Cheap Travel Guide

Package valid for stay dates from January 1, 2009 through January 31, 2009.

Celebrate the fresh start of the new year with a fresh start of your own, thanks to Kimpton Hotels and Cooking Light. Stay at any of their Kimpton Hotels during the month of January 2009 and enjoy:

Deluxe accommodationsA complimentary healthy breakfast for two each morning in the hotel’s adjacent restaurantNutritious nibbles to get you over that 3 p.m. snack attackA jump rope and exercise DVD, yours to take with youA yoga mat and accessories to use during your stay and on demand TV channels with yoga, Pilates and exercise programsA special Cooking Light guide of recommended destinations around the city$40 off any in-room spa treatments, where available

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When traveling overseas, I always have a problem as to how much to tip. Molly Feltner, from SmarterTravel.com says, “The rules vary by country and sometimes even by city. To avoid overpaying or insulting a service provider on your next trip, it’s worthwhile to do a little research before you go and pay attention to your bills and your money when traveling”.

Here are some tips:

Research tipping customs before you Read more

GREAT BLUE HERON/PAUL BAGLOLE, TOURISM PEI AND SO BEGINS Your Guide to Familiar Birds of Prince Edward Island, a pocket-sized, colour guide to some of the most sought out birds in the province. The book was compiled and written by legendary Island naturalist, the late Geoff Hogan, and published in 1991 by Ragweed Press, 222 Grafton St., Charlottetown.

In this handy, take-along paperback, Mr. Hogan has included 90 colour photos of everything from Eastern Kingbirds to Greater Yellowlegs. Accompanying text for each of these species and about 100 others outlines such details as habitat, when to find them and unique characteristics that will aid in identification.
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There are two big events this weekend, both in Burlington, one public and one private. The public event is the Vermont Vermont Brewers Festival, a very popular event at the Waterfront Park, rain or shine. The private event is the BMW Motorycle Owners International Rally at the Champlain Valley Fair Grounds.

There are many other events throughout Vermont. Here is a sampling:

July 22, 2006
Woodstock VT
Cow Appreciation Day
at Billings Farm & Museum. This is a very good family activity where you can learn about cows, judging which ones are best, milking, making butter, cream, and ice cream. Billings is a model farm and is set up for visitors. We often have guests at our inn who want to visit a “real farm” but most farmers are not set up to receive visitors. Most of them are very nice folks but they are often just too busy to chat with visitors, much as they might like to. Billings is a great place to see a working farm where it is easier and safer to get around. It’s a beautiful facility, very clean, professionally managed.
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I ran across a New England Blog recently that is a wide ranging collection of articles about travelling throughout the northeast. The blog is part of New England Vacations Guide website which I found interesting and helpful. It’s geared toward people planning a vacation but it makes great leisure reading too.

Also, there are some general articles useful for travlers such as what to expect at a bed and breakfast, and what the difference is between an inn and B&B.

This is a large website but it is well worth the time to go through and I’m sure you will find much to enjoy. In fact, this is one of the best web sites I’ve found about New England travel so I have added a link to it in the left column of this blog in case you want to come back here sometime to easily re-find the site.
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I received an email from the Mileybymile.com folks a week or two ago letting me know that nearly all links on the site had been taken down. They explained that this was due to some abuses that had taken place but they did not elaborate.

It’s too bad because I had spent many hours adding links to my Road Map Guide about Vermont?�s great Route 100. This road runs a couple hundred miles the length of the state. Consensus among locals is that Route 100 is the most scenic Vermont road. This is probably because it is the longest, is therefore nearest the greatest number of residents, and also therefore has the greatest number of scenic views.
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September 15 - 17, 2006
Tunbridge World’s Fair
Tunbridge, VT
This event is famous among Vermonters and it’s been held annually for well over 100 years. Old fashioned agricultural fair in a rural setting. 4-H exhibits, midway rides, food booths, free shows, agricultural exhibits, antique tractor pulls, kiddie rides, crafts, live entertainment, ox and pony pulling, gymkhana, contra dancing, field equipment museum with displays of horse-drawn farm wagons and fine carriages. Selected by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce as one of Vermont’s Top 10 Annual Events.
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This is a great time of year for fishing in Vermont. The weather is mostly cool and, instead of mosquitos, the bugs are mostly mayflies and other types that trout love to eat.

I managed to carve out some time the other day to go fishing with a guide I know. It was just my second time out this year. So, other than a very rusty casting technique, and slow reaction time to strikes, I had a great time fishing for rainbow trout in the riffles of the Winooski river just a few minutes from the inn.

I have been fly fishing for about 15 years but never got out enough to become good at it. However, it’s still a source of great enjoyment. I once read a line that went something like “I fish for trout because they live in such beautiful places.” That’s how I feel so, even though I’m missing more fish than I catch, it’s a great experience just to be on the stream.
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September is Vermont Archeology Month The next six events listed here are part of the Vermont Archeology Month:

September 8 (Friday), 7:30 p.m.
Bellows Falls VT: Bellows Falls Waypoint Center
?�Song of the Drum: Maine Petroglyphs?�
Mark Hedden, an archaeologist with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, will introduce and present a film that summarizes thirty years of field work and analysis of Native American petroglyph sites in Maine. Mr. Hedden will locate the petroglyphs at Bellows Falls in the context of New England petroglyphs by other Algonkian groups.
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I just ran across this short articleon MSNBC.com but it was written Dec 26. It’s a short review of a few things to do during a 24 hour layover in Burlington. It’s mostly the standard stuff and would take more than 24 hours to do (the Shelburne Museum alone would easily take a day) but it’s a useful guide.

(c) 2007 Jeff Connor

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