Without fail, a funny thing always happens to me a few hours into a flight: my knees start to hurt. Now, don't get me wrong, my knees normally function perfectly well: they bend like knees normally bend, they get me where I need to go, and I've never had any sort of operation on them or caused them any kind of injury. In all other situations in my life, my knees are about as good as knees can get. When I'm on the plane, though? They ache like nobody's business. Both of them.

My fiance has a similarly weird problem: when he gets on the plane, his feet start to itch. They itch and itch and itch, and he often can't fall asleep because they're itching so much. I have another friend whose lower back always aches when she's on a flight, another who gets bad leg cramps, and another who always gets the worst earaches in the air.

Are we all a bunch of freaks?

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Posted in Air Travel
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With the balls, parties, speeches, pageantry, and possible puppy announcement of Inauguration Day coming up in January, right now it seems all travel eyes are on Washington, D.C. While the economy may be hiccupping in general, in D.C. hotel rooms for that weekend are filling up fast, the restaurants are already taking reservations, and swearing-in speech tickets were being sold last week on eBay for truly outrageous prices (hint: these tickets are limited but FREE—just call one of your state’s representatives).

No other city in our country gets to renew itself in quite the same way with every new administration. But as each new cabinet gets ushered in, so do a whole new set of city fads. Cowboy boots are replaced by baseball caps, for example, or Springer Spaniels by Labrador Retrievers (when Millie Bush was in the White House, no less than three Springer Spaniels moved onto my block in Bethesda), and items as varied as jelly beans, broccoli, and "freedom fries" have all had their day in the sun at the local supermarkets.

Lincoln Memorial photo by IgoUgo member Shady Ady

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Posted in Educational & Historic, Festivals & Events, Travel News
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Apparently, we are losing a country. A warming planet and rising waters are slowly but steadily erasing the footprint of the Maldives, the archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean. This may not be news to many, but the Maldivian government has discussed plans to relocate the entire population of around 300,000 people. Since I first saw photos of the white sand, blue waters, and private bungalows, it has been one of my top destinations to visit. It looks like I may need to cross it off my list for another reason, or book a trip soon.

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Posted in Green Travel, International Travel, Travel News
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To me, there’s almost nothing better than curling up with a good book on a lazy Saturday afternoon and my most recent obsession is the smash-hit Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. Technically young-adult novels and “vampire fiction,” the series transcends labels and has found mass appeal across all age groups, genders, and even political persuasions. And next Friday, the Hollywood version of the first book hits the theaters.

More than the movie is making the young actors stars, it is making the sleepy Washington town where the books are set a popular tourist destination. This is probably because the backdrop is so distinct and fully realized in the books that you can’t help but long to visit this mysterious--and very real--place.

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Posted in Cultural Travel, Educational & Historic, Family & Kids, Offbeat, Road Trips
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Major resorts have reported bookings are down for the 2008 - 2009 ski season. With snow already falling in Colorado and other parts of the country, snowbirds are itching to hit the slopes. Skiing is not known as an inexpensive pastime, but this year it's a buyer's market and chances are you're going to pay a lot less for the snowy getaway. Here are a few tips for saving $600 on your next ski vacation.

- Book a package. A Travelocity study shows that booking air + hotel saves an average of $315 when compared to booking the components of your trip separately.

- Take advantage of every promotion. With the difficult economy, destinations and online travel agencies are teaming up to attract customers. For example, Travelocity will offer a $100 off flight + four-night hotel in Colorado starting December 1.

- Get reimbursed for bags. Airlines will charge you to check your skis, but the new trend from ski resorts is to reimburse their visitors for those charges as an incentive to get on a plane and come for vacation. For example -- $50 off per person at Vail, $25 off from Steamboat; $30 from Crested Butte.

- Ski for free. Mountains resorts all over the country have various promotions that include free ski passes. For example, in Park City, you can convert your boarding pass to a free-same day lift ticket -- about $80 in savings per person. In Crested Butte, a free lift ticket for every night stay for one person – about $60 per day in savings.

- Skip the rental car. Ground transportation to the mountain can often be had at a fraction of the cost. For example, two people on the shuttle from Denver Airport to Beaver Creek, Colorado: $350 RT. SUV five-day rental, about $400 plus gas. Savings: more than $100.

And a few deals to save you even more:

Photo courtesy of IgoUgo member NSXEatr

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Posted in Budget Travel, California, Colorado, Holiday & Seasonal, Nature & Outdoors, Ski & Sport
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