Taking off Travel blog

Opening Day 2013!  In just a few days, fans from all over will tingle with excitement as Major League Baseball will resume. If you are a baseball fan, this is like Christmas or a birthday all over again.  Many have commented about Opening Day in particular, including Jo DiMagio who said “You always get a special kick on Opening Day, no matter how many you go through. You look forward to it like a birthday party when you’re a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen.”

On March 29, opening Day will feature the Texas Rangers traveling to Minute Maid Park and face the Houston Astros.  The Astros will play their first game in the American League West, having left the National League at the end of last season.

The defending World Series Champs, the San Francisco Giants will take on the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 1, and neither team wants to play the fool in this rivalry.  Also playing that day are the Boston Red Sox vs. the Yankees, the Philadelphia Phillies take on the Atlanta Braves,  and the Seattle Mariners meet the Oakland A’s.  Detroit Tigers will go against the Minnesota Twins and the Arizona Diamondbacks will welcome the St. Louis Cardinals for their first game.

No one takes Opening Day more seriously than the Cincinnati Reds, baseball’s first professional team.  Not only is there a lottery just to get Opening Day tickets, but there’s a party.  Cincinnati has a Baseball Holiday on the Reds’ Opening Day, complete with a parade and festival. But, Opening Day fever just doesn’t affect Reds fans, it spreads to fans all across the country.

On Opening Day, it is the only time that the entire home team roster, clubhouse staff, and coaches go to the game and are introduced to the fans.  And, the Ace pitcher normally has the Opening Day honors of starting. Something that all the pitchers should strive for on Opening Day is a no-hitter, which hasn’t been achieved since Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians threw one against the Chicago White Sox in 1940.  In fact, Tom Seaver started the most Opening Day games during his career with a total of 16 times.

No matter where you team plays, Opening Day is special.  After all, you can eat hot dogs, peanuts, and drink beer while enjoying the sun in the afternoon.  What a way to shake off winter and welcome in Spring!

If you are flying out for any baseball opening day or just for a vacation, be sure to check out ParkRideFlyUSA.com’s many vendors at airports across the United States.  You will receive a great rate, shuttle service to and from the airport terminal and luggage assistance.  Save time and money by reserving a spot at an off-airport parking lot.  The vendors are located very near the airport and you can save a lot of money over the course of your stay.  Check us out!

Related articles

• March Madness 2013
• Cherry Blossom Festival – Washington D.C.

There aren’t any two people in this world who are exactly alike. Even if two people may share the same interests, one of them is bound to have different personality traits compared to the other. However, most people don’t really care about the little differences anymore. Chances are, if they are single, they will be wiling to meet other singles who at least have a few similar traits as them. So, if you are single and want to see much more of the world, then you are in luck. Finding somebody who feels the same way has never been easier, even when going on single holidays.

Most single people in today’s day and age have the inclination and the means to see much more of the world. Because of this, solo holidays have become a great way for single people to enjoy spending time with other single people. The good news is that there are a lot of single men, women, working professionals and students who love to visit exotic locales all over the world to meet other people just like you.

A lot of people who already have families also go on solo holidays to spend some time on their own and reconnect with themselves, though. They do this to forget their responsibilities for a while and travel to different places to feel free for a change.

Most solo travelers have been going to the UK lately in search for the ideal holiday destination. The reason why they go to the UK is to experience how different life is in the suburbs and to experience the distinct, unique and extraordinary charm that comes with it. If you are looking for the perfect place to unwind and relax right now, then the UK might be a great choice for you, too.

Whether you plan on going on a solo holidays on your own or plan on meeting somebody new on your next trip, it would be vital for you to make the necessary arrangements in terms of food, travel and accommodation to ensure that your holiday is full of fun and completely free of problems and headaches.

If you need help in this department, then you will be happy to hear that there are several travel companies out there nowadays that have taken traveling services to brand new heights by providing services that can give solo travelers more security and convenience overall. These services may include travel insurance policies that can provide single travelers the financial security that they need in case they lose any personal belongings on their trip or get into an accident while on holiday.

Getting help from travel companies comes with another great advantage. Through them, solo travelers can go on luxurious holidays to different places all over the world and enjoy the ultimate comfort that comes with them without shelling out too much money in the process. This is because these companies provide affordable solo holiday packages that are specially made for travelers to enjoy.

About the author:

Raivis Binde is founder and chief editor of SoloTurist. Mainly he writes tips for those people who do not want to travel alone. His blog can be found at http://blog.soloturist.com/

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• Top Destinations To Travel: Part One
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Looking for some ideas for Christmas photos? Need some tips on how to take photos that will make your cousin jealous?  I have a few for you to try out.

First, make sure before your photo shoot that your battery is fully charged, or you have plenty of extra in case the low battery light comes on.  Invest in a big memory card, or have plenty of smaller ones handy so that you are always ready and don’t have to utter those words, “My card is full!”

You don’t want to be haunted by photos of Christmas Past, right?  You know what I mean.  Pictures of your kids holding up their newly opened gifts right next to their cheek and giving you that cheesy smile?  We all have those.  Let’s exorcise that ghost of an idea right out the window.  Instead, for a few of the photos, take a photo of your daughter right as she is discovering the gift she’s been wanting.  Try to get that special moment of excitement, because those cannot be recreated!

Take photos of the decorations before they are hung on the tree.  Take a photo of the lights burning.  Take pictures as you wrap your pretty presents.  Let your mind go  and take photos of anything and everything.

Some great photos may come from the kitchen with Mom and the kids baking the Christmas cookies.  And, don’t stand so far away from your subjects. Move or zoom in closer to fill up your frame.  Focus on your subjects faces, the cookies, their hands making the cookies, or anything you find interesting.  You will get some great, memorable shots.

For outside shots, I often take a tripod, turn the flash off and set the camera to auto.  For more experimental shots, I play with the settings. After all, with digital you can see what they look like on the camera and either keep or delete it.  After all, you’ve taken enough of those amateurish photos, play with some shots.

Step out of your comfort zone and just go for it.  Take a few photos from a different perspective.  Get down on the floor or on the ground and shoot up at your kids.  Take a shot from your dog’s eye view. (You’ll understand why he is always stealing your food with it right at his nose.) Don’t always make the middle of your photo the focal point.  Making it off center will add some interesting perspectives to your shots.

There are some great free, or inexpensive, photo editing tools, like an online version of Photoshop.  It’s a very limited for the free version, but I’ve used it before when away from my photo editor.  Play with filters and you can make a mediocre photo look like a work of art.

Let your imagination go wild and just let your inner Ansel Adams go wild.  Christmas memories are some of the most precious moments so grab that camera, tripod, and extra batteries and get to snapping!  And, send us some of your favorite photos.  We’d love to see them here at ParkRideFlyUSA.com!

My grandparents were seasoned travelers. Not only did they visit and live in several parts of the Caribbean, but they also went further afield to England and Europe. As Grandparents Day approaches, I can’t help reflecting on how different our experience of travel is today. When my grandparents traveled in the early to mid 20th century:

Travel in the Past

• not many people took planes; you had to do most long voyages by boat (and no planes meant no DVT).
• going on a trip meant looking your best, whether you were comfortable or not
• once you had your travel documents, there was little worry about security
• no matter how you traveled, you got real food – and sometimes a three course meal
• you could fit pretty much everything you needed in one small suitcase (well, I don’t know if this one is true, but when you see old films, no-one travels with the quantity of luggage we take for granted today.)

Present-Day Travel

Of course, traveling in the modern era has some advantages. For instance,

• there are lots of different routes to get to places
• you can get to pretty much anywhere in the world within a day or so, rather than a few weeks (the big advantage of traveling by plane)
• added passport security may be a pain, but it has some benefits like making abductions much more difficult
• there’s a lot more entertainment and some of it is portable
• you can get meals for every different diet instead of just taking whatever is available.

Future Travel

But what about the future? When our grandchildren look back on today, will they regard it as hopelessly out of date? With the inventions and improvements coming on stream now, our grandkids will be able to:

• travel anywhere in the world in an eco-friendly mode of transport
• get to far-flung places even quicker (especially if they bring back a replacement for the Concorde)
• avoid security holdups (because all their data will already be on file; that might be a mixed blessing)
• be even more connected when they travel, no matter where they are
• transport instantly to any destination (OK, this is a fantasy, but I still cling on to the idea of a Star Trek transporter).

What improvements would you like to see in the way we travel?

(Image: Bonner Springs Library)

Summer’s nearly over, the kids are back at school and we’re all hoping that good weather continues into September. While August was a quiet month for observances, there’s a lot to think about in September. Here’s a round up of some of the major occasions coming up in September.

• September 3 is Labor Day – and isn’t it great to have a long weekend coming up? This has been a federal holiday since 1894.
• September 9 is Grandparents Day, celebrated on the first Sunday after Labor Day since 1978. One in 10 of all children in the US live with their grandparents.
• September 11 is Patriot Day, with the weekend before a time of prayers and remembrance for those killed on September 11, 2001.
• September 15 to October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month. Originally celebrated for one week, the celebration was extended to a month in 1988.
• September 16 is National Stepfamily Day.
• September 16-22 is Unmarried and Single Americans Week, to celebrate the contribution of the 102 million unmarried people in America over 18 to society. The week was first observed as National Singles Week in the 1980s.
• September 17 is Constitution Day. Also known as Citizenship Day, it honors the adoption of the US Constitution and those who have become US Citizens. It is observed on the It is also the start of Constitution Week, which ends on September 23.
• September 21 (3rd Friday in September) is National POW/MIA Recognition, honoring those missing in action or who have been prisoners of war. This date is also the International Day of Peace.
• September 22 is the first day of fall.
• September 28 is Native American Day, a state holiday in California to recognize the contributions of Native American cultures to the state and the US.
• September 30 is Gold Star Mothers Sunday. Members of the organization are mothers who have lost a son or daughter in service.

What September holidays and observances are you most looking forward to? Check out some interesting world events that happened in September.

Image: Nature Pictures by ForestWander