Instead of Utah as a ski destination, head to New Mexico

by Jamie Rhein on

Let’s say you’re interested in boycotting Utah but you really want to ski at an affordable destination. Consider New Mexico. The mountains are steep and become packed with powder; the sky is blue; and skiing is near places worth heading to whether you ski or not.

Consider this: Santa Fe and Taos

I’m not saying that Utah isn’t a lovely state–It’s gorgeous–breathtaking even. Then there’s David Archuleta who is cute as a button. He’s from Utah. So are the Osmonds. But let’s say you want to boycott the state because it’s been suggested as an appropriate response as of late. (See Meg’s post.)

If you do think about heading to New Mexico for a ski vacation, here are details to tip your decision-making in New Mexico’s favor.

  • Lift tickets are $6 cheaper at Santa Fe’s resort than at Utah’s Alta.
  • Lift lines in New Mexico, in my experience, are not particularly long.
  • If you ski in Santa Fe, head to the Japanese onsen-like Ten Thousand Waves for a glorious soak in a private outdoor hot tub. Some tubs are located in the midst of trees that glisten in the snow and moonlight. This is a perfect stop after a day of swooshing down a mountain over and over again.
  • Santa Fe is a place to shop like no other. Friends of mine– who never shop, said they’ve never been to a place that has given them the urge to buy things more than here. Canyon Road is filled with galleries and stores that are the definition of eye candy.
  • The best folk art museum in the world is in Santa Fe. Head to the International Folk Art Museum for a visual treat and a reminder of all the markets you passed through in your world travels. You’ll possibly be reminded of that item you didn’t buy, that very thing that is in the display case in front of you–specifically an odd painted piece of pottery that is shaped like a chicken–kind of. It’s from Senegal to be exact.
  • A meal at Cafe Pasqual is fit for a weekend that’s meant to be special. This is fine dining with an organic, Old Mexican, New Mexican and Asian twist. I can’t remember what I ate specifically, but I was on a date with a guy who wanted to impress. He did. Fine dining doesn’t mean you need to get all gussied up either.

If you head to Taos, you can stop at Taos Pueblo, the oldest continuously inhabited Native American town that is both an National Historic Landmark and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Southwest moves in on New York City

by Grant Martin on

Southwest Airlines (WN) just announced that they’re moving in on New York City‘s LaGuardia through the purchase of bankrupt ATA‘s slots. The purchased slots would be enough for seven round trip flights out of New York City per day. Says spokesperson Paula Berg:

“Through a stock purchase acquisition, Southwest would get several assets of the reorganized ATA Airlines, including the rights to 14 LaGuardia
slots, and various other assets including training materials and
trademarks, etc. No aircraft, facilities, or employees are included.“

Bankruptcy courts and the legal hodgepodge still have to approve reorganization of the defunct ATA and the subsequent purchase of slots by WN, but at this point, the airline is pretty confident that they’re headed for the Big Apple.

So what does this mean for the New York traveler? As the best-hedged and one of the few profitable airlines in operation today, Southwest has the advantage of undercutting the competition’s fares, effectively forcing other airlines to compete and drop their prices out of the city. So even if you aren’t a big fan of WN, you should be happy that they’re driving down the price of tickets across the bar.

It should take a few months for details to develop on when WN will move in (they’re being tight lipped about any schedule.) We’ll let you know when the plan comes together.

Staycationing: A Sign of the Times

by Brenda Yun on

At what point did Dorothy’s saying, “There’s no place like home,” turn into the motto for staycationers across America? Very, very recently. With soaring gas prices and airfares, a bottomed-out economy, and little time to take off from your job lest you lose it to one of the 10% of Americans who are unemployed and eager to step in for you, it’s easy to see why staying home is the safest, cheapest, and best option for families across the nation. The problem with staycationing has little to do with relaxation. That should and can happen anywhere as long as you let it. The real problem with staycationing has more to do with psychological welfare and distance from the familiar.

There really is no place like home if you’re like me and live in Hawaii, a paradise in its own right. It gets a little trickier, however, if you are one of the millions of people who are right now freezing your tooshy off in the Midwest and Northeast.The reality is that we all can’t be like Paris Hilton and jetset to desirable destinations all the time. We have to be creative at times, and that is a very healthy and perfectly acceptable thing for even the most well-traveled people in this world.

If you’re looking for a few good tips on how to plan a satisfying staycation, you can start by reading these two articles from MSNBC and CNN Travel. I like what MSNBC has to say about preparing for your “trip” as if you are leaving your house even though you aren’t, and what CNN says about “unplugging” your technology to de-stress. Fellow Gadling writers Jeremy and Anna have some other great staycation tips that are worth checking out too.

So grab a great DVD from Blockbuster, or dust off those cross-country skis in your garage. There’s no better time than now to have a staycation in your backyard.

Finally – a hotel where you’re *encouraged* to steal the towels

by Karen Walrond on

I’m one of those uptight folks who hates the idea of stealing anything: I’ve scolded friends for buying bootlegged CDs and DVDs. My husband, however, isn’t quite as ridiculous as I am — in fact, I cringe every time he comes home from a business trip, in anticipation of what hotel towel he’s decided to bring home with him as a souvenir.

However, I think I may have found a hotel where we can go and I don’t have to live in fear: The Hotel Fusion in San Francisco actually encourages you to steal their towels! Stay with them for three nights or more, and they’ll let you take home a towel, complete with the words “I didn’t steal my towel from Hotel Fusion,” to assuage any fears of any over-concerned spouses. The offer is good for stays between now and February 28, 2009.

Now if I could just find another hotel that has a similar offer for a flat-screen TV…

Daily deal – SeV performance T-Shirt 25% discount on 2 or more

by Scott Carmichael on

Today’s daily deal is for what can only be referred as “the perfect travel T-Shirt”.

The SeV cotton T-Shirt features not one, but three discreet pockets, with room for your iPod, mobile phone and other gadgets. The iPod pocket even has the patented SeV personal area network, with wire conduits and earphone loops!

The shirt is made of 100% prewashed no-shrink cotton and is available in three different colors (black, white and olive).

These T-Shirts normally retail for $25 each, but if you apply coupon code NEWTEES, you’ll get 25% off 2 or more (making the total price for 2 T-Shirts just $37.50).

Shipping is a very reasonable $5 and you’ll find the product in sizes S-XXL.