Radio Tour: Gas Prices and Summer Travel
Posted by admin in General on 05 21st, 2011 Page 1 of 2 | Next Page
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With Memorial Day quickly approaching everyone is getting excited about the summer, and this year, it looks as though travel is back on the list of things to do.
I did a number of radio station interviews this morning, and the tone of the conversations reinforced my viewpoint that after a long, hard winter and two years of staycations, Americans are ready to hit the road again.
If you want further proof, AAA offered it later in the day. Their annual Memorial Day weekend holiday travel survey showed a slight increase in the number of people ready to pack their bags and get away during the upcoming weekend, which is often seen as the kick-off to the summer travel season.
The thing is consumers are going to see higher costs when they take their trips. According to AAA, holiday weekend airfares are up 14 percent and hotel prices are up between 5 to 10 percent. That’s in addition to the higher gasoline prices.
So you can guess the questions everyone had. Where are the bargains? How long will gas prices stay high? How do you get the best deals?
On CNBC.com we have a lot of good tips to answer these questions, ranging from why you should book a package to apps that help you save money. (Check out our Travel Dollars special report for more.)
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read comments (0)Bicycling: Where to watch Amgen Tour racers in Southern California
Posted by admin in General on 05 18th, 2011
The Amgen Tour of California is set to roll into the southern half of the state Friday for individual time trials in Solvang, with no weather disruptions expected for the final three days of competition.
For details on where and when to watch the race, study the stage maps and logs on the Amgen Tour’s website. Rolling road closures are scheduled 30 minutes before the tour’s arrival.
Here’s what to expect at key sites:
– In Solvang the start line for Stage 6 doubles as the finish line. The race here will draw crowds to watch the comings and goings, first of top female racers, such as Kristin Armstrong, Charlotte Becker, Emma Pooley, Evelyn Stevens and Tara Whitten. They will attack the course an hour before the male competitors who remain in the roster of 18 teams of eight riders that started the truncated race in Nevada City.
Among the top men in the race are Dave Zabriskie, Chris Horner and Tejay Van Garderen
– Steep grade and countless curves will slow the momentum during Saturday’s Claremont to Mt. Baldy Stage 7 and make it easier to identify the colorful jerseys — with colors such as yellow for overall leader and white for best young rider–worn by racers as they battle the San Gabriel Mountains.
The intersection of Mt. Baldy and Glendora Ridge roads, in Mt. Baldy Village above Upland, will provide a vantage point to take in the action twice, first as cyclists angle to return to the valley flats and again about two hours later as they huff toward the finish line. The run up Mt. Baldy is billed as the toughest mountain climb ever in the Tour of California.
For best viewing, consider the Tour de France tradition of overnight camping because officials plan to close the road at 9 a.m. Saturday.
– For its final sprint on Sunday, Stage 8, the tour will travel from Santa Clarita to Thousand Oaks, where two key climbs — Balcom Canyon and the Norwegian Grade — will seal the fate of the yellow jersey.
Can’t make it out to the race? You can follow it live online or from your smartphone.
Info: Amgen Tour of California
Kingdom hosts Farm to Yarn tour
Posted by admin in General on 05 15th, 2011
I’ve always thought of knitting as a genteel activity, but organizers of the Northeast Kingdom Farm to Yarn Tour advise participants to ”wear boots (preferably plastic ones that can be washed) and clothes that can get dirty.” The tour, which takes place next weekend, May 21-22, is a chance to meet and greet the creatures who make your knitting, weaving, and felting possible. The dozen participating farms raise raise sheep, cashmere goats, alpacas, and angora rabbits. Activities vary from farm to farm, but they almost always include a tour of the animal facilities and may include craft demonstrations. (One farm even has a llama obstacle course.) Of course, yarn will be for sale.
Eight farms will be open on Saturday, and four on Sunday. In addition, the Mountain Fiber Folk Coop in Montgomery will be open both days and will be giving spinning demonstrations. On Sunday, the coop will also demonstrate natural dyeing with indigo.
Details are buried on the Northeast Kingdom’s website, but you can find the list of participating farms with dates, hours, a downloadable map, and directions on the Farm to Yarn page. Click here.
Photo by Patricia Harris for the Boston Globe
Travel calendar: Paso Robles ready to uncork for wine festival
Posted by admin in General on 05 12th, 2011From Bay Area News Group
Bus’ booze clues
Posted by admin in General on 05 9th, 2011
The tour-bus driver charged with fatally mowing down a pedestrian in Midtown had a checkered driving history — and a silver travel mug nearly-emptied of vodka, according to police sources and public records.
Steve Drappel, 57, of West Palm Beach, Fla. — who belongs to a Facebook rant group called I Hate People Who Can’t Drive for S- -t — was charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated after striking 29-year-old Philadelphian Timothy White on Saturday.
Drappel, who had about 40 tourists aboard, blew a .083 on a breath alcohol test, according to police sources — more than twice the legal limit of .04 for commercial drivers and over the .08 limit for all drivers.
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Cops found an opened 1.75-liter bottle of Smirnoff belonging to Drappel in the luggage compartment, the sources said.
White, whose family told DNAinfo he was in town for a visit and walking back to his cousin’s place after dinner at around 10 p.m., was dragged for about half a block after the bus made a left from 47th Street onto Ninth Avenue.
He was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.
“Right now we only know what we’ve heard,” a relative said before declining further comment.
Public records show Drappel, who attended Flushing HS in Queens, has been cited for a half-dozen traffic violations since 1997 — including three car accidents, speeding and twice driving with a suspended license.
His home number in Florida was not working.
One of the accidents occurred in a Fort Lauderdale parking lot while he was driving a bus for the now-defunct All Together Bus Lines, but details weren’t immediately available.
The tour, run by LL Travel, started on the Bowery in Chinatown.
LL’s safety manager, Kevin Luong, said no one aboard knew anything was wrong until someone on the street got him to stop the bus.
“They didn’t realize what was happening,” Luong said. “The bus was moving very slowly, they made a turn, and suddenly somebody was banging on the door.”
He said Drapper was employed by Travelynx, a Florida company that operates tours for LL.
“They have a very good reputation,” he said. “This is the first time — that’s why I feel very emotional myself.”
Additional reporting by Alexis Jeffries
john.doyle@nypost.com
