Posted in Beach Vacation, Family Travel
Free Style Music Park (All photos courtesy Free Style Music Park)
By John Stine
Free Style Music Park is Myrtle Beach’s newest family attraction. Formerly the Hard Rock Theme Park, the Free Style Music Park has reopened this year to include a larger family section while keeping the rock and roll theme. Other genres of music are also featured, and there are rides for all ages. As director of sales and marketing for Free Style Music Park, I wanted to offer my inside view of the park with answers to common questions from people thinking about a visit as part of a family vacation.
How can I fill up a day of activities for a kid under 5?
Freestyle Music Park has a ton of activities for children under the age of 5! In Country USA we have rides like Big ‘Ol Trucks and a remote racecar track to race against your opponents, and the Ice Cold Country show is for all ages!! Kid’s in America has 7 rides for children of all ages, a midway and the Flip 5 Live show that they can be a part of! Across the Pond and Myrtle’s Beach also have plenty to do for the little ones, with rides, living statues, and an awesome BMX, skateboarding and inline skate competition show with a big surprise finish called Adrenalin Rush. They will love our interactive water play area, Polly Nesian’s Splash Bash! And don’t forget all the many great restaurants and shops throughout the park!
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Posted in Family Travel, Orbitz Parent Panel, Travel Tips
By Brian Hoyt
With so much to do in Washington, D.C., it is essential to find the perfect place for your family to rest and recharge. As a family man who has stayed at a hotel or two in my day, here are my recommendations for the best Washington, D.C. hotels for family vacations:
- Sofitel Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.: Location, location, location. This fantastic property is not cheap, but it is in the heart of downtown D.C. Steps from the White House, McPherson Metro Station and great eats, you can make this luxury hotel your family’s central jumping point. If you are going to splurge and spend money on your trip to Washington, spend it here.
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Posted in Business Travel, Flights, Gadgets & Gizmos, Travel Tips
I am here
By John Banta
I’m off to visit my wife and in-laws in Wilmington, NC for the July 4th weekend and decided to try something new.
I’m writing this post from 30,000 feet aboard Delta Air Lines flight 1935 en route to Atlanta and must say, I am pretty impressed with the in-flight Internet access I am just now checking out for the first time.
After a quick registration process on a sign-up page and charging $9.95 to my credit card, I am now online for the duration of the flight. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted in Food & Wine, Gay Travel, Nightlife
By Anthony Grant
Yes, Portland, the Rose City, is about as good a gay travel destination as they come. Yes, it’s compact, green, eco-friendly and full of great neighborhood restaurants and bars and yes, there’s no sales tax – on anything! And you can walk into just about any deli and get yourself a bottle of Hot Lips soda made from freshly crushed Willamette Valley raspberries. Despite all this good stuff, my nerdy little confession is that on my recent first-time visit, I barely made it past a bookstore. But not just any bookstore: Powell’s City of Books is a sprawling, gloriously independent bookstore in the trendy Pearl District in downtown Portland. I spent three deliciously offline hours in the (surprise!) travel section alone before checking out the gay literature and art and history sections.
At one point I made a break for one of the famous cookies at the Pearl Bakery across the street, and feasted on a delectable chunky one dense with chocolate and pecans. It paired nicely with the stupendous iced coffee I had at Stumptown Coffee, which is nestled inside the trendy Ace Hotel. I didn’t stay at the Ace, but the vintage photo booth in the lobby made me smile, and I had a memorable dinner at its restaurant, Clyde Common. It was creative, crackling fare, from my starter salad of arugula, castelvetrano olives, pecorino cheese and butter fried croutons, right through to my seared black cod with rapini, capers, chorizo and tarragon vinaigrette. The next morning, had I not been going through another bag of Pearl River cookies, I would have had brunch at Bluehour, a decidedly glamorous eatery that anchors a row of revitalized warehouse spaces in the Pearl.
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Posted in Business Travel, California Vacation, Flights, Florida Vacation, Hawaii Vacation, International Vacations, Las Vegas Vacation, On the Road, Travel News Tags: Flights, hotels
By Joe Brancatelli
ANNALS OF RECESSION I
More Charges for Comfy Coach Across the Pacific: Trans-Pacific premium-class traffic is plummeting, falling even faster than trans-Atlantic travel up front.
According to IATA, the airline trade group, premium-class travel fell by almost 30 percent in March compared to March, 2008. Qantas, the Australian carrier, has been among the hardest hit.
Besides the 30 percent traffic decline, Qantas says that those fliers still buying premium-class flights are paying just half of last year’s going rates. As a result, Qantas has simply stopped selling first-class tickets on at least three routes, including its San Francisco-Sydney service.
That means some lucky fliers will get business-class service, but be upgraded to the seats in the larger, plusher first-class seats. However, coach passengers who want to score a roomier exit-row seat will have to pay for the privilege. Qantas now charges a premium of $60 to $100 for an exit-row seat assignment. That essentially matches the exit-row premium imposed last fall by Singapore Airlines on many of its trans-Pacific flights.
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Posted in Business Travel, Family Travel, Food & Wine, Gambling Vacation, Las Vegas Vacation, Nightlife, Orbitz Travel Insider, Romance, Spa Vacation Tags: Las Vegas hotels
By E.C. Gladstone
Doing a blog like this isn’t all fun and games, you know. Okay, it is mostly fun and games. But sometimes I can find myself clocking an awful lot of miles trying to look like I’m “relaxing.” Okay, no whining. The point is, I thought it would be fun just to share one typically hectic day in my life with you all. Let’s take the Friday before last…
I woke up in a spacious junior suite on one of the Palazzo’s upgraded Concierge levels. While Palazzo & Venetian have always been one of
my favorite Las Vegas hotels on the Strip for many reasons, the Concierge level adds so much to the already high amenity level here (premium betting, motorized curtains, body jets in the shower, DVD player on one of two big flatscreens, multifunction Brother fax/scanner). Grabbing breakfast in the sprawling concierge lounge (a modest rate upgrade for 3 meals and evening cocktails, free DVD library and more), I caught up with news and e-mails using the free business
center computers before heading downstairs to the new Azure club pool.
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Posted in Beach Vacation, California Vacation, Family Travel, Food & Wine, Romance Tags: Beach Vacation
By Samantha Chapnick
So, you’ve done the Miami vacation and the Caribbean all-inclusive. Now that the temps are heating up, ready to explore some shores closer to home on your beach vacation?
Nantucket
Wearing clothing adorned with a repeated animal pattern, preferably a whale in pink, green or blue, is not de rigeur for a Nantucket beach vacation. But if you really want to fit in with the preppy set, run to your closest Vineyard Vines before you buy your ferry ticket. This island, although off the radar of non-Northeasterners, is the summer refuge of Bostonites. Thankfully, a bit lower key than Cape Cod or the Hamptons, it still retains an atmosphere of sophisticated lounging.
For an upscale stay, base out of The Wauwinet with its white picket fences, Adirondack chairs, and lace curtains. For a much more affordable option, try The Beachside, a spiffed up motel with nice landscaping and a short walk directly to the beach. Most of the beaches are more for walking than swimming (unless you can handle cold water). My favorites include Brant Point for its great classic New England lighthouse and easy proximity to town; Surfside Beach — extra wide, making it great for picnics; and Children’s Beach for families with its lifeguards, restrooms and playground.
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Posted in Chicago Vacation, Family Travel, Orbitz Parent Panel, Travel Tips Tags: Family vacation
By Kathy Karlesses
You could spend an entire week at American Girl Place and most likely not experience all of the exciting activities offered. My 10-year-old daughter has been a fan of American Girl for a couple of years now and waits anxiously for the catalog to be delivered so that she can circle all of the things she wants.
This summer, I decided that we would venture beyond the catalog and take a family vacation to one of the cities that is lucky enough to have an American Girl Place. Because we live in Cleveland, the logical location was Chicago. I was excited too, because as a city, Chicago is one of the finest and offers many diversions if we actually managed to conquer American Girl Place. My daughter and I decided to spread the joy and invite my sister and niece to share in the experience. The plan was for us to fly from Cleveland and for them to fly from Denver and converge upon Chicago with two 10-year olds toting American Girl dolls in their coordinating back pack/carriers.
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Posted in Freebies & Discounts, Travel Deals
Tweet for tickets. Enter for a chance to win a round-trip coach-class airfare voucher valid for travel in the domestic United States in the Orbitz Twitter Giveaway.
Here's what you've got to do:
Start following Orbitz on Twitter.com, if you're not doing so already.
Retweet that day’s contest message, which will be posted on the @Orbitz Twitter page.
We'll announce the winner on the @Orbitz Twitter page. If it's you, make sure to send a direct message via Twitter within 48 hours. Remember, all entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. CT on June 24, 2009. Limit one entry per person/twitter address.
Read on for official rules ….
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