Japan’s Temples and Shrines, The Buddhism Life
On a winter-whipped Tuesday in New York during Japan Week, the Consulate General of Japan, Japan Society and the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) hosted a special event to...
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Ideas for Planning Fun Summer Vacation with Family
Since summer is the crunch time to relax at a serene place and escape from the humdrum routine, going for a holiday with family is a real good idea.India is an extremely amusing summer destination....
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Ziplining in Nicaragua: Sweet Terror
I was terrified.Knee knocking, breath holding terrified, standing on the edge of small tree platform high above the Nicaraguan jungle, looking down at all those treetops.With the...
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Falconing: Sport of Kings and Families
Falconing: The Sport of KingsFor sheer heart stopping beauty, nothing beats the sensation of watching a hawk descend at lightening speed and land on an outstretched, gloved wrist…softly;...
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Do Cheap Hotel Rates Attract Boorish People?
No question, the web is great place for finding hotel and flight deals.But top hotels are complaining that the wrong kinds of guest are filling their rooms because of on line hotel bookings.Call...
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Single Parent Travel
The “bad” news is that the number of single parents seeking quality vacations with their children is growing.The good news is that the number of single parents seeking quality...
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What Kids Like on Vacation
It’s no surprise that 71% of kids said they need vacations…And half of them said their needs influence their family’s choice of destinations and accommodations.What is surprising,...
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Historic Deerfield: Score One For The Native Americans
We think it's great that many of the colonial settlers in historic Deerfield, MA, who were taken captive by "attacking" Native American tribes opted not to return to the ways of the "white man."Perhaps...
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Finding a Good Doc on the Road!
Finding a Doc On The RoadSo, say you've booked the family trip of a lifetime. You've thought of everything, but do you have the name, address, and phone number of a qualified doctor who speaks...
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Women Traveling Alone: Security Issues
Women Road WarriorsWe don’t like the negative image of “woman as victim,” but the reality...
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Family Safaris: Pricey, But a Trip of a Lifetime
Most of us are pretty anxious about our investments and jobs and homes in this economy.Of course Travel is taking a hit, down, but bouncing back.And it never goes away.For...
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For Kids, Travel is the Internet. Period!
Excerpts from an article in Travel Weekly (a publication of the travel industry. August 20, by Juliet Dennis)Kids tell it how it is: It's web all the wayTeletext...
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Reunions Can Be Tricky: How To Plan One
Travel for reunions is big business and getting bigger as families, communities, organizations and affinity groups strive to stay in touch in an increasingly complex post 9/11 world.Travel...
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Should Parents Drug Their Kids On Flights?
Would you sedate your child on a flight? Are parents who do so wrong?A Wall Street Journal article reported that many parents "drug" or sedate their...
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Travel Recipes We Found and Loved
Travel is about food!Sure, it’s about shopping and seeing the sights, but there's no better way to get to know a culture and its people than by sharing their...
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How Not To Travel With Bed Bugs
A few heads were scratched at AOL Travel’s recent story about about bed bugs.We weren’t scratching from the bugs but from curiosity: Why would author Libby Zay do a piece on the...
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Prince Edward Island: The Gentle Province
The first view is of red clay cliffs, gently sloping to the Northumberland Strait. The plane banks slowly… and all of Prince Edward Island (PEI) comes into sight: a patchwork of color...
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Shuck ’em and Eat ’em: PEI Mussels
Shuck ‘em and Eat ‘em Prince Edward Island’s Malpeque Oysters and Blue Mussels have earned Canada’s smallest province a big reputation worldwide....
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FamilyMoons: The Honeymoon of Second Marriages
Chrissy and Herb Strickland from Florida were getting married. But this time, a second marriage for both, it wasn’t just between them. They had kids from their previous marriages...
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Seven Travel Superstars I’d Like a Drink With
So, OK, if I could have a drink (any kind) with any of these travel industry heroes, I'd be very happy...and learn a lot.So, ah, may I buy you a drink....1 Arnie Weissmann,...
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Hans C. Andersen Reads from Thumbelina: Denmark’s Sounds
It’s been a while since I last visited the land of the Little Mermaid, so when the assignment came up, I was eager to revisit Copenhagen, the Lilliputian capital of the Kingdom...
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Six and Seven Star Hotel Rating Inflation
So far no international classification for hotels exists, but that hasn’t stopped ambitious hotel marketers from slapping any number of stars, diamonds, and cacti on their properties and touting them...
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Azores, Family Travel Treasures of the Atlantic
The Azores! What else except a huge dose of tectonic magic explains the nine wayward, islands of the Azores, scattered randomly in the middle of the Atlantic.These sleeping beauties...
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Junk, Junk and Fun: City Museum, St. Louis
The generically named, City Museum is anything but a generic museum. This St. Louis museum is more like a fun house or carnival than a museum.Made almost...
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Penalizing the Single Traveler
The math is simple but deceptive: If a hotel room cost two hundred bucks, that’s a hundred bucks per person, because hotels assume two people...
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Dude Ranches for Families
When 180 horses’ hooves pounded the ground a few feet from me, manes flaring and breaths misting ghost-like in the chill Colorado mountain air, this city boy was transfixed.It was the 5:30...
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How Guys Travel
Give a guy a choiceWould he prefer a major sporting event like the Super Bowl, front-row seats at a major musical event like a U2 concert in London … or spending a week in Hawaii or...
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How Come I Didn’t Know That! Avoiding Cultural Snafus
OK, you’re lucky enough to be in Italy…and you’ve actually been invited to a dinner party.So, when in Rome do as the Romans do:...
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Are Teen Spas Self-Indulgent?
The “Teen Spa Program” at Pinehurst Resort (Pinehurst Village, North Carolina) is designed “to reduce teen stress through aromatherapy, massage, soothing music.”“We...
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Pay To Pee?
When the airlines started charging for everything from pillows to soft drinks and baggage, many of us, facetiously, wondered out loud when the airline would start...
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Banning Kids From Flying
Most Americans aren’t anti-kids. Just the ones that fly it seems. A recent on line chat had a curmudgeonly majority of flyers saying kids don’t belong on planes....
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Six Star Ratings Fraud!
My jaw dropped when an on line travel review site announced that it would add a new tier to its Star Services ratings for hotels: Six Stars. What qualifies as s a...
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Drugging Kids on Planes
When we created a Travel Video PostCard video a year or more ago about the practice of some parents giving their kids Benadryl or a related...
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Lost Luggage Nightmares
Lost Luggage Nightmare [email protected]’s a nightmare. We drag our luggage through security and customs. And break our backs jamming them in the overhead bins.Then there’s the...
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Honeymoons to Familymoons
Honeymoons to FamilymoonsChrissy and Herb Strickland from Florida were getting married.But this time, a second marriage for both, it wasn’t just between them.They...
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How Not To Travel Like An “Ugly American”
It's part of travel's enduring mythology: The American tourist, unable to manage even a few sentences in any language other than English, and oblivious to the cutlure and traditions...
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Mt Fuji, Japan: A Climb For the Whole Family
For the adventurous family looking for exhilaration and a summertime-only adventure, plan a hike up Japan's famous cone-shaped Mt. Fuji in Japan. The...
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Five Smartphone Apps To Make Pet Travel Better
If there's an app for everything, why isn't there one to make that often-stressful trip with your adorable, furry pet smooth sailing? Now there is one.... in fact, many.It's the rare traveler...
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Miccosukee Resort And Gaming, a Florida Resort
An enterprising Indian tribe has built a full-service family resort and casino in south Florida. Miccosukee Resort, Miami is an...
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The Top London Attractions by Tube Station
When visiting London the sheer expanse and splendor of it can seem a little dahaunting. It can be difficult to know where to go and what to do, especially if you have just a few days; it can take...
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Alaska Aboard Holland America’s Noordam
Parents, adult son, seven days, mega ship, mucho scenery: an Alaska family cruise is transporting -- no matter what your age -- and summer is the time to take one. Imagine a destination...
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Travel Packages Don’t Always Mean Big Savings with Toddlers
We live in Chicago and have a 4-year-old we enjoy traveling with a great deal. Prior to Matthew (the 4 YO), we usually booked package deals from the airlines or Apple Vacations (large wholesaler.) They...
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In and Around Eugene, Oregon
Below are some highlights for a family visit to Oregon, as selected by a group of "ten something" age...
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Learning English on A Cheap American Vacation
Looking for affordable vacations where you can experience a new culture or maybe even learn a new language while still being able to enjoy the sunshine, beaches, fresh air...
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New Book Series Helps Travelers With Food Allergies
The Let’s Eat Out! series is a compilation of books, apps, and guides designed to help those with gluten and allergy restrictions educate themselves and eat safely in their own homes and...
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Kauai Adventures For Adventurous Families
Kaua’i invites families to be as active or laid-back on their Hawaii beach vacation as they choose: plop in the sand, play in the surf, or follow rainbows in a rental car exploring the island’s...
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The Lure of Dark Tourism: Murder and Mayhem
Places like Cambodia’s Killing Fields, Auschwitz, New York’s Ground Zero, or the Wolf’s Lair where Hitler barely survived an assassination attempt in 1944, exert a powerful pull on travelers.But...
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Amelia Island Plantation: All Natural Florida
Amelia Island is an all natural, friendly and all-comfortable resort in north Florida that is often overlooked by the beach traveler. Don't make that mistake, especially now that a...
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Nashville Hotels Offer Holiday on Ice Packages starting at $189/N
Country fans will want to get on one of these fun-filled packages to spend the winter holidays in Nashville, Tennessee before the year is out. Young or old, any generation can appreciate what this city...
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Devil’s Thumb Ranch
Devil's Thumb Ranch typifies the best of western Colorado and Western culture, the way it was meant to be experienced by all ages. Located in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, the Ranch encompasses 4,000...
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Best Kid-Friendly Hotels In Los Angeles, California
A team of Oyster reporters spent weeks exploring 52 top hotels in and around Los Angeles, including Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and Santa Monica. We slept in the beds, lounged by the pools, ate in the...
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The All Male Spa Comes of Age
Ladies, did you know that there are six men-only spas in the United States? These include Nickel Spa for Men in New York City, The Grooming...
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Making the Most of Your Familymoon: Marriage with Kids in Tow
According to the Stepfamily Association of America, there are now as many stepfamilies as “intact” families. The Association says a...
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Valley Forge, Pennsylvania: Cradle Of Independence
Discover patriot history in the Valley Forge area, not far from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and you'll be delighted to see how history comes to life for all ages. When I told a friend from college...
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Going To Gulf Shores, Alabama
Alabama's Gulf Shores promises the pleasures of a sand beach, watersports and fine golf, with the gracious ways, slower pace and lower prices of the Old South. And, while America's...
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Chattanooga, Tennessee
There's more than a choo-choo train in Chattanooga, an example of what the U.S. News and World Reports dubs a "Smart City" -- a city that exemplifies extraordinary...
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History Comes Alive At Mississinewa 1812
History buffs will love the War of 1812 reenactment of the Battle of Mississinewa in Marion, Indiana. This annual reenactment of a major battle from the War of 1812 has been called the...
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Boston Strong with the Ryan Family
When you have a young child and travel, your thoughts focus on how to keep them busy by educating and engaging them in activities that please the mind and body and help them to grow. The parents make the...
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Sunny Yuma, Arizona For Cheap Family Vacations
Yuma, Arizona is the first place to boast that it holds the Guinness World Record as the "sunniest city on earth," with the sun shining 91% of daylight hours. It is also, according to NOAA, the driest,...
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