Beyond Know How

There seems to be no end to the amount of tropical locales out there, but it still seems to be surprisingly difficult to find tropical locations for a good vacation. The key lies in finding that impossible and delicate balance between unspoiled beauty, free from the incivilities of civilization and enough infrastructure to support the action and adventure you will crave after a couple of days shut off from the incivilities of civilization. And make no mistake, it’s a very tough balance to find. Delicate in it’s own right it also depends very heavily on the vacationer. Some people are more inclined towards the unspoiled beauty end of the spectrum than others and for them it’s much more important to find a place far away from streets filled with store fronts crammed to the rafters with kitschy knick knacks. The bottom line is, if you’re looking for the perfect tropical vacation spot then be prepared to spend some time doing your research before you end up on some tropical island that only gets used for bomb testing occasionally now.

The economy has slammed you hard and you start looking for ways to cut back. One day you remember that timeshare you own and declare “It’s time to sell my timeshare.” OK, what’s the next step?

The first thing you should do is do some research online and figure out what a timeshare like yours is going for on the resale market. Definitely do not expect to get anywhere close to what you paid for it if you purchased it from the developer. 50-75% depreciation is the norm. Some timeshare owners are even willing to part with their timeshare for $1, in hopes that they can just get rid of it and be done with the maintenance fees. You will never sell your timeshare if there are tons of other timeshares for the same resort at much cheaper prices.

Now that you’ve decided on a price, you have to get the word out. Ebay and Craigslist are becoming more and more popular for this sort of thing. You can reach a lot of people on Craigslist for free, and Ebay only charges a few cents for the listing. It’s definitely worth pursuing these two options first.

You can also look at posting an ad at your home resort if they let people do that. Maybe they have some kind of reseller flyer or newsletter they send around, that would work also. There are all kinds of newsgroups and forums about timeshares that you can join and get the word out at.

The last resort should be paying someone to sell your timeshare. Lots of reseller websites exist, and some of them probably do a good job, but never pay one of these places up front. Only pick one that makes their money through commissions. At least then you know they will be trying to sell your timeshare becaused they only get paid when you do.

Hopefully pricing your timeshare right and using as many different sources as possible to advertise will have you saying “Cool, I was able to sell my timeshare.”

Whenever I go gallivanting around the planet I like to make sure I keep some sort of journal (on account of WAY too many interesting things tend to happen and there’s no way I’m gifted enough to ever remember even half of them). The problem with actual cloth or leather bound journals is that 1) they take up valuable space and 2) they don’t serve the double duty of keeping your family and friends up to date on where you are when and whether or not you’re safe (the big one for moms). For these reasons I tend to keep my travel story blog up and running whenever I’m wandering. Not only do I get to look back years after my travels and be reminded of all the ridiculous situations I put myself in but in the moment it’s a vital tool to minimize the amount of time I have to spend letting everyone I know what I’m up too. Plus, with the proliferation of internet cafes you don’t even have to carry a computer with you to keep things up to date!

Setting up your folding camper is a very straightforward process because the manufacturers actively design their models to be user friendly. Some of the most modern campers can be set up in less than 20 minutes or so. The reason this can happen is down to the lifting mechanisms and the easy to use winches. All it needs is a few quick turns and your up and running.

The entire structure is very stable because the folding camper trailer acts as the base. This has the added weight to give stability and comfort. It also helps to keep it in place during high winds and rain. The interior usually consists of folding tables and chairs, and a galley style kitchen area that can be pulled down. The beds also fold out in seconds, and rest on the support arms on the underside of the trailer.

When spending a week or so in the Mexican resort destination of Cancun, it is very easy to explore the underwater reefs and ship wrecks through scuba diving.  Before leaving on a jet plane for our latest trip we did a little Cancun Vacations 101 and learned about many different scuba options available.  You will want to be careful about which scuba company you use, as some have a habit of not filling up the air tanks as full as you may like.  If you have an experience like this, make sure to get your money back and inform your hotel about the lack of oxygen problem you encountered.  The Mexican government is serious about making sure tourists enjoy their stay in Cancun, and will probably track down the offending scuba company owner and have him shot.

Our family has always loved the annual vacation to the coast where days are spent sleeping in, playing the sand and watching the waves crash in.  One of best expenditures of time was spent when I looked online and found the large selection of Oregon coast motels that are available at all price ranges.  If you haven’t ever visited the coast of Oregon, it may be easy to think of it as just an extension of the California coasts, but in reality it is much different.  Because the state of Oregon does not allow hotels or individuals to “own” the coast, almost every beach is totally open to the public.  Because of this there is rarely an issue with crowding on the coastal beaches.  Do yourself a favor, and enjoy a vacation soon to the Oregon Coast.

photo credit: banspy

If you are a fan of the casino and wish to venture to the “world of the casino” but are afraid to even look at the cost of accommodation then its time to stop worrying and get booking. Cheap Vegas hotels are plentiful right now because of the slow economy. Because of the slow economy and the knock on effect of it, many people who would usually holiday, and many people who would have holidayed in Vegas have not done so. Money is harder to come by right now so people are tightening their purse strings. However, hotels still have to make their living and pay their wage bills and various other bills, so they have to attract custom. How else to do so than to lower their previous rates to become more competitive in todays highly competitive market place?

Yesterday I bought rolling duffle bags for my son. I knew he had wanted to have them for a long time and just was not sure when he would have the time to get them himself. Last week though I just made the time and drove over to our local mart and found him exactly the ones he had been looking for himself.

photo credit: davidbriody

A very nice clerk helped me finding what I was looking for in under 5 minutes. She told me absolute everything I could possibly want to know. It feels like I made a great deal too since I got the double bags for 15% off.

Given the state of the economy I actually am not surprised about the many reductions we have seen in Samsonite rolling duffle bags lately. Our mart certainly appreciates every sale they make.

My daughter paid us a visit last night for dinner and was telling us about the new rolling duffle bags she has bought. She was quite excited about it and felt smug for having gotten them for an impressively low price. She said, they have all the features she had wanted and are even better than what she initially planned to buy.

It feels good to see her this happy. I am a bit suspicious about her new purchase though and am not sure I would ever want to own a rolling duffle bags myself. They are said to be pretty modern and I am more of an old fashioned kind of guy. Also, I am not sure what level of maintenance needs to be applied in order to keep Samsonite Rolling Duffle Bags in good shape.

If you are a frequent traveler you have probably already implemented several habits and procedures that make your trip better. Some people like to travel in a comfortable set of clothes while others will have a drink to come down their nerves before the train or plain leaves. Obviously this doesn’t apply if you’re driving in your car.

Because many travelers have found the seats in both trains and airplanes to be uncomfortable if you want to take a nap, some guy invested the travel neck pillow. It is basically an inflatable pillow that you can wrap around your neck and thereby give better support to your head and neck when trying to sleep while traveling.

These pillows will not fit everyone and especially people with larges necks will need to find special travel pillows because the standard will not fit.