Monterey is one of the most beautiful parts of the country, and for the months of January and February hotel rooms at certain hotels will be priced at $49 per night.

The “Wild for Nature” package, sponsored by the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau, is available Jan. 1 through Feb. 28 and draws attention to the area’s migrating gray whales, birds and Monarch butterflies.

Among the deals are discounted rates at more than 20 hotels. Rates (based on availability) include Carmel River Inn and Monterey Hotel, $49 per night; Pacific Grove’s Olympia Lodge, $59 per night; Carmel Mission Inn, $69 per night. Hotel rates are lowest at midweek.

Various tours and activities are also discounted; among these is admission to the Monterey Aquarium (one free child admission with the purchase of an adult ticket).

For more information, call (888) 221-1010 or see http://www.montereyinfo.org .

One of my favorite experiences has been going to the Monterey Aquarium and the Santa Cruz area. They are beautiful places, and have the ability to be fun year round.

Source LA Times

Dashing through the Snow, in a one horse open sleigh, o’er the fields we go, laughing all the way!

Now it is your chance to go on a romantic sleigh ride, and USA Today has a list of the best of them. And this list remembered there is snow east of the Rockies.

• Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe, Vt. –  800-826-7000; trappfamily.com
• Elk River Guest Ranch, Clark, Colo. – 800-750-6220; elkriverguestranch.com
• Rocky Mountain Sleigh Company, Near Park City, Utah – 800-303-7256; www.rockymtnrec.com
• Thunder Bay Resort, Hillman, Mich. – 800-729-9375; thunderbayresort.com
• National Elk Refuge, Near Jackson, Wyo. – 307-733-5386; www.bart5.com
• Nestlenook Farm Inn, Jackson, N.H. –  603-383-0845; lmgnh.com/NestlenookFarm
• Two Below Zero, Frisco, Colo.–  800-571-6853; dinnersleighrides.com
• Trail Creek Sleigh Ride & Dinner. Sun Valley, Idaho –  208-622-2135; sunvalley.com
• XTC Ranch & Sleigh Rides, Lake Clear, N.Y. –  800-613-6033; sleighrides.com
• Adams Family Farm, Wilmington, Vt. – 802-464-3762; adamsfamilyfarm.com

Now Pass the Hot Apple Cider!

The preliminary NTSB reports on the Southwest 737 crash at Midway airport raises more questions on what happened that snowy night  in Chicago. ABC News columnist John J Nance brings up some great points in today’s column.This is definitely worth a read.

More on the  NTSB Report:

• Washington Post
• Chicago Tribune
• USA Today

USA Today has a story on the top 10 Ski experiences that must be accomplished if you are a die hard skier. Here are the highlights.

• Jackson Hole  – With the highest vertical drop of any U.S. mountain, and seemingly endless black and double-black expert terrain, Jackson Hole lives up to its nickname, “The Big One.” Among expert skiers, its famous aerial tram has become an icon of the sport, representing the only motorized way to get to the hardest marked trails in U.S. skiing — the infamous Corbett’s Couloir, an elevator shaft of a trail which requires a literal leap of faith to enter, and the equally daunting Hobacks.
• Brekenridge – The much-anticipated Imperial Express Super Chair, a high-speed quad, reaches an elevation of 12,840 feet atop Breckenridge’s Peak 8 and accesses a whopping 400-acres of Breckenridge’s best intermediate and expert terrain. Much of this is double-black diamond runs that have long been the sole province of in-the-know locals willing to undertake the 45-minute hike previously required to reach the summit. The new lift takes two and a half minutes.
• Beaver Creek – You won’t find the ultimate in luxury ski lodging at the Four Seasons, or the Ritz Carlton or the Little Nell. For those with deep pockets who love deep powder, the ultimate experience is having the entire mountain to yourself, and that is exactly what you get at Trappers Cabin, the Game Creek Club Chalet and Tempter House. Trappers Cabin, on top of the Beaver Creek resort, redefines “roughing it.”
• Vail – At Vail, the chic 4-bedroom Game Creek Club Chalet sits next to the exclusive Game Creek Club restaurant at over 10,000 feet. Here the bellman takes you to your room by Sno-cat, and the Club’s chef pops by to prepare your private dinner and breakfast. In the morning, your private instructor for the day shows up at the door ($2800 for the whole property).
• The Ski Utah Interconnect Adventure Tour  – is a guided backcountry excursion for advanced skiers that links in-bounds trails at Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort, Snowbird, Solitude, Brighton and Alta with out-of-bounds connections between the mountains. There are no shuttles, just you and your regular alpine gear. This adventure guarantees great skiing, incredible views and a day you won’t soon forget. The tours operate daily from early December through late April, weather and conditions permitting, are led by professional backcountry guides and are open to advanced skiers in good physical condition.

The New York Times does a good job of explainin the benefits of visiting the city of Boston. From a Southerners point of view, I would prefer to visit Beantowm in the summer when the wind is not whistling, but if you do not mind the cold, it could be a fun trip.

WHY GO NOW Winter here evokes holiday tidings like few other cities. Boston, after all, is the land of centuries-old buildings, tree-lined streets and fickle weather. As the Citgo sign in Kenmore Square heralds Beantown baseball, so the weather beacon atop the old John Hancock Tower heralds Boston weather.

…

From the Boston Pops’ joyful strains of seasonal music to “Nutcracker” performances by the Boston Ballet, this is a city for classic Christmas. Boston remains the link between Europe and United States and the place where that cord was severed. It’s a city that creates traditions - like First Night, Boston’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, which have since spread around the country - and provides an endless list of firsts and oldests (Boston’s subway, for one). A walkable city, Boston has Old World charm - but there’s always a bit of revolution in the air.

The troubled airline industry has lowered the amount of seats available and are raising prices into the Thanksgiving and Christmas travel periods creating demand that has not been felt in years.

Airlines often raise fares during periods like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. With fuel prices 50 percent higher than a year ago and most carriers struggling financially, travel experts are seeing some of the biggest fare spikes in years.

A travel agency owner in the Triangle says she booked a Thanksgiving round trip for a customer flying from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to El Paso, Texas. At off-peak times, the ticket would cost 260 dollars. The holiday fare is 800 dollars.

via Myrtle Beach Online.

So if you are planning on getting out of town for the holidays, book early and plan ahead to avoid higher ticket prices.

If you are in or near Atlanta, and looking for some good fares, AirTran has some deals that need to be purchased before October 18th.

Airtran Web Site:

• $39 Savannah
• $59 Charlotte, Jacksonville, Newport News, Pensacola, Raleigh-Durham, Richmond
• $69 Dayton, Ft. Lauderdale, Freeport, Memphis, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Washington DC, W. Palm Beach
• $74 Detroit (service begins Nov. 8), Flint, Ft. Myers, Sarasota
• $79 Akron-Canton, Baltimore, Bloomington, Buffalo, Chicago, Kansas City, Moline, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Wichita
• $84 Boston, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, Newark, Philadelphia
• $99 Cancun (service begins Dec. 15), Denver
• $119 Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco
  A 10-day advance purchase required. Travel Tues., Wed., Sat. or add $10-$20 per direction for Mon., Thurs. or Fri. travel days. Complete travel by Feb. 1. Blackouts: Nov. 22, 23, 26-28; Dec. 21-Jan. 3; Jan. 16. All airlines matching.

Book Early says Priceline. A majority of those who wish to go skiing pick 4 weekends each year,  Christmas (Dec. 23-26), New Years (Dec. 30 - Jan. 2), Martin Luther King’s Birthday (Jan. 13-16) and Presidents Day (Feb. 17-20). To get a reasonable price, one should look to book now as opposed to waiting till the last minute.

So if you want a great deal on tickets, get working on the trip right away. Otherwise, it may be hard to make your ski holiday a reality this year.

Press Release:

(more…)

Looking to get out of Chicago before the snow starts falling to making the ground look like Kate Moss’s mirror?

There is a great deal on United via Frommers:

United (tel. 800/241-6522; www.united.com) is also having a sale to Los Cabos with fares that are definitely lower than the competition.

For example, Chicago to San Jose Cabo (aka Los Cabos) is $271 round-trip during this sale; it’s about $400 round-trip on every other airline; New York to Los Cabos is $276 round-trip versus about $100 more on other carriers. This is not a system-wide sale sorry Detroit, Peoria and Minneapolis, to name a few cities left out) and the savings aren’t that dramatic from certain other cities that are included (such as Boston at $319 round-trip; other airlines are charging just $7 more). But if your city is listed in the samples on United’s site then you’re good to go. Just a short travel window here: October 15 to November 13 with no minimum stay required, travel any day of the week.