thermos bottles, Tupperware dishes, electric frying pans and various other household items. It was funny seeing a lot of these items in a museum setting since a lot of them can still be seen in active use in Canadian households today.
Our final stop was Commerce Court, a monumental 34 story building that opened in 1930. The majestic banking hall with its beautiful ceiling was closed and we couldn’t get in but we nevertheless got a taste of this amazing architectural gem through the locked glass doors.
Since it had started to rain and we had no umbrellas, we headed underground again, into “PATH? downtown Toronto’s underground walkway linking 27 kilometres of shopping, services and entertainment. PATH connects about 1,200 retail shops and services and more than 50 buildings / office towers. 20 parking garages, 5 subway stations, 2 major department stores, 6 major hotels, and a railway terminal are also accessible through PATH.
We reached our underground parking at Royal Thomson Hall in the climatized comfort of this underground network of walkways without experiencing a single drop of rain. We both had a fabulous time on our treasure hunt for architectural jewels from the 1930s, thanks to Doors Open.

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By admin, March 4, 2010 4:03 am

Donald Saunders
539

Jet lag is a common sleep disorder suffered by many millions of travelers every day, whether traveling on business or for pleasure. In one recent survey of international business travelers, seventy four percent of those questioned said that they suffered frequently from jet lag.
Jet lag affects people of all ages, although its symptoms vary widely from person to person and tend to be more severe the older you get. Jet lag symptoms also tend to be worse if you are already suffering sleeping difficulties in advance of traveling.
Jet lag also increases with the number of time zones crossed during your journey. If the time difference between your starting point and destination is just two or three hours, then you are likely to experience little or no jet lag. However, once your journey extends across more than three time zones you will begin to experience the symptoms of jet lag, which will tend to worsen as the number of time zones increases.
So what causes jet lag?
Jet lag is caused by a significant and rapid change in time zones which result in a difference between the local time and the time recorded by your body’s internal clock.
Let’s say that you leave London at 11 o’clock on a Monday morning flying to Bangkok. The flight lasts twelve hours and you arrive in Bangkok at 11 o’clock that same evening London time. However, because you have flown across several time zones the local time in Bangkok is five o’clock on Tuesday morning.
By the time you’ve cleared immigration and customs and taken a taxi to your hotel, it’s probably getting on for seven thirty in the morning and breakfast is being served at the hotel. However, as far as your internal body clock is concerned, it’s still only one thirty in the morning and your body wants nothing more than to crawl into bed.
Your body contains its own internal clock which takes its time from the environment responding to such things as temperature, humidity and, most importantly, the normal daily change from daylight to darkness. These environmental factors cause your own body clock to run, much like your mantle clock, on a series of twenty four cycles, often referred to as your body’s circadian rhythms.
Much as our lives are controlled by time today, your body clock is also responsible for many of your body’s functions. In particular, your body clock tells your body when it is time to shut down for sleep and when it is time to wake up and start the day’s activities.
By flying across several time zones and placing your body clock out balance with local time you upset the whole rhythm of your day, giving rise to such things as problems sleeping at night, staying awake during the day and eating when you wouldn’t normally eat. This, in turn, leads to jet lag.
Copyright 2005 Donald Saunders ?http://help-me-to-sleep.com

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By admin, March 2, 2010 4:08 am

Chris Robertson

Traveling is one of life’s greatest adventures. It can bring joy to the heart and peace to the soul. Unfortunately, traveling can be an expensive proposition, and one that makes adventurous vacations out of reach for many people. When you take advantage of wholesale travel packages, though, you can go on cruises, relax at resorts, luxuriate in the best accommodations at hotels, and fly with airfares that will make your friends jealous.
Wholesale travel can encompass a variety of vacation experiences. You can stay at resort properties, condo properties, timeshare properties, privately owned properties, vacation homes, or coastal beach homes. The keys to finding great wholesale travel opportunities are understanding how the tourism industry operates and having flexibility in your travel plans.
For example, when you call a resort and ask for room rates, you’ll most likely be quoted what are called “rack rates.” These are the non-discounted rates that resort properties can charge when they’re almost booked to capacity. In reality, though, resort properties aren’t usually full, and rooms are perishable commodities. If a room goes empty for a night, that represents lost income that the resort can never regain. Wholesale travel packages take advantage of this phenomena and book blocks of rooms at non-peak periods to get the best rates. The resorts readily agree because they need to fill the rooms and they know that guests will spend money on ancillary products, such as restaurant charges, room service, and gift shop purchases.
The same holds true for cruise ships. The ship will sail whether it’s at 80 percent capacity or 100 percent capacity. It behooves the cruise line to offer wholesale travel packages to operators in order to fill the cabins before the ship sets sail.
Other types of destinations work under the same principle, which is why wholesale travel is possible across the board. When looking into purchasing wholesale travel packages, here are some things to consider.
Expiration Dates: Many wholesale travel operators use the voucher system, and some vouchers have expiration dates. Before making a commitment, find out how quickly the vouchers expire, and make sure that the company has a low renewal fee in order to extend the life of the vouchers.
Transferable Vouchers: Some companies do not allow participants to transfer vouchers to friends and family members. When you work with a wholesale travel company, be sure to select one that allows you to transfer your vouchers to others.
Blackout Dates: The tradeoff in wholesale travel is that there are restrictions regarding when you can vacation. You can’t expect to select a popular destination and travel there during peak season. Before signing up for a wholesale travel package, be sure that your schedule is compatible with the travel date restrictions offered by the company.

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By admin, February 28, 2010 4:02 am

Kerri Salls
1218

Surveys are interesting. I took note of this one done recently by American Express because it backed up some data I learned at the (National Association of Female Executives) NAFE National Conference in May. According to the survey, 40% of the smallest business owners – those with less than $200,000 in annual revenues – are planning no vacation whatsoever this summer. But even business owners with higher revenues aren’t doing much better – only 75% of them expect to get away from the business this summer.
As we were told at the NAFE Conference, even those business owners who do get away from the office, won’t truly get away. Rather, one in three will link their vacation time to a business trip and 50% will still check in with the office at least once a day.
Why can’t business owners let go? What are the concerns that keep them tied to the business? According to the survey:
* An important client or customer will not receive appropriate service
* The business will miss out on a new opportunity
* There is no other competent person to leave in charge
* The individuals left in charge will make the wrong decisions
* An operational or equipment breakdown will occur without anyone to solve the problem
Such concerns are not surprising. It is hard for a business owner to take any type of vacation worry-free. But with planning, preparation and good leadership you can boost the enjoyment level of your time off to come back refreshed and ready to tackle new challenges and opportunities. Here are 8 steps to prevent vacation angst.
1. Make a plan – To avoid surprises, create a list of scenarios on your current projects and brief your staff on the possibilities and your major concerns about each client. Assign specific staff to each client/account so there is someone that clients can speak to who understands their concerns when you aren’t there.
2. Brief your key clients or customers – Offer them advance notice of any extended absence you are planning. There’s no reason to keep your vacation schedule a secret. Introduce them to your deputy and convey your confidence in their ability to handle any issues that may arise. If appropriate, consider letting them know how to reach you should a true emergency arise – not that one will because of all your pre-planning.
3. Leadership is being a delegator not a dictator – If you never delegate important tasks to others, you can’t expect them to be ready to fill your shoes when you want to take time off. To create a saner situation and build confidence that good things will happen when you aren’t there, learn to delegate responsibilities – divvy up those pieces that must still happen in your absence and postpone those that can wait for your return.
4. Strategically schedule your vacation time – Most businesses have a slow season or times of the year when the pace is slower, or at least a bit less crazy. Plan your vacations to coincide with those lulls.
5. Mini-Vacations – If you just can’t let go of the business for a whole week or two, or you can’t bear to be too far away from the office, try taking a few days out of town, or extend a weekend somewhere else. Even a brief escape from routine with a change of scenery can do wonders for your perspective and re-energize you.
6. Disconnect entirely – When you do take a vacation: turn off your cell phone, don’t bring the laptop, don’t check your email, don’t bring work with you and avoid the temptation to call or visit the office to “check up” on what’s happening. If there’s an emergency they can’t handle, they will find you.
7. Take time off to sharpen skills – If you just can’t justify taking time off to kick back and relax, then take time off to learn something new – business or personal. Taking continuing education courses at a local college or business school is a low-cost and effective way to break from your office routine, be with new people and try new things. Some programs are 3-5 days off-site if that fits your schedule better.
8. Keep your priorities straight – When you go through the exercise of listing the things you really care about, is your business really #1, 2, and 3? Outside of work, your priorities might be connecting with family and friends, spending time with kids, cultivating personal interests, staying healthy or pursuing an avocation. To regain balance in your life, you need to keep work, family and personal time in perspective. Those other priorities help you find more enjoyment in your time away from the business.
Let me know if these tips help you take a well-deserved vacation (or two) this summer.

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By admin, February 26, 2010 4:02 am

Charles Mohaney
1312

More than your average sailboat, mega yacht charters offer all the luxury of a five star hotel, more room than most city apartments around the world, and the freedom to go where you want without having to pack and unpack at every stop. In addition, mega yacht charters come fully staffed if you so desire making this one vacation you won’t need another vacation to recover from!
The Secrets to Affordable Yachting
Mega yacht excursion can run the gamut of prices. Some fully-loaded and staffed luxury yachts can cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single week. So how can the average person afford such luxury? The key is to make it a family affair, choose the right destinations, and time things to get the best rates. If you are willing to do some of the cooking, cleaning, and even sailing responsibilities yourself, you will find it even easier to afford a vacation at sea.
Most luxury motorboat vessels can accommodate dozens of people. If you have a large extended family or close friends that you enjoy travelling with then it’s easy to share the expense and make an affordable week-long trip. With six sleeping cabins, for example, you can accommodate up to six separate families. If the week’s voyage runs about $30,000 (an easy to find fare) then each family is only spending $5,000 for a week of luxury and exciting site seeing. You can hardly get into the Disney theme parks with a family of four for that!
Another way to cut costs is to choose a destination that is more contained. A trip through the Bahamas or Caribbean Islands will be more affordable than an excursion that spans the seas from one continent to another. Three or four days on this kind of cruise is easy to travel and visit many different ports representing several countries.
If you don’t hire a cook or cleaning crew, you can save on the rent as well. A trip from Miami to the Bahamas is short enough that you will not have to worry about major cleaning and can save money on housekeeping services.
The Advantages of Private Cruising
Mega yacht charters are unlike regular cruise ships. On commercial cruises there is a social element many people enjoy, but the private cruising really puts you in the captain’s chair. A professional captain does the navigating of course, but you are in charge of the destinations. You choose when you will depart and how long you will stay.
In addition to choosing the itinerary you also get to decide who will be seated next to you at dinner since a chartered cruise has only your invited guests. You can even choose the menu and select the wine, and when the day is done, you retire to a suite as luxurious as those found in the finest hotels.
Private quarters on a mega yacht charter means you won’t have to worry about lugging a suitcase from one vacation spot to the next. Your room goes with you everywhere! Most yachts of this calliper also have full sized baths, exercise facilities and several parlours for evening entertaining that never has to end.

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By admin, February 24, 2010 4:02 am

Cara Goldsbury
115
12:30:19

Can teens really have fun at a place like Walt Disney World? Absolutely! Actually, be prepared to have the time of your life. It’s a safe place to assert some independence from your parents, a place you’ll never forget. Here are some of the best experiences for teens at “The Most Magical Place on Earth”:
Have a Splashing Good Time at Disney’s Water Parks
For a blast of a time, head to one of Disney’s two water parks. Blizzard Beach has a melting alpine resort theme where chairlifts carry swimmers instead of skiers. It’s a place for daredevils to challenge wild, rushing water and death-defying slides including the Summit Plummet, a 120-foot slide reaching speeds of 60 miles per hour. Those a bit less adventuresome will love Typhoon Lagoon, a tropical fantasyland offering a wave pool with the tallest simulated waves in the world as well as a chance to snorkel among tropical fish, leopard and nurse sharks, and picturesque coral at Shark Reef.
Live it Up at Downtown Disney
After the parks close hop a bus from your Disney resort for a night on the town at Downtown Disney. Highlights include Disney Quest with five floors of interactive games, a 24-screen AMC Theater, a Cirque du Soleil show, and over 60 shops and restaurants. Favorite dining choices for the younger crowd are Planet Hollywood and Rainforest Caf? And definitely consider House of Blues where teens are allowed to attend some of the almost daily concerts in their live music venue next-door.
Cool Off at One of Disney’s Resort Pools
When your parents are wondering which resort to book for your Disney vacation, be sure and put your two cents in and steer them toward one with a great pool. Disney’s very best uniquely themed pools include the Yacht and Beach Club’s Stormalong Bay, a 3-acre mini-water park, the Swan and Dolphin’s lush, grotto-style lagoon pool, the boulder-strewn wonderland at the Wilderness Lodge with its very own erupting geyser, and the Volcano Pool at the Polynesian Resort with its luxuriant waterfall, smoking peak, and perfect views of Cinderella’s Castle.
Plan Some Watersport Fun
Disney’s Contemporary Resort is the place for water-ski, parasail, wakeboard, kneeboard, and jet-ski action under the guidance of a professional instructor. There’s nothing better than a bird’s-eye-view of the Magic Kingdom as you parasail high above the Seven Seas Lagoon. And the action down below on Bay Lake is a blast! For reservations call 407-WDW-PLAY up to 90 days in advance, and be sure to bring a parent along to sign a waiver to participate if you’re under age 18.
Pilot Your Own Boat
What could be more fun than renting a Sea Raycer, a 2-seater mini-power boat perfect for zipping around Disney’s waterways and lakes. It’s a great pastime for teens with a valid driver’s license (those under 18 must bring along a parent to sign a waiver). You’ll get the most bang for your buck at one of the resorts near the Magic Kingdom (the Contemporary, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, or Wilderness Lodge) where you’ll find miles of recreation on the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake.
Scuba and Snorkel at Epcot’s Living Seas
Scuba dive or snorkel in The Living Seas 5.7-million-gallon saltwater aquarium amid a variety of sharks, rays, fish, and turtles. Epcot’s DiveQuest Program along with the Seas Aqua Tour using a Scuba Assisted Snorkel unit (snorkelers swim on the surface with a built-in flotation device while breathing compressed air from a regulator attached to a small tank) are two of the most exciting behind-the-scenes tours offered in all of Walt Disney World. Dives include all equipment, but be sure to bring a bathing suit. DiveQuest is open to certified divers, but those ages 14 and under need to dive along with a parent or guardian. The Seas Aqua Tour is open to participants under age 18 as long as they are accompanied by a participating adult. Call 407-WDW-TOUR for reservations.
Surf’s Up at Typhoon Lagoon
“Hang 10″ before park opening hours in the 2.75-million-gallon wave pool (some waves as high as 6 feet tall!) under the guidance of professional instructors with surfboards provided. Guests must furnish their own transportation to the park since Disney buses are not up and running that early in the morning, and those under age 18 must have a signed waiver from their parents to participate. Call 407-WDW-PLAY for reservations up to 90 days in advance.
White-Knuckle Riding at Richard Petty Driving Experience
Lying next to the Magic Kingdom is this speedway where white-knuckle rides in a NASCAR Winston Cup–style race car are offered. If you are at least 16 you can participate in the Ride-Along Program where you’ll ride shotgun at speeds of up to 145 mph for three laps around the track with an experienced instructor (riders 16 or 17 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian). Even more exciting, those ages 18 and older can drive the car themselves after an introductory class. If you just want to observe you can do so for no charge. Call 800-BE-PETTY for advance reservations.
Head for a Theme Parks
Last but certainly not least are the theme parks. If you’re staying on Disney property it’s a cinch to board a monorail or a Disney bus and head out to the parks on your own.
At the Magic Kingdom you’ll find all the old nostalgic favorites like Space Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean. And don’t forget to head straight to Splash Mountain, an unforgettable ride that ends in a plunge over a 5-story waterfall! Epcot’s main attractions for fun-loving teens are Mission Space, a hair-raising rocket into space, and Test Track where you’ll speed through hairpin turns and then barrel outside onto a high-speed banking loop at over 60 mph. At Disney-MGM Studios you’ll be floored by Rock ‘N?Roller Coaster and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, both a thrill a minute. Then there’s the Animal Kingdom where a trip around the African savanna at Kilimanjaro Safaris and back in time 65 million years at Dinosaur are quite the adventure.
Super thrill seekers should plan a day at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure where attractions like the Incredible Hulk Coaster, Dueling Dragons, and The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman will leave your heart pounding.
So do you still think Disney is just for kids? I bet you can’t wait to pack your bags. And don’t forget to thank your parents on your return home for taking you to one of the most exciting places on the planet.

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By admin, February 22, 2010 4:02 am

David Goldschmidt
942

Haven’t discovered the secret of vacation rental properties? They make the best kind of ‘home base?for that family vacation. The advantages are many, but the most important to us include:
More space ?On a family vacation, everyone just needs their space. Just about any vacation rental will be larger than a mid-priced hotel room. And many will give you more room to spread out than even those now popular ’suites?hotels. Let the property size on many vacation rental web sites listings be your guide.
Less expensive ?On a weekly basis, many vacation rentals are far less costly than a hotel room. Unlike hotels, private rental property owners don’t have the overhead expenses associated with restaurants, clubs, large ad budgets, etc. In terms of size, luxury, amenities and location, your dollar goes much farther with a vacation rental. Displaying the lowest and highest rates for each property, as well as different rate periods and owner specials, GreatFamilyRentals.com makes it easy to find the rental property that’s perfect for your budget.
Variety – Feel like once you’ve seen one hotel room, you’ve seen them all? We know the feeling ?it seems like once inside, you could be just about anywhere! There’s only so much that you can do with a big building split up into hundreds (or sometimes thousands!) of little rectangular rooms. But like your home, there’s absolutely no limit to the variety of vacation rentals available. Exotic location or in-town, slope-side or villa on the coast, there’s no end to the choices you have.
Kitchen ?We know vacations are all about not cooking all the time, but sometimes you just don’t want to clean up the kids and venture out. Kitchens are one of the most popular aspects of vacation rentals, because you have complete flexibility to dine whenever and wherever you want. Many families stay in for breakfast (who wants to get dressed?) and lunch, and head out to a local restaurant for dinner. That’s a great blend of convenience and cost, while still sampling local cuisine. Think about your vacation budget beyond just your lodging ?an equipped kitchen on your next vacation can be economical as well.
Convenience and flexibility ?With many vacation rentals, it is easier to come and go as you please, throughout the day. No big hotel security or parking hassles. Also, property owners usually provide cookware, dishes and utensils, as well as a host of entertainment and communications amenities you won’t find in hotel rooms. You might even be able to travel lighter. With the most complete listing criteria available, GreatFamilyRentals.com tells you just about anything you’d want to know about a vacation rental.
Deal with a local expert – The owner. Owners are an invaluable asset when it comes to making a good vacation, great. Dealing directly with the owner provides you with more accurate information about the place you’re going to stay. You’ll also get loads of local insider information about the area. Where to fish, where are some tennis courts, where is a decent restaurant that welcomes kids, etc. Owners will tell you about the attractions, activities and dining options they feel best represents their area. Sure, hotels might have some menus you can look through at the front desk, but we’ve often wondered about the impartiality of the accompanying advice. Don’t just vacation like a local ?be one.
So don’t spend that next vacation in an anonymous ‘McHotel?again. Join the thousands of families that make vacation rental properties the place they stay for a great vacation!

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By admin, February 20, 2010 4:03 am

Joe Collinsworth
1627

You need to get away, but don’t have the time or money to take a week or two off to head to your favorite destinations. Many people count out taking a weekend and heading to a semi-local vacation spot that allows them to get away, relax, enjoy time alone or together, and find romance, rest, fun, or whatever it is you are looking for in a vacation.
The beauty of weekend getaways is that you can travel on a budget and not miss work, kids activities, and so forth. For a few years while in school, my wife and I never had enough time or money to take a full fledged trip, so we would take little weekend trips a few times a year experiencing more types of travel than if we had taken one big trip.
So, we have put together a simple list of weekend getaways that you can print out and enjoy immediately. Many of the ideas we mention are generalized to any area of the world, however we will mention various locations that are close to where we live as examples. Use your imagination to brainstorm destinations that are within driving range and quite affordable.
1. Romantic Getaways: These are usually at the top of the list. With anniversaries, holidays, romantic events, and so on always around the corner, we need to be on our toes to come up with fresh ideas to sweep our significant others off their feet and keep the romance going. Rent out a bed and breakfast in a small town, grab a hotel in a romantic city like Paris, head to Las Vegas and enjoy all it has to offer. Romantic spots are as creative as you make them.
2. Sporting Events: Big sporting events like March Madness coming up is always fun. An example is two of my best friends for Valentines Day are traveling a couple hours to our state capital to watch the state high school basketball championships. Spring training is coming up for baseball and is always in a warm location. You have racing, football, golf, the Olympics, baseball, the major horse racing events like the Kentucky Derby. The list goes on and on.
3. Camping: This is a cheap vacation that can be fun, romantic, and adventurous. Combine camping with white water rafting or go hiking or without being too adventurous, rent a cabin in the woods and get away from society all together.
4. Theme Parks: One year we traveled to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio and enjoyed a day at the theme park and the night at Put-n-Bay on Lake Erie. Also, we live near Kings Island in Cincinnati, Ohio and many people travel from all over to spend a couple of days enjoying the attractions there. There are theme parks everywhere and are a great way to have some fun while enjoying an array of activities. If you aren’t close to Disney World or Disneyland, then think of a closer location.
5. Famous vacations spots: Las Vegas comes to mind. We enjoy traveling to Gatlingurg, Tennessee and spending a couple days in a cabin, shopping, eating, and hanging out. New York, San Diego, anywhere in a 6 hour driving time to your home can be perfect. Just write down a few places within that circle and pick one.
6. Beaches: Unfortunately, we don’t live within a few hours of a beach, but many people do. A great weekend getaway to enjoy the walks on the beach, dinner overlooking the ocean, beachfront hotel or villa, and all a beach vacation has to offer.
7. Festivals, Events, Concerts: Is there a musician playing in a town not too far away? What about a major event or festival? Pack the bags and head out for the weekend. Grab a hotel and head to this event. You’ll have a great time. We have done this many times and always have a good time.
This is just a short list of ideas. Pack your bags and just get away. You’ll come back feeling refreshed and ready to plan your next weekend getaway.
Have fun and tell us how your trip was!!