Daily Pampering: Trace your lineage at The Lodge at Doonbeg

by McLean Robbins on

Got a bit of Irish in you? Visitors to The Lodge at Doonbeg in County Clare, Ireland can now trace their roots through an innovative program that partners guests with Dolores Murrihy and Paddy Waldron, the hotel’s geneaology experts.

Not sure about the exact nature of your ancestry? Begin with an assessment (€40), where the genealogists make an outline research plan and an indication of the prospects of successfully tracing the family further back in time. The outline research plan may recommend further research in your own country before any research can be carried out in Ireland. Want a more in-depth approach? Try the consulting service (€100), an hour-long meeting over tea or coffee where Murrihy and Waldron design personalized research program guiding you to the sources where you are most likely to find results. If it’s found that there’s a strong possiblity of tracing your family further, the geneaologists can compile a research report (minimum €200) or lead a tour if an exact location can be determined. The trip might take in homesteads, cemeteries, schools, churches and other relevant locations.

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

Ordnance Survey maps: sometimes government CAN do a great job

by Sean McLachlan on

The BBC recently interviewed a cartographer for the Ordnance Survey. This government department is in charge of mapping the United Kingdom, except for Northern Ireland, which has its own agency.

If you like maps or plan to hike in the UK, the Ordnance Survey maps are simply amazing. They’ve been measuring and drawing this green and pleasant land since the eighteenth century and produce the best maps I’ve ever used. In the interview, cartographer Dave Wareham explains how he uses GPS satellites and OS ground stations to get his measurements to within “a maximum tolerance of 2.6cm.” That’s one inch to you Yanks.

The smallest scale maps are truly amazing, with every fence, building, postbox, and public telephone carefully marked. If you know how to read a map and use a compass, it’s virtually impossible to get lost with one of these in your hand. Unfortunately, a poll back in 2007 discovered that the majority of Brits can’t read maps. If the UK government wasn’t ruthlessly slashing education spending they could add a map-reading course.

It’s nice to see a government project that works well. In the days of GPS and Google Maps, the Ordnance Survey still sells three million copies maps each year. They even turn a profit. My only quibble with the OS maps is that they’re updated only once every three or four years, which isn’t enough in some parts of the country, as I discovered while hiking the East Highland Way.

Still, they’re the best maps you’re going to find. If you’re having trouble shopping for that outdoorsy type in your life, grab some of these to inspire their next hike.

Airline seat as buffet rebuffed, only take what you buy

by Tom Johansmeyer on

When you go to a buffet, you know what to expect: take as much as you want. You pay once, and then you can consume all that you like. It’s the nature of the environment. This stands in stark contrast to other restaurants, where you pay for an entrée and get nothing more. If you want an appetizer, you have to shell out a few extra bucks – likewise dessert. As a society, we have learned to live with this, even to expect it.

Yet, this changes as soon as we start boarding planes. We want more than we’re paying for, even if it comes at the expense of someone else.

I was cruising through the travel news this morning and saw a Q&A story on ABC News about fights over the armrest. One passenger wants it up, and the other wants to put it down. A fight ensues, unless one of the passengers is reseated.

The question was simple: is it unreasonable to insist that the armrest go down when the passenger next to you is spilling over into your seat? Remember: airline seating isn’t a buffet.


The advice given by ABC News writer Lesley Carlin was on point, indicating that a passenger is entitled to the space she pays for, no exceptions. I was heartened to see her assessment, “Airplane seats are, quite simply, ridiculous,” which though obvious, needs to be restated routinely.

Carlin explains:

But, still, despite the underlying issues with the seats, when you buy a ticket, you’re buying a particular amount of space on the plane. It’s not fair for someone else to usurp some of it. If you live in an apartment and buy a Christmas tree that turns out to be too tall, you can’t just cut a hole in your ceiling and let some of it poke into your upstairs neighbor’s place, right? That’s exactly what the passenger leaning into your space was doing, and that’s not cool.

So, would you eat from a stranger’s plate … without asking?

[photo by InfoMofo via Flickr]

Golf tip: no need to yell “fore”!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Planning to dash off to a warm spot this winter for a few rounds of golf? Well, if your ball is shooting toward the head of another duffer, you can comfortably keep your mouth shut. No joke: a judge has even weighed in on this.

According to the New York Court Appeals, Business Insider writes, “being hit without warning by a ‘shanked’ shot while one searches for one’s own ball reflects a commonly appreciated risk of golf.” Who knew golf was so risky?

So, take note: the next time you step onto a golf course, you’re taking your life into your own hands. Maybe it’s time to don a helmet for 18 holes?

[photo by chispita_666 via Flickr]

No, not every city can be a cruise port

by Chris Owen on

It seems every large coastal city wants to be a cruise port, either as a place to visit or to be a home port where a ship operates from, and for good reason. Cruise ships can bring a lot of tourists and their dollars when they visit. At a time when local economies are recovering at best there is a lot of interest but not a lot of realistic expectations.

“The reality is they have as much chance to get a cruise ship to visit as they do in luring the Lakers from Los Angeles” says cruise industry expert Stewart Chiron CEO, CruiseGuy.com speaking of a feasibility study done by Brownsville, Texas. “These results are based on the cow jumping over the moon, planets aligning and may also require peace on earth!” he added.

Savanna, Georgia also did a study that returned “better than expected” results with big numbers like up to 350,000 visitors by 2020 and a potential industry of $100 million a year reports the Savannah Morning News.

Not so fast says Chiron, cautioning leaders to be realistic. “I think Savannah is a wonderful city and know it would make a wonderful option, but there needs to be more than desire and their reasoning is way off.”

Cruise lines move cautiously when choosing ports, opting for those that can serve the most potential passengers and produce the best financial results. While the allure of a cruise port may be the stuff tourism dreams are made of, Chiron concludes the big question is “Where will the cruise lines be able to reap the highest yields?” adding “This ultimately may delay Savannah’s heartfelt desires.”

Flickr photo by taberandrew