Travelling There

Flying is an easy option as Boston’s Logan International Airport receives flights from all over the world. If you are traveling from within the USA then the rail service would be a suitable option. This runs from Boston along the east coast as well as inland. Driving is also an option as the roads in the area are of good quality and networked.

Accommodation

The region is huge and offers all kinds of accommodation for a range of budgets. This includes hotels, villas, cabins or campsite accommodation. However, the region gets busy in holiday seasons so it is important to pre-book well in advance.

History

The region obtained its name when the English colonised it under the rule of James I. During this time, New England’s income came mainly from the many fishing, farming and timber industries within the area. However, colonizing the region was no east task as the Native American Indians fought and fought for the freedom of the territory up until the American Revolution, where the battle ended and the Americas won.

Sights and Attractions

Boston is a must see if you go to New England. It is a beautiful city with enormous historical appeal. There are also numerous museums and restaurants that makes for a great few days stay. To get a feel for the historic times of New England, drive up the coast and experience the beaches and rural setting. Cape Cod is the location that the tourists tend to head for.

Shopping

The many cosmopolitan cities provide a great choice for the ‘shopaholics’. Boston is riddled with huge air-conditioned malls and shopping centers. If you like browsing through markets then you are in luck as the majority of urban areas in New England have weekly markets.

Dining Options

There are dozens of great restaurants to choose from in New England. The majority of eating establishments are proud of their fresh seafood. Cape Cod has plenty of dining options that offer a unique experience to customers. The region itself is famed for clambakes and bean suppers so they are a must have bite to eat.

Regattas, Tournaments and So Much More in Oriental, North Carolina

Every year in late-April/early-May, The Oriental Dinghy Club of North Carolina holds their Annual Spring Regatta on the waters of the Neuse River. Large and small boat owners alike are invited to race and everyone can take part in the variety of social gathering events held throughout the weekend. The Oriental Dinghy Club also sponsors several more races throughout the seasons including the SOLO Race in October which welcomes boaters from near and far. For information on race schedules, registration, results and more, go to www.towndock.net/odc.

Early June is typically the time for the Oriental Cup Regatta, also referred to as the ‘Premier Sailing Event of the Year’. The weekend includes not only sailboat racing, but a full calendar of events that includes a Welcome Picnic, live music, fabulous food, dancing and more. The registration fee also provides you with one Regatta souvenir T-shirt and two ‘land passes’ allowing complimentary entry to all meals and events! All proceeds benefit the Bill Harris Memorial Scholarship Fund – get full-coverage details at www.towndock.net/orientalcup.

Taking place every year during the last weekend in July, The Rotary Club of Oriental sponsors their Annual Tarpon Tournament. It is the sport-fishing event of the year here, with cash and prizes totaling over $20,000! And the proceeds benefit a great cause – The Oriental Rotary Scholarship Fund. To find out more, visit http://www.orientalrotary.org and click on the Tarpon Tournament link on the left margin of the web page. You can also contact the Rotary Club to find out about the upcoming event and/or registration by emailing info@OrientalRotary.org.

For all the current Oriental, North Carolina racing and local news – including detailed wind, water and weather stats, visit: www.towndock.net.

1) Buy it used. Well, not really used: more like discounted (or unused actually). Sometimes, people can put their vacation opportunities up at real discounts. Did you know that there are all sorts of people out there who own time shares but can’t use them for various reasons? Maybe the season isn’t right, or they can’t seem to get the flight that they need. Ebay has a thriving market for timeshare opportunities. A lot of the listings are permanent (e.g. people looking for others to buy their times shares out completely), but sometimes people are just looking to monetize a weeks worth of timeshare that they can’t seem to use themselves. Their loss can be your opportunity. Ebay is an auction, and the highest price wins usually.

2) Compare everything. Guess what? Expedia and Orbitz seem like they are juggernauts of internet travel and they control a lot of the market. BUT, they don’t have every vendor available. A lot of the discount airlines like SouthWest and JetBlue don’t use either of these massive companies and you can only get their deals by going directly to their website. Don’t’ tell anyone, but from what we’ve heard JetBlue is supposed to have really nice seats and monitors on new planes with really good prices. We haven’t used JetBlue ourselves yet, but it’s supposed be really good (especially at delivering good value on Northeast to Florida routes). That tip alone could save you some bucks while getting you a really nice flight.

3) The first 2 points are perfectly valid in any trip planning but almost worthless when you consider that you might have to shell out a lot more bucks for destinations abroad. There is a beautiful beach state located not too far from anyone East of the Mississippi. That’s right. Florida. Florida is back and it’s beaches are still fantastic. Florida is still beautiful. There has been a lot of development of Florida during the last 50 years, but Florida is still a massive state with plenty of undiscovered beaches. The state of Florida can be great if you know where to look. It’s pretty nice. Trust us….the undiscovered spots of Florida can really be something else. However, they are becoming more and more difficult to find as thousands of people move to Florida every month.

With history comes ghost so while visiting Key West make sure to go on a ghost tour. This author has experienced one ghost tour in Key West and it was a blast. Our guide made the tour worth every penny. The stories were not only scary, but entertaining and informative as well. Of course, there is much more to do and see in Key West from historic tours to enjoying the natural environment.

The Florida Keys are known for their beautiful location stuck between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. If you don’t spend some time enjoying the water you have missed one of the highlights of the Florida Keys. One way to enjoy the ocean is with a dolphin eco tour. Swimming with dolphins in the Florida Keys is a rare event, so make sure to book a dolphin eco tour through a good company that has been in business for several years. Avoid any company that uses artificial methods, like feeding, to draw in the dolphins. There are many eco tours you can take while in the Keys, from kayaking to bird watching.

While in the city of Key West one of the best things to see and do is to simply walk around and explore. The old conch houses and buildings in Key West have a unique architecture that is all there own. The town has a fun history and the structures are current records of times past. Many of the old buildings are now restaurants, stores, and bars. You can tour many of these old homes and businesses. Favorites are Truman’s Little White House and the Hemingway Home.

A Few Top Attractions in Key West

Hemingway House – If you are a fan of the great American author Ernest Hemingway, or you are interested in viewing a beautiful Key West home from another era, you must visit this place. The tour is worth it just to see the six toed cats. 907 Whitehead St. This tour is worth the modest admission price.

Fort Taylor – This fort was started in 1845 and was adapted over the years before eventually being abandoned. It was restored in the 1960s and is now a state park. From this park you can watch the sunset or swim from the beach. When Florida decded from the Union on January 13, 1861 Federal troops immediately occupied this fort and held Key West for the Union making it the only city in the Confederacy to be held by the Federals.

Conch Train – If you can’t make the walk around Key West, or if you just want to get off of your feet for a while, the Conch Train is the best way to see the city. The tour guides are entertaining and informative.

Audubon House – The Audubon House has 28 original works from the artist John James Audubon. View the artwork and then tour the one acre garden.

To learn more about visiting Key West, Florida go to www.key-west-usa.com. Key West is a magical place that captures the hearts of thousands of people each year. Let your soul be wild and let your imagination go free in Key West.

About The Author

Scott Thompson is the webmaster for http://www.Key-West-USA.com. Learn more about a vacation in Key West at Key West USA.

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Busiest in the world? Yep, it is for that one week of the year when the EAA — The Experimental Aircraft Association — puts on its AirVenture. “The Greatest Aviation Celebration in the World.” And it is a celebration…. if you’re an airplane nut, you really should plan to make it to Oshkosh some day

Part of the fun of Oshkosh is to tune into the tower frequencies (yes there are two) and listen as the controllers bring planes in to land…. two and three at a time. You hear things like “Blue Cessna keep flying and land on the green dot…. , white tail-drager get it down on the numbers and get off as fast as you can… turn into the grass… off into the grass.”

The controllers don’t want aircraft identification numbers… just colors and types… they are too busy. They just want to see you and get you down. Coming in on final, they want to make sure they have the right plane, so they’ll ask you to “Rock your wings for Oshkosh”. Airplane nuts love this stuff. I know. We just spent a week in Oshkosh.

There is a second runway and tower frequency they use for larger and faster planes, though the main runway sees plenty of those. Everywhere you look there is something taking off or landing…. there’s always something flying…. sometimes it looks like a swarm of bugs off in the distance.

No where else will you see things like the “Bonanzas to Oshkosh” group arrival where 137 Bonanaza airplanes arrived in formation AND landed in formation… three at a time… one group right after another. All 137 are cleared for landing at the same time! They all got down in a nice display in about 30 minutes!

Airplane nuts in Oshkosh are there because they can see all the newest planes available for private pilots. They can check out restored antiques and “warbirds”. There are businesses selling corporate jets. Vendors are selling airplanes parts and fun “extras” if you have your own plane

Pilots who want to bring their own plane to Oshkosh don’t need to register before arrival…. Plane parking in the exhibit area is first come first served. You can opt to be judged or just park on the line. If you park in the exhibit area, you are sharing your plane with others, and they will be peeking in the windows and under the airframe all through the week. Almost everyone who comes to Oshkosh is an airplane nut in one form or another, so they will be respectful of the planes…. and there are tons of vigilant pilots around who will straighten them out if they’re not.

Pilots can camp with their airplanes in a parking area adjacent to the AirVenture show grounds or away from the planes in Camp Scholler adjacent to the airfield. There is a small store in the campground, and the EAA runs shuttles to grocery stores and nearby shopping malls for all possible needs. There’s lots of food available on the field including breakfast and dinner, and it’s better than most airshow food.

If you want to stay in a hotel, you’d better have reservations well in advance… like a year ahead…. many of those airplane nuts in Oshkosh return every year.

So if you’re an airplane nut and you’ve always wanted to go… why don’t you plan to get to the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh one year.

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Kilauea Caldera is the youngest and most active volcano on earth. The landscaping is breathtaking with its hardened lava and dozens of craters. The park has 140 miles of hiking trails and is open to the public for camping. The park is over 333,000 acres of land so plan to stay a while if you truly want to explore the park. If you don’t have a lot of time, you should plan to at least drive through the park. It is worth the hour or so that it will take you to see everything. The volcano erupts regularly, so in most cases you will get to see some sort of lava flow. However, don’t expect to see eruptions spewing into the sky like in the movies. The flow is fluid and constant, not nearly as dramatic as Hollywood depicts.

The terrain changes so frequently due to the ever changing lava flow that it makes it difficult to follow maps, however the most up to date versions will be available at the visitor’s center. The map can be used for driving as well as hiking. The park has a hotline that tells you what is happening with the volcanoes that day and where to best view the lava flow.

Unlike the rest of Hawaii the weather can change very quickly in the park. The temperatures can be about 15 degrees cooler here than in Kona, so plan to dress appropriately. The park can have blistering heat from the sun’s reflection off of the lava flow. It can be hot and steamy one minute and change to a chilly downpour of rain with little or no warning.

Practical information:

If planning to visit the volcanoes you should be prepared and dress appropriately. Wear hiking shoes or boots; bring sunscreen and a hat. The heat can cause dehydration quickly so carry lots water and other fluids. Always follow the signs and stay on the trails. Fatalities do happen here at HAVO, the most common are due to people wandering off and getting lost in the park and people getting too close to newly formed lava paths. These lava flows can collapse causing injuries, or even worse, death.

If and when the lava reaches the ocean, sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid permeate the air. These gases are toxic. Every one should be careful, especially pregnant women, young children and people with upper respiratory problems. The smell of sulfur is strong in the air.

A daily update about volcanic activities in the park can be found here

Whether it’s magnificent hiking trails you seek, or simply marking visiting a volcano off of your to do list, HAVO is sure to please.

2. You can´t die without having witnessed the sun go down in Death Valley

3. San Diego: eat seafood and enjoy the view form the terrasse on top of the building at “Georges at the Cove”. If you feel like devouring the worlds best (and biggest) burger, there is a place in San Diego as well: “The Neighborhood”.

4. The Joshua Tree National Park in South-California: the park got its name from the Joshua Tree, its beauty consists in the variety of landscapes: bizarre rocks, wild flowers and stuning desert scenery

5. Seafood in Santa Barbara: visit “Brophy Brothers” if you feel like the freshest seafood to be found.

6. One of the prettiest beaches at the famous Highway No. 1 is Pismo Beach north of Santa Barbara. It is big enough to drive your surfboard with the car right up to the waves.

7. Eco-friendly hotel in San Francisco: “The Good Hotel” is located centrally in SFs Soma District and offers modern rooms for about 65 Dollars

8. Experience Chinatown: if you really want to get to know Chinatown, book a tour with Shirley Wong-Torres, learn about chinese tea-ceremonies and visit a fortune-cookie-factory

9. Visit the Napa Valley by bike: besides experiencing the landscape first hand from the saddle of your bike you have the possibility to try some of the best vines of napa Valley

10. Not cheap but special: the Art-Hotel “Casa Madrona” in Sausalito. If you are looking for a romatic hideaway – here you go!

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If you need a travel guide to find more things to do, I highly recomend California from Eyewitness Travel Guides: it will give you a straight forward description of the state and all the practical information you will need!

More Travel Tips USA: The Smart Travellers to the US