Aruba – Marriott

 Beach, Caribbean  No Responses »
Sep 272007
 

Aruba has spent a lot of time in the news for an unfortunate event regarding a young lady. This has taken the luster off of this island paradise and it is a shame since the island is beautiful and the weather is fantastic.

There are quite a few places to stay on Aruba but the best place by far is the Marriott. This hotel is small by Marriott standards but it is still a great place to stay for a quiet, relaxing vacation on a peaceful island. The Marriott is at the end of a long series of that dot the on the West side of the island. It comes complete with its own so there really isn’t a need to leave the .

The best part of the Marriott has got to be the beach and the pool. The pool is beautiful with a swim-up bar that has very friendly and personable barstaff. Just outside the pool is a beautiful beach with plenty of staff to set up your chair, provide you with towels and bring you and refreshments. Due to the man-made reef, the water is quite calm and it is easy to float for hours in the ocean.

Aruba is blessed with great weather. Due to its very southern location, it rarely gets hit by hurricanes so it is one of the few islands where you can safely vacation in September and October with little fear of the massive storms. There is some industry on the island but for the most part the island depends on tourism. Make sure you help the local economy by buying a few souvenirs to take home and please tip generously.

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 Posted by The Traveler at 1:10 pm  Tagged with: , , , ,

Maui – Kapalua Bay Resort

 Beach, Golf, Hawaii  1 Response »
Sep 232007
 

This is one of our favorite spots on one of our favorite islands in the world. You can stay in the beautiful hotel or rent a condo on the professional level Kapalua Bay course. Either venue will allow you to enjoy the island of Maui in ways that are unrivaled in any other location.

Aside from the golf on the Arnold Palmer designed course and the weather, the big attraction is the which is absolutely fantastic. It is large enough that you will rarely be crowded but at the same time it is small enough that you won’t have a lot of people walking over you looking for shells. The is about 20-30 yards deep and the waves rolling up to it are just right for playing in – not so aggressive that they knock you over but not so meek that you feel like you are on a lake in the Midwest.

A special attraction of the beach is that it offers wonderful snorkeling on both ends. The beach is guarded on both ends with small peninsulas of rock and this offers the underwater wildlife a great venue for living.

HINT: stop at a local grocery store and buy some frozen peas or frozen corn, take this out in the water with you when you snorkel and throw a few handfuls around yourself. You will instantly be the best friend of several hundred fish as they swarm around you.

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 Posted by The Traveler at 12:54 pm  Tagged with: , ,

Epcot – Future World – Test Track Pavilion

 Amusement parks, Orlando, FL  No Responses »
Sep 192007
 

This is one of the biggest draws of . You definitely need to sign up for a FastPass for this pavilion or get to the park early and make this your first stop. The line later in the day will easily exceed an hour and it is not uncommon for a 2 hour wait on busy park days.

As you enter the pavilion you will weave around a display of automotive test paraphernalia. If you are into cars and have technical aptitude then you will enjoy this wait thoroughly. However, if you don’t care about either of the above, I am sorry to say that you will likely be bored to tears. The good part of this is that since you signed up for a FastPass, this wait won’t be long and you will quickly be into the main attraction.

The main part of the pavilion is the test track. You will be strapped into a “car” and you will take that car over a wide variety of terrain and conditions that is supposed to mimic the efforts the automotive engineers put vehicles through. The culmination of this ride is a brisk spin around the outside of the building going 60 mph (although it will feel much faster than that).

After your ride, you can play around in the display area. This is quite educational,but to be honest, it feels more like a PR indoctrination for the automotive industry. You will likely see some new GM cars on display (they are the sponsor) and some concept cars that will try to convince you that GM is a great company. While I have nothing against GM, you will likely bore quickly.

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 Posted by The Traveler at 12:38 am  Tagged with:

Kings Island

 Amusement parks, Cincinnati OH  No Responses »
Sep 142007
 

Kings Island is located just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. It has had a variety of owners over the years and is currently owned by Cedar Fair – the same company that owns Cedar Point. This change is recent and the remnants of former owner, Paramount, are still very obvious with ride names like Face/Off, Days of Thunder, Tomb Raider, and Italian Job

For thrill seekers, Kings Island doesn’t compete with Cedar Point or Universal Studio’s Islands of Adventure but it does offer a few gems of excitement. The biggest attraction in the park is The Beast which still holds the record as the longest wooden roller coaster in the world. This ride regularly tops any list of wooden roller coasters and it is a treat for coaster fans. KI tried to build on this draw by building Son of Beast which allowed the rider to go upside down on a wooden coaster but numerous technical challenges have put this ride at risk and it may eventually get shut down.

The new owner of the park appears to understand that thrill rides drive attendance and they have introduced new attractions to pull thrill seekers into the park. The Firehawk that was introduced in the summer of 2007 is a testimony to this.

Kings Island has one of the best kids parks and water parks attached to the thrill park. These additional venues are included with the main ticket admission and make the park almost impossible to enjoy in only one day. You would be wise to spend 2-3 days in Cincinnati and make it a mini-vacation (perhaps time it with a Reds game).

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 Posted by The Traveler at 7:31 pm  Tagged with:

Epcot – Future World – Spaceship Earth Pavilion

 Amusement parks, Orlando, FL  No Responses »
Sep 092007
 

When you see a picture of , this is what you see. This huge sphere just beyond the entrance to the park is the landmark of the place. It has to be one of the most memorable landmarks in the world and it has been very well publicized in pictures, websites, and brochures around the world.

The inside of the ball is a continuous slow moving ride that takes you through the history and possible future of communication. For this reason the pavilion is sponsored by Siemens AG. It is a very interesting ride and quite uplifting. Most people will leave the show feeling that the human race has accomplished a lot and optimistically has many more great things to do.

The line for the pavilion is usually quite reasonable and should be half or less than some of the other big attractions in the park. Also thanks to the location of the queue under the ball of the pavilion, it is usually very comfortable even on the hottest days so a good tip is to save this ride for the heat of the day.

This is a favorite event for any family and you really need to enjoy it. While you won’t buzz around at 60 mph, you will definitely learn a few things and you will have a general feeling of good will.

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 Posted by The Traveler at 12:42 pm  Tagged with: ,

Secret Harbour – St. Thomas

 Beach, Caribbean  No Responses »
Sep 042007
 

What a beautiful and quaint location. This condominium is located on the of the small bay called Secret Harbour.

There are actually two places in this small – the one is up the hill and the other is directly on the beach. The beach is not overly large and is covered with palm trees to hide under in the intense heat of the sun. The waters off the beach are almost always flat and calm due to the geography of this small bay. This allows for easy and relaxing swimming in the water. You can easily snorkel right off of the beach but you will need to swim out a fair distance to really see a great deal of fish. The reefs that protect this part of St. Thomas are very far out and that is where the prettiest fish are hanging out.

There is a small and romantic restaurant on the grounds with very friendly staff and good . The prices are reasonable for the island and you will have a relaxing evening watching the sunset and listening to the waves. Occasionally, a local artist will entertain you with a soft melody – tip generously to your artist and your wait staff as the island depends on tourist dollars to survive.

St. Thomas is the stop for many ships and therefore the island is abuzz with tourists during the day. The Secret Harbour can be a quiet escape in this small Virgin Island chain.

 Posted by The Traveler at 11:30 am  Tagged with: , , , ,
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