Category Archives: Travel

A Visit to Delta’s T4X in SoHo, NYC

Delta, New York, Travel,
a group of people in a room

Last month I wrote about a unique way to experience Delta’s new Terminal 4 before it opens at a unique pop-up location in New York City called T4X.

T4X opened on May 1 and I had been wanting to stop by but hadn’t had the time. Yesterday I finally got an opportunity to check it out. I had a great time and also picked up some very nice Delta goodies, some of which I would like to share!

Just a little refresher about T4X:

  • T4X is located at 376 West Broadway at Broome Street in SoHo
  • It’s open Tuesdays- Sundays until May 22, from 11AM- 3PM
  • Preview the new T4, book a reservation, relax, enjoy $4 lunches and random giveaways.
Here is a little about my visit to Delta T4X:

Continue reading A Visit to Delta’s T4X in SoHo, NYC →

Highlights Of The New York Travel Festival

NYC, Travel
a chandelier from the ceiling

I recently wrote about a new travel show that I would be attending on Saturday, April 20 called the New York Travel Festival.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the event. The festival’s goal was to reinvent the consumer travel show.

It turned out that the show was a big change from the NY Times show. The festival was much smaller and focused on seminars spread out over three floors of the beautiful Bohemian National Hall on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. There were also food tastings from the Hudson Valley as well as some excellent Mexican food to sample. Missing were table upon table of representatives from tourism boards and travel companies.

a man standing at a podium giving a presentation
Andrew Evans

Continue reading Highlights Of The New York Travel Festival →

Some Travel Related News From Past Week

Dennis Rodman, Lan, News, North Korea, Oneworld, Travel
a group of people in a stadium
Image from Vice.com

Over the past week or so I came across some interesting travel- related news stories. Most of the stories are probably better classified as international or world news but to me news around the world is still lumped in with travel. 

Check out brief descriptions and links below to read the full articles.

Venezuela’s controversial leader and Anti-American Hugo Chavez died earlier in the week. He was 58 years old. Read about it in this Yahoo article HERE.
The TSA will be relaxing the rules on some banned carry-on items like small knives and some sports equipment. Knives need to be less than 2.36 inches long and less than one half inch wide. Some sporting equipment which will now be allowed include pool cues, lacrosse sticks, golf clubs (up to 2) and toy baseball bats. 
Read more about it HERE.

Is North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un a father? According to reports, Kim’s wife Ri had a baby in late 2012. The sex is unknown but rumored to be a girl. Read more about the story HERE.

Latam Airlines Group will be joining Oneworld bringing TAM along. LAN, the other airline in the group is already a member of the alliance. This wasn’t much of a surprise to most. Read more about it in a Bloomberg article HERE. 

Here is my favorite story of the week:

Flamboyant, retired NBA star Dennis Rodman visited North Korea and made a friend for life- the Supreme Leader! He sat courtside with Kim Jong Un watching a basketball exhibition featuring three Harlem Globetrotters and members of North Korea’s “Dream Team”. The main purpose of the trip was to film a TV Documentary which will air on HBO. Find out more about it in a CNN.com article HERE.

Which story is your favorite from this list? 

Megabus Giving Away 200,000 Free Seats- Book Now!

Bus, Free, Megabus, Travel
a yellow and blue card with red text

Last December I wrote about Megabus giving away 200,000 Free Seats and this year they are back at it!

Megabus is giving away 200,000 FREE Seats, good for travel to cities around the U.S. and Canada. (Megabus serves over 120 cities in North America)

Kim and I have used Megabus many times and always found it to be a good and cheap alternative to driving to places where a car is not needed. Megabus is also much cheaper than taking the train. The buses are comfortable and have free wifi & power outlets available at each seat.

I haven’t taken a trip with Megabus in around two years but decided to take advantage of the free seat offer this time around.

I booked a couple of seats from NYC to Philadelphia for my brother and I. The total cost for our trip (yes round trip) was $0.50! Our seats were free but Megabus charges a $0.50 booking fee.

The free seat offer is available for travel between January 9 and February 28, 2013.

Some exclusions:

Due to local regulations within Canada, free seats for travel to Kirkland and Montreal are excluded, however additional $10 seats have been made available. Within the USA, Academy (New York – Atlantic City), Concord (Portland – Boston), ShortLine (New York – Binghamton), Van Galder (Chicago – Madison) and Suburban *New York – New Brunswick – Princeton) bus lines will also be excluded from the free seats offer. 

Use promo code TRYMEGABUS to book your free seats at Megabus.com 

If you decide to book a free seat on Megabus, let me know where you are going!

U.S. National Parks Free Entrance Days for 2013

Deals, Travel,
a logo of a national park service

Every year the U.S. National Parks have select dates set aside for “free entrance days”.

I’ve never taken advantage of this offer but it definitely makes for a great time to plan a visit to a National Park. You’ll also save some cash along the way.

Entry fees are actually pretty reasonable. According to the NPS website “265 of your 398 national parks NEVER charge an entrance fee”.

Continue reading U.S. National Parks Free Entrance Days for 2013 →

Lucas’ Seven Month Old Travel Recap & Our Upcoming Plans

Asia, Baby, Lucas, New York City, NYC, Sign, SoHo, Travel, Window
a sign on a window

While walking around SoHo in New York City we came across this awesome sign. It was in the window of Giggle, a baby store. 

I thought it would make for a good photo with Lucas. It pretty much sums up our thoughts for traveling with a baby. Lucas has not held us back, he has been a great travel partner!

a man and baby posing for a picture

When Kim got pregnant many people commented on how things would slow down for us in terms of travel. I never listened to these remarks and always said how we plan to still go away multiple times each year. The question would then be- with the baby??? My answer was always a firm yes. I have always seen families traveling with infants so why couldn’t we?

The other day I ran into a neighbor that I had not seen in a few months. She asked how Lucas was and then made a comment about us not traveling. I told her how great Lucas was doing and then went on to tell her about our trips we had taken. I also mentioned our upcoming trip to Southeast Asia. After each trip that I spoke about she asked “with the baby”, was he coming along? When I told her yes she was surprised and impressed that we were still getting to travel.

a man and baby posing for a picture

On our two trips (flying) to date with Lucas we’ve definitely had to slow down a little. There are stops needed for feeding and changing but otherwise Lucas has been a great travel partner. 
I don’t feel like we had to pass up many experiences or missed out on much so far.

Lucas is having a great first year of travel. He might not remember the places he went and things he saw but we have lots of pictures to show him when he is older. It’s also been an amazing experience for Kim and I!
Here are Lucas’ trips and the age that he took them:
  1. Barbados- 3 months old
  2. South Dakota- 6 months old
a baby sitting on a white blanket

Tomorrow we leave for Southeast Asia and Lucas just turned 7 months old this past Saturday. We’ll be flying in business class thanks to our mileage collecting! (This should be a great experience in itself!)

We will be visiting:

  • Singapore
  • Bali, Indonesia
  • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Hopefully we’ll get in another little adventure before his first birthday!

Stay tuned…

Checking Out EscapeMaker.com’s Local Food & Travel Expo

Brooklyn, EscapeMaker, Food, Travel
a sign in a building

I had a chance to attend the EscapeMaker.com Local Food & Travel Expo on Saturday
April 14 which I was given a press invite to. (I wrote about the event prior to attending here)

a group of people posing for a photo

I showed up before the event started to attend the opening ceremony and ribbon cutting which included local leaders like Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. There were a few speeches given by the head of EscapeMaker, Markowitz and a few other local politicians. They talked a bit about green getaways and locally sourced foods. One thing I learned that was pretty interesting is that the Brooklyn Navy Yard will be getting a rooftop farm which will be one of the largest in the country.

a group of people standing next to a sign
After the press event I met up with Kim and Lucas and had a chance to check out the travel expo. The event was very nice. It had lots of exhibitors from various tourism boards. The majority being from upstate New York. There were also some booths from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Vermont.
a woman in a white shirt

There were a handful of local inns at the expo. Some looked really incredible and were located in interesting areas. I’d definitely like to visit a bunch of them in the future. 
There were also lots of wineries present- all offering samples. Kim definitely enjoyed tasting some! I enjoyed sampling some really tasty cheese, maple syrup and fudge offered by some of the other exhibitors.

a couple of women standing at a table
a sign with red text and arrow

Downstairs, in the vault was a Made In Brooklyn area. 
The idea for this was really cool but I would’ve liked to have seen a fuller room of exhibitors. Some of the highlights were Robicelli’s (they make really awesome & interesting flavored cupcakes), Raaka Chocolate (some of the best dark chocolate I’ve tried) and Kim had some tasty pickles from McClure’s.

a plate of chocolate on a tablea group of jars of pickles

Overall the EscapeMaker Local Food & Travel Expo was a fun event to stop by for a couple of hours. I found out some useful info about areas that I would definitely like to visit in the future and got to sample some tasty food!

EscapeMaker.com’s Local Food & Travel Expo- April 14

Brooklyn, EscapeMaker, Food, Green, New York, Travel
a poster for a food expo
EscapeMaker.com will be holding it’s 2nd annual Local Food & Travel Expo on April 14.
I received a Press Invite to the event & will hopefully make it and then have Kim & Lucas meet me after the show preview to check out the expo.
The expo takes place in Brooklyn, New York at One Hanson Place in the historic and amazing former home of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank.
a tall building with many windows
1 Hanson Place
The event focuses on “green” getaways as well as local foods and trips within a day’s drive or train ride of NYC. Exhibitors will be from Brooklyn, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont & Transportation Companies.
A little about the show:
  • There will be over 50 exhibitors at the event where you can sample local wines, cheeses, fudge, chocolate, jam, juices and other regional farm-fresh foods.
  • There will be travel workshops like Hiking via Mass Transit, Canoeing/ Kayaking, Agri-Tourism and Green Travel 101 among others.
  • Lots of Prizes- all food & travel related
The event takes places at Skylight One Hanson at 1 Hanson Place Brooklyn, New York.
Tickets cost $13 and the event is from 12-5 PM
(Use code “edible12” or “emzipcar” to save $3 off of the ticket price)
Find out more about the EscapeMaker Local Food & Travel Expo here

USA Today Travel: 10 Best Domestic & International Airports for Flier Freebies

Airports, Domestic, Freebies, International, Travel, USAToday
a man holding a sign

USA Today had an article listing the 10 best freebies in domestic and international airports. They asked Frommers.com to help out and find the airports with the best freebies around the world.

Some of the things given out for free are pretty nice. How about some free cookies upon landing, use of an iPad, stroller, showers or a free movie.
a black and red sign with white text

Here are the lists:

Domestic Airports:
  • Chicago O’Hare- Children’s Play Area
  • Fort Wayne, Indiana- Cookes
  • Honolulu- Outdoor Gardens
  • Los Angeles- Shoeshine
  • New York JFK- iPads
  • New York LaGuardia-  Newspapers & Magazines
  • Reno- Tahoe- Local Phone Calls
  • San Francisco- Yoga Room
  • St. Louis- Coloring Books & Crayons
  • Washington Dulles- Airplane Museum
Foreign Airports:
  • Amsterdam- Library
  • Copenhagen- Strollers
  • Hong Kong- Video Games
  • London Heathrow- Coloring Books & Crayons
  • Munich- Showers & Coffee
  • Seoul Incheon- culture
  • Singapore- Movies
  • Taipei Taoyuan- City Tours
  • Tallinn, Estonia- Skpe Calls
  • Toronto City Airport – Passenger Lounge
To find out more about each freebie on the list Click Here

**Images found in google search**

10 Best Travel Inventions of All Time

Inventions, SmarterTravel, Travel, USA Today

USA Today Travel posted a list of the 10 best Travel inventions of all time from SmarterTravel.com

The list has many interesting and useful items on it. I am guessing that most people that travel have used or benefited from most of the item on this list at some point.

Here is the list:

  • Hotel Key Cards
  • Smartphone
  • Credit Cards
  • Travel Adapters & Converters
  • Digital Camera
  • Travel Insurance
  • Online Travel Booking
  • GPS
  • Wheeled Luggage
  • Jet Engine

My favorite items from the list have to be credit cards, digital cameras and the smartphone.

Without credit cards, I would’ve never traveled to as many places as I’ve been! (Thank you credit card sign up bonuses!)
I can’t imagine not using a digital camera. I remember using film years back and having to wait for the results of the photos. It was fun hoping you got some good shots but who doesn’t like instant gratification! Plus if you get a bad shot, keep shooting until the picture seems right. The smartphone is like the swiss army knife of technology. You can do so much with such a small device. I can list so many reasons why it is great for travel- check your e-mail, take pictures, make cheap phone calls with Skype, book flights & hotels…

What is your favorite invention from the list?

Read the full article with details about each item here