By Layla Bellows


With most of the country blanketed by this week’s snowstorms, many sporting folks probably have their mind on the ski slopes. When cold weather blasts the rest of the country, however, my mind turns to the central and northern part of the Florida peninsula, where February always promises breezy, 70-degree weather and pure sunshine (with not a drop of humidity).

For those who golf, there’s no better time to forget the slopes and head to Flagler County, Fla., where the newly renovated Palm Harbor Golf Course reopened this past November. It’s one of the county’s original courses, and its rolling greens and oak-filled woodlands are still true to its original 1970s design. The public course also has a clubhouse with a full-service restaurant accommodating both leisurely lunches and quick bites.

Even in cooler weather, no trip to Florida would be complete without some time at the beach — and Flagler County has plenty. The county boasts 19 miles of beaches, including Flagler Beach and those along Palm Coast. The area is also rife with nature preserves, including the Graham Swamp Conservation Area, and the new River to Sea Preserve, which begins at the Atlantic Ocean and runs inland to the intracoastal waterway, making it a great spot for kayaking and canoeing.

Before any trip to Flagler, be sure to visit its site for special hotel rates and golf packages. Now is the time to visit: Few things are more pleasant than a Florida beach before the summer heat kicks in.

When blasted with 30-degree mornings, I always find myself thinking about the warmer temperatures that are just a few weeks or months ahead (depending on where you live). And when dreaming about sunny skies and balmy breezes, my mind, as most people’s, inevitably wanders to windows-open road trips to the beach. Brunswick Islands, N.C., is a perfect escape — natural settings and a focus on preserving local plant and wildlife provide a welcome alternative to a hotel-lined shore.
Brunswick Islands’ string of beaches is the ideal destination for an all-American road trip. The beachscape here is refreshingly natural, with enough of the quintessential weathered boardwalks and sea grass-topped dunes to leave you feeling like you’ve stepped into a Winslow Homer painting. Local culture emphasizes those things that make small-town beach vacations great — boating, fishing and fresh seafood served up at independent restaurants.

One of the best ways to experience the islands is by visiting one of the nature preserves. Check out coastal forests and lowland swamps at Ev-Henwood Nature Preserve, or get an up-close-and-personal look at carnivorous plants (think Venus Flytraps) at Green Swamp Preserve and orchids at Boiling Spring Lakes Preserve. Each of these spots also boasts excellent birdwatching opportunities, with the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker topping the list of the rare birds you might see. Bird enthusiasts should also take a trip to Sunset Beach, where you’ll find Bird Island, an undeveloped barrier island accessible only by foot and only during low tide. Reddish Egrets, one of the rarest large wading birds, Wood Storks and other threatened species thrive on this protected island. Informational tours covering everything from beachcombing to wildlife and history are offered at 9 a.m. every Wednesday through August.

The Carolina coastal area is well known for its preservation of local cuisine, and the Brunswick Islands are no exception. Our Brunswick blogger, Liz Mitchell, shares her knowledge of local food and food events here. Check out her latest entry for information about the Brunswick Stew Cook-Off taking place January 30, and if you haven’t already read it, check out her December 21 blog for an insider’s perspective on the best restaurants in the area — a sure bet for visitors at any time of year.

Those considering a trip to the area would do well to visit its events site, which will clue you in on everything from the Days at the Docks festival on Holden Beach April 24 - 25 to Museum Ships Weekend at Eagles Island June 5 - 6. Fishing fanatics will find a number of opportunities to indulge in their passion.

Between its tranquil beaches and vibrant culture, Brunswick Islands is a great option for people — like me — looking to sit back, relax and spend a little time exploring one of the East Coast’s most natural shorelines.

By Latasia Brown

It’s 2010…whoa! I feel like I need to repeat that 10 more times before it sinks in.

It’s been one heck of a year. 2009 literally threw us through the ringer — economically and in the ever-changing world of travel.

The airline sector of the travel industry had its share of craziness. Several fees were born and then skyrocketed, customer service went missing and, most recently, airport security has become even more strenuous. So I think it’s safe to say that we’re collectively a little happy to kiss that cantankerous year good-bye!

Before we let the past year fade away completely, however, we want to continue the tradition of New Year lists with our own “Best, Worst & Crazy of 2009: Travel Edition!”


The Hudson Miracle

The safe landing of US Airways’ Flight 1549 on New York’s Hudson River Jan. 15, 2009, will definitely be in the history books. All 155 passengers were rescued from the river after pilot C.B. “Sully” Sullenberger ditched the plane in the frigid water. He had reported a “double bird strike” shortly after take off and was trying to return to N.Y.’s LaGuardia Airport when he had to make the emergency landing.

 

When Pigs Fly

It’s official, pigs can fly — as well as cats, dogs, birds and most other animals you can call pets. Thanks to Pet Airways, your little curly-tail friend can fly as comfortably as you do.

 

Uhh…When Do We Land?

The two pilots of Northwest Airlines claimed to have lost track of time while chatting and working on their laptops as they overshot their destination by 150 miles. Is it me, or does this story still sound fishy?

 

Oasis Ahoy!

The largest cruise ship ever built finally took its maiden voyage on the open seas. The 220,000-ton Oasis of the Seas truly lives up to its name and expectations. If you haven’t taken a gander at this beauty yet, I suggest you do, pronto!

 

Tweet! Tweet! Tweet!

Social networking has forever transformed the world of travel. Good-bye experts and professional travel tippers. Hello friends of friends of friends who live in Timbuktu and recommend the best of the best from the local’s perspective — and honestly, would you trust some “expert?” Or would you trust the opinions of the people who actually live there? Some of the best travel advice comes from those who actually live in the destinations you’re looking to visit. Twitter enables people to share travel blogs with tips on attractions and events, cheap deals and packages and more! Thanks to Twitter and other social media sites, we’re able to feature local bloggers on this site, and then share their expertise on the location they know and love, their home city.

Twitter isn’t the only social media site where travelers can gain access to great deals one tweet at a time; Facebook is another great avenue. For example, American Airlines has a feature in its “American Airlines Travel Bag” section that enables Facebook users to search for the cheapest fares in real time, as well as customize itineraries and share them with friends.

 

Price check on Flight 101!

Long gone are the good ole days of checking in your luggage for free. I swear there was a collective gasp that could be heard nationwide (and maybe even worldwide) when we first discovered what the airlines were up to. An added fee of some kind was expected since the economy tanked, but an escalation from $5 per bag to $30+ per bag is a pretty big leap! The bad news is, it’s most likely only going to get worse.

 

Skyping Your Best Friend from 30,000 feet in the air: Priceless

Remember when we thought Wi-Fi in Starbucks was the greatest thing ever? Try using Wi-Fi while cruising thousands of miles in the air. Delta, Virgin America, American, Southwest, Air Canada and United are just a few carriers that provide Wi-Fi during their flights. Some airlines host Wi-Fi on some, not all, planes; be sure to check your respective airline’s Web site for more information.

 

Travel Light

Some airline carriers have come up with other interesting ways to save. Imagine. A flight of 216 passengers, all with full bladders, boarding an ANA Boeing 767. “That’s about 1.1 pounds of fluid [per passenger],” ANA North America spokeswoman Jean Saito told ABC News. “...That extra urine would weigh about 240 pounds.” To save on fuel, Japan’s All Nippon Airways is asking its passengers to empty their bladders before boarding select flights.

 

Securing the Future

Since the attempted bombing on Christmas day last year, the TSA has been scrambling to come up with new security measures. Here is its official statement.

 

No Sneezing Allowed

Of course, we cannot forget the infamous H1N1 flu virus — which I found curiously amusing since we had the avian flu, which disappeared into the swine flu, which disappeared into the H1N1. This was the flu times 10. Thus far, it looks like it’s under control. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

 

Small Airlines Will Travel

Many of the small airlines have started to branch out to bigger cities with their low fare flights — keeping the major airline companies on their toes, one flight at a time; I like it!

 

Tell us what you think about these moments in 2009, or add your own awesome, horrible or just plain weird piece of 2009 travel history.

By Latasia Brown

Christmas is next week. I don’t know about you, but I can’t believe it. And as usual, there’s so little time and yet so much to do. The hustle and bustle of the season can really make you drift away from your sanity. If you’re traveling this holiday season, whether on the road or in the air, keep in mind that "prevention is better than cure" (as my mother always says). Little things like staying as flexible as possible with travel plans or taking as many stops as needed on a long road trip can help you maintain calm in the face of delays, long waits, traffic tie-ups or other hassles.

So click here for a thorough guide of holiday travel tips to keep in mind for the next two weeks. Let this be a calming gem amidst the madness.

And most importantly, have a happy holiday! 

Awesome, or scary? I vote awesome!

By Latasia Brown

This week, the genius mad scientists from Google have unveiled the most awesome app! It enables your phone to perform visual searches. That’s right! VISUAL SEARCHES. You can take a picture of a book and search for a review or the bio of the author who wrote it. Traveling to a foreign country and don’t know what restaurants to choose? Simple. Pan your phone’s camera over the restaurants’ storefronts and the names will pop up at the bottom. Select one via your touch screen and view their contact info, menu items and even reviews.

At this point, using search engines via images is in its infancy. So it doesn’t work so well with items like food, cars, animals or nature right now. But just think: one day you’ll be able to take a picture of a tree and the search results will tell you the type of tree you’re looking at, where they’re found, etc. And the same can be said for animals, cars and other arenas. The possibilities are limitless! Let’s hope it’s never programmed to search people via their faces … that’d be a little scary.

Here’s a video by Google showcasing this new app. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhgfz0zPmH4

However, there is a teensy catch: The app is only available on the Android phone. So all of you with Androids out there, kudos! For the rest of us, I’d give it a few months or so and we should be in the loop too (grin). Good thing technology moves fast these days.

Now if only we could all get personal Rosies from the Jetsons … (daydreaming sigh) one day.

By Latasia Brown

Sun, sea, sand and Santa? When do we leave?

Spending the holidays at the beach is the perfect blend of two awesome worlds: the magical enchantment of the holidays and the relaxing, carefree atmosphere the beach brings. Flagler County has that perfect combo down to a science. Not only do they have holiday activities galore, but they’ve also got really great winter deals that make the trip, and stay, much more affordable.

Flagler has some cool winter deals that include 20% off rentals, as well as special offers for accommodations from as low as $54 per night! But what will make this holiday in Flagler really special are its one-of-a-kind events.

The Nutcracker…Florida style
The Cracked Nut promises an afternoon of fun madness Decemer 13 at 3 p.m. Local Flaglerites of various creative/theatrical skills will combine their talents to tell a “wild, wacky, wonderful story” about a shy dysfunctional nutcracker. One performance only. For more info, click here.

Nature + Christmas = Smiles
Flagler’s Audubon Society hosts its Annual Christmas Bird Count Fieldtrip (CBC) December 18. This year is the CBC’s 110th year, making it the longest running ornithological census. The information that’s collected during the bird count goes to helping identify threats to several bird populations and their habitats as well as the ultimate determination of necessary conservation policies. So enjoy the outdoors with the whole family, and learn more about the fascinating nature and beauty of birds. For more info, click here.

If exploring nature is your cup of tea, the Flagler Audubon Society hosts a bird walk December 12 at 8 a.m. You can participate in a bird and wildlife survey of the marshlands, coastal areas and beaches of Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area. For park details, click here. For more info on the bird walk, click here.

Cruise with Santa
Heeeeere’s Santa! Enjoy a fun cruise at the Hammock Beach Resort December 19 at 10 a.m. meet the jolly man himself! For more info, click here.

Need more reasons to spend this holiday season on the quiet side of Florida? Click here.

There aren’t many places that chocolate pudding, cantaloupe, bubble gum, strawberry cheesecake and a juicy pear are acceptable together — let alone in one handful. Not only can you come up with whatever flavor combination you can think of on the Jelly Belly Factory Tour, but you can witness the creation of the bite-sized candies first hand. About an hour north of San Francisco in Fairfield, Calif., your family can tour the factory where the world’s No. 1 gourmet jellybeans are made. The free tour of the factory lasts about 40 minutes, and even when the factory isn’t in use on the weekends the tour still goes on — the same goes during the annual shutdown of the factory from June 8-28, but visitors get to see a completely different aspect of the factory on display as the machines are taken apart and completely put back together.

For a closer look, get your “Degree in Beanology” with a behind the scenes tour of the factory with Jelly Belly University. The personal tour looks more like a science class as visitors don lab coats, gloves and hairnets to learn about the flavorful concoctions “master confectioners” develop at the factory. This one will make you hungry, so it’s a good thing tastings of the treats are part of the education.

Tour info: general tour starts approximately every 15 minutes, daily, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m; free of charge. Jelly Belly University breaks groups into parties of six; and tours available Monday – Friday at 9:30 a.m, 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.; lasts an hour to 90 minutes; $47/person.

By Latasia Brown

 

After perusing the Web searching for anything intriguing regarding travel, I came across a few products pertaining to travel that were so wrong for being invented they needed a list. Here are just a few of what I found. Feel free to add any more that you may know of or have encountered in the commentary below.

Enjoy!

 

A laptop desk for your steering wheel? Really?

Yes, you read it right. Someone actually came up with the brilliantly dangerous idea of creating a laptop desk for your car! If you thought texting was bad, apparently, you thought wrong. Now we’ve got bloggers, social media addicts and Internet browsing junkies to worry about. This awesome mini table hooks onto your steering wheel of all places, thus creating a great convenience to those who would like to be distracted while on the road (you can blog, play a PC game, heck you can even do crossword puzzles!). Thanks brilliant Cyberguys!

 

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's super shades! 

Watch movies and videos; listen to music; and play video games all via shades. This may sound awesome – and it would be great for flights and road trip passengers – but honestly, who’s going to only confine the usage of these glasses to appropriate times and spaces? (Besides us responsible ones, right?) These shades are just begging for trouble.

 

 

 

Now you see it!

Now you don't!

So let me get this straight: the Stashcard is a little hollow, metal card that can hold cash, cards and any other little valuable thing you wish to stash (pun intended; teehee, I couldn’t help it). Now guess where you stash this Stashcard (last one, I promise)…how about it hides in your laptop…I don’t know about you, but this doesn’t seem as safe as it should be. This means that if your laptop gets stolen, then everything you kept in that Stashcard (i.e. credit cards, emergency cash, driver’s license, social security card and the like) will be gone and in the lucky hands of your new doppelganger. Nice.

 

 

Wind it Up!

So you’re phone is dead and you’re a ways away from anywhere with a power outlet. What now? It’s time to wind it up! As long as you have a working hand you’re phone will never go uncharged. I do have one question though: once you’ve worked your biceps into submission cranking this thing up and your phone is finally somewhat charged (the most you can get out of it is 30 minutes of call time, less luck if you have a smart phone, I'm sure)…what do you do if you are a ways away from any indication of a signal as well? Just a thought… (other than that...this is actually not a bad invention (shrug)).


And that's all I've got so far. Let me know what you think of these products and feel free to add any more that you may know about.

By Jennifer Garrett

Some people may think the beach is best enjoyed in the summer, but a refreshing trip to the beach is just what I need as a break in the middle of the cooler winter months. Fun abounds in and out of all the laidback, beachside towns up and down sunny Highway 30A no matter what season it is. Even if I never set foot on the region’s 26 miles of sandy beaches, I love that each of the 15 towns that comprise the Beaches of South Walton has its own personality. The stark white buildings of the sustainable, New Urbanist, Bermuda and Antigua-inspired Alys Beach have a completely different feel from the colorful, family-friendly Sandestin. I could spend all day hopping around the village towns dotting the coast visiting the boutiques, galleries and local restaurants seemingly outfitted purely for those looking for an authentic beach experience.

I don’t even have to come up with an itinerary thanks to all the festivals and events that fill the calendar year-round. Sandestin’s Baytowne Wharf is known for its special events, and the holidays are no different. Whoever thought you could go ice-skating at the beach? The festivities kick off at Baytowne and all over the area Thanksgiving weekend as entire towns light up from Seaside to Rosemary Beach.

All this activity is sure to work up an appetite, so any trip I take to the area is incomplete without seafood at the casual, beachfront Bud and Alley’s in Seaside, a Cajun breakfast feast at Another Broken Egg (my first ever Eggs Benedict from their list of signature variations has made me a traitor to omelets for life), and dinner at Fish Out of Water at Watercolor Inn and Resort is the perfect way to end an evening looking out over the ocean.

Imagine.

Hues of high oranges and mellow yellows kiss your face, as you look west to watch the sun setting into the Mojave Desert. You board a sleek spacecraft with a surprisingly comfortable internal cabin. And you can’t help but to look around in awe as other fellow passengers are getting settled into their seats. Then, you take off! Next thing you know, you’re looking out into a sea of blackness. Welcome to space. The dreamlike sphere of Earth gets further and further away until the craft finally docks at the Galactic Space Suite Hotel, the first hotel in space.

Seems like something from the Jetsons or Star Wars right? Well, how about the world of the Jetsons isn’t as far away as it may seem.

Space tourism is predicted to be a normal reality as soon as 2012. The Galactic Suite Ltd., a new company focused on expanding on the new frontier of space tourism, is on track to have the very first hotel in space completed, operational and enabled to accept guests by 2012.

 

Now I know what you're thinking...how much is THAT going to cost me? Presently, a three-day trip in orbit at the Galactic Space Suite Hotel will set tourists back 3 million euro, or $4.4 million, which includes an eight-week training course. However (you can pick your jaw up off the floor now), Galactic Suite promises that the figure will reduce dramatically once space tourism really gets ignited – given the demand for space tourism’s increasing growth. Thus far, at least 43 people have reserved a spot to travel to and stay at the Galactic Space Suite Hotel. And although the Galactic Suite will only consist of a single, small pod that can accommodate six people – four guests and two guides – it isn’t about 5-star hotel service, it’s about location (you’ll be in space! duh!).

I can't wait to see what more awesome cool stuff is to come for the industry of tourism! I don’t know about you, but I’m excited! ☺