New roller coaster in 2012

Port Aventura theme park in Spain plans to debut a record-setting $35-million mountain climbing-themed roller coaster in spring 2012 featuring a series of camelback hills, pitch-black tunnels and a water element

The roller coaster, or "montaña rusa" in Spanish, is expected to be named after the mythical Tibetan kingdom of Shambhala

OK coaster enthusiasts it’s time to plan a trip to Spain!

While you’re over there head up to Paris France and check out Euro Disney!

Many newlyweds won't take a honeymoon!

And in large part it's due to lack of funds. Maybe it's because couples save less than ever before or maybe because couples now shoulder a larger share of the cost of their wedding

Either way the Internet age has provided portals that allow family members and guests to help fund your honeymoon by making donations to your travel account

Instead of another toaster as a wedding gift you can tell your guests to help send you and your sweetie on your honeymoon! They simply donate to your travel fund!

Another thought is who doesn't deserve a second honeymoon! You can help fund this getaway too!

Let's talk and and I’ll show you how to establish your own honeymoon fund.

Be kind to your travel agent & get out of town!

US Visa Reform

Tourism can work for America by growing jobs!

One key to economic growth and job creation in travel and tourism is through smarter visa policy. Improvements to the U.S. visa process could

·         Attract 98 million more legitimate international visitors
·         Create an additional 1.3 million U.S. jobs by 2020
·         Inject $859 billion into the U.S. economy

Get engaged & contact your elected officials today & tell them to support visa reform!

The answer to last week’s trivia question is

Altitude is everything! At 7200 feet above sea level you can catch a football game here! Can you name the stadium, team name and colors?

Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium, capacity 29,181 was built in 1950 and remains one of the most picturesque football facilities in America. A state-of-the-art $1 million artificial turf surface was installed in the summer of 2005 enhancing this breathtaking stadium, which sits between the Snowy Range of the Rocky Mountains to the West and the Laramie Range to the East. At an elevation of 7,220 feet War Memorial is the highest Division I football stadium in America.

The Cowboys wear Brown & Yellow…Go Pokes!

A harsh winter ahead?

The “woolly bears” are back crawling across the roadways. These are the little orange and black caterpillars that folk lore says predicts winter. The more black they are the the more harsh of winter we are supposed to have

All I’m seeing are little black fellows-no orange stripe!

Look out a bad winter may be on the way!

There's a great "woolly bear" festival up on Ohio's north coast in Vermilion.

Winter holiday light displays

The Kentucky Travel Industry Association has selected Ashland’s Winter Wonderland of Lights as a part of its 2011 Winter/Holiday Top 10 Festivals and Events. This is the festival’s fourth year in being selected.
I agree and have been saying for years that Central Park’ light display is much better than the ones in Wheeling WV


Coal Grove’s Paul Porter display is awesome too!


Both are much closer!

Save on fuel and take advantage of our local treasures!

A large pumpkin pie recipe

The 100th Anniversary of the Circleville Pumpkin Show features their largest pumpkin pie ever!

Here are the stats:

·         14 feet in diameter

·         360 pounds of sugar

·         795 pounds of pumpkin

·         60 lbs. of powdered milk

·         60 dozen eggs

·         75 gallons of water

·         400 lbs. of flour

·         15 people to mix

     ·         10 hours to bake

My question-How much whipped creamed do you need?

Why is the Circleville Pumpkin Show billed as “The Greatest FREE Show on Earth”?

It’s because visitors can come, be entertained, spend as much time as they like and not be required to spend a dime

If you’re looking for a weekend road trip the Pumpkin Show is being held this weekend!

But if you’re just passing through C’ville you’d better find a detour as State Route 23 becomes a parking during the festival

Enjoy!

Single supplement waived on select holiday European river cruises

Single supplement are words that single travelers hate to hear!

Great news-Uniworld has waived the single supplement on a variety 2011 holiday cruises for those solo travelers who wish to experience the rich traditions and spirit of Europe at this special time of year.  With Uniworld's Waived Single Supplement, you’ll  feel the welcoming warmth of each destination they visit as they travel back in time unwrapping one special tradition after another.

Contact your favorite professionalcruise consultant today!  

Virginia’s Historic Triangle

Hopelessly trapped at Yorktown, Virginia, British
General Lord Cornwallis surrenders 8,000 British
soldiers and seamen to a larger Franco-American force, effectively bringing an end to the American Revolution on Oct 19 1781

The historic triangle of Yorktown, Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg offers great history, shopping, dining even an amusement park!

It’s a family friendly destination and makes for a great long weekend too! 

Airline advertising rule changes

Lufthansa (Germany's international airline) said that it will start complying with new rules governing how airlines advertise fares on Nov. 1, nearly three months in advance of the Jan. 24 deadline put in place by the Department of Transportation. Lufthansa will start advertising fares that include all taxes and fees in all of its U.S. advertising and marketing materials and promotions

This is a big win for the traveler as you’ll now get the total not a low air fare with plenty of add on extra fess & surcharges

I just did a quote on an international flight-the fare was $920 but the total ticket cost was closer to $1500 after all extras were added on.  

All inclusive sale!

Cruises are not the only items on sale this week-Caribbean all inclusive resorts have some special offerings too!

There are only a few days to save up to 55% off of a vacation at a Super-Inclusive® Breezes Resorts & Spas. Virtually everything you can eat, drink & do is included in one simple, upfront price with no tipping allowed. So leave your wallet behind and bring a healthy appetite for great food and endless fun. All of the resorts are on some of the best beaches in the Caribbean and Latin America. At Breezes, you'll find an abundance of land and water sports. Everything from sailing, windsurfing and snorkeling to tennis and rock-climbing - even golf at our very own PGA-quality golf course and some of the best scuba diving in both Jamaica and Curacao - all with professional instruction.              

Breezes is a great product…ask me I’ve been there!

Tuesday travel trivia

Altitude is everything! 

At 7200 feet above sea level you can catch a football game here!

Can you name the stadium, team name and colors?

US purchases Alaska!

On this day in 1867, the U.S. formally takes possession of Alaska after purchasing the territory from Russia for $7.2 million, or less than two cents an acre. The Alaska purchase comprised 586,412 square miles, about twice the size of Texas, and was championed by William Henry Seward, the enthusiastically expansionist secretary of state under President Andrew Johnson

Today it one of America’s great cruise and land tour destinations!

Book your Alaska cruise this week during the world's largest cruise sale and save!

Be kind to your travel agent and get out of town!

The World's Largest Cruise Sale is On!

This week, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) is holding the first-ever, week-long, World's Largest Cruise Sale. Every one of CLIA's cruise line members is offering travelers additional discounts or value-added incentives for new bookings made from October 17-23.

Many of the specials include shipboard credits, which are as good as, cash onboard and can be used to pay for almost anything not included in the upfront cost of the cruise, including alcoholic beverages, boutique items, spa treatments and shore excursions.

In past years, the sale was called World's Largest Cruise Night and lasted only one day, but the response overwhelmed reservation centers at some cruise lines so the event has been expanded to seven days this year. It's a great time to book a cruise that departs during the remainder of 2011 or the first quarter of 2012.

Contact your cruise travel specialist today!  

Text message or phone call?

A recent study by the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project Almost discovered that one-third of U.S. adults prefer to be reached by text message rather than a voice call on their mobile phone,.

Today three-quarters (73 percent) of U.S. adults text and 83% of U.S. adults are mobile phone owners.

The study found that when it comes to a preferred method of contact, 31 percent of adults would choose a text message, 51 percent would choose a voice call and 14 percent say it depends on the situation. 55 percent of heavy texters — those who exchange fifty messages or more a day — prefer texting to talking.

Young adults between 18-24 text most frequently, sending, on average, 109.5 messages each day or 3,200 texts each month. The average mobile phone user in that group sends or receives fifty texts each day or 1,500 texts each month.

The findings also reveal that mobile usage has leveled off among the U.S. adult population. These statistics are very similar to 2010′s results. On average, 41.5 texts are sent or received on a given day. The average adult sends or receives ten texts each day. Cell phone users make or receive twelve calls on average each day.

I’ve asked my students to post in specific classes 4 times per week. Some have complained that this is an excessive amount. 

Come on these are just tweets or text messages…4 week is nothing!   

The survey polled 2,277 adults over age 18, between April 26 and May 22. The margin of error for the survey is plus or minus 2.3 percent and plus or minus 2.7 percent among mobile phone users.

Which do you prefer?

A phone call?

A text message?

An email?

Email the Travel Professor!

Is a hotel "do over" reality show next?

The TP is hearing that Gordon Ramsay, the acid tongued Scottish chef from hit TV reality show “Hell’s Kitchen”, may be taking on the hotel industry with a new show “Hell’s Hotel.  Instead of redoing a restaurant he’ll take on a struggling hotel and attempt to recreate it. Should be an interesting viewing experience!  

National Cruise Vacation Week

The Deals Are ON! This October Brings The World's Largest Cruise Sale!  October 17-23 is National Cruise Vacation Week's World's Largest Cruise Sale! Formerly called the World's Largest Cruise Night there are plenty of amazing savings from all your favorite cruise and river cruise lines!  

For the travelers this means potential savings of $100 to $5,000 or more in some cases, credits for shipboard spending valued at $50 to over $300, upgrades to suite accommodations, or other incentives such as complimentary shore excursions, deposit waivers and more. Among the outstanding offers: Three to five day Caribbean cruises starting at $249, six to eight day sailings starting at $429; $2,000 savings per couple on a river cruise through Burgundy and Provence; and two-for-one fares with free airfare plus up to $5,000 in bonus savings on sailings in Europe or the Pacific.

Check out some of the specials here or contact your favorite travel agent.

United Vacations launches Million Mile Sweepstakes

United Vacations has launched a Million Mile Sweepstakes that includes a giveaway of a total of 1 million MileagePlus or OnePass miles and several trips for two to Las Vegas. Travelers who purchase a flight and hotel getaway to Las Vegas from United Vacations through Nov. 7 will automatically be entered to win.

The grand-prize winner will receive 250,000 miles and a three-night Las Vegas vacation for two, including a first-class flight and accommodations. Two winners will receive 100,000 miles and a three-night, air-inclusive Las Vegas vacation. Two winners will receive 100,000 miles, and five winners will receive 70.

Contact your travel agent now to reserve your Las Vegas package!

New burger joints coming to Carnival Cruise Lines!

Carnival is teaming up with bestselling author, restaurateur and Food Network personality Guy Fieri to bring all the appetizing appeal of a roadside burger shack to Guy's Burger Joint, the cool poolside spot for hot burgers and hand-cut fries. Try a fresh-off-the-grill burger Guy's way, or take it off-road to our topping bar and truly make it your own. The burgers are coming to Carnival Liberty this October, the Carnival Breeze next June 2012, the Carnival Conquest in October 2012 and the Carnival Glory in November 2012.

Stay tuned for more Fun ship upgrades!

The Space Age starts on Oct 4 1957

The Soviet Union inaugurates the "Space Age" on Oct 4 1957 with its launch of Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite. The spacecraft, named Sputnik after the Russian word for "satellite," was launched at 10:29 p.m. Moscow time from the Tyuratam launch base in the Kazakh Republic…the Smithsonian Air & Space museums in DC & VA are well worth your time!

Fall colors

One of the treasures of autumn is the palette of colors Mother Nature presents. Keep up to date on fall colors and events at these web sites: Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia.

Take a drive and enjoy the scenery! Catch a festival and enjoy the tastes!

The Travel Professor is going topless and driving the back roads of Appalachia!

Haunted Ohio!

The special Haunted House Ohio Statehouse Halloween tours will take place during two weekends in October. The dates will be October 14 & 15 and October 21 & 22. Tours will depart every half hour between 7p.m. and 9p.m. Tickets are limited to 40 Individuals per tour time each night. Tickets for the tours will be $12 per adult and $6 per child under the age of 12. Haunted Statehouse Tour participants will have a “haunted and historical experience.” Statehouse staff members and volunteers will combine history and legend in this special family-friendly event. This historical tour is spooky but suitable for all members of the family. Tickets may be purchased by phone at 614-728-9234 or online at www.statehouseshop.com (Click Seasonal).

Dayton's Dawn Patrol weekend fly-in

A boyhood dream was fulfilled last weekend at Dayton’s “Dawn Patrol” fly in weekend. Held on the grounds of the National Air Force Museum this event featured replicas of new fangled “flying machines” that took to the skies during the Great War. Also known as World War 1 (WW1) this horrific struggle ragged  from 1914-1918 and introduced modern technology like machine guns, poison gas, tanks and airplanes to the conflict.

As a youth in what is termed middle school today I pedaled the Schwinn 10 speed across town to the library and read volumes about these brave airmen, their flying fighting machines and the developing strategy and tactics of air power. 

And like many youngsters this fascination with planes faded away. When summoned to military service it was the Army’s Armor branch, more specifically Armored Cavalry for me. Spurs and sabers instead of the wild blue yonder!  My father, an Air Force vet, recalling my youthful love affair with airplanes asked why the Army?  “Tanks don’t fly Dad!” was my reply.

But my attraction to the aircraft and the stories of WW1 was renewed and reinvigorated by attending the Dawn Patrol experience.  FYI-Dawn Patrol was a WW1 phenomenon in which pilots got up extremely early usually 3 AMish ate a greasy English fried breakfast, and then went aloft 1/2 hour before sunrise to look for the Huns (Germans) on the ground or in the air. Today it still means getting an early start to the day. 

Meanwhile let’s get back to this air show experience. There were an ample number of historic aircraft both on static ground display and in the air.  An added attraction was plenty of WW1 re-enactors complete with their gear deployed in a tactical field environment.  Machine gun nests, communication posts and field hospitals were focal points of these living history demonstrations. 

The 2011 World War I Dawn Patrol Rendezvous featured vintage reproduction full scale and 7/8 scale aircraft such as the Nieuport 17, the Spad XIII and the Fokker DR-1 triplane. The Nieuport 17 was a plane used by the American volunteer squadron Lafayette Escadrille while the iconic Fokker DR-1 triplane was flown by the fable German ace Manfred von Richthofen aka the Red Baron.

We observed precision flying in the skies above the museum even a flour bombing competition. At times the planes made a strafing run complete with faux machine gun fire so we had to scramble for cover.  

A biennial event offered by the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force and the Great War Aeroplanes Association the last WWI Dawn Patrol Rendezvous took place in the fall of 2009 and is scheduled to return again in 2013. 

Our morning was spent in the Dawn Patrol bivouac area and then the afternoon touring the collections of the National Museum of the United States Air Force that’s located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. The mission of the museum is to preserve and present the United States Air Force story. Each year more than one million visitors come to the museum to learn about the mission, history and evolving capabilities of America's Air Force.

The museum is the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum featuring more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles on display amid more than 17 acres of indoor exhibit space. Thousands of personal artifacts, photographs and documents further highlight the people and events that comprise the Air Force storyline, from the beginnings of military flight to today's war on terrorism.

Admission and parking for both the Dawn Patrol event and the AF museum were free. Typical festival fare food was available in the fly-in encampment area along with yummy refreshments in the museum’s Valkyrie Café. The cafe offers dining in an aviation themed environment with a selection of affordably priced soups, salads, sandwiches, pizza and more.  

It was an enjoyable, highly educational yet long day. Next time I’ll spend the night in the Dayton area with plans of taking in some of the attractions geared towards the Wright Brothers and their involvement in the early days of aviation. Besides aviation history there is a wealth of things to see and do here. 

So until we meet on the road, the plane, the motor coach, train or cruise ship …have a great one!