Archive for » April, 2010 «

Is it the Trip or the Destination?

Lacking a journey there would never be a destination…without a point of interest there would not be any reason to ever go on a journey. Your destination changes throughout your adventure but there is always another trip to take you to your next one. Enjoy every step of each trip across America and it will surely enhance all of your road trips.

Road Trips Can Bring Families Together
Turn off the phones, DVD players, radios, and try spending the time enjoying one another. Play board games without your electronics, use the great outdoors to help you decide which traveling games to play, there are so many available. During some of our drives with our grandson, we played the “Alphabet Game”. He knew his alphabet so he could join us us, the object was to go through the alphabet one letter at a time and find a word for each letter on signage somewhere along side the road. With this game, there is no winner, everyone plays together, it’s fun and much time and many rest stops go by before you get the age old, “Are We There Yet?”

Taking the Roads Less Traveled
Adding more adventure to your destination when you are able to see United States in a totally new way. Many roads other than the highways offer an appealing advantage and much less stress. You won’t be white knuckled and pressured as the row of semi’s pass by going well over the posted speed limits, rocking your rig back and forth while you try to maintain a good speed. What’s the rush anyway? It’s not always the destination that makes the trip memorable, it can also be the short stops in between, where you locate the perfect little American town to explore while stretching your legs. Local point of interest can be found on the internet during your trip planning using many rv park and campground directory websites.

Photos of the Destination are Not Always What You Anticipated
Viewing traveller photos of your American destination prior to arrival can help you decide what to expect but there are times when those picutres could not even begin to show the beauty of the place you are visiting. At other times those pictures you view could make the point of interest look nicer than it actually is when you see it for yourself. In the latter scenario, it will be much more bearable if you had a fun journey to talk about when sharing this adventure with your friends and family.

While On the Subject of Digital Photo Taking
Since using film is no longer an issue and taking hundreds of photos cost very little, this is a great time to discover this as an adventurous part of your journey. Give everyone the opportunity to take photos along the way, these photos will not always do the scenery any justice but the laughter and memories that some of them will bring into your lives will be cherished for a long time to come. There was a time when we gave our grandson the digital camera while we traveled and they took hundreds of photos of the landscape, mostly the inside of the vehicle including many self-portraits and surprise photos of us that we all laughed hysterically at when we later reviewed them.

We also have a few photo traditions that we continue to attempt during our trips, use your imagination and you will be able to find some of your own. One of ours is to take a photo of every board we cross, we can’t stop to take the picture, we must do it while driving. This sounds much easier than it has been to accomplish…there are no blueprints for state line signs…they can be right at the line…right before…directly after…down the road a bit…they can be on the right side of the road…inside the median…even on a overhead bridge. The fun is to find it, take the shot while in an RV with only a moments notice. It has been challenging but we know if we miss one or the photo is not the best than that lets us know that we will have to cross that state line again in our upcoming  RV and camping travels.

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Weird Hotels of the World

The weirdest hotels of today aren’t just gimmicks but truly weird and original experiences. Just like with these weirdest hotels in the world!

Propeller Island City Lodge, Berlin, Germany
A hotel full of weird themed rooms, the Propeller Island City Lodge of Berlin gives guests the chance to stay in a lion cages, in an upside-down room, on a pulley-adjustable bed, in a jail cell, or even in a vampire coffin. Guests enjoy the great location and overall ‘weirdness’ of Propeller Island while in Berlin.

Pendragon Hall, Hobart, Australia
Try dreaming peacefully in the Pendragon Hall Heritage Church of Hobart, Tasmania Australia. Spread out in the master bed under a stained glass ceiling of this historically and architecturally renowned 1852 church. The top location near Hobart’s best attractions make Pendragon weird and practical at once.

Woodlyn Park, Waitomo, New Zealand
To stay in Hobbit burrow, go no father than Woodlyn Park in New Zealand. Or, also at Woodland, stay in the Waitomo Express 1950’s rail car, the Vietnam era Bristol Freighter, or even the landlocked Waitanic Ship Motel. Swing by the Billy Black Kiwi Culture Show for informative Kiwi info.

Karostas Cietums, Karosta, Latvia
Live a night as a Soviet-era military prisoner at the Karostas Cietums former detention facility in Latvia. Toss and turn on a threadbare mattress, try the Soviet prison toilet seat, and enjoy the cold shower. Pay extra and the ‘guards’ will give the full prisoner experience. Also be sure to tour the grounds and visit the museum.
Karostas Cietums

The Capsule Hotel, The Hague, Netherlands
Try a night in a floating, safety orange escape pod, and sleep in the waters of the Hague. These cramped quarters give the real experience of open sea survival, in only for the evening.

Jules Undersea Lodge, Key Largo, Florida
Scuba dive down to the Jules Undersea Lodge in Key Largo, Florida, an operational underwater research facility turned weird hotel since 1986. Although underneath the Emerald Lagoon, guests have hot water, air-conditioning, a fully stocked galley, a TV, and DVDs.
Jules  undersea

PJ’s Underground, White Cliffs, Australia
In White Cliffs, New South Wales, Australia, try sleeping underground, at PJ’s Underground Bed and Breakfast. Carved as opal mines, the caverns are now guest rooms and an underground cabin. A homemade Outback breakfast comes complimentary with a stay.

The Harbour Crane, Harlingen, Netherlands
Stay high above Harlingen, in the Harbour Crane hotel. Man the controls to change the view of this room for two, or simply see 360 degrees from up on the rooftop patio.

Exciting Activities on Kangaroo Island

KI2Kangaroo Island is an up and coming tourist location that attracts around 130,000 visitors annually from all over the world. Kangaroo Island accommodation is affordable and easy to find within proximity to the Island’s many iconic beaches and fun activities. You may be concerned while planning your trip to Kangaroo Island that there may be less there to do than there would be if you took a trip to Sydney or Perth, but that is not the case. Kangaroo Island, founded in the early 19th century but possessing an archaeological Aboriginal history dating back 13,000 years, has a fascinating and rich history as well as immensely colourful wildlife and local culture that will create a memorable vacationing experience for you and your family that you will never forget.

What to Do on Your Vacation
Tourism is a growing industry on Kangaroo Island, so its tourist sites are getting more and more friendly and extensive every year. The Island is home to many old iconic lighthouses that are still operational. You can see them all, as well as all of the island’s beaches, from Mount Thisby, or Prospect Hill as it is now known in honor of Matthew Flinders, the first European discoverer of Kangaroo Island. From the lookout on Prospect Hill, you can get a 360-degree view of the beautiful island in its entirety.

Kangaroo Island is most famous for its wildlife conservation efforts and interesting indigenous animal populations. The island is home to many wildlife activities, conservation sites and natural wonders. Seal Bay is the locale of the island’s famous sea lions, and guided tours are available there for tourists to see the native sea lions up close. The Pardana Wildlife Park also includes many of the island’s special animal species, and tourists can go there to learn more about the natural history of the island, interact with the animals there in their natural habitats and see exotic animals from all over the area.

Kangaroo Island Penguin Centre at Kingscote offers guided tours of the fairy penguin colony, so visitors can see penguins in their natural environment. The centre also has saltwater aquariums, which are available for visitors to learn all about the local marine life on Kangaroo Island and understand the ecosystems within the reefs and seas surrounding Kangaroo Island. Every day at the Penguin Centre there is also an exciting opportunity to watch a pelican feeding, which can be very entertaining and educational for both adults and children.

Kangaroo Island The natural world of Kangaroo Island is amazing to behold. Little Sahara is an area on the south coast of the island with huge sand dunes that look like a miniature desert. Murray Lagoon is another great site, filled with examples of the island’s unique and diverse aquatic bird life. In addition to these few iconic locations, the island is covered with walking trails, campsites and natural parks, as well as naturally occurring caves.