It is the holiday travel season, when most people will travel to be with their loved ones. Here are some tips to make that trip safer. In this article we will discuss ways you can stay safe whether you are traveling by plane, train or automobile.
The first items on your to do list is stopping the newspaper and mail. Nothing says I’m not at home than newspapers stacking up in the driveway or front porch and mail stuffed in the mail box. Item number two is give someone a copy of your itinerary . That person could be a family member, close friend or neighbor. If something should happen to you, and you don’t arrive when expected, there will be someone who can notify the police. These people should know where you are going, how you are traveling and where you are staying. In the unlikely event that you disappear, the police have a place to start looking.
Always double check the plane departure time. Check to see if it is on time or delayed. The same with trains and buses.
When on public transportation, sit near other people for safety. There is usually safety in numbers. When possible sit near the doors and locate the emergency exits. Remember the nearest exit may be behind you.
Stay awake and alert when traveling on public transportation. But if you do nap, have your traveling companion keep watch while you get some sleep.
There are many manufacturers that offer products designed to hide your valuables, such as passports, money, credit cards, traveler’s checks and tickets. It is a good idea to keep a good portion of your money in traveler’s checks and hidden in separate compartments. When walking around, keep your money separate from your credit cards and passports. If you are robbed, then they get the money, but not the harder to replace passport and credit cards.
With the holidays come the thieves looking for an easy target. Always keep your luggage close at hand and in sight. This is especially important at the baggage claim area of the airport. It’s easy to be distracted. You watching for your luggage to appear and your attention is not on your carry-on bags. It takes just a second for someone to walk off with your bags.
Backpacks are very popular these days. I don’t know what I would do without one on a trip. Being somewhat of a Boy Scout, I used one daily so that I didn’t forget to bring something along with me. When carrying a backpack, it is safer to hold the backpack on one shoulder so that it can be easier to see if someone attempts to get into the bag. When the backpack is on your back in a crowd, it is easier for someone to unzip a compartment and remove a valuable. In crowds I will often hold the pack in front of me.
A handy item is the pocket wallet that fits in your front pocket. It is harder for the pickpocket to get to the wallet when it is located there. Your purse should closed and in front of you or beside you with the handle facing you, this makes it more difficult for someone to grab it and run away. However it is best not to fight for the purse or bag if it is grabbed. Better to be able to walk away and avoid a trip to the hospital or worse.
Prior to leaving for a new destination, research the area and get the lay of the land. Also research customs that may differ from yours.
Always dress appropriately for the area that you are visiting. If not attending a formal affair, it is usually better to dress casually, in comfortable clothing. The shoes should be comfortable in case you have to move quickly.
Wearing your best jewelry in public is only inviting a thief to grab it from your neck or mug you for these items. Save your best jewelry for special occasions.
When in the airport, after passing through the security screening, it best to head directly to the boarding area. Security in these areas is usually better as there are more people.
Holiday travel to see the family can be fun and with an awareness of your surroundings, you can experience the thrill of travel and still maintain your safety and possessions.
Gregory Colvin is the author of Personal Safety Tips. a website for safety tips and products. Gregory Colvin is a former police officer and expert in security.
This year we decided on a road trip to Asheville North Carolina instead of flying. The reason I like driving is because I like packing heavy. Asheville is approximately 10 hours from Tampa and we opted to break the trip in half. A stop in Savannah South Carolina was a perfect location. State run highway welcome centers are excellent places to find discounts on hotels and restaurants. We found a historic inn right on the waterfront at a great price.
Travel time from Savannah is around 4 hours. We found a great deal through HomeAway.com HomeAway allows you to rent a home for the price of a hotel room and in some cases less than a hotel room. Our home away from home was a beautiful cabin overlooking the mountains. It is called Annie’s Cozy Cabin and was only a few years old. The porch overlooking the mountains is a vacation all on its own. It is private, with the neighbors’ homes barely visible through the trees. Birds of all varies were our frequent visitors, including humming birds that fed from the birdfeeders on the porch. Located about 20 minutes from downtown Asheville, 10 minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway and 15 minutes from Interstate 40, it has easy access to anywhere in the area.
Our favorite part of renting from HomeAway.com is all the homes we have rented have had great views and all the conveniences. We love the convenience of having a washer and dryer and kitchen in the houses we stay in, saving us money when we cook many of our meals at our HomeAway.com home.
Asheville has a great art community and we attended an art walk in Downtown. Jan is a glass artist and was fascinated with the works at The Bender Gallery, 57 Haywood Street.
After the gallery walk it was time for dinner. We headed toward the sounds of beating drums. Every Friday night, Pack Square draws folks with their drums for a drumming circle. Hundreds of drummers fill the night air with rhythm and beat of the drums.
We found a great restaurant across the street from Pack Square at 7 Pack Square, the “bistro 1896″. The “bistro 1896″ has a large selection of dishes, what was best, outdoor seating allowed us to watch the crowds in Pack Square while dinning.
You never know who you will meet in Asheville. Talking with customers at the next table we met a truck driver who had a personal audience with the Dali Lama. He was an encyclopedia of knowledge about natural points of interest. We followed his suggestions for some great views.
The next day it was off to Transylvania, Transylvania County the land of waterfalls. We elected to visit DuPont State Forest, which is the home of three waterfalls, High Falls, Triple Falls and Bridal Falls. They are fairly easy hikes.
While in the DuPont State Forest, we found one of the parking areas blocked and filled with tents and a sign that read Home Base. We told that there was a feature film being shot in the forest. The movie is The Hunger Games based on Suzanne Collins book by the same name.
My suggestion is visit DuPont State Forest and the falls on a weekday. The weekends are usually crowded with locates swimming near the falls to cool off, not that I blame them.
Black Mountain was the destination for the next day of our trip. Black Mountain has numerous quaint shops including Black Mountain Books, which has a large selection of used and unique books for the book lover.
We soon began looking for a restaurant and found The Morning Glory Cafe. It is situated outside of town in the Cheshire Shopping Center. Having been born in Kentucky, nothing is closer to my heart than food like gravy, biscuit and eggs. And the Morning Glory Cafe’s Mountain Man breakfast consist of gravy, biscuits and eggs. It is hardy, slightly spicy and a great meal. The service was friendly and our waiter was also able to recommended several places to visit including Craggy Gardens and Mount Mitchell while we were in the area. And he was right. We made this our breakfast spot two days in a row. This restaurant is a must visit when in Black Mountain.
Downtown we came across the Swannanoa Valley Museum. It is not fancy, which makes it a great place to get a feel of the building and the displays. Covering the history from the settlers to current period with some of the exhibits built by the town’s Boy Scout Troop.
The next morning we left the comfort of the cabin, its porch and great view and headed to Craggy Gardens. Located off the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile maker 364, the parking lot leads to the trail to the summit. The trail is moderate to difficult, but with the rhododendrons in bloom with their purple and white flowers, it is worth the hike.
Shelter at the summit at Craggy Garden
That evening we drove into town to find a restaurant. On the way I spotted what I thought was a stuffed bear on the side of the road. It in fact a large bear crossing the roadway. Wildlife is everywhere.
We elected eat at Zambra Wine & Tap, 85 Walnut Street. Walnut Street is a side street and the restaurant is conveniently located across the street from a public parking garage. The restaurant specializes in Tapas dining and has an excellent collection of wines to choose from. I found it a little dark, but Jan loved it. And the food was great.
We saved Mount Mitchell for the next day. The early morning was brisk and refreshing at that attitude and the drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway was as always scenic. Entering the park you first come to the welcome center, a great place to gather information about the park. At the summit is an observation tower, similar to the one at Clingmans Dome. For many years there was a heated dispute about which peak was higher, Clingmans Dome or Mount Mitchell. In the end Mount Mitchell was proven to be higher. Mount Mitchell parks also boast the highest restaurant in the eastern United States.
View from the Summit of Mount Mitchell
The next day we left Asheville and it was raining.
In the past few months, rumors of closing the park have circulated. Citing a reduction in the county budget, members of the Pinellas County Board of Commissioners are considering closing the park.
A survey was conducted and a vast majority of visitors to the park would be willing to pay to see the park remain open in its natural state.
It is rare to find natural Florida available so close to developed areas. After it is gone, it is gone forever.
Do what you can to keep the preserve natural!
Objective: The Brooker Creek Nature Preserve located in Tarpon Springs, FL is about 7 miles long and 1.5 miles wide. It is a full 8500 acres of undeveloped land surrounded by rapid suburban development. The Brooker Creek Nature Preserve is labeled as a wilderness area. Wilderness areas have been designated ever since 1964 when the Wilderness Act passed, protecting these undisturbed lands by law. Due to the million deficit this year, Pinellas County may close down the preserve, thereby exposing the Brooker Creek watershed to the environmental damages caused by urban development. All life depends on water, keeping the watershed clean is vital to keeping the ecosystem healthy. All life is connected to each other through the common need and use of the watershed, which is a big indicator of water quality. The Brooker Creek watershed is the only stream that flows into Lake Tarpon. Without the preserve, urban sprawl would certainly spread to the area, degrading the land and polluting the water eventually making it ecologically unsustainable and greatly lowering the biodiversity. Many endangered species and larger animals that are rare in the rest of Florida, are in abundance at the preserve. Bobcats, coyotes, gopher tortoise, otters and wild turkey live in the preserve. As do the endangered air plants like orchids and animals like the Bachmans sparrow. There is not normally enough undeveloped land in the Eastern United States to support such a large and diverse wildlife …
Weeki Wachee River is located in Central Florida, with the headwaters nestled adjacent to U.S. Highway 19, in the Village of Weeki Wachee Springs. Originating from a first magnitude spring head, water flows from the Florida aquifer, the crystal clear water discharging at the rate of between 67 to107 million gallons of water a day, forming the Weeki Wachee River.
Weeki Wachee Springs is best known for the aquatic show featuring Mermaids. Early explorers, months away from females, often mistook the Manatees that populate the springs and the river with legendary Mermaids of myth. The show at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park began in 1947 and has had its ups and down since then. The park, once a private enterprise, is now being maintained by the State of Florida Park System. With 538 acres, the park offers beaches, boat tours, which are included in the price of admission, picnicking, Scuba diving (divers must be accompanied by an instructor from the dive shop), snorkeling, and swimming. For those without boats, the park offers canoe and kayak rentals. This is a great way to explore the river for those visiting the area or those who prefer a leisurely paddle downstream.
Our trip that day began at Rogers Park located at 7244 Shoals Line Blvd. in Spring Hills. The park includes a sand beach and swim area. An observation deck to watch for Manatees is positioned near the river. Two launch areas are provided by the park, one for motorized boats and one near the park entrance for canoes and kayaks.
After launching, head toward the main river and turn right. This will take you toward the headwaters and the main spring. Weeki Wachee River is darker at this point, due to run off and tannins, that are created by the cypress tree needles that drop into the water. These tannins create the copper color tainting the river.
Paddling east toward the spring head, the water becomes clearer and the flow is more pronounced. It can be difficult to make headway against the current especially during the low tide, when the water is being pulled out to the Gulf of Mexico.
Canopy along the bank of the Weeki Wachee River
During our trip, we encountered several Manatees in the river. Manatees , also known as sea cows, can usually be found in the river until late March or early April. Though the 72 degree water may seem cold to you, it is far warmer than the Gulf of Mexico in the winter months. In order to escape the cold waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Manatee travel up the rivers created by the Florida aquifer. This year has been particularly rough on the sea cows, due to the unusual and extremely cold weather that Florida has experienced. There were a record number of Manatee deaths affecting an already stressed and decreasing population.
Planning travel to Costa Rica? Tortuguero National Park is a destination that I can and would recommend.
Tortuguero National Park is more of a preserve than a national park. A park ranger once explained to me the difference between a park and a preserve. In a park, if a raccoon were to attempt to steal your food while picnicking, the raccoon would be moved. In a preserve if the raccoon were to attempt to steal your food, then you would be removed. In this preserve, you would probably substitute a monkey instead of a raccoon.
The park is result of the efforts of Dr. Archie Carr, Joshua B. Powers and John H. Phipps. Dr. Archie Carr, who received his doctorate from the University of Florida, had done extensive research on sea turtles. His researches lead him to write the book “The Windward Road”. This book documents the plight of the sea turtle as it travels from its nesting grounds and then its return to the same beach to laid its eggs. This cycle continues throughout the turtle’s life. Through the work of these men and many who assisted them, they laid the foundation for the creation of the Tortuguero National Park.
As I prepared to write this article, fresh from a trip to the park I received the latest edition of the newsletter, Velador, from the Caribbean Conservation Corporation, which was founded to protect sea turtles and their habitats. The CCC has recently celebrated the 100th birthday of Dr. Archie Carr. Being slightly younger than me the CCC is in its 50th year. Time flies when you’re having fun.
