Travel blog celebrates Memorial Day

by Chris Owen on
Whatever your plans are for this Memorial Day, odds are there will be thoughts of someone who served in the military. Formerly known as Decoration Day, today commemorates U.S. Service members who died while in the military service and is a reason for parades, shopping, family get-togethers, fireworks, trips to the beach, celebrations, picnics and more. Memorial Day is also a day when those who write blogs reflect on what the day means to them.

Princess Cruises blog, 50 Essential Experiences: The Travel Bucket List blog posts once a week and has taken us all over the world with personal accounts of travel from some of their longest-serving employees. The blog started with an account of President and CEO Alan Buckelew’s service in Vietnam. Today, the blog returns to Buckelew with some further thoughts

“This Memorial Day weekend will take me to Washington, D.C. as my mother-in-law is laid to rest with her husband in Arlington Cemetery. While there, my family and I will have the honor of visiting the Vietnam Memorial and observing the Rolling Thunder “Ride to the Wall,” a motorcycle ride to support POW/MIAs.”

Buckelew goes on to tell us about half-scale traveling version of the Vietnam Memorial called The Wall That Heals and about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund‘s Call for Photos, a campaign to collect a photograph for each of the more than 58,000 men and women whose names are inscribed on The Wall.

“The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is working to gather all 58,272 photos of those with names etched into the memorial to make sure no face is ever forgotten – nearly 19,000 have been collected so far.”

Another blog with Memorial Day content/wishes is The Word, All Entertainment, All The Time where you can vote for your favorite of the 10 greatest war movies ever made or listen to 20 Songs To Celebrate Memorial Day.

Flickr photo by paul-simpson.org

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Witness to War: important reading this Memorial Day

by Sean McLachlan on


Every Memorial Day weekend we remember the soldiers who fought for the United States. For those of us who have never experienced war, however, it’s hard to understand their experiences.

The Witness to War program is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the wartime memories of veterans and helping to give civilians a better idea of what they went through. As their website says, “These are the stories of scared 18 and 19 year olds thrust into circumstances of such intensity and violence, that they became the defining moments of their lives.”

Some are video interviews, like Hap Chandler’s thoughts on his involvement in the Dresden bombing, and Jim Paine’s harrowing memory of being the only survivor when his Jeep ran over a German mine. There are also written memoirs and wartime diaries. Some are short anecdotes while others are more extensive. Tucker Smallwood gives us 23 pages of his gripping Vietnam memoir.

All of the stories Witness to War collects will be donated to the Library of Congress Veterans History Project and other non-profit organizations willing to spread their message.

There’s plenty of reading here and a lot of food for thought. So sometime this Memorial Day, take a break from the cookouts and TV and check this out.

[Photo of American soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge courtesy Wikimedia Commons]

When barbecues attack: Memorial Day disasters to avoid

by Laurel Miller on

If you’ve ever barbecued, odds are you’ve experienced one of the following: eyebrow/hair singing; lighter fluid Molotov cocktail; medium-rare chicken. Don’t feel bad. The folks at Eater National have compiled a highly entertaining (but flame-retardant) series of video clips entitled, “You’re Grilling That Wrong: The Ten Best Barbecue Disaster Videos” from across the country.

Have a safe, happy Memorial Day weekend!


Memorial Day road trip plans focus on spending, safety and…Justin Bieber?

by Chris Owen on
When we think of what we need for a road trip, a common list unfolds. A cooler, ice, beverages, snacks, maps and pillows are all normal items we might bring along. We’ll fill up with gas and head out on the highway to get away, even if just for the Memorial Day road trip weekend. This year, some of those items will cost a bit more, some a bit less and there are some new things we might want to consider bringing along.

More than 30 million people nationwide will travel more than 50 miles during Memorial Day weekend, defined as the period from Thursday, May 26 to Monday, May 30 says AAA, an increase of 0.2 percent.

“In 2010, Memorial Day travel experienced a gain of more than 14 percent,” AAA-Oklahoma spokesman Chuck Mai told the Washington Post. “Many travelers have told us they’ll compensate for higher fuel costs by cutting back in other areas of spending.”

They’ll pay more too, with gas running just a bit less than $4.00 per gallon, compared to $2.85 this time last year reports TulsaWorld. But while the high price of gas does not appear to be stopping road trip plans, travelers are looking at expenses carefully, saving where they can.

“You’ll see people eating sandwiches out of the cooler instead of going into a restaurant,” Susanne Pelt, spokeswoman for the South of the Border roadside attraction in South Carolina told SeattlePI.com.

In fact, new ways to save money traveling have been gaining in popularity as more people are expected to travel for the Memorial Day holiday than have since the Great Recession. That means more cars on the road, and more opportunities for motor vehicle accidents during what is already a time when safety concerns prompt law enforcement officials to begin a focus on Click it Or Ticket campaigns, handing out traffic citations for those not using seat belts.

A $200 fine does not exactly fit in with the whole money-saving focus but neither does a traffic accident and ignoring seat belt laws are not the only concern. Avoiding texting while driving is a cause that has even teen sensation Justin Bieber teaming up with PhoneGuard, a system that disables texting while driving.

“It is tragic that almost on a daily basis there are reports of deaths and severe injuries caused by drivers who are texting and driving,” Bieber said in a statement. “We need to change the attitudes in our society toward texting and driving and I am making it one of my personal goals to make this happen.”

He’s not alone in his concern either. The Associated Press reports that Texting and Driving has reached epidemic proportions killing one person every 11 minutes in the United States making it four times more dangerous then drinking and driving.

Flickr photo by richardmasoner

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Slight uptick predicted in Memorial Day travel

by McLean Robbins on

Planning on hitting the road for Memorial Day? So are just under one in four Americans. A new survey from Deloitte predicts that 22% of Americans will travel over Memorial Day, up from the 19% who traveled in 2010.

As for the remainder of the summer months, nearly half (45%) of the survey respondents expect to take a trip between June 1 and Labor Day, which is relatively flat compared with those who traveled a year ago (46%). Furthermore, this year nearly one-third (30%) of the expected travelers plan to spend more money on this year’s summer trips than they did last year, while two in five (41%) plan to spend the same amount.

“Although industry data show overall levels of leisure travel are still below levels seen prior to the recession, our latest survey indicates that in 2011, consumers are more willing to spend on summer trips than last year,” said Adam Weissenberg, Deloitte’s U.S. tourism, hospitality and leisure sector leader.

[Flickr via ]

What might prevent people from traveling?

More than one-quarter (27%) cite lingering financial concerns while 18% point to high gas prices – a number that almost doubled from last year’s survey (10%). Higher fuel prices are not only prompting some would-be travelers to cancel their trips, but are also leading almost six out of 10 Memorial Day weekend travelers to modify or scale down their plans to offset the increased gas expense.

Concerns surrounding air travel also have some consumers altering their vacation plans, though most are not canceling plans altogether. Among the 67% of respondents who say they’ve noticed an increase in airline fees, only 14 percent have changed their summer travel destination or canceled their summer flight altogether. Additionally, more than one-quarter (26%) of survey respondents are looking into alternative means of travel other than flying due to higher airfares, additional airline or government fees, and/or security issues at airports.

“With additional costs hitting consumers in the air and at the pump, leisure travelers have no choice but to allocate additional funds towards transportation,” added Weissenberg. “In turn, they are looking to cut costs in other areas by choosing a vacation spot closer to home or curtailing spending on food and local activities.”

What about you – will you be cutting back or hitting the road this Memorial Day?