Travel Tip Tuesday: Recyclebank Green Your Vacation Challenge

Enter the  Recyclebank Green Your Vacation Challenge  through this link.  In the name of full disclosure, I will say that I get 10 Recyclebank points for everyone who enters through that link.  Who wouldn't  love a $14,000 Galapagos vacation?

Good luck!

Tasty Thursday: Portland Lobster Company

We recently took a very pleasurable weekend trip to Portland, where as staunch as I am about eating lobster being repulsive, I really couldn't deny my spouse the pleasure.  Considerately, a lobster roll was ordered as opposed to a whole lobster, so I didn't have to see a crustacean carcass while I tried to eat my salad. 

The roll came with French fries and cole slaw and got two thumbs up from my spouse.  It is 'market price', which was $14.99 on 6/4/11.  I ordered the House salad.  It was your typical spring mix with some cherry tomatoes, shredded carrots and a Balsamic dressing served in a little paper cup on the side.  Everything was fresh and appetizing.

The nicest part of this, however is the atmosphere.  You order inside the little hut you enter from the street.  There are three or four small tables inside, but don't eat there!  You'll be given a lobster shaped pager; take it out to the seating area on the wharf.  Plenty of seating there, from picnic tables, to tall bar style-tables to bar seating along the railing facing the water, which you can see in the photo above.  We enjoyed the sunshine and got to listen to a duo playing bluesy-rock guitar music. 

Well worth a visit, even for a vegan, just for the Maine experience.

Travel Tip Tuesday: We Love Our GPS, But....

We all love our GPS, whether it is part of a phone, computer or stand-alone unit. But we should still keep an atlas or map in the car. Call me a luddite if you like, but machines or satellite can fail, a hard copy will always be there.

Whether it be around town or around the world, enjoy your travels today!

Travel Tip Tuesday: Looking for Free Attractions?

Here is a website to start with. Search by state and find parks, museums and other attractions which are free of admission charge.

Travel Tip Tuesday: Headed to Colorado?

For money saving deals in the Denver/Boulder area visit Mile High on the Cheap.

Travel Tip Tuesday: Passport Cards

Traveling to an international destination by air? Make sure to have your Passport book. Passport cards are only acceptable for travel by car or ship, and then only to limited destinations. Be smart Be prepared. Always take along your Passport when traveling. You don't want to get to the airport and find you haven't got the proper identification in order to travel to your destination.

Travel Tip Tuesday

Many folks don't know that when you book airline tickets through a travel agency the agency does not share your contact information with the air carrier. This includes the online agencies. Why is this a negative, you ask?

Let's say you've booked far in advance. Airline schedules change periodically. In this example you've purchased a ticket on the 10pm flight. For whatever reason - airport curfew changes for instance - that flight now departs at 8pm, but without your contact information the airline can't notify you. The only number the carrier has is of your agent, who is notified, but more often than not, does not pass that information on to you. While one should always confirm their flight details the day before, many folks don't. That results in the passenger showing up at the airport and finding out they've missed their flight. And if it is the last flight of the night....well, you get the picture.

Please, if you've purchased air transportation through a travel agent, call the carrier and have them add your phone number to the record.

Disney Planning DVD

Each year Disney offers a new vacation planning video or two. Most years they don't change too much, but they're free and fun to collect. When the kids were younger we'd pull them out on a rainy day and through them, commenting on little changes here and there or just enjoying the visit to the parks/cruise line/Vacation Club through our TV. If you'd like to start collecting these DVDs (we've been at it since they sent VHS tapes!) go here and sign up.

Headed to Walt Disney World?

If you haven't discovered it already, you won't want to miss this site for LOTS of fantastic savings and codes.

To help plan your meals, make resort choices and find other things to do I can't recommend any site more highly than AllEarsNet.

I've been a fan of these two sites since, well, as the saying goes, since way back when.

Need to Save 10% on the Purchase of a Walt Disney World Annual Pass?

Along with the latest Mickey Monitor we received coupons for 10% off the purchase of up to six annual passes. The giver (me) gets a $25 gift card for redemption of the coupon, their incentive for us to give them away I suppose.

We have eight of these coupons, which expire July 31, 2009. If you'd like me to mail some off to you please comment with the number of passes you need to purchase so I know how many to send. Feel free to pass this offer along to others. I will edit this post when the coupons are gone.

Frugal Eating on the Road.

When the family was young we used to take day trips often. We'd pile the kids in the car with a box of toys that only came out for car trips, a pillow and blanket for each, a bag with a change of clothes for everyone and...a cooler packed with food and drinks from home. Yes, part of the fun of travel is getting something to eat that you don't have at home, but doesn't eating travel food get old AND expensive fairly quickly? I think so.

As the kids grew we would travel more by air than car, making the cooler approach impractical. For short trips we'd pack some shelf stable supplies from home - most often meal bars and dried fruit which provided snacks and breakfast, reducing the need to eat out as much. For longer trips we'd plan in at least one visit to a local grocery store and always try to get lodgings with at least a mini fridge, if not an entire kitchen.

I feel the grocery store approach really cuts down on the expense of eating away from home. On a recent trip to Europe my spouse and I even managed to keep at this. I brought an insulated bag and we filled it at the grocers. Breakfast was included with all our lodgings but other than that we ate only two full meals out in five days, grabbing coffee or a snack here or there, but for the most part eating frugally from the groceries.

Whether you're on a day long car trip or a week long overseas getaway I encourage you to give it a try.