Lower Gas Prices No Match For $1 Bus Ride

by Chris Owen on

Current gas prices are coming in lower than anticipated for this year’s summer travel season. In the short term that’s good. Looking forward, alternative forms of generating energy through clean renewable solutions are being developed but may be years away. Looking back, one method of transportation that has served us well in the past is being used right now on an increasing scale, saving travelers millions.

Megabus.com was the first city-to-city, express bus company with fares from $1. Launched in April 2006 and using UK-style double-decker buses, Megabus has become one of the largest intercity express bus service providers in North America, transporting more than 18 million travelers.

“Megabus is an express city-to-city service that offers affordable pricing, the ease of booking on the Internet, with center-city location pickup and drop-off points,” Coach USA President and COO Dale Moser said in the San Angelo Standard-Times.

In addition to affordable fares, Megabus offers customers state-of-the-art buses with free Wi-Fi, power outlets and restrooms, all in an environmentally friendly way.

Starting June 19, Megabus is expanding to Texas and the southern United States. Residents of Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, Texas, can now travel to cities as far away as New Orleans for as low as $1.”Megabus.com has rapidly become the travel option of choice for millions of people and today we’re excited to bring our unique travel option to Texas and the southern United States,” said Moser. “As Americans continue to look for ways to stretch their income, we look forward to providing safe, convenient and affordable travel to the millions of residents in the South.”

During the first week of sales all tickets will be no more than $1 – including 10,000 free seats. Visit megabus.com for additional information about the service, schedules, arrival and departure times and fares.


[Flickr photo by gorgeouxness]

Video: Oregon Man Turns Retired Jetliner Into Home

by Laurel Miller on

Reduce, reuse, recycle – we’ve heard it ad nauseum, but it’s certainly a great maxim to live by. Bruce Campbell, an Oregon electrical engineer remodeling a retired 727-200 commercial jet into a home, believes he’s on-trend, according to an interview with CNN. He admits it’s not for everyone (it’s like the Ninth Circle of Hell for aviophobics such as myself) but he does have a point about the wings making for a great deck.

For a tour of Campbell’s dream home in progress, watch the video.

These US Hotels Are Helping Guests Get In The Olympic Spirit

by Jessica Festa on

Want to celebrate the 2012 Olympic Games, but can’t make it to London? These U.S. hotels are offering Olympic-themed packages to guests.

Loews Coronado Bay
San Diego, California

To help guests get excited for the upcoming Olympics, Loews Coronado Bay is offering an array of Olympic activities for families. These include:

  • Tennis camps with former Olympic athlete Angelica Gavaldon at the resort’s three bayside tennis courts
  • Dive-in screenings of the Olympic Games, displayed on a giant screen by the resort’s outdoor swimming pools and Marina Terrace
  • “Coronado Cup” keelboat sailing lessons and sunset sailing excursions on the Coronado Bay

Rates begin at $209 per night, excluding Olympic activities. Click here to book.Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel
Santa Monica, California

Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel is getting in the Olympic spirit by offering an array of sporty activities. Guests can enjoy:

  • Private beach volleyball lessons on Muscle Beach with former Olympic athletes
  • Customized rings, balance beam and parallel bar routines on the beach
  • Sculling and rowing lessons, offered through the UCLA Miami Aquatic Center

Families can also add on a “Bed and Breakfast” package, which includes a $50 daily credit toward breakfast.

Rates begin at $459 per night. Click here to book.

Affinia Hotels
Various Locations In New York and Washington D.C.

In support of the movement to make yoga an Olympic sport, Affinia Hotels is offering yoga at check-in with the “Affinia Yoga Check-In Challenge.” During the Olympics, July 27 to August 12, guests can show off their yoga skills upon arrival by completing one, two or three levels of poses. Each pose will give them the chance to win a prize. The poses, from easy to difficult, include:

  • Tree Pose: Bronze Prize- Cupcake
  • Downward Facing Dog: Silver Prize- Bottle of wine
  • Head-to-Knee: Gold Prize- $25 MyAffinia credit

If they wish, guests who complete the “head-to-knee” challenge can get their photo taken to be entered into the hotel’s online version of the contest. The winner will be chosen by Affinia Facebook fans, and will receive a complimentary three-night stay in the Affinia property of their choice.

Rates start at $179 per night. Click here to book.

The Hotel @ Times Square
New York, NY

Want to celebrate the Olympics in a unique way? From July 27 until August 12, The Hotel @ Times Square is featuring a variety of “unsporty” packages, to help guests steer clear of The Games. Offers include:

  • Sprint From Shop To Shop- Guests receive a VIP coupon book for Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, directions and two bottles of water ($244.99 per room, per night).
  • Pick The Museum Mile Not A Marathon- Participants will get two tickets to the Metropolitan Museum of Art ($259.99 per room, per night).
  • Drop The Opening Ceremony For Real Historic Shows- Package entails two tickets to the “Rock Around The Block Tour” of Greenwich Village to explore where Dylan, Hendrix and Blondie made history ($291.99 per room, per night).

Click here to book.

The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa
Houston, Texas

From July 27 through August 12, The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa will be celebrating the Olympics with a “London Express” package. The offer includes:

  • An overnight stay in a hotel suite
  • Scones and tea for breakfast in Olivette
  • A couple’s massage at Trellis
  • Dinner at Olivette
  • Swimming, tennis, yoga and exercise in the private Houstonian Club, where one can find many former Olympians
  • Tickets and private transportation to and from The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts to see “The Lion King”

Package rates start at $1,595, based on double occupancy. Click here to book.

Kimpton’s Hotel Solamar
San Diego, California

Kimpton’s Hotel Solamar is helping Olympics enthusiasts save big with their “Gold, Silver, Bronze – everyone wins” offer. The package includes discounts and perks, such as:

  • Book one night and receive 10% off best available rate and parking
  • Book two nights and receive 15% off best available rate and parking
  • Book three nights and receive 25% off best available rate and parking
  • Morning coffee and tea service
  • Hosted evening wine reception
  • 24-hour access to fitness center

Rates start at $131 per night. Must book by July 15. Bookable for stays now through September 30, 2012. Click here to book.

Waldorf Astoria Park City
Park City, Utah

To help guests feel like Olympians themselves, the Waldorf Astoria Park City is offering a private ice-skating lesson with a member of the U.S. National Speed Skating Team and Olympic hopeful. This is the perfect activity for the city, which is a training ground for Olympians.

Offer is available through September 12, 2012, with rates starting at $299 per night, plus $120 per adult for a two-hour lesson. Click here to book.

TradeWinds Island Grand
St. Pete Beach, Florida

In honor of the Olympic Games, TradeWinds Island Grand is hosting an array of family-friendly and athletic activities, including an opening ceremony event, beach Olympics, poolside broadcasts of the Games, a torch relay, gymnastics, fencing, boxing, an inflatable obstacle course, glow-in-the-dark volleyball at night and more. To help make the activities seem more like the real thing, a podium will be placed near the pool for photos and awards. The area will also be adorned with Olympic rings and flags.

Room rates start at $169. Click here to book.

Archaeologists Uncover Suburb Of Giant Largest Prehistoric City

by Sean McLachlan on


The ancient city of Cahokia in Illinois was the center of an advanced civilization from about 700 to 1400 A.D. Covering six square miles and home to up to 20,000 people, it was the largest prehistoric city north of Mexico. It ruled over a large area and had trade networks stretching across North America.

Dozens of mounds dot the site, atop which the people built temples and homes for the elite. Cahokia’s artisans made fine work like these worked copper plates typical of the Mississippian culture that created Cahokia.

Cahokia’s importance is recognized by it being designated a state historic site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It makes a good day trip from St. Louis and has an excellent interpretive center. You can also climb up some of the mounds to get a sweeping view of the site.

Now archaeologists have discovered one of its suburbs in a derelict neighborhood of East St. Louis. It’s not much to look at today. The excavation is taking place between a derelict meatpacking plant and an abandoned strip club. Back in the day, though, it was a prosperous suburb of an important city with more than a thousand dwellings and earthen pyramids just like those of Cahokia.

Now there are plans to build a new bridge across the Mississippi at this spot. It’s hoped that the bridge will bring desperately needed visitors and investment from St. Louis, Missouri, into this part of East St. Louis, Illinois. Archaeologists are feverishly working ahead of the bulldozers to learn about this important period of America’s. They’d like to see at least some of the land preserved for a historical park but are pessimistic about their prospects.

[Image courtesy Herb Roe]

Congress Seeks To Make Bison America’s ‘National Mammal’

by Kraig Becker on

Earlier this week, Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi introduced a bill to congress that seeks to make the bison America’s “national mammal.” The bill, which is officially titled the National Bison Legacy Act, was brought before lawmakers at the request of the Wildlife Conservation Society and seems to have wide support from both sides of aisle.

If the act becomes law, the bison would be granted a similar status as the bald eagle, the oak tree and the rose as official national symbols of the United States. Beyond that there would be very little direct effect, although that doesn’t deter the sponsors of the bill. They see the bison as an important part of American heritage dating back to a time when only Native Americans occupied the region.

The bison is the largest land animal in North America and their vast herds once numbered in the millions. At their peak, those herds covered the Great Plains, ranging from the Rocky Mountains to as far east as the Appalachians. But as settlers moved west the animals were hunted for their meat and fur, bringing them to the brink of extinction. In the early 1900s President Teddy Roosevelt, working with several conservation groups, played an instrumental role in saving them from that fate. Today the bison population is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands, some of which are domesticated, and healthy herds can be found in places like Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks.

Although this piece of legislation doesn’t carry much weight, supporters say that it will still make American’s more aware of the role the bison has played in the country’s history and will help create support for further protecting the creatures and their natural environments.