TravelLeisure

If the mad rush of the holiday gift-buying season has you singing Blue Christmas, never fear. Virginia, the state that’s for lovers, shopping lovers especially, has ten tips to help people add some passion to their holiday shopping with enjoyable, stress-free gift buying getaways.

Tip #1: Shop a Different Century
Virginia is an American history icon with destinations and exhibits stretching back 400 years. Take a trip to Virginia’s historical sites and shop for holiday gifts from a different century. From Jamestown to Colonial Williamsburg to the Museum of Frontier Culture in Staunton, the extensive gift shops at Virginia’s historical sites offer four centuries of the ultimate gift ideas for history buffs everywhere.

Tip # 2: Ditch the Car
Save some gas money and parking hassles and ditch the car. Virginia is full of great places to walk from shop to shop for unique gifts. Check out Carytown, Richmond’s “mile of style”. The shops on Cary Street sell vintage clothing, works of art, antiques, boutique bags and accessories. Other great places to put it in park and stroll from shop to shop include Old Town Alexandria, which offers free on-street parking for visitors, historic downtown Roanoke, and quaint Middleburg in Northern Virginia. Read more

Denali Park Resorts is offering guests the chance to book their Alaskan vacation with incredible discounted rates and a two-for-one deal. Packages are available for early season spring reservations at Denali Park Resort when booked online by December 21 (www.denaliparkresorts.com). Advanced reservations are required and packages/deals are based on availability.

Denali Park Resort’s Spring into Savings package, starting at $275.92 per person for double occupancy, includes a two-night stay at one of the following Denali Park Resort’s properties: McKinley Chalet Resort, McKinley Village Lodge or Grand Denali Lodge. Included are Alaska Cabin Nite Dinner Theater and Teklanika Tundra Tour tickets for two. The package is available for early season reservations at Denali Park Resort, May 15, through May 23, 2008, offering up to 31 percent savings off peak season rates. These rates are only available online through Dec. 21, 2007. Read more

Having a hard time coming up with a great holiday gift idea for a friend or family member? How about something they'll be talking about for years -- a Soaring Adventures Flight Certificate good for either a hot air balloon ride, glider ride or tandem skydiving ride at any of over 200 locations nationwide.

Hot Air Balloon Rides
Couples of any age seem to enjoy the balloon rides best. First, the crew chief will take your gift recipient to the launch site, where the balloon is being inflated. He or she can help the ground crew if they wish, most people do. Then they'll ascend to between 500 and 1,000 feet, floating for an hour over the countryside, beneath the clouds, through valleys, over treetops and rivers wherever the wind takes them. Breathtaking views. As they touch down in a farmer's field , the flight will be celebrated with a toast of champagne or fruit juice, an old European tradition. Read more

By Jeff Zbar 
www.chiefhomeofficer.com

Sitting in a hotel room in Wildwood, N.J., I can’t help but consider my favorite tech tools (a common mental connecting of the dots, I’m sure). They’re mostly small, easily stocked (if not always easily remembered), and can make or break a road warrior’s or vacation-business traveler’s experience. I’m not talking about the laptop, wireless broadband card or 8-gig flash drive; those are required. I’m talking about the little things that can make a difference in the computing / work experience.

Whether generically or brand specifically, they are: Read more

Wynn Las Vegas’ breathtaking show, “Le Rêve,” was performed for the 1,000th time on Saturday, September 29, 2007 at 10:30 p.m. To celebrate this milestone occasion, the first 500 ticket holders that entered the theater received a signature red swimming cap, a recognizable prop used by the clowns in the show.

“Le Rêve,” the evocative aqua spectacle in-the-round, opened concurrently with Wynn Las Vegas on April 28, 2005 and has since astounded audiences. Six performers and musicians, as well as 14 crew members, have performed in or worked on all 1,000 shows. In addition, 600,000 towels have been used, more than 6,400 pairs of red tango shoes have been repaired, and some 52,000 loads of laundry have been done—just a portion of the work involved in keeping a show like “Le Rêve” running 1,000 performances strong. Read more

While the weather is still nice, travelers can take an out-of-town excursion and save up to 25% off hotels for a 3-night stay or 20% off for a 2-night stay for bookings now through October 6 and travel now through October 8. Below are four examples of package deals available from select cities (prices quoted are per person based on double occupancy). For more information on Expedia’s September Savings Sale or to book, visit www.expedia.com. Read more

Park City Mountain Resort has invested nearly $5 million in improvements for the 2007-08 season. The improvements, which will enhance the overall guest experience, include new terrain, a redesigned trail map, a new heated resort plaza, installation of Fast Tracks lanes at King Con lift, expanded snowmaking and environmental initiatives.

The Resort has dramatically changed the landscape between Single Jack and Sunnyside runs by glading the diseased aspen trees, while leaving the pine trees, creating a different environment and providing a challenging experience for intermediate and advanced skiers and riders. This area will be called Motherlode Meadows. In addition, the Resort has added a new run off of McConkey's lift, bringing the total run count to 106. The new trail, named Georgeanna after an old mining claim located in this area, will extend from the top of Tycoon to the bottom of McConkey's Bowl, providing low-intermediates an easier way down from McConkey's lift. Read more

Ah, autumn! The season bursts on the scene with leaves of bright red and gold; and the cool, crisp days signal a time for renewal. Sounds like exactly the right time to head to the awesome community of Alpharetta, Georgia, where shops abound and the city’s spa services and restaurants are unrivaled. To kick off the season and help you experience the autumn harvest of retail deals and regional treats, the Alpharetta Convention & Visitors Bureau will give a canvas bag full of bargain opportunities to everyone who stops in at the Alpharetta Welcome Center on Main Street during September and October. Alpharetta hotels – many providing free shuttles to shopping districts, spas and restaurants – are offering special fall rates beginning as low as $59. Read more

The best time for viewing Aurora Borealis, the “Northern Lights,” dancing fluorescent ribbons that light up the night sky – enthralling even "sourdoughs" (old-timers) in Alaska – is fast approaching. And this amazing phenomenon makes autumn an ideal time to visit Denali National Park in Alaska – in addition to the park’s brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow fall foliage among treetops. Read more

As the summer tourist season winds down in late August/early September, the gentle green palette of Denali’s fall foliage bursts into bright yellows in the boreal forest and rich reds – saffron, cinnamon and russet – in the heathery tundra.

By Jeff Zbar 
www.chiefhomeofficer.com

I’m sitting in this idyllic beach house in Lavallette on the New Jersey Shore. My HP Pavillion laptop is open before me, with my Verizon USB720 broadband wireless modem plugged into the side and giving me broadband access on the company’s new Rev-A network. I’m blazing away.

After a decade of playing the occasional road warrior, I’m finally getting the hang of traveling and working.

It helps the technology and creature comforts have caught up. A few elements have helped improve working from the road (at least as an occasional Road Warrior; the seasoned veterans I’ve written about in the past seem to have it down). One is that the technology is getting smaller and more powerful. Laptops are smaller, and have connectivity in mind (what with internal wireless cards, even internal broadband wireless cards available). My Kingston Data Traveler II Migo-enabled USB flash drive is plugged into one of the three USB ports on the laptop. Migo is providing me a snapshot of my desktop back home, complete with 30-days of my email and recent docs. Heck, with its eight gigs of space, it carries everything I need; it even has the picture from my desktop of my kids at the Empire State Building. Just like my home (office). Read more