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February 2009
Have you ever taken Fido on a flight or Rover on a road trip?
Pet owners: Share your tips for traveling with pets.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For nearly two years, we have been able to count on one thing from our daughters. Every few weeks, we would find on our bed a thick, business-size envelope containing the latest “contract” and list of responsibilities that our children would undertake if we would just do one thing for them - get them a dog.
These weren’t simple little lists of promises either. Most were at least eight to ten pages long, front and back, filled with enough legalese to make the partners at Atlanta’s top law firms consider hiring the Still girls even in these tough economic times. They outlined the joys of owning a dog; the personal growth they would experience; the sacrifices they would make - and on and on.
After months of discussion and research to find the right kind of dog that would be appropriate for our family and situation, we finally allowed the girls to get a Labrador-Golden Retriever mix puppy. She has quickly become a member of our family, and the girls already assume that wherever we go… Maggie will go too. That includes beach trips, weekend getaways, and big summer vacations like our planned trip to Yellowstone this year.
Given her youthful exuberance, I doubt seven-week-old Mags will be traveling with us anytime soon. We’re nowhere nearly comfortable enough with housetraining to let her wander round our own house for very long without running her outside (or cleaning up messes). It will take a lot of training - house and otherwise - before I would be willing to “unleash” our little puppy on an unknowing public.
While I don’t imagine we will include the family dog on every family vacation, I would like to believe we will bring her along on some appropriate travels when she gets a little older. Camping and hiking trips are natural pet-friendly getaways, and I’m pretty sure my husband harbors heartwarming images of kids and canine running free on a sandy beach. The key for us will be to choose good pet-friendly destinations.
Pet owners often combine their love of pet with their love of travel. Many websites are dedicated to helping animal lovers find suitable travel destinations - or pet-friendly attractions within a location - with lists of hotels, beaches and parks that welcome well-behaved pets. For instance, dogfriendly.com offers city guides, filled with pet-friendly outdoor restaurants, dog parks and other attractions in dozens of cities throughout the south, nationwide and Canada.
Sites like tripswithpets.com and petswelcome.com help pet owners plan their trip, feature travel deals and list important information and tips for travelers with pets. Most airline websites also provide helpful information for people who are planning to travel by air with their pets.
Do you ever travel with your pets? Where are some good destinations in the south that you can comfortably bring your pet? What are your favorite places anywhere to travel with your pet? What’s your best advice for someone considering their first trip with a pet?
How do you make the trip - by car, by plane, by train? Do you have an airline preference when you’re transporting your pet? Have you found a good pet-friendly hotel chain? How difficult is it to take a trip that includes your pet? How much pet-oriented research do you do before you leave town? Do you look up leash laws or veterinarian locations at your destination site?
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Are you planning a family-friendly spring break trip?
Tell us where you’re taking the kids.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The weather’s turn for the better earlier this week was a reminder that spring break really isn’t that far away. Most metro school districts will send their students packing no later than April 6 - a mere six weeks from now. That may seem like a lifetime to our children and their teachers, but for parents who haven’t made plans to get away for the break, those six weeks will fly.
If you have the spring break bug and want to plan a last-minute, family-friendly trip, where can you go? Fortunately, we live in a region with lots of options. Many travelers seek southeastern destinations at spring break because our weather in March and April is generally mild.
If you don’t want a major week-long adventure, you can save on airfare, take a short drive, stay a few days, and still enjoy downtime at home before school starts again. Our spring break getaways are often only three to five days, including travel time.
Here are a few ideas I have had for possible breaks this spring…
Beach-bound - Let’s face it, spring break is usually your first chance each year to get out and enjoy the sand, surf and sun. Water temps may not be as warm as you might prefer for sea bathing, but you can usually wade in a little by early April. It’s also nice to sit on the beach and build your sand castles without that sweltering summer heat. It difficult to list all of the great family-friendly beaches within Atlantans’ easy reach, but check out Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, Ala. or Myrtle Beach, SC (even though it also attracts college students) as options with plenty of family activities on and off the beach.
Indoor water parks - If you really want to break in your new swimsuit this spring break without freezing your behind in chilly ocean waters, head to the mountains of eastern Tennessee, where you’ll find resorts with huge indoor water parks to entertain you and the kids over spring break. Check out these deals at Wild Bear Falls Resort in Gatlinburg and Wilderness at the Smokies in Sevierville as possibilities.
City exploration - I have always enjoyed exploring big and small cities, and spring break is a good time to check out some of our neighboring metropolitan areas. A couple of examples…
A short drive up I-75 takes you to Chattanooga, Tenn. and its many family-friendly attractions - Rock City and Ruby Falls on Lookout Mountain; the Tennessee Aquarium; the Chattanooga Choo-Choo; and a very pleasant and walk-able riverfront district. Depending on when your break occurs, you could also enjoy a minor league baseball game in early spring at the AA Chattanooga Lookouts’ stadium.
Even if you don’t have tickets to the Masters Golf Tournament, you can check out the tournament’s home city of Augusta, Ga. While the city goes ga ga for golf during the first full week of April, visitors can enjoy the shops, restaurants,historic sites and museums along the Riverwalk at any time.
If you want to go further, you may find a deal on air travel, as spring break fares are reported to be down by about nine percent over last year. Tickets from Atlanta to domestic, Mexican and Caribbean destinations are averaging $249 instead of 2008’s $273.
Where are you headed for spring break? Do you go for the entire week or just a few days? Does your idea for a spring getaway mesh with your kids’ expectations for the break? Have you found any great deals for this spring break? Where did you go on your favorite family spring break?
And, once you’re there, we want to know about your trip! Send your spring break photos
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Cities take Mardi Gras out of New Orleans and make it their own
Check out other places - big and small - where you can party
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In a few days, we can trade in Valentine’s sweets for the beads and revelry of another February celebration - Mardi Gras. New Orleans is the undisputed center of all things Fat Tuesday, though many people agree that the original Mardi Gras city - Mobile, Ala. - kicks it up pretty well too.
But NOLA and Mobile don’t hold the patent on pre-Lenten partying. Places big and small throughout the south and the rest of the country have their own parades, Krewe-fests, music, drinking and general carousing.
If you’ve done the New Orleans thing before and you’ve experienced Mobile’s Moon-Pie madness, check out some of these other destinations for a different Mardi Gras experience.
The party starts this Friday in Galveston, Tex., with the city’s first bead-catching event. In the run-up to Fat Tuesday itself (February 24th this year), Galveston’s Mardi Gras festivities will offer dozens of Krewe parades, balcony parties, bead catchings and live musical acts. All events are free.
Miami, Fla. will add its own beachfront twist to Mardi Gras, when revelers hit Hollywood Beach for live entertainment, Cajun and Creole cooking, and of course, beads.
Small-town Eunice, La. hosts a big-time, down-home Mardi Gras celebration. Think less Bourbon Street and more Main Street - Cajun-style. The city’s traditional take on Mardi Gras features a Boucherie (that’s a hog-slaughtering) and cochon de lait (a pig roast) in front of the City Hall on Sunday, February 22. Visitors should check out the Mardi Gras Run (or Courir de Mardi Gras), where costumed participants travel the countryside, stopping at houses to beg residents for the ingredients to make a gumbo for the community to enjoy on the night of Fat Tuesday.
Shreveport, La. celebrates Mardi Gras in style with several weeks of parades and Krewe-hosted balls.
Even St. Marys, Ga. along the Florida border hosts family-friendly festivities the weekend before Mardi Gras. Look for street dancing, live music, arts and crafts and a parade through the historic downtown.
Are you traveling for Mardi Gras this year? Does it have to be New Orleans, or will you be in Mobile or one of these alternative destinations? Do you know of other southern (or otherwise) cities/towns that know how to put on a mean Mardi Gras?
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What are the South’s most romantic cities?
Getting away for Valentine's Day? Tell us where!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and love birds who like to travel are in luck this year. The planets have aligned, as February 14 falls on a Saturday and travel deals abound in our struggling economy. That makes it easy and inexpensive to canoodle with the one you love in a place far from home.
But how do you plan a last-minute romantic getaway that tells your special someone they’re number one on your list? Romantic as it may be, a whirlwind trip to Paris - even with great travel incentives - isn’t possible for most of us on such short notice.
A weekend away in our neck of the woods, however, is definitely do-able; and we live in one of the most romantic regions in the U.S. You may not gaze into each other’s eyes over a petit noir at a sidewalk café along the Seine, but the South has a variety of alluring destinations.
Having grown up in the 1970s and 80s, I vividly remember the state of Virginia’s tourism slogan, “Virginia is for Lovers.” Old Dominion has breathtaking vistas and natural beauty to inspire couples. One of my favorite areas is the region around Charlottesville. The college town, home to the University of Virginia, offers interesting spots to dine and shop. Even in winter, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello home and the many vineyards dotting the countryside provide a picturesque backdrop for romantic outings. For more information on things to see and do in Charlottesville, click here; or check out the state Department of Tourism to find other V-Day destinations in Virginia.
With their Spanish moss and classic architecture, cities like Savannah, New Orleans and Charleston define the term “romantic southern getaway”. In fact, Savannah recently made Travel and Leisure’s list of 50 best romantic getaways in 2009. (It’s not as classic in the traditional southern sense, but Miami Beach also made the top 50 worldwide romantic destinations this year.)
You can also find love in smaller towns, like Natchez, Miss., Oxford, Miss. and countless other scenic burgs, where the town square is a romantic reminder of days gone by.
Finally, love birds can still flock to the mountains to embrace the winter weather in places like Asheville, NC or fly south together to escape to sunny Fort Lauderdale and other Florida locales. Hotels, inns and bed and breakfasts throughout the region are offering special Valentine’s Day getaways.
If you’re staying closer to home next weekend, check out this AJC guide to help you celebrate a sweet Valentine’s Day in the Atlanta area.
Are you traveling for Valentine’s Day and where? What is the South’s most romantic city? What’s our most romantic small town? Tell us your most romantic getaway ideas. What do you value most in a Valentine’s destination- scenery, fine dining, luxury, or cultural activities — or will any place where the two of you can be alone together do?
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