After a couple of weeks on the road, it’s time to update my list (and accompanying map) of countries that I’ve visited. The process of tracking where I’ve been has driven home that I’ve not spent all that much time in Europe, a place that most travelers can check off. I’m making up for lost time now. Create your own travel map – TravBuddy On this past trip I visited: Dublin, Ireland – A site visit for TBEX Europe. Berlin, Germany – For ITB, the largest travel trade show in the world. Brussels, Antwerp, and Bruges – Brussels was for a few days of downtime to get some work done and visit a few sites. My sightseeing was dramatically cut short due to snow and bitterly cold weather, but strong internet access gave me time to catch up […]
Read MorePostcard from Berlin: Brandenburg Gate
Sightseeing in Berlin included a visit to the Brandenburg Gate, one of the most well-known landmarks in Germany. The gate represents some difficult times in German history, but came to symbolize freedom and the desire to unify Berlin when the Wall fell. Today it is a proud symbol of European unity and peace.
Read MoreSpring Fling: A Theme Park Weekend
Whether you’re contemplating a family weekend getaway, or perhaps just want to have kid-like fun yourself, there’s nothing quite like immersing yourself in theme parks for an introduction to spring travel. I had a chance to check that premise out on a recent extended family theme park getaway to Minneapolis. Minneapolis might not be the first city that comes to mind when you think about theme parks, but it has several offerings that make the city an attractive choice. Let’s take a look. Nickelodeon Universe Located in the Mall of America, the largest shopping mall in the United States, Nickelodeon Universe covers seven acres in the middle of the mall, offering rides and attractions appropriate to all age levels. As you would expect, many of the rides feature top Nickelodeon characters such as SpongeBob Square Pants, Rugrats, and Dora the […]
Read MoreBy the Numbers: February 2013 Travel
February was a pretty low volume travel month, pretty similar to my January travel schedule. I can publish this before the end of the month because my travel is completed for February. Let’s take a look at the flights and hotels nights for the month of February: Flights SEA/SAN/OGG/SMF/SEA – 6,605 SEA/MSP/SEA – 2,792 (a theme park getaway weekend with extended family) SEA/SAN/SEA – 2,106 SEA/KOA/SJC/LIH – 10,245 Total miles flown in February 2013: 21,748 Total hotel nights in February: 7 Year-to-Date Miles flown 2013: 42,319 Hotel nights 2013: 18 Photo credit: personal collection
Read MorePostcard from Nickelodeon Universe
A theme park inside a mall? Yep, that’s just what you’ll get with Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. Located near the Minneapolis-St Paul airport, this was the first stop on my theme park getaway weekend.
Read MoreDo This Weekend: Great Backyard Bird Count
Sometimes creating a great travel experience isn’t just about decide where you’re going to take a trip. Sometimes it’s about doing something to ensure that others who travel can experience things you might take for granted. This weekend, February 15-18th, 2013, you have a chance to enjoy a weekend and home, while at the same time performing a valuable service to the environment and future travelers to your home town. The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual 4-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are. While here in the Pacific Northwest it’s easy to look outside and see birds in every tree, this environmental initiative is a worldwide event. As a bonus, you can count wherever you happen to be – even if you’re traveling. […]
Read MoreTalking Travel at the Seattle Golf & Travel Show
Beautiful and exotic, Japan often seems like a destination that will overwhelm travelers. The language, both written and spoken, is not easy to follow along in a guide book, the capital city of Tokyo is home to around 12 million people (in the greater Tokyo area), and food may be different that what we’re accustomed to at home. It’s understandable that some travelers may not want to rise to the challenge of visiting Japan. And as my recent trip to Tokyo proved, letting the myths of traveling to Japan get in the way of traveling there is a big mistake.’ I’ve written about the things that I didn’t know till I got to Japan, some of the things that surprised me, and later today I’ll be speaking at the Seattle Golf & Travel Show about how you can create a […]
Read MorePostcard: Toronto Skyline
Since yesterday was the last day to submit speaker proposals for TBEX 13 in Toronto, I was thinking about the earlier site visit that we made to the city. Our kinds hosts showed us a few of the sites, but more importantly, they showed us the warm hospitality that Toronto is known for. Looking forward to going back soon!
Read MoreRomantic Travel: A Blog Roundup
For some people, February is the most romantic month of the year. For others, romance is a year round event. Travelers find the beauty of romance is a variety of ways. And locations. Just take a look — and if you have a romantic travel post that would fit our theme, please add it to our link round up below. Loading InLinkz … Photo credit: shutterstock
Read MoreBy the Numbers: January 2013 Travel
I’ve decided to keep track of just how many miles I rack up and how many nights I spend on the road. Between all the hats I wear, and all the roles I fill, I know it’s plenty. January wasn’t a busy travel month. I enjoyed time at home in the aftermath of the holidays, and there wasn’t a whole lot on the calendar. Let’s take a look back at January. Flights: SEA/LAS/SEA – 1,736 miles (I was in Las Vegas for NMX) SEA/SMF/OGG/BLI/OGG/SEA – 11,023 miles SEA/PHX/PDX/KOA/SJC/SEA – 7,812 miles Total miles flown in January 2013: 20,571 Total hotel nights: 11 Photo credit: personal collection
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