Issues: April 2009 Archives

U.S. health officials have declared a public health emergency because of the rapid spread of swine flu after an outbreak in Mexico. Some are encouraging people to avoid travel to Mexico because of it. Others say that's not necessary.

While I like to be safe and healthy when I travel, I wouldn't recommend that people with Mexico travel plans get too worked up about it.

First of all, unless you're traveling in the next few days, I'd suggest taking a wait-and-see approach rather than panicking and canceling your airline tickets now. What's news now may not be an issue by the time of your trip.

Other things to keep in mind:
*Mexico is a big country. Not all of it is affected.
*Cases have also been identified here in the U.S., including 28 in New York City.

Food for thought:
Would you consider canceling travel plans to NYC because of the cases there? I think travel to a foreign country can be scary sometimes and any bad news coming out of that country can increase pre-trip jitters. People think if they stay home, they'll be safer. As so many instances in recent years show, that's not necessarily true.

I'm eager to hear what others think, especially those with Mexico travel plans.

What? How could this be true?

That was my reaction when I read this story about how the popular tourist spot, Four Corners, might be off from the true location of where Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico intersect.

Now, folks upset over the blunder have found that the monument is actually only 1,807 feet -- the length of several football fields -- off target. Not 2.5 miles as originally believed.

Still, that's quite a bit of difference.

I'm a sucker for such designations.

I have pictures of myself from my high school days at Carowinds amusement park, one foot in North Carolina, one in South Carolina.

During college, while visiting a U.S. friend volunteering in Tijuana, Mexico, we marveled at how we were allowed on the other side of a see-through fence along a beach, but others weren't. Same sand, different rules.

In Quito, Ecuador, I stood in the northern hemisphere and shook hands with an Ecuadorian standing in the south.

I've never been to Four Corners, but if I had, I'd be even more upset that the people who made it popular didn't take time to do a little research ahead of time!

President Obama is pushing for high-speed rail to get moving in the United States.

My feelings? It's about freaking time.

Most other industrialized nations have had high-speed rail systems for years. We're way behind.

The idea been tossed around and suggested and proposed and promised so often that it's hard to believe it ever will become a reality.

Opponents cite the cost and complexity of creating such a system in a country as expansive as ours. I say, when has cost and complexity ever stopped America from doing something before?

What do you think?

While everyone loves a good pirate flick or pirate-themed party, the last thing you want during your pricey cruise vacation is for real, live pirates to show up.

Ever since Somali pirates took an American freighter captain hostage off the coast of Africa, cruise lines are taking steps -- albeit top-secret steps they don't want to talk about -- to protect passengers.

After all, real pirates aren't as fun as the ones in the movies.

In case you haven't heard, Obama is easing restrictions on family travel and remittances to Cuba by Cuban Americans.

While some are critical of the President's steps, others say a softening of relations -- and possible lifting of the decades-old embargo -- is the best way to encourage democracy in the Communist nation a stone's throw from Florida.

What do you think of the President's latest move? The reactions of Fidel and Raul Castro? The future of U.S. travel to Cuba?

The guys at YDR's York Common Cents business blog wrote about a new trend today that I thought was worthy of highlighting here: the Fur-cation.

It's the term travel companies are using to encourage people to take their furlough (unpaid time off) and use it for a vacation.

On the one hand, if you have enough money saved up, the time off could be a great opportunity to go somewhere. But, as Brent points out in his post, for most people, it's hard to justify spending money when you aren't making any!

What do you think of this? Do you know of anyone who has taken a fur-cation?