May 2009 Archives

If you're planning to stay in a hotel at all this summer, watching this segment done by a Houston TV station is certainly worth five minutes of your time.

It's pretty amazing just how easy it is for someone to get your personal information or room key.

The segment reinforces basic tips such as:
*Never announce your last name or personal information out loud.
*If a front desk clerk verbally tells you your room number or floor, ask for a different room and explain why.
*Be aware of your surroundings. If something feels funny, it's better to be safe than sorry.

What tips would you add for personal safety and security while traveling? Share by posting a comment.

My sister gave birth to her second little girl late last night. This morning, I stopped by the hospital to meet my new niece and see Lilyana's reaction to her new little sister, Lucia Beatriz. Here is a short video of Lily singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to Luci.

For those of you who enjoy collecting travels more than possessions, check out this list of the 100 Greatest Places to Stand on the Planet. Anyone can go to the site and vote for their favorite places through Dec. 1. Or, upload a picture of yourself visiting a particular spot.

I found it rather depressing to go through the list and realize that, at age 31, the only place I've been to is New York City's Times Square. And that was just in passing during a daytrip to the city -- not even for the big New Year's Eve celebration it's famous for (of course, I don't know that I'd deal well with such a crowd though).

I've come close to some others. Why didn't I take the trip to Angel Falls when I was studying abroad in Venezuela? If only I had more time in Argentina to get up to Iguazu... And neither of my trips to Ecuador have included Galapagos (very pricey).

Have you been to any of these places? What do you think of the list?

This came into my inbox the other day and I thought it was cute enough to share. It's the Pennsylvania Tourism Office's latest ad campaign.

"Peter Arthur Stories" is an original Web series about a 22-year-old guy who blows off a job interview to motor around the state in an orange scooter. He's in search of a waitress who served him a piece of outstanding piece of shoofly pie years ago.

The 26-minute story is broken into four six-minute segments. Through June 30, those who view the series can enter to win one of 12 weekend getaways the tourism office is giving away.

Check out all four episodes here. Then come back here and add a comment with your thoughts.

This is my dear friend Ana Paulina helping me figure out the mysterious Ikea assembly instructions with pictures like this on Friday.

There were a couple of points in the morning where I would have thrown my hands up in surrender had she not been there to calmly and logically get us past a perplexing step. But by mid-afternoon, we were going strong.

Saturday I actually assembled a cabinet on my own.

I also had to do some detective work to figure out how the cabinets on my purchase list matched the ones on my layout and how they matched up with the cubes in my dining room that all looked the same. None of the numbers seemed to match, so I had to do it by measurements and process of elimination.

My next challenge will be to figure out which loose pieces in my garage go inside of which cabinets for drawers and such and how to put the feet on the base cabinets.

Hopefully my adventures in kitchen renovations will soon be over!

This is an example of some vintage Pennsylvania tourism posters that will be on the auction block next week.

A series of poster lots showing rural Pennsylvania in the 1930s will be part of Swann Auction Galleries' annual spring modernist poster sale May 21. The auction gallery expects them to go for $700 to $1,500 each. Wow!

Do you have any old tourism memorabilia from this area? If so, snap a picture and send it to me for posting here.

I'm proud say that my posts of license plates and funny signs are inspiring readers of this blog to pay a bit more attention when they're out and about.

Here are two license plates that people have spotted recently and sent to me for posting here.This one was spotted by YDR religion reporter Melissa Burke during a morning run near mile marker 20 of the Heritage Rail Trail County Park in York. She said a lot of runners meditate while they run or get into a zen-like state.My sister Amy sent me this one she saw in the parking lot of Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill on her way to a checkup for my second niece, Lucia, who should arrive in the next few weeks!

Memorial Day -- the unofficial start of summer -- is just a couple of weeks away, and the travel forecasts have already been made.

Experts expect travel during Memorial Day weekend to be up from last year, but still not as robust as it was a few years ago.

As for the rest of the summer, things will still be slow. We might not have $4-a-gallon gasoline to deal with like last summer, but the housing market, layoffs and general economic malaise seem to be catching up with folks.

I wonder what this means? More backyard cookouts? Higher attendance at free community festivals such as Mechanicsburg's famous Jubilee Day? Skyrocketing memberships at local pools?

Been saving this one to publish today. Wonder if this was a present some Mother's Day past?

I just read this story that, after nearly eight years, the crown of the Statue of Liberty will finally reopen to the public on July 4. It was closed for security reasons after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

I say it's about time.

Of course, you better get there soon if you want to check it out -- they're planning to close it again in two years for renovations. Here's what I'm wondering: why couldn't they have done the renovations while they had it closed for security reasons?

What do you think about it? Have you been up in the statue? I haven't gotten there yet.

If you read this post from about two months ago, you'll recall that I am in the midst of a very not-fun adventure called kitchen renovation.

It's nowhere as fun as flying on a plane, kayaking on a stream or hiking a trail. But I embarked upon it hoping that -- like all those more fun adventures-- there will eventually be a payoff somewhere. A sunny destination, the relaxation of an afternoon on the water or a great view at the top of the climb.

This week -- after what seems like eons of dust and dirt and destruction and takeout -- I got my first glimpse of something good. A beautiful (and wonderfully level) floor covered with ceramic tile.

I think kitty likes it, too.

I only vaguely remember what it's like to have a kitchen, so I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to the day when I have appliances, counters, sink and table once again. Oh how glorious it will be!

Yesterday, friends and I spent the afternoon at Longwood Gardens' annual Wine & Jazz festival.

It was my first time at the festival, but not at the gardens.

I had been there a couple of years ago in August and enjoyed an evening fountain show where the fountains are choreographed to change color and spray in time to music.

This time, no dancing fountains, but tons and tons of blooming beds of tulips, climbing wisteria and other spring flowers. It was beautiful and got me in the mood to get outside and do some gardening of my own if the rain ever stops.

That's the neat thing about places like Longwood -- every season is different. I like this section on their Web site that lets you check out what's in bloom and on display when you plan to go.

Where are other good places to check out great displays of flowers and plants?

Aww, makes your heart go pitter-patter. Not a government plate, so I guess we can rule out this car as belonging to the state tourism director or some such?

This just in from the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds: "Many campgrounds and RV resorts are now investing in various green initiatives, both to help the environment and to help their bottom line. Studies show that consumers are more likely to patronize green businesses."

One local campground highlighted was the Elizabethtown / Hershey KOA in Elizabethtown.

The park is spending $150,000 to improve its swimming pool, which includes equipping it with Pentair Intelliflo pumps, which can slash energy consumption by 30 to 90 percent. The concrete from the old pool deck has also been recycled into fill, which will be used to extend several campsites to better accommodate big rigs.

Are you more likely to patronize a business if you know it is taking steps to protect the environment and save energy?