Category: Travel

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Popular Attraction in NYC You Don’t Want to Miss

Among all the cities across the globe, New York City is among the most famous, and for good reason. If you plan on taking a trip to this eclectic city, be sure to catch these attractions!

Times Square

There is absolutely no way you can go to New York City and skip over Times Square. This iconic area in the city features constant excitement around the clock. From the dazzling lights, to the eclectic shops and eateries, to the dynamic array of people constantly making their way around, Times Square is definitely not a spot in NYC to be missed. There’s really never a dull moment there!

Empire State Building

Another iconic landmark in New York City, the Empire State Building is open to tourists 18 hours a day. You can take a guided audio tour if you want in order to learn more about the things you’ll be seeing from the top of the city. You can even take a bus tour of popular attractions in NYC!

Central Park

This lush area of greenery is spectacular all year round. It offers the ideal getaway from the concrete jungle of the city, and features 50 fountains, 21 playgrounds, bike paths and rentals, and 36 bridges.

Statue of Liberty

There’s simply nothing that symbolizes NYC more than the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island. There are a number of city boat tours that go around the island that you can take, in addition to tours offered on the premises that you can reserve in advance.

New York City is definitely a one of a kind place to visit, offering a host of things to see, hear, and do!

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Where to Enjoy Live Jazz in Palm Desert

Palm Desert has the perfect blend of nature and culture. From the majestic red rocks to its nightlife, there’s something for everyone in this eclectic city. Live jazz is common place in Palm Desert, but finding the best place will take a little work. Jazz is meant to be heard with broad acoustics and minimal interruptions from the crowd.

1.) The Show at Agua Caliente

The Agua Caliente is a resort, casino and spa in Rancho Mirage, CA. In 2008, the show was opened here: a venue dedicated to the arts. Boasting musicians like Billy Joel, Matchbox 20 and REO Speedwagon, The Show is also known for its jazz performances. The four-level facility keeps the shows intimate, with plush seats surrounding the stage.

2.) McCallum Theatre

The breathtaking stage of McCallum Theater opened in 1988 and has been wowing its guests with a wide range of musical acts ever since. The best place to see a Broadway show in Palm Desert, their jazz café series is equally impressive. The state-of-the-art sound system is perfect for capturing the intricacies of jazz, while even the farthest reaching seats can enjoy the show with an unobstructed view.

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Garth Brooks Concerts

One of my all-time favorite country music stars is Garth Brooks. When I was younger I really enjoyed the music of Kenny Rogers (and I still do enjoy some of his classic songs, like “The Gambler”) but when it comes to more recent country hits, Garth Brooks has to be the winner of the competition between the two. Largely because I love his song on his Christmas album “Baby Jesus is born” (which I wish had an official video to go along with the song) but also I love his song “Friends in Low Places.”

Recently I became friends with a couple of people that love going to a karaoke bar once a week, and they have invited me to join them several times. When I have gone, I noticed that someone always sings the “Friends in Low Places song” but that never includes that third verse that is my personal favorite! I wish the karaoke version of the song included that verse!

Yesterday one of those friends told me that she wanted to buy some http://garthbrookstours.com for her husband and give them to him as a birthday gift. She has no idea how to use the Internet at all, and she wanted to buy the tickets as a surprise, so she asked me to help her find out how to get more information on the newest Garth Brooks tour so she could find out when and where Garth will be performing close to where we live.

I told her I’d go online this weekend to the http://garthbrookstours.com website and see what I could find out for her about getting the tickets. Well, I went to the website and found that the closest concert to where we live is so far away that they would have to make a weekend trip of it – fly up the day before, and fly back the day after! I don’t know if that is something she is going to want to do. I’m going to have to call her tomorrow and let her know what I found out!

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Lots of Summer Vegetables Available

Guest post by Louise Stratham

I wish there was a Farmer’s Market close to my house. I don’t know of any except the one downtown, and I hate to drive downtown. I end up spending an extra $10 in gas to go all the way downtown and an extra $10 to the trip for paid parking. So the cost of fresh vegetables is already $20 before I even pick out the first one.

The last time I went to the Farmer’s Market, the price of vegetables was not any cheaper than what I can buy at Kroger grocery stores. I’m not sure there is much advantage to shopping at Nashville’s Farmer’s Market other than you are supporting local farmers and local businesses rather than a big grocery store chain like Kroger and whatever farms they decide at a corporate level to buy from.

There is a little place on the side of the road that sells fresh vegetables and fresh flowers on Lebanon Road. I don’t usually take Lebanon Road to go anywhere, but when I know I am going that way, I usually stop and buy a few things. I went by there yesterday and found lots of summer vegetables. They are a little cheaper than Kroger and the owner tells me that all the produce is grown locally. So I don’t mind supporting this guy and his wife.

I tried to grow some tomato plants on my patio, but they did not produce much. The tomatoes are so small and colored funny that I ended up throwing them out. It was nice to find a fresh picked, field grown tomato at the vegetable stand. One slice of their tomato covers the entire piece of bread! So I enjoyed a fabulous tomato and mayo sandwich last night. And I’ll have another one tonight for dinner, with a couple pieces of bacon and some lettuce on top.

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Baseball

My sister’s kids love baseball and they play every chance they get. In the back yard or on a team they do not care. So for our summer trip this year I am taking them to see a real live major league baseball game in Atlanta. I do not like the Braves, it is just the closest team with a fan friendly start time for this trip. I know the kids will have a great time and so will I; I love baseball too. This will be a very fun trip for us and I can not wait till July for the trip to be here. My husband and I went on our first date to a baseball game and it has been in a sweet spot in my heart ever since then.

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Saving and Spending

So I decided that I wanted to take the family on a nice vacation this year but, realized I needed to take a look at our finances first. I’ve always had an idea of how much we spend on everything, but never really had a budget that was written down. In order to get a realistic idea of what we’re saving and spending, I thought maybe I should track everything.

I looked up free budget software online to get started. After all, I’m trying to save and I don’t want to shill out more money in all of this. At first I thought I would be overwhelmed. I watched a few video demos on how easy the software programs are to use. Some programs wanted a ton of information and others looked just like a spread sheet. I already have spread sheet software… that’s not what I was looking for.

I looked at reviews for best budgeting sites to get opinions of what other people thought worked and didn’t for them. I’ve narrowed it down to three different sites. I think just to get a good idea of what each site can do for me I’ll use them each for the next two months. At the end of the two months I should be able to tell which software will work best for me in the long run.

I can’t wait to see where our money is actually going. I wonder if I’ll find that it hasn’t been going where I thought it had been this whole time. No matter where it’s going I want to save so that we can afford a nice vacation. Budgeting here we come!

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If Cars Could Talk

If cars could talk I’m sure they would have a lot to say about their owners. I bet each of the cars I’ve had will have something different to say about me. That’s probably because I was a different person with each of the cars I’ve owned.

The first car I owned as a teenager. I didn’t take care of it as best as I should have. There was wrappers from fast food places all over inside. I didn’t wash it nearly as much as it needed. That car would probably tell you I neglected it cosmetically. I always took it to get an oil change and tune ups as needed. I even bought new tires for it.

The next car I had in college would tell you that I loved to party. I would take it out to go dancing almost every night of the week. We drove up and down the coast to visit other dancers and go to different dance exchanges. That car would tell you I am a well traveled person.

Another car I had would tell you that I am a hard worker. I drove it to work every day. I also took pride in my car. It was the first car I owned with heated seats and I just couldn’t get enough of them. I washed this car weekly and even spent extra cash to get it detailed. I loved that car and wish I still had it today.

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Planes, trains, and automobiles

Guest post by my friend Linda Bradshaw

To be perfectly honest, I never saw the movie “Planes, trains, and automobiles.” I know it was a comedy from 1987, and I guess the reason why I never saw the movie was because I was too busy working full time, taking college courses at night, and raising two young children. But from what I understand, the movie is about a few people that started out as strangers that were thrown together by chance when their plane trip “home” for the holidays went awry. Misadventures and hilarity and cussing ensued.

Personally I have great empathy for people that have been having troubles with their travel plans. One time when I was scheduled to fly on an airline that was called “People’s Express” I had to fly from Washington DC to Newark NJ to catch a connecting flight to Portland ME. When I boarded the plane at Dulles I was assured that the connecting flight in Newark was “on time” so I was confident that all was going well. I had a baby with me, and I did not want to be stranded in Newark with a baby. Lo and behold, when I got to Newark I was informed that the connecting flight had been cancelled and I had to wait for five hours for the next flight. Let me just say that was the last time I ever flew on that People’s Express airline! And from that point on I called that airline “People’s Distress!”

Fortunately, I have had really good luck whenever I have used the US Airways airline company. Although there have been a few times when the flight was delayed for about thirty minutes, the airplane was usually able to make the arrival gate close to “on time.” That has always been important to me because I usually have friends or family waiting for me at the destination airport to pick me up and I don’t want them to have to wait for hours for a delayed flight to land. Especially at airports that are not set up with comfortable waiting areas for customers that are stuck there waiting for the delayed flights to arrive.

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Trip to Canada

I was thinking that it might be fun to take a trip to Canada some time. I’ve never been and was considering ideas of where our family could go for a vacation.   Maybe we could spend some time during the summer there and find a place to rent like some  Edmonton apartments.

All of our recent trips have been here in the states. I think it’s about time we took the girls out of the country, not too far though. I thought Canada would be a nice starting point.  We wouldn’t have to go on those long international flights over the sea.  I couldn’t imagine how tough those flights would be on children, and don’t want to put my kids, or myself for that matter, through the pain and agony.  If we go to Canada the length of any flight would be much shorter.

I need to talk to my husband about his thoughts on the idea.  Who knows, maybe he can come up with some exciting things to do while we are there.

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Snowbirds and Retirees

So many people work all theirs lives with dreams of retiring someplace like Florida or Arizona. For many, they spend half of each year in their cold northern home states and the other half in a sunny warmer state. Those people are called “Snowbirds” because they come to Miami or Orlando or Phoenix to escape the cold weather and spend their winters someplace warm.

My grandparents have dreamed of retiring and moving to Arizona and are trying to make that happen now. They picked Sun City and have found a home. Just to be safe, they are have an alarm system installed in their new house before they move in. They wanted to stay with ADT, who they used back in Michigan. So they searched home security suncity to find someone locally.

Next, they want to get Direct TV hooked up so my Grampa can watch all of his sports shows.He says the best part of retirement will be watching all the games he used to miss when he had to work second shift at the plant. I think that is great – he deserves to watch whatever he wants to after all these years of working hard and missing out on his favorite games.

He loves the Lions and all the Detroit teams, bless his heart! At least his beloved Red Wings have been playing well these past years, but its 3 or 4 months to go before hockey starts back up. And Gramps will be watching!