Curling

What more can I say.  I am fascinated by this sport.  I mean it is something that I could probably do.  Sure I would consistently over/under through the stone, but it would be fun to try.

For more info visit the Olympic page here.

Basic rules  and written ones here.

More

And new this year will be mixed doubles

We got our hats, so go Curlers!

Oh yeah, one more thing, I wish NBC would broadcast more Olympics.  Even their sports channel doesn't do 24/7 Olympics now.  Shameful.

Incoming business and pleasure travel to US down first half of 2017.

I-94 Program: 2017 Monthly Arrivals Data from the National Tourism and Travel Office (preliminary) attempt to quantify the number of non-residents visiting the US for business or pleasure.

In particular is the dramatic decline of travel from Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa, South America, Central America and the Caribbean.  All regions of the World had a reduction of travel between 2017 and 2017 (Arrivals of World Regions).

Countries sending a large percentage of Business travelers (20 % of all travel) were Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and Ireland (Top 20 Tourist-Generating Countries).

Is this a reflection of Trump Slump?  Could be.

Shipwreck Tourism

Expecting five inches tomorrow, so time to virtually tour the Caribbean to warm up.

Seems you can call anything tourism.  Here are few of my photos of shipwrecks.

Rodney Bay, St. Lucia

Wreck north of Little Water Cay, TCI

Wreck NW of Pelican Beach, North Caicos, TCI

For more shipwrecks in the Caribbean click here.

Puppy Bowl Today

What promises to be the biggest game in history, the Puppy Bowl is sure to please every fan and bring a smile at the same time.  Sure you can watch that other game filled with overpriced athletes that are facing more concussions.  But one thing is for sure, Dan the referee in the puppy bowl will break up any "unnecessary ruffness."

Biscuit is set to watch the game today and has been doing her sprints in and out of the house to do a number 1.

It is time for us to rally around the true athletes in World Football (Soccer) and of course the fine women and men of the Olympics!

State Department Labels

So if you visit travel.state.gov, you will see the new travel advisory system.

It is meant to simplify the warnings our state department issues for Americans traveling abroad.  For instance Hurricane Irma hammered the Caribbean this past fall, so I should't plan to return to Tortola for one of the Full Moon Parties. (There is also the Bomba Shack.)

Trellis Bay

Bomba Shack

Crime is becoming another issue for many other vacation spots, so even popular Providenciales (TCI) has been issued a number 2!  I am heading to the UK later this summer and Terrorism is a threat there.

I wonder how others are warned about visiting the US?  UK warns its citizens about terrorism, health issues and natural disasters in the US.  See my prevsious post here.

Edward Abbey (January 29, 1927 – March 14, 1989)

This guy should be required reading for every college student. 

The first book I read was Desert Solitaire.  It is a collection of essays prepared during his period as a park ranger in the mid 1950's.  As a steward of these public lands he observed the unique perspective of humans and their environment, so geography-like.

His fiction included The Monkey Wrench Gang.  Something that I can admire and dislike at the same time.  I mean, I guess I am glad there are these ecoterrorists out there, But don't want anyone to get hurt physically or financially for that matter.

But in the meantime, enjoy this short video (10 minutes) about one of his speeches.

CFP Liminal Landscapes in Tourism

CFP Liminal Tourism RGS-IBG Annual Conference

Call For Papers:

RGS-IBG Annual Conference, Tuesday 28 August to Friday 31 August 2018, Cardiff University, Cardiff.

CFP: Liminal landscapes in Tourism

Sponsored by the Geographies of Leisure and Tourism Research Group

Session conveners ; Robert S. Bristow, Westfield State University, USA, Ian S. Jenkins, University of Iceland

Liminality has recently gained the attention of tourism scholars (Preston-Whyte, 2004; Pritchard, & Morgan, 2006; Andrews & Roberts, 2012; Brooker & Joppe, 2014). The transitional time and space for the tourist experience is an important one to understand since it has a great impact on the overall encounter.   Yet the shear nature of liminality is generally so abstract that only recently has research attempted to explore the relationship in tourism.

Liminality is anthropologically associated with Rites of Passage (van Gennep, 1960).  Turner (1974) refined liminality as the edge of everyday life. Similar to a tourist experience, the chance to break away from the norms of daily life is an important aspect of tourism.   Liminality is a logical transition for tourists since they are leaving the comfort of home to travel to some unknown experience.  This frequently reflects the period and space in the anticipation and travel to/from phases of the experience (Clawson and Knetsch, 1966; White and White, 2003; and Lew, 2012). 

We invited contributions that explore how liminal landscapes are viewed in travel and tourism.  

Please send; an abstract of no more than 250 words, name, email contact and affiliation to Rob at rbristow@westfield.ma.edu and Ian at jenkins@hi.is or dr.isjenkins@gmail. The deadline for submissions is the 2nd February 2018. If you have any questions or concerns please be in touch.