Spock RIP

I watched Star Trek in the Sixties.  Rest in Peace Mr. Spock.

I also remember him from Zombies of the Stratosphere.

Spring Break Tourism

The beginning of the Spring Break Season is upon us.  The annual ritual brings the crowds to destinations both hot and cold and we can expect the same to happen this spring.  This year in particular with snow covering much of the country, we may find crowds along the beaches.

This also may bode well for ski vacations!  Especially since the water temperatures are chilly in the south.

Are you vacationing this spring break?

Overcrowding on the Appalachian Trail

Like the cycle created following every winter Olympics, when hoards of people take up ice skating for a few months, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy is expecting a mad influx of inexperienced and ill prepared hikers to descend on Springer Mountain in northern Georgia.  Hundreds of hikers will begin the march northward, crowding every campsite or shelter in the southern states.

Many will drop out after a few days, but there will be a tremendous impact on the environment includes soil erosion, litter, fouling water sources and other humans.

Why this made rush to hike the world's premier long distance hiking trail?  Well, blame it partially on media and the recent release of Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon and "(a) chronicle of one woman's 1,100-mile solo hike undertaken as a way to recover from a recent catastrophe."  And soon, coming to your neighborhood movie theatre (remember those) will be A Walk in the Woods and starring Robert Redford!

For more info on the AT, see this link.

Bad Maps

we have all seen 'em....you know the maps that make no sense or cause you to wonder what was going on.  So check out another list of bad maps.

White House Fact Sheet

FACT SHEET: Supporting Travel and Tourism to Grow Our Economy by Improving the Arrivals Experience for International Travelers to the US.

I hope this works, since I feel the arrival experience is terrible for our visitors!

Turks and Caicos Islands is the fastest-growing destination in region

So sez the Caribbean Journal.  The journal cites Turks and Caicos Tourist Board, but I can't find the data, so maybe it is a press release or something.  While TCI may have a percentage growth, the number of beds found in Cuba, Jamaica or the Dominican Republics probably still out shadow the actual numbers of tourists. In fact, just a few days ago, One Caribbean posted these arrival numbers:

Expedia to buy Orbitz for $1,300,000,000.13

Again I threw in the thirteen cents for fun.  This report follows the blog I wrote last month.
 And makes it more likely a monopoly will develop in travel reservations.  This future merge includes cheaptickets and hotelclub, hotels.com, hotwire, trivago and so on.  So while the tourist may think they are shopping around, they really will not.  And it is quite possible, due to the search engines protocols and such, that pricing will likely be different making the consumer think htey are getting a good deal.

Buyer beware.

Cruising part 2?

Remember the Costa Concordia? Well, BBC News reported last year about the salvage operation. and it was reported today that "The captain of the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia has been found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in prison."

While justice may been served, how might this impact future cruise ship tourism?  I don't know.

Snow Cover Map

One of the many sites out there that illustrate the spatial expansiveness of snow in the US is Intellicast.  I am in the Pink area for 24 inch plus!

Less exciting is the NOAA's representation.

Cruising

Once only the rich could cruise (on a ship)!  Now with the average cost only (?!) $222 USD PPPD, it is a lot more affordable (Cruise Market Watch).  And CruiseCompete.com can find you cruises under $300 USD!

And we find the bulk or cruisers from North America.  That makes sense with the Caribbean so close. But the world is becoming a cruise destination as some geography research has found.

Not counting canoe trips in my college days, I have only been on one cruise and that was the inside passage from Whittier Alaska to Vancouver, Canada.  A great time and one that I hope to revisit as a form of last chance tourism.

Glacier Bay, Alaska

snow storm thoughts

This morning with my coffee I was watching some rock concerts on YouTube and was reminded about something that bugs me.  Light shows have become as important as the music at shows, but I really hate the bright flashing lights into my eyes.  I am temporarily blinded.

So artists.....chill with the lights a bit please.

Annual Bowl Game Today

Yes, it is that time of the year for the Puppy Bowl.  There you can see the champs and even the pregame show.

Since there is nothing on TV tonight, you might as well enjoy some good entertainment.  Oh, break away at 9 PM for Downton Abbey!