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Travel Tips

The Staycation: A Mental Break, Sans “Breaking the Budget”

Folks, winter is approaching, and we know exactly what that means. It’s vacation time.

With Thanksgiving, the holidays and the New Year all a stone’s throw away, the winter season is a great opportunity to take a vacation, to escape work and the incremental stress of quotidian affairs to someplace calmer, more relaxing and possibly exotic.

For the lucky few, it’s jetting off to an exotic country, a week-long ocean cruise or an amazing attraction like the Grand Canyon. It’s the beach, the mountains, or if you live in a place like California, both.

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Booking an airline ticket? Do your research first!

Time and time again I run into passengers who have a seating issue. Whether it’s a duplicate seat booking, they’re not seated with their family or the fact that their seat doesn’t recline, every flight brings at least a problem or two.

Let me dissect how some of this works for you so you can make a better, informed decision before selecting a seat and even, how and where you buy your plane tickets.

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4 Fun Ways To Ignite The World Traveler In You

Well it is August of 2011 which means that I’ve been back in the US for 10 months. WOW. I’m not going to be traveling again for another 6 months so what’s a travler to do?! Well, you get inspired! You get pumped! You find ways to dive into culture even when you’re not walking through it!

Check these out:

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8 Essential Items that Long Term Travelers Should Look for When They Rent an Apartment

If you are a longer traveler or minimalist digital nomad, there’s a good chance you’re traveling on a budget and trying to keep things as simple as possible.  It’s no secret that renting an apartment and staying at a destination longer is a more cost effective way to do things.  But, before you throw down your hard earned cash for your  pad in paradise, there a few essential items that you should make sure the apartment has. I’m speaking based on the experience of living in an apartment that was lacking most of these things.

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The 5 Ultimate Roadtripping Highways America has to Offer

Road tripping is one of the best ways to truly see a country. Sure it takes longer, can get a little grosser, and puts you in close quarters with other people for a long period of time, but it is well worth it.

As my 2 week road trip of America’s West Coast is coming to an end, I thought what better time to share some resources on some of the best road tripping destinations in the US.

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The GTD For the Traveling Nomad With A Lot To Do

Hootie asked a question in the 90′s that got all of us thinking…”Time, why you runnin’ from me?” I have to say, I wonder where the time goes more and more as each day passes, especially when I’m traveling. And while I tend to think about this particular lyric more in terms of how time flies when I’m just having so much damn fun, lately its been the fact that I don’t have enough time to get everything I want to do when traveling that’s making the song ring a bell!!

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Is Solo Travel For You?

Solo Travel… for some people this is their desired method of travel. I guess there’s something about being the master navigator of your own journey with no one else to rely on but your own wit and decision. Lately, I’ve been trying to figure out if solo travel is a good route for me.

I’ve always had someone with me, but I am all about finding new ways to challenge myself and grow while I’m off globetrotting. This may just be the next step for me.

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Luxury upgrades we should all experience at least once


I always try to make each trip unique and one way that I sometimes do that is by adding a luxury that I’ve never experienced before. Here are some ways to add some luxury to your trips to make them feel a little more special.

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5 Ways A Traveler Can Turn Their Local Backyard Into The Wide Open World

I am a world traveler who is not currently traveling the world. There are certain days when this little fact kills me. It gets to the point where I even take cold showers just to reminisce about my days globe trotting around South East Asia! … ahh… the memories.

And so lately I’ve been becoming an expert on how to “localize” that same sense of exploration and adventure I thrive off of when I’m exploring other countries and cultures. For all of my fellow travelers who are currently in the planning stages of their next big adventure, here are a few things you can do to keep that fire burning!

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Sleeping on a Plane: The Awkward Positions

In my off time when I travel and fly around for pleasure usually the take-off roll puts me right to sleep. I think the hum of the engines, with the force pushing me back into my seat because of the nose pointed upward and the vibrations much like a massage creates the illusion that I’m sitting in first class and as comfortable as I’m going to get.

Somewhere around the point where the aircraft levels off and the flight attendant’s starts making their announcements I awake from my short nap and the reality that I’m in a middle seat sets in.

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