Unusual Hotels: From Large Dogs to You Name It.

by Jamie Rhein on

For a fun romp through the world’s most unusual hotels, check out Unusual Hotels of the World, an on-line travel guide for the truly wacky and wonderful places to stay. This is a slick, slick Web site that reminds me of the thrill of opening presents or watching the mystery prizes of a game show unfold. I meant to do a quick look-see, but instead moved my cursor over the catagories to uncover the wonders of the world for some evening entertainment. (I had taken my daughter and a friend of hers to a movie earlier, so I’m not a total social reject.)

There are 20 different hotel categories represented by icons. The desert category has a camel; clouds represent fantasy; prison bars represent prisons (!) and a circle inside a circle that is a bit off, is one-of-a kind, etc. Finding out what the symbols represent kept me engaged. Ecotourism, kids and romance are some of the others. Then, move your cursor over a symbol, and a picture of a hotel in that category appears with a brief description. When you click on that, other properties appear. By clicking on those, you can find out specific details about each hotel. A thermometer graphic shows their ratings from “Different” to “WOW” Some hotels are under multiple categories.


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For example, at the “One of a Kind “category, the huge beagle in this photo appeared. It measures high on the WOW factor which means its more than just wacky, perhaps into something that is wild and wonderful. The dog with the deck in the photo is Dog Bark Park Inn, a B&B created by artists Dennis and Frances Sullivan in Cottonwood, Idaho. They also carve dogs out of pine in the folk art tradition, so along with staying in the hotel, you can watch them work and take a dog home with you.

If staying in a dog doesn’t interest you, there are pages and pages of other options. The creators of the Unusual Hotels of the World guide, Simon and Steve have a cache of contributors who reside in various parts of the world, penning about travel as they scout out locations worthy of inclusion. The homepage highlights the latest additions. As a note, the hotels price ranges, like their themes, vary. Some are major bucks. Others are doable if you are on a tight budget.

Making the Most of Disneyland if You Only Have a Day

by Jamie Rhein on

I’ve been to Disneyland four times and Disney World twice; none of these outings were any longer than a day. Instead, I’ve gotten to know a bit about how to make the best of a short time and feel satisfied at the exit gate. Although I’m not an expert, here are some strategies that have worked for me and my gang—or at least for me, and doesn’t that count?

1. Having a plan is one way to cope with the crowds and the excitement when you get there..

Once, when I went with a group of special education high-schoolers, there was only 6 ½ hours to pack in what we could. (We flew out of Albuquerque, New Mexico and back in the same day.) Still, that was enough to hit everyone’s must-see attractions and eat lunch at the Golden Horseshoe. (This is a quick service restaurant with a show that suits every age group.) One reason everyone felt cheerful about their choices throughout the day was that everyone knew what they wanted to see beforehand. I had maps sent to us so the students could plot out their strategies about what they wanted to see most and what attractions were near each other so they could hit those at the same time. They knew which way to go to get to their choice destinations before we entered the gate.

2. Know how to beat the crowds, or at least get ahead of them.

Start from the back and move to the front. Many people start at the front and move towards the back. In the beginning of the day, the ride lines will be shorter further back. The reverse happens by the end. Also, when there are two lines, pick the one on the left. More people go right. If you’re passing by a ride you really want to go on, get a Fast Pass. This is the ticket that will get you on the ride during a certain time period. I only remembered to do this for Splash Mountain and it worked great. We went to the Fast Pass kiosk at Splash Mountain, scanned our park admission tickets, got the next available Fast Pass tickets which were for about 1 1/2 hours later, went on another ride, and then headed back when it was our scheduled time. Then we skipped on through without spending loads of time in line. I wish we had done this for Peter Pan’s Flight ride. That line was horrific all day long and I didn’t think of the Fast Pass until after it wouldn’t have done us any good since we weren’t going to stay that late, so we never went on it. The photo is of the Splash Mountain lines. If you click on the photo, you’ll get a larger image where you can see where it says Fast Pass. (Thanks to Cookie Bandit on Flickr.)

3. Don’t approach the day as if everyone has to stick together the whole time.

Also, the students were allowed to go where they wanted to go with designated meeting places. This kept everyone happy since they could follow their own heart’s desire instead of taking in rides they didn’t want to go on or waiting for someone to make a decision. This strategy also works when you are with multiple ages. This past Christmas day when I was at Disney World with my exuberant 5 year-old son, my 14 year-old daughter and my 71 year-old father (my husband opted out) my daughter and I went on Splash Mountain while my dad and son took in Pirates of the Caribbean for the second time. When she and I went on Space Mountain, they went on Buzz Light Year again. Knowing which rides are near each other can help.

4. Take time out to regroup by eating a healthy, relaxing meal.

Each time I’ve been to either place, we’ve stopped for a sit down lunch in a restaurant. This helps to get some relaxing and regrouping time in. Even with the high-schoolers, I insisted that we meet up for a meal. Regrouping around a meal gives the sense that you are sharing the experience somewhat. From what I’ve experienced, the restaurants are affordable, the quality is good and you can make sure if you have kids, they get something healthy, at least once instead of grabbing French fries to nibble at in line.

5. Stay for the fireworks.

There’s something about that last burst of fireworks that says, okay, if we go now, we won’t have missed anything. They really are fantastic. Even if it means bedtime is going to be late, it’s the Magic Kingdom.

6. Spring the money for the plastic ponchos if it rains.

I’ve been caught in the rain twice and each time we bought the ponchos. They aren’t cheap, but staying somewhat dry is worth every penny. If this is your one day, make it a good one. You can buy them in about any of the gift shops. As a hint, if the kids size runs out, buy the adult size. You can tie up the corners of the bottom to make it shorter and it actually keeps a child drier. This is a tried and true fix.

7.. Decide how much money each person can spend on souvenirs beforehand.

Because both Disneys are essentially grand marketing tools to get you to buy everything Disney from morning to night-they’ve got to be the biggest gift shops on the planet-be clear about what the buying rules are. My son bought the smallest Stitch doll (Lilo and Stitch) that I could find towards the end of the day. Our dog has since chewed it up, so I’m glad I didn’t fold and let him go nuts.

8. Pick the day you go wisely. The middle of the week has less people.

The great thing about going to either of these places during the week now, is that with school kids back in session, the lines should be more manageable-just go during the week.

9. Buy tickets on-line beforehand so you don’t need to wait in line at the gate.

I’ve never done this, but it makes sense. As the instructions warn, the e-ticket, is a ticket so protect it like you would a regular ticket.

Get more information on Disneyworld in Orlando.

Geek Cruises

by Jamie Rhein on

If one has to be a geek to go on a Geek Cruise, then call me a geek. Looking over the itinerary choices of this company reminds me of looking through the course offerings of a community adult ed program–self improve while having fun.

The idea is that while you are enjoying the perks of cruise ship life in the Caribbean, the Panama Canal or the Eastern Mediterranean, you can feed your passions. That is if your passions include subjects like Shakespeare, digital photography, or chess. The folks who offer the workshops know their stuff. For example, Shakespeare at Sea is an Oregon Shakespeare Festival venture that includes a combination of lectures, performances and films. This year’s cruise that sets sail in November is sold out, but from the Web site info, it seems like it will repeat next year.

Each cruise gives you plenty of time to hobnob with the experts before and after sessions to further brush up on your know how. Except for the Shakespeare cruise, the others have room, but some are almost booked. I almost started to salivate when I saw the Bright Horizons cruise. Botany, cosmology and cognitive psychology are only part of the offerings. Yep, I’m a geek. The early bird discount, $100 off, is still available.

Here’s an interview with Leo Laporte who has taken several Geek Cruises. One of the things he likes about them is that they are a great way to take a multi-generational vacation. He’s taken his mom and his son on the same cruise and sees that it’s a terrific way to bond while learning something. As he says, he doesn’t like to sit around and let his “mind go to pot.”

The photo by DexStory was taken on a Geek Cruise that included Belize.

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Take a Cruise for Credit

by Jamie Rhein on

Okay, now we’re talking. For anyone needing recertification credits to keep a teaching license, here’s an option other than heading to a traditional classroom, or holing up at home squirreling away time with an on-line class. There are cruises designed for teachers and their families. If you set sail with Teacher Educational Cruises you’ll end up with 12 credit hours by the end. Only two days of the cruise is spent on coursework, the rest is spent having fun–not that taking courses isn’t fun, but still, keeping a teaching license current while sailing the seas seems like a great excuse for taking a cruise. “Honey, I have to cruise to Greece, I need the credit hours.”

The cruise through Italy, Egypt and Greece with the Italian Costa cruise line is next summer. Although the itinerary is in place, there isn’t information about what will be studied for the coursework. Hopefully, it’s connected to the travel experience. For people interested in expanding their trip, there are some suggestions.

There’s also a 5-night Caribbean cruise this Novemember. This one leaves from Galveston, Texas and may be connected to homeschoolers, another specialty Teacher Education Cruises offers. Here’s a link to onboard activities to see just what everyone else might be doing while the teacher in the family is studying. The Web site also mentions that people who are not teachers are welcome to join. Since keeping up certification is an on-going process with teachers, trips like what this company offers are a great idea.

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Bat Fest 2007 and Two More Bat Places

by Jamie Rhein on

There are a places where bats in their natural habitat take center stage adding to the tourist draw of a place. I’ve been to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico where bats fly out every evening from April to October (or thereabouts) and to the Bat Pagoda in Soc Trang in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. This is where bats bigger than a dinner plate hang in trees everywhere you look.

I found out this past Wednesday when I was at the Columbus Zoo for the last Wednesday night kid’s program of the summer, (It makes me sad to write that) that the Bat Fest is going on next weekend, September 1-2, in Austin, Texas. Mark Tillack, otherwise known as Musical Mark, and one of the performers for the program, has come up with a series of bat songs geared for children. This has put him on a quest to find out more about all things bats. The Bat Fest caught his attention. When he mentioned it to me as we were talking after his show, it caught my attention. Here’s what I found out.

The Bat Fest is a large arts and crafts show with bat events. For example, if you come dressed as a bat you can win a prize–a serious prize. The best bat costume can fetch $200. The Batman Stage features different musicians (maybe a possible stop for Ember?) and there are rides, food and educational displays besides quality craft and art items to buy. From the photos, it looks like some are bat related and some are just nifty.