Top 5 US Vacation Destinations You Should Know by Pierre Smith
For many people, their vacation plan is totally based around the place they will be lodging. Most traveler are looking for the best hotels or resorts they can afford in trying to get the best and most memorable vacation. Around the country you will find a wide range of the best US vacation spots. It is really not hard to find a good hotel in the United States for your vacations. However several people are not satisfied to look only for good. They really prefer to get the very best.
1. Rusty Parrot Lodge and Spa, situated in Jackson Hole, Wyoming is, beyond all question, among the best. Rusty Parrot provides its guests a rustic stop, that include wildlife safaris. In the fall the lodge offers elk bugling, grizzlies and wolves safari, exploring the nearby Yellowstone National Park and its wildlife. Wolves and grizzlies safari is also offered in the same area in the spring. However, if taking part on safari is really not your thing, enjoy their excellent dining room and go with one of the many other activities they offer, including white water rafting, horseback riding and golf. At the Body Sage Spa of the lodge visitors are able to relax and will love the spa experience.
2. Blackberry Farm is one of the top hotels of the U.S. that lays deep in the Great Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. It is a great place for relaxation. Just right from the hotel you could enjoy the stunning scenery of the Great Smokey Mountains. There are a lot of activities guests can enjoy. One of them is to take part in Fly Fishing at the Clinch River nearby. Other activities are hiking, horseback riding, carriage rides and canoeing. Around the resort grounds guests are transported in exclusive Lexus vehicles. Kids can take advantage of the child care plan offered at Camp Blackberry, while parents can relax at the Farmhouse Spa and enjoy spa amenities such as massage and hydrotherapy.
3. The Point Resort in Saranac Lake, New York is known as one of the very best US vacation spots on a lakefront. The resort features four buildings, the Main Lodge, the Boat House, the Guest House and the Eagle’s Nest, guests have the option of deciding their room. The excellent dining room offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner to visitors fitting in their dietary restrictions when staying at the resort. There are numerous activities at the resort guests can enjoy. In the summertime at Sarnac Lake water skiing, fishing, swimming, and sunset cruises are favored activities. Other guests prefer to take part in activities such as horseback riding, hiking, badminton, or volleyball. In the wintertime guests can leave resort grounds to enjoy skiing at Whiteface Mountain in the stunning Adirondack Mountains. Another popular option is ice skating and ice fishing on the frozen Lake Sarnac.
4. The Peninsula in Beverly Hills, California is the right place whenever you are in search of a fashionable holiday resort where you will be treated like a celebrity. The Peninsula is the advisable option for those people who want a chic, modern lodging, located amongst the stylish residences of Beverly Hills and against the background of the skyline of Los Angeles. Guests can visit the city of Los Angeles, tour Beverly Hills or shop around at the renowned Rodeo Drive. There are numerous bars and restaurants at the resort, one of them is the Roof Garden, a terrace on the rooftop enclosed by an admirable range of plants and flowers and side by side to the pool and spa. The spa provides a diversity of body scrubs and numerous treatments such as Shiatsu, Reflexology, and Swedish massage.
5. The Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, California located about 330 miles north of Los Angeles provides a totally different view of California. The Post Ranch Inn is the perfect travel spot situated on the cliffs and looking out on the California coastline. It is more like a lodge, providing a fun, relaxing ambience for their guests. The inn includes a full spa which features treatments such as facials, massage, and some specialized therapy. Some of the wide range of activities that are offered are Yoga, star gazing, and guided nature walks that make this place apart from others. Fitness room and pool are also available to enjoy the guests.
The Most Mysterious Maritime Mystery – Marie Celeste by Russell Shortt
The Marie Celeste, (in fact, in reality it was called the Mary Celeste), is the greatest maritime mystery of all time. She was built in 1861 by Joshua Dewis in Nova Scotia, Canada and was initially named the Amazon. The Amazon was rather calamitous; her first captain died of pneumonia within a week of taking charge; his replacement struck a fishing trawler, forcing the ship to return to the shipyards for repairs where it subsequently caught fire; on it’s first trans-Atlantic crossing it once again collided with another vessel. In 1867, she ran aground during a storm in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia; it was the final straw, her owners, sick and tired of it’s bungling sold her to James H. Winchester of New York City, who re-named her Mary Celeste. On 5 November 1872, the ship set sail from Staten Island, New York bound for Genoa, Italy under the command of Captain Benjamin Briggs. She was carrying a cargo of seventeen hundred barrels of commercial alcohol, intended for fortifying Italian wines in Genoa; it was expensive stock with a current evaluation of over half a million dollars. The souls on board the Mary Celeste included the captain and seven crew, the captain’s wife Sarah and their two-year-old daughter Sophia Matilda. All of the crew were very experienced, trustworthy, able and seriously competent, but as it sailed away from the hustle and bustle of New York, it would be the last time that any of the ten were seen again, alive or dead.
Another ship, Dei Gratia, captained by a friend of Captain Briggs of the Marie Celeste departed Staten Island, New York one week later; it was following a similar route to the Marie Celeste across the Atlantic Ocean, through the Straits of Gibraltar and into the Mediterranean. On 4 December 1861, the Dei Gratia was some six hundred miles west of the coast of Portugal when the helmsman sighted a ship about five miles off the port bow. The helmsman noticed that the vessel was lurching slightly and that her sails were scattered and torn. The captain of the Dei Gratia directed his vessel to draw up to within four hundred yards of the Marie Celeste, where they observed her for two hours; she was under full sail, erratically following a starboard tack but she was flying no distress signals. The chief mate of the Dei Gratia, Oliver Deveau led a party in a small boat to board the Mary Celeste. What the party discovered was quite astonishing; there was a lot of water between decks and nearly four feet of water in the hold but there was no fear of the ship sinking and was still seaworthy. Yet there was nobody on board, everybody had simply vanished, the only lifeboat, a yawl appeared to have being intentionally launched. What made the empty vessel all the more extraordinary was the fact that everything on the ship was in it’s rightful place and there were no signs of a rushed leaving. On closer inspection, the event became all the more bizarre; all the ship’s papers with the exception of the captain’s logbook were missing; the clock was not working and the compass was smashed, in addition the sextant and the marine chronometer were missing. Compounding the mystery – there had being no attempt to weigh the anchor, roll up the canvas or tie the steering wheel – all contributing to the ship’s wild drifting. Mysteriously, the peak halyard, which is used to hoist the main sail, was found tied to the ship, with the other end, terribly frayed, trailing in the water behind. Deveau’s party inspected the ship’s cargo, finding it to be completely intact; however, when it was eventually unloaded in Genoa, nine barrels were found to be empty but there was no evidence of a leak. Also, no protective clothing or raingear had being taken off the ship onto the yawl; nor had any of the six month provisions of food and clean, fresh water. Initial solutions offered, thought that the Marie Celeste had been the victim of a piracy raid but the cargo had not being touched nor had the crew’s personal valuables, making such an attack seem very unlikely. On closer inspection of the ship, things were discovered that indicated that the ship had been vacated in a hurry; such as an untidy mess in the captain’s quarters and unfinished calculations in the First Mate’s quarters. Unfortunately, the captain’s log only added to the puzzle as there was no mention of any bad weather or any unforeseen events, the last entry was dated 24 November and placed her one hundred miles west of the Azores. In addition to the captain’s log, the ship’s slate showed that the Marie Celeste had reached the island of Santa Maria in the Azores on the morning of the 25 November.
So the Marie Celeste was in good shape and seaworthy, yet the crew had abandoned her in a hurry but there was no sign of a piracy raid, a mutiny or any kind of struggle nor was any severe weather reported. None of the crew or passengers were ever found, neither was the yawl. The mysterious ship was sailed to Gibraltar by the Chief Mate of the Dei Gratia, where an investigation was conducted by the Vice Admiralty Court. Marine experts trawled the vessel and discovered what was believed to be a few spots of blood in the captain’s cabin, where they also found a cutlass and a knife. They also discovered a deep gash on the ship’s railing that they deduced was caused by a blunt object or perhaps an axe. However, the Consul of the United States in Gibraltar also conducted an investigation and stated that the gash was caused by mere wear and tear and they deciphered the ‘blood’ markings as simply rust. The crew of the Dei Gratia, fell under suspicion, the insurance company only paid out one-sixth of what the ship and cargo had been insured for. The cargo, heavily insured, was sailed to Genoa, minus the nine missing barrels mentioned above. James H. Winchester received back his seemingly cursed ship, he considered selling it but relented and put it to work again, it was a decision that he would live to regret. Tragically, the ship was involved in another accident, off the Massachusetts coast in which Winchester’s father lost his life. The ship was a horror show.
James Winchester was appalled with the cursed ship, selling it immediately at an enormous loss. But the curse on the ship continued, it changed hands an unbelievable seventeen times in the following thirteen years. The beleaguered ship was in terrible shape when it ended up in the hands of GC Parker who deliberately wrecked it in the Caribbean Sea in an insurance fraud on 3 January 1885, thus ending the Marie Celeste’s twenty-four hideous years. But she was to get the last laugh; Parker had loaded the ship with an over-insured cargo of scrap but she refused to sink, running aground on a reef just off the western coast of Haiti. The crew attempted to burn her, but as stubborn as ever she refused to burn. The fraud was revealed and Parker was flung in jail, the ship went in her own time, slowly falling off the reef and sinking. Was that the end of the story? Was it heck? For decades people have puzzled over what could have taken place on the Marie Celeste’s maiden voyage. Many propose that an act of piracy must have taken place but there was no sign of an attack or even a struggle onboard and in addition there had been no act of piracy in the area of the Azores for decades. Others have maintained that the crew of the rescue ship, Dei Gratia, must have had a hand in the crew and passengers disappearance. But again there was no sign of an attack, the captain’s of the two ships were good friends and all investigations praised the crew of the Dei Gratia for their exemplary seamanship throughout the affair. So have you any better ideas as to what happened? Check out Part Six of this tale to read some of the more thoughtful and outlandish reasons as to what may have happened.
The fact that the captains of the two ships, Marie Celeste and Dei Gratia were good friends has led many to speculate that they may have been in cahoots in an insurance scam. However, the profit on such an enterprise would have been very modest, too modest one would think to stage such an elaborate ruse. Some assert the theory of a storm but the weather had been favourable and even if they had hit a freak storm, why would they depart a seaworthy ship in favour of a tiny yawl and indeed take no protective gear? Another theory that is proposed is that the ship may have encountered a tremor from a minor earthquake that may have opened the barrels of alcohol, the crew panicked and abandoned ship, later trying to catch up with the ship and failing to do so. But this is a rather dodgy theory because why would they have not weighed anchor or set the helm? Also, although the area is susceptible to seismic activity, there were no reports of any activity at that time in the area. A logical theory put forward is that the ship encountered a waterspout, which creates a tornado-like effect, the water surrounding the ship may have been sucked up, creating the impression to the crew that the ship was sinking. Hence mass panic and they abandoned ship. Perhaps. Another possible theory, is that the alcohol leaked, the fumes and resultant steam caused the crew to abandon the ship in a hurry as they feared an explosion, they tied a rope to the ship and dragged along it for awhile to observe the ship and see what may occur. So it could have been merely a safety precaution, hence the lack of provisions taken onboard the yawl, but the rope broke and they were marooned. Possible, though I guess we will never know the exact truth.
About the Author
Russell Shortt is a travel consultant with Exploring Ireland, the leading specialists in customised, private escorted tours, escorted coach tours and independent self drive tours of Ireland. Article source Russell Shortt, http://www.exploringireland.net http://www.visitscotlandtours.com
The “Throw Away” or “Trial Blog” by Ted Demopoulos
Considering blogging but not entirely sure? Start a “throw away” or trial blog.
This is a temporary blog on a topic unrelated to what you expect your “real” blog to be on. It might be on a hobby or maybe leading up to a one-time event, perhaps a charity drive or a sporting event.
If I were to start blogging for the first time today I’d consider starting a throw away blog on a topic I’m passionate about, but where there is an ending date or perhaps seasonal factors. For example, I’ve started running and a blog on my running would be motivating and easy to write. I’m training for a race in a few months, and it would be pretty easy to stop after that event.
I am also passionate about saltwater Fly Fishing for striped bass and that would be a great topic for a throw away blog because it’s seasonal. By late fall the passion is still there, but the fish have migrated south and it would be easy to stop.
I am sure that everyone has several choices they could use for a throw away blog.
A throw away blog allows you to start blogging without any pressure at all and you will learn a lot. In fact you’ll learn things things you can’t even think to ask about without actually blogging. This knowledge will allow you to start your official blog, perhaps a business blog, from a position of strength.
Not sure if blogging is for you? Start a throw away blog on a topic of your choice and experience blogging without any pressure. If you love blogging, great! If not, at least you gave it a serious try. One word of warning: most people find blogging enjoyable and addicting, and don’t be surprised if you never throw away your throw away blog!
About the Author
And for over 100 tips on successful blogging, I invite you to grab your free copy of my ebook “Secrets of Successful Blogging” at http://www.secretsofsuccessfulblogging.com
By Ted Demopoulos, author of “Blogging for Business” and “What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting”
“El Bolson” Kstuart’s photos around El Bolson, Argentina (el bolson Fly Fishing blog)
Pacesetter vs. Flowmaster–The Exhaustive Debate by David S. Brooks
I have a ’97 Acura Integra that I’m slowing building up as a street drifter. My bros and I all watch Tokyo Drift every chance we get and then head out to do some drifting ourselves. We get all geeked-up on Mountain Dew and the movie psyches us for some hardcore drifting; so we head down to the Sears parking lot after dark. My Integra seems to be lagging behind some of the other cars so I’ve decided to install a performance exhaust system; but which one? I’ve narrowed it down to two, Flowmaster and Pacesetter.
Fly Boy, that’s what I call the old Integra, has been jetting me around town for 5 years now. I bought it from my Grammy when she got her new Crown Vic. The thing was pretty sporty right out of the box, but I just couldn’t leave it alone. When I started drifting with the boys I knew it was time for some mods. Right away I added a short ram intake and a performance chip. I was quickly crowned King Drifter of our local abandoned Sears parking lot drift track.
Soon though, the competition stiffened up. Johnny Utah got a new RSX and started to blow door on my old Fly Boy. Shakey’s rickety old CRX was also giving me and Fly Boy a run for our money. And occasionally, this cat named Li’l Puppet comes up from the South Side with his super-fast Celica just to kick some butt on our local boys.
Well, after the last whipping I took from Li’l Puppet, I decided that Fly Boy needed some more work. I checked out the tuner mags and forums and narrowed it down to 2 brands–Pacesetter and Flowmaster. Both makes are super popular with the tuner crowd; in fact each brand has a pretty rabid following. After listening to a bunch of mindless propaganda, I decided I’d have to get to the bottom of this myself. Let’s start with Pacesetter.
Pacesetter has been in the performance-exhaust game for over 30 years. They started with their now famous Monza system that was a huge hit with VW hot rodders back in the day. They took the same design and tweaked it for a number of late model tuner rides–like the Fly Boy. They have a cool logo that looks just like the Ferrari prancing stallion and let’s face it; they make a dirt cheap performance system.
Yes, yes, like all the other exhaust brands, Pacesetter rambles on about mandrel-bending and precision standards. All that info really means nothing to me, so I decided to crunch some numbers. The Pacesetter kit for Fly Boy runs about 250 bones, depending on where you shop. Not bad for a name brand system that runs from the cat back.
How about Flowmaster? Of course, Flowmaster also yammers on about mandrel-bent this and that–blah, blah, blah. These exhaust guys really have to come up with something a little more fresh.
Anyway, Flowmaster has also been around for nearly 30 years and made a name for themselves in the world of hot rodding. Their systems seem to be popular with other drifters and I see their name plastered all over the events that me and Fly Boy attend. Of course, the only advertising going on at our clandestine drift races is the fist pumping and smack talking of the winner.
The Flowmaster system for my Fly Boy costs less than 200 bucks; which is a $50 savings over the Pacesetter. Of course, this is only a flange-back system, so I’m guessing it will extract a little less power. It truly is a beautiful system though; well thought out and solidly built.
Since my bottom line is winning, not saving 50 bucks, I finally decided to go for the Pacesetter kit. And guess what? Me and the Fly Boy are once again setting the pace down at the Sears lot. Yeah!
A quick recap: Pacesetter made their name in tuner performance. They craft an economical kit for a huge array of vehicles. Flowmaster cut their teeth in the hot rod scene, so they have a limited selection for tuner cars. Over all, both kits are well made and designed for an easy DIY installation. – David S. Brooks
About the Author
David Brooks is the SEO Manager for AutoAnytyhing, an auto accessories and performance parts e-tailer based in San Diego, CA
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