Castle on the Hudson

I never thought there were old castles in America. But there is!
Castle on the Hudson actually even belongs to the prestigious Small Luxury Hotels list! A true five star accommodation which offers a unique experience of being a king or queen for the night. They've got great rates for stays (USD195 and up) to suit any budget. Whether you are wanting to splurge or not.

What really blew me away was the fact that one can get married on this historic landmark. Even just for a day one can be royalty. Imagine great architecture, fabulous backdrop for that perfect wedding. The place on its own is beautiful, adding the flowers and decors would make it even better. The location is good, since it is very accessible to New York couples wanting that special day but not having the time to travel too far to get to the wedding venue.

Their website does not give justice to the marvelous landmark, although it is notable that they do have a sample wedding package available on their website. Not as pricey as one would expect. I just hope that they are able to deliver a grand affair.

Castle on the Hudson
400 Benedict Avenue
Tarrytown, NY 10591

For Hotel Reservations, please call:
Toll Free: 1 800 616-4487
Telephone: 914 631-1980
Fax: 1 914 631-4612

I may be Australian but . . .

I miss going on Halloween trick or treats! Among other American influenced festivities that I grew up with in Manila.

Here, trick or treating isn't all that big. There may be a few of these celebrations here and there, but nothing like having them organised in most villages/suburbs. They may have Halloween costume parties for teenagers or adults, but nothing like good old knocking on neighbours' doors to ask for sweets. I wonder if my bub will get to experience one when he/she grows up. Not that it's a big deal if baby won't. I guess it's also about sharing the experience which I once had. I know my mummy friends in Manila do put a lot of thought into what costume they will put bubba in for the occasion.

Okay, it's not just Halloween that I miss. I miss spending Easter going on egg hunts or watching kids go on one. I miss the whole hullaballoo of Christmas, etc., etc.

Here I feel they put more emphasis on the other holidays such as: New Year's Eve (fair enough- the Harbour Bridge fireworks is really good), Valentine's (?! I wouldn't be able to relate since its my bday !) .. I think that's about it! Haha! Plus of course big on local/national holidays which obviously should be something big.

Oh well. I guess I should really be used to the Aussie way of life. Resisting most American things, thoughts, and way of life. And that's not a bad thing. It's just the way it is.

Shutter dreaming

When I think of outdoor shutters, I think of this really nice beach front hotel in California. I wish I could go and visit that place for real, but for now I am satisfied with just looking at its website! Perhaps one day when I visit friends in the west coast. Meanwhile I will just go back to my california dream about the sun, beach and sand.

Booking my groups

One type of tourist accounts for those who travel out of motivation from an interest (or interests). I have made a booking for a group of people who traveled to visit archaeological sites in Greece, and another group that traveled to France and Britain to attend a war memorial event. Recently, I have had a group of people wanting to travel to the United States to visit a list of museums located in the Eastern part of the States. They were quite a handful as some of the travelers were wanting to try Gettysburg camping style, while the others wanted at least a four star rating hotel to stay at.

At the end of it all, they came into consensus that they would give rv camping Gettysburg a go. Majority of them haven’t tried this style of pa rv camping but were convinced that it would be an interesting experience. It was good that they have all agreed to this, otherwise I would end up having a divided group which would mean more work for me. I usually like dealing with group bookings especially if I communicate with only one coordinator.

My mother in law

My mother in law’s sideline business involves plants, gardens and landscaping. She’s so good at it that a few of my friends’ house were landscaped by her, and hubby is proud of it. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her, and I heard that they are heading off to see my sister in law who has just given birth recently. They’ll be staying with her for a month and a bit, and they said they were looking at traveling around California. Being a travel agent, they’ve come to me and ask what places are good to see and if I had good hotel deals. I said I would look into it for her. I have come up with a few options for them, and have even stumbled upon a San Diego landscaper that she may be interested in meeting up with just to share interests and see what others’ works are. I know in Manila she usually attends those expos and exhibits, and sometimes even just travel around Bulacan area to meet with her friends and inspect plants and gardens. I am trying to have a look at my California guide to see if there are other gardens which she may be interested in visiting while she is over there.

U2 Way

Have you heard recently that New York's West 53rd Street is now temporarily known as U2 Way. This is to celebrate the release of the U2's new CD. How special is that?! I guess not every celebrity gets to have a street named in their honour! Even if its only for a week.

Adventure trip

I haven’t really tried camping out, as far as I remember. However, I do have photos of camping when I was younger (back when I did not have a choice but to tag along with my family!). As I am a grown up now, I realize that my parents were a lot more adventurous when they were my age. They have gone backpacking around Europe, taking overnight trains, using station lockers, camping at the beach, etc. I wish I could be as adventurous as them. Should we plan something such as Alaska Travel, I may end up scouting for nice hotels, while they wouldn’t mind camping somewhere like Denali Park. I guess, if and when that Travel Alaska trip happens, I would ask one of my siblings to stay with me at some hotel! I know there are a number of options available when traveling to this scenic state of Alaska. Perhaps I may want to try some unconventional type of accommodation for once. Truly in a cold place as that there couldn’t be any insects or whatever. There, I have just said it. One of the main reasons I am not up for camping is because of my fear of these unsightly small creatures!

Nasty Stingers Migration

I could not believe it when I saw the photos of Sting rays’ migration! Hundreds and thousands of them apparently migrate from Florida area to the Gulf of Mexico area twice each year.

Having watched a lot of Planet Earth documentation, I am always amazed at how nature takes it course and reflected onto us, by our animal friends migrating. I suppose, humans do migrate too, not necessarily as often as the animals, and maybe not every human specie migrates. I, of course, belong to those who do. Read about it here.

Travel agent in the family

I have been in and endless search of Free vacation rental listings for my family and friends. You see, some of them think I know everything and when they come and ask me where to look for such properties for travel in and around North America I struggle. I know there are a lot out there but only a few offer options for popular Telluride vacation rentals, which is the area my American friend is looking at taking her family to this coming Christmas vacation. She said her niece and nephews have been asking their parents (her sister and brother in law) about going to the snow for a long holiday, and she is actually also looking forward to this break from the usual beach holiday they go to at that time of the year. Recently I have come across the perfect site and I am truly amazed at how the internet can be a good source, as I’ve seen so much information on Free vacation condo listings available!

Georgia moments

The last time I was in the US ages ago, my family and I had the chance to visit Georgia. I would say that the cities there are not as big as those in California yet, but the Marietta GA Utility Combination would have a fair chance at proving that they are quite a great place to live in as well. They have excellent utility and recreation facilities that would still impress someone visiting the state for the first time.

Visiting Atlanta one would not miss the number of Marriott properties they have there. We stayed in one, and at some point got confused which property we were on. One long street would have at least two Marriott properties! A lot of my memories of our US trip happened in Georgia. We had a bit of an encounter one time at the parking area with one utility vehicle, and one of my siblings almost got run over by this. This was one scary time of my life. But, happy moments have happened to and I remember that Georgis was where we had countless visits to the best pancake house ever, and I’m sure you know what that is.

Seriously about life and drug rehab

Ever come across a time when you wanted to help a loved one, but they were not even willing to help themselves? I guess this has happened to each one of us, at one point or another. Whether it was concerning something big or just one of those petty things doesn’t matter. Whatever situation it may be, as a concerned family member or friend, we feel for our troubled loved one. It is never an easy thing to deal with straight on especially if we find out that that loved one needs to be brought to a drug rehab clinic. The first step is to come to terms and accept the situation for what it is. Oftentimes, when it is someone in our immediate circle who needs help, we deny the problem. Really, accepting the problem is the beginning of the solution. Showing that we care for our disturbed family member makes them feel loved, this is what they need instead of negative words. By openly talking it out with our loved one, with the help of trained counselors, we are showing our support for them. After all, we would rather see them slowly but surely regaining their confidence and life back, than to leave them to drown in their misery and addiction.

As a family member we only want the best care for our troubled loved one. In bringing them to a drug rehab clinic, it is always our intention to have a successful rehabilitation process. To have the best facilities available, and the best counselors’ support is the way to go. No one can tell how effective or successful this rehab process is than the person who experiences rehab as well as the close family. What everyone aspires for in this whole situation is for the loved one to come out as a winner.
Instead of waiting for things to unfold for the worst, it is wise to confront a serious situation as soon as possible. Communication plays an important part in cases like these. True enough if a loved one has pulled back and refuses to communicate about their drug problem then that’s a clear sign that they are in trouble. Should they come openly to you about their addiction problem is ideal, but most of the time never happens. Most of the time, if not always, to detect early on a seeming problem will be beneficial for all. And to have the proper information about which centre to take them to would work best. Perhaps if one needs to contact a clinic as soon as possible, then one could visit and consult with a successful California drug rehab centre

Touring San Francisco

Have you ever been to a city where you knew absolutely nothing about? And you were left on your own to find the tourist attraction you were meant to visit? I went to San Francisco a while ago and had to find my way to Mission Dolores. I actually had my family with me, but that didn’t help much because we were all not from there. None of my local relatives were with us at that time since we thought we might as well try to be independent while they were at work. On our way to the town, I remember having to go through a ‘rough’ suburb which had a number of bums and people hanging around the neighborhood. It was quite a wild experience and a scary one as well, just to be at an unfamiliar place with those unwelcoming stares. To add to the experience we were lost at that time and just did not want to nor bother asking directions from people there. I should have been wise enough to book sightseeing tours or should have picked out some other activity from the list of things to do in San Francisco through Trusted Tours & Attractions, rather than to venture out in the wild unknown streets. Well, it was an experience that I would remember for a while, especially the next time I visit San Francisco. Trusted Tours have a lot of interesting sightseeing tours in the United States to choose from. I’ve also come across a number of Things to do in Las Vegas on their website should I find myself incorporating a US trip to my intended Europe trip next year. I am looking at other things on their website and have just signed up to receive their electronic newsletter. They have an ongoing promotional until May 31, 2008. Someone may be lucky to win $150 worth of itunes gift card! I may actually benefit this as I have an Iphone which at the moment is in dire need of new songs to be downloaded!

A possible career in Fashion?

I spoke to my sister in law who's based in California the other night and she's been trying to convince me to relocate to the United States. As much as I've been telling her how happy I am in Sydney, she's just saying how much fun she is having in the States inspite of the recession. She's currently looking for a part time career, and I've told her why not get into fashion design. There are a lot of fashion schools in California, or particularly a lot of really good fashion schools in Los Angeles. She says she's leaning towards pursuing a career in law. I told her it might be worth her while to pursue and enrol into a fashion school in California since she's quite a trendy and fashionable person, who's always up to date with information and fashion trends. She said she'll think about it. Oh well! I suppose I can think about it as well.