Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category
Posted in
Asia,
Itinerary,
Japan,
Travel by
Jon on September 16, 2008
7 Day Tour of Japan
7 day quick trip to catch some of the major highlights of Japan.
Day 1 - Tokyo
Tokyo is planted squarely in the 21st century and modern in every respect. But delve deeper and you’ll find ancient sites and age-old traditions - a fascinating contrast which you’ll explore today. Your visit to the picturesque Imperial Palace Plaza offers insight into the private lives of Japan’s Imperial family. Later, stroll among the vendors of the bustling Nakamise Arcade to Asakusa Kannon Temple, the oldest in the city, and then visit the landscaped grounds of the Meiji Shrine. In the night visit Shinjuku for shopping and nightlife, including Tokyo’s largest red-light district Kabukicho.
Highlights
- Asakusa
- Meiji Shrine
- Shinjuku
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Posted in
Asia,
Japan,
Travel by
Jon on September 16, 2008
Bullet Train Japan by Kalleboo
The Japan Rail Pass (ジャパンレールパス, japan rēru pasu) is a railpass sold by the Japan Railways Group, and is good for travel on all major forms of transportation provided by the JR Group, with a few exceptions. The Rail Pass is designed to stimulate travel and tourism throughout the country.
Rail Pass
The Rail Pass comes in two varieties, one for each class of service, Standard Car (普通車, Futsūsha), and the first class car, Green Car (グリーン車, Gurīnsha). Furthermore, the pass is time limited based on the length of pass purchased. Three time periods are available: seven day, fourteen day and twenty-one day passes, which provide the user unlimited use of JR transportation services. The table below summarizes the prices for each pass. The amounts are listed in Japanese Yen. When purchasing the Exchange Order (see below), the purchaser will pay the appropriate amount in the purchaser’s home country currency based on the current exchange rate.
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Posted in
Travel by
Jon on September 8, 2008
Value airline JetBlue Airways Corporation (today announced it is auctioning more than 300 roundtrip flights and six JetBlue Getaways Vacation packages on eBay, the world’s largest online marketplace, with opening bids starting at a nickel or a dime (*taxes and fees apply). Customers can join in the online auction action at www.jetblue.com/ebay from today through September 14.
The first airline to sell last-minute flights and packages on eBay, JetBlue, JetBlue is offering flights and packages to more than 20 destinations, including four mystery JetBlue Getaways Vacation packages — two “No Passport Necessary” and two “Pack Your Passport” — to exciting undisclosed locations. Each mystery Getaways vacation package includes flights for two and hotel accommodation at a four-star Marriott property.
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Posted in
Itinerary,
Travel by
Jon on September 3, 2008
USA Map Coast to Coast Route 21 Days
21 Day Coast to Coast Adventure – Country & Western, Jazz and the Blues plus Cowboys and Indians, Gambling and Ghost towns. Ufo’s, a Bat Cave and a really big apple!
1st day:
Arrive and pick up rental car in San Francisco. Sightseeing and shopping in San Francisco.
Highlights
In the afternoon we travel towards our next destination stopping along the way to purchase camping supplies.
Driving Directions
View Photos of San Francisco
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Liberty Bell by paul_everett82
Independence Hall is a U.S. national landmark located inside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Chestnut Street between 5th and 6th Streets. Known primarily as the location where the Declaration of Independence was debated and adopted, the building was completed in 1753 as the Pennsylvania State House for the Province of Pennsylvania. It became the meeting place of the Second Continental Congress. The United States Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution were both signed at Independence Hall. The building is now part of the larger Independence National Historical Park and listed as a World Heritage Site.
Independence Hall is a red brick building, built between 1732 and 1753, and designed in the Georgian style by Edmund Woolley and Andrew Hamilton, and built by Woolley. Its building was commissioned by the Pennsylvania colonial legislature and it was initially inhabited by the colonial government of Pennsylvania as their State House. Two smaller buildings adjoin Independence Hall: to the east is Old City Hall, and to the west is Congress Hall. These three buildings are together on a city block known as Independence Square, along with Philosophical Hall, the original home of the American Philosophical Society.
Liberty Bell
The bell tower steeple of Independence Hall was the original home of the “Liberty Bell” and today it holds a “Centennial Bell” that was created for the United States Centennial Exposition in 1876. The original Liberty Bell, with the distinctive crack, is now on display across the street in the Liberty Bell Center. In 1976 Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain visited Philadelphia and presented a gift to the American people of a replica Bicentennial Bell, which was cast in the same British foundry as the original. This 1976 bell hangs in the modern bell tower located on 3rd Street near Independence Hall.
Declaration of Independence & Second Continental Congress
From 1775 to 1783, Independence Hall served as the principal meeting place of the Second Continental Congress, a body of representatives from each of the thirteen British North American colonies. The United States Declaration of Independence was approved there on July 4, 1776, and the Declaration was read aloud to the public in the area now known as Independence Square. This document unified the colonies in North America who declared themselves independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain and explained their justifications for doing so. These historic events are celebrated annually with a national holiday for U.S. Independence Day.
On June 14, 1775, delegates of the Continental Congress nominated George Washington as commander of the Continental Army in the Assembly Room of Independence Hall. The Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin to be the first Postmaster General of what would later become the United States Post Office Department on July 26.
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Posted in
Destination,
North America,
Travel by
Jon on August 20, 2008
Graphics Courtesy of NOAA
The months of August, September, and October offer some of the best deals for vacationing in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, it is also prime hurricane season.
To help give yourself a better chance of avoiding a hurricane during your vacation the National Hurricane Center has put out a series of maps that display common hurricane tracks by month.
The map for August shows that intense storms are most likely to occur in the Caribbean.
By September, southern Louisiana, the eastern tip of Guatemala, the Florida panhandle and Carolina coast also join the Caribbean as regions where hurricanes are most likely to strike.
The pattern shifts in October, when Cuba and southern Florida become most vulnerable.
You can also follow weather that has either become a hurricane or has the potential to become one here.
