Sat, 05 Apr 2008 18:58:51 GMT

A Smarter Way To Visit Orlando

As summer approaches, your kids are no doubt dropping hints about a trip to Orlando. At the same time, the Orlando hotels are conspiring with seemingly good deals. However, if you're traveling with a bigger group, there's a better alternative. It's called a vacation rental.

"Hold off!" you say. "I can't afford those ritzy accommodations!" Surprise! Check out the great prices on Zonder's Orlando Vacation Rentals.

Why stay at chain hotel when you can get a villa for eight for $179?

Vacation rentals come with full kitchens. Think of the money you'll save on eating out. Think of the lines you won't have to wait on in the restaurants. But wait. It gets better. Thanks to Garden Grocer, you can have your groceries delivered to your vacation rental. It's enough to make a dolphin smile!

And speaking of dolphins, a big hug goes out to Seaworld Adventure Park Info for allowing me to use their spectacular photos!

Posted by: Lisa Marie Mercer      Read more     Source

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:52:39 GMT

Vacation Spot: Los Roques

Los Roques, Venezuela is a paradise on earth and one that has certainly wound up at the top of my list for vacation spots this year. Gorgeous coral reefs sparkle beneath clear, cool water in aqua and azure. With islands dotted about nearby lodging areas, you can even take advantage of ferry trips to nearby secluded spots like this one shown above. The Los Roques Archipelago National Park harbors a variety of wildlife in those waters, including 60 species of sponges, 61 species of corals, and 200 species of crustaceans. Posted by: Meieli Sawyer Detoni      Read more     Source

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 01:54:39 GMT

Ilhabela

Brazil's largest island and a slice of paradise, Ilhabela is perfect for hard-core divers who love the outdoors and can't get enough of diving amongst shipwrecks- there are 16 sunken boats along its coast to explore. Even though it was discovered in 1502 by Amerigo Vespucci, its land remains perfectly untouched and totally gorgeous. Rolling green hills, sparkling water, and yes, even monkeys start your trip off right.

The official site for Ilhabela is here, but you can find info in English by visiting the Virtual Tourist site.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net Posted by: Meieli Sawyer Detoni      Read more     Source

March 2, 2008, 8:26 PM CT

Ski tourism stressing capercaillie

Ski tourism is raising stress levels among capercaillie, which could harm the birds fitness and ability to breed successfully, ecologists have found. Writing in the British Ecological Societys Journal of Applied Ecology, researchers warn that forests should be kept free from tourism infrastructure if they are inhabited by capercaillie - a species whose numbers are declining markedly across central Europe.

The study by ecologists from Switzerland, Germany and Austria used a new technique to assess the impact of ski tourism on capercaillie. Working in the Southern Black Forest in Germany, they collected the birds droppings before and after the start of the ski season, and analysed them for levels of the breakdown products of the stress hormone corticosterone. They found that levels of the breakdown products of the stress hormone were significantly higher in birds living in areas with moderate or high levels of ski tourism.

One of the study's authors, Dr Lukas Jenni of the Swiss Ornithological Institute says: Ski tourism affects both habitat use and stress hormone levels in capercaillie, and this could adversely affect their body condition and overall fitness. Because of this, we recommend that managers keep forests inhabited by capercaillie free from tourism infrastructure and retain undisturbed forest patches within skiing areas......... Posted by: Betsy      Read more         Source

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 14:07:55 GMT

Saturday Matinee

This one is nice, though it suffers from the usual degradation of quality in the transfer to the internet. I guess the only way to get better quality video is to get a camera devoted to that, and since that would just be one more thing for me to carry about the forest, I probably won’t.

Seeing this makes me wish I were there right now. I’m hoping that the lake is even fuller than this.

Missouri calendar:

• Ducks and geese migrate north through mid-April.
• Harbinger of spring blooms in moist woods.

Wildflowers in bloom in March:

• harbinger of spring
• spring beauty
• hepatica rue anemone
• false rue anemone
• bloodroot
• rose verbena
• aromatic sumac
• pussytoes
• Dutchman’s breeches

Today in Missouri history:

• Central Methodist College in Fayette - the only one of its kind in Missouri - was incorporated on this date in 1855.

Posted by: Roundrockjournal      Read more     Source

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 01:47:36 GMT

Vacation Spot: Ithaa

If you love marine life but not necessarily being in the ocean, get in it without getting wet! The Ithaa Restaurant is plunked 15 feet under the Indian Ocean with a 260-degree view. The best part about the whole experience is that you'll never have to contend with crowds, since this exclusive experience seats just 12 people.

Step put onto the wooden ramp and descend into the depths via staircase, and then enjoy a Maldivian fusion cuisine that ranges from $187 to $220 per person. Yummy.

Conrad Maldives Rangali Island is part of the Conrad Hotels as of December 2007. Posted by: Meieli Sawyer Detoni      Read more     Source

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:17:53 GMT

Thanksgiving Weekend Getaways

It's Friday. Yesterday was filled with family chaos. Today is just leftovers and the start of a long weekend. Instead of lazing around letting the L-tryptophan get to you, maybe you should think about enjoying a fun weekend date. If you already know someone from online well enough to do the weekend thing, here are some ideas:

o Drive to the closest mountains or nature that you can find and rent a bed-and-breakfast or log cabin room for a couple of days.

o Get involved in a weekend volunteer project in a neighboring community. Thanksgiving is a time when many places put on events that volunteers can join in on. And doing that kind of work together can really build a bond.

o Check for cheap flights. Look online to find out where you can go right now at the lowest cost. Be wild!

o Know a family member or friend who is away visiting family all weekend? Ask to borrow their house for a getaway in your own hometown.

If you don't know someone well enough yet to getaway with them for the weekend, go on a day date instead. Thanksgiving is a great time to give thanks for what you've got while allowing yourself to dream about having a little bit more. Posted by: Kathryn Vercillo      Read more     Source

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 04:22:57 GMT

Gar Wood, the Enzo Ferrari of Powerboat Racing

When I was a teenager growing up in Toronto's Beach district I fell in love with the graceful and very fast wooden-hulled power launches operated by the Toronto Harbour Police. (Only once did I get to ride in one, when three of us overturned a sailing canoe a mile offshore at 6AM and had to be rescued. The police docks were located six miles away but that powerful craft reached us in nine minutes.) Similar boats owned by well-off cottagers could also be seen in the Muskoka Lakes, 100 miles to the north, made by local builders with then-famous names like Ditchburn, Greavette, and Minett. I especially remember one that had seen use as a pre-war racer. The hull featured a long deck with two seats at the stern, powered by a much-modified Packard V-12 engine that gave off a glorious sound as it skimmed across the water, rooster tail streaming out behind.

I was reminded of this when checking an article in The Garage Blog by Gary Faules in which he writes about Garfield Wood, a legendary powerboat builder whose Gar Wood and Baby Gar racers dominated many competitions in the early part of the 20th century. Powerboat racing during that period was so popular that close to half-a-million spectators lined the shores of the Detroit River in 1922 to watch the Gold Cup Regatta! The Garfield Wood story is fascinating and Gary does a fine job of reducing it to blog length.... not always easy. After you've read it, click on the Port Carling Boats site for a look at many examples of beautiful wooden powerboats built for racing and pleasure use. The site looks like it was designed by the same guy who decorates pawnshop windows but don't let that deter you. It's rich with photos, information, and links. Posted by: Philip Powell      Read more     Source

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 02:03:05 GMT

Touchous Tuesday

Could this be old goldenrod? It doesn’t seem likely since at the time I took this photo, there was still a little lingering yellow goldenrod on the forest fringe. Whatever it is, I like it because it is a sort of guidepost for the season. The beauty and abundance of the growing months are over. Now a leaner, more stark beauty will take hold for a while.

We did not make it down to Roundrock for our semi-traditional day-after-Thanksgiving visit and campfire. Other interests among the majority lead us in a different direction last Friday. The next chance for a visit will be this coming weekend, which will mean that the entire month of November has passed without a trip to the woods. I grit my teeth and face this gruesome reality, but it is nearly unbearable. You should all feel great pity for me.

As you know if you read Sunday’s post, I’m currently re-reading To Kill a Mockingbird. I love the narrative voice along with all of the other qualities of the book. Anyway, I came upon the word “touchous” on one of the pages (as I’m sure I had the three other times I’d read the book) and marveled at it. In context it meant “touchy” and I was glad to add it to my personal lexicon. It seems to be a regional word more commonly found in the Carolinas, eastern Tennessee and Kentucky (my idyllic boyhood summers were in western Kentucky), and West Virginia. These are all places that I have verified really do exist despite their unlikely sounding names. Curiously, I had come across the word “tetchy” in several of the Iris Murdoch novels I have read, and in context it has meant “touchous.” I love this kind of word migration.

Anyway, I feel a bit touchous since I haven’t been to the woods in so long.

Missouri calendar:

• The Missouri Natural Events Calendar is blank yet again, and that leaves me feeling tetchy.

Posted by: Roundrockjournal      Read more     Source

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 01:48:51 GMT

Stick figures

It snowed most of yesterday, small, wet flakes that stuck to everything, and this morning the water from my too-shallow well was faintly pink. On my way up to my parents’ house, a pair of small insects — caddisflies, or something similar — somehow found their way onto the toe of my right boot. They must have been mating in the snow when I picked them up. They were joined back to back, and walked in either direction quite ably, like the pushmi-pullyu in Doctor Doolittle.



I’ve written a couple new posts for the Plummer’s Hollow blog: Clash of the seasons today, and First snow two days ago.

I’ve also started a new writing exercise using the micro-blogging tool Twitter, which is designed mostly for people with mobile phones or Blackberries (I have neither) to post periodic updates on their activities. I won’t be doing that. Instead, I’m taking advantage of Twitter’s strict, 140-character limit, challenging myself once a day to answer the question, “What can I see or hear from my front porch while I drink my morning coffee?”

The results appear on my Twitter page, Twitter; in a feed that you can subscribe to, if you wish (you don’t have to join Twitter); and in the sidebar of Via Negativa’s home page, down below the blogroll feed, where I’ll limit the display to the ten most recent of these tweets, as they’re called.

Yeah, I know, the terminology is a little silly, but trust me: tweets and twitters make up the bulk of what I hear each morning.

It’s surprisingly difficult to condense a half-hour of observation into just 140 characters. My inspiration in this effort is Tom Montag, who kept a Twitter about his daily commute for many years, though he was never quite that brief. Long-time readers might also remember that back in November 2004 I blogged the results of Twitter I’d kept five years earlier. That effort ran out of inspiration after only a few weeks; I’m hoping to keep this up for a year.

Posted by: Vianegativa      Read more     Source