photo credit: jaybergesen

Santa Ynez Valley is one of the most beautiful destinations one could travel. It is a restful place with fabulous scenery, great restaurants, and incredible wines. There are over one hundred and fifty wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley and some of the best of New World wine comes from “the Valley,” as locals call it.

Santa Ynez Valley is located in the southern portion of Santa Barbara County, not too far from the coastline along the Pacific Ocean. There are several charming towns nestled in this majestic valley. Among them is the town of Solvang, a traditional-looking Danish village right in the center of the Valley. Solvang wineries were an excellent backdrop for filmmaker Alexander Payne in his movie Sideways, a movie about film about food, friends, and wine. The film is renowned for building up the reputation of Pinot Noir.

Good Pinot Noir has always been a little expensive compared to other wine types. This is because Pinot Noir is difficult to grow. It is “thin-skinned” and needs that extra care and attention that only some vintners can provide. Wine critic, Robert Parker, once wrote, “When it’s great, Pinot noir produces the most complex, hedonistic, and remarkably thrilling red wine in the world.” Santa Ynez Valley has the perfect combination of soil and climate for growing Pinot Noir. And Sobriquet Winery is one of those local wineries that fully utilize this simple fact.

Chris Stanton, owner and principal wine maker, has created quite a fantastic Pinot Noir with his 2009. He chose the grapes used for the Pinot Noir from the Sierra Madre Vineyards and aged the wine in oak barrels from the Francois Frères and Taransaud cooperages. The wine did receive the Bronze Medal from the San Francisco International Wine Competition and also a 93-point rating from the wine publication Wine Enthusiast.

Tipping

Tourist restaurants and hotels usually tack a surcharge onto the bill. In other places you only need to tip a few rupees (not a percentage of the bill). Hotel porters expect Rs5 to Rs15. Other regular tipping amounts are Rs2 for bike watcher; Rs10-Rs15 for train conductors or station porters who perform miracles for you; and Rs5-15 for hotel staff performing extra duties.

Clothes

Most travelers pack too much clothing for their Indian trip. Cotton clothes (excellent for heat) are cheap throughout India. Women will find that dressing conservatively will minimize (but not eliminate) unwanted attention from the local men, and you should be extra diligent at touristy places such as Goa.

Once we were in the park, it was impossible to try and find anyone. Even talking on the phone and trying to coordinate who was where, there was just to much traffic. Part of this was our fault since it was only about a half hour before dark. We eventually just found a place where we could park, a spot to put our blanket out, and sat and waited for the show.

It was a bummer we missed hanging out with friends but in the end, the fireworks were just awesome. Next year…well we will have to get started a little earlier.

Regardless, I bit the bullet and headed over to Myrtle Beach State Park. They have a nice fishing pier there. It is in good shape and there were not too many people there. The weather was good, neither breezy nor too hot. I caught a few fish and ended up having a great time. It was cool to not have to deal with the sand like you do when you go surf fishing. I could put my pole in a readily available rod holder and could just leave it be. The other cool part was hanging out talking to the other fishermen. I think I learned more about fishing in the nearshore of the ocean than I had in the last five years.

I has a good time and will be head back out to Myrtle Beach for some more fishing next week.

Two golf resorts located just minutes from downtown Jacksonville are the Sawgrass Marriot and the Ponte Verda Inn and Club. The Sawgrass Marriot hosts many professional events and you will need to schedule your stay according to your personal interests. If you wish to watch professional players, stay during an event, or if you want to play on a professional course, plan to stay when an event is not taking place. The hotel is family friendly and just a short walk from the beach.

The Ponte Verda Inn and Club has two 18-hole courses, also on the beach. It has facilities for wedding and family reunions, and is well-respected in the community of Jacksonville beach resorts.

Mount Maunganui, or as it is affectionately known by locals as “The Mount” was once a sleepy coastal town dubbed the retirement capital of New Zealand.

These days nothing could be further from the truth. While it is still a great place to retire given its warm and sunny climate, Mt Maunganui is far from sleepy. It has experienced huge growth and now instead of tiny wooden holiday houses you’ll find multi-million dollar apartments. If you do so the occasional rustic holiday bach, don’t be fooled, it’s probably sitting on a $2,000,000 piece of land!

Only a short drive over the harbour bridge to Tauranga; Mount Maunganui is truly a wonderful place to visit, don’t miss out on the sandy beaches that run for miles, the artificial surf reef or a climb up Mauao.

Travel insurance companies offer fee-based coverage that can be global or focused on just one area that you will be traveling. They are accepted worldwide, and having that card in your wallet may make the difference between being covered and paying out of pocket. Websites like Worldnomads will insure travelers for small fees, and they are very cheap compared to paying out of coverage fees from major carriers. They are an excellent way to both save cash and protect your health while studying, traveling, or living abroad. Travel insurance can also be used to insure items like computers or jewelry that you are taking with you.

Visiting good tropical islands in the Caribbean now requires your United States passport, so do not forget to keep that handy when making your plans! Also, plan for crowds during the summer months, even with the recession in full effect. Look for deals through both airlines and booking engines like Expedia or Orbitz, because they are slashing their prices right now in desperation for business. Be a savvy traveler and you will find that visiting the good tropical islands just got easier!

The French, in the South of France, are rugby crazy and this is no place to be if you are a soccer fan. The love of rugby, by which I mean rugby union, goes way back and France have a proud tradition in the sport. Over the last few years there has been an upsurge of interest in the alternative version of the game, rugby league. This has been driven by the achievements of the Catalan Dragons who were recently allowed entry in to the UK’s Super League.

Since then Perpignan rugby has taken off with hoards of English descending on the city where the Dragons play, to watch their English team take on these foreigners. The first couple of seasons were something of a disappointment for the Catalan club but since then they have brought in some excellent players and the results have improved dramatically. In 2008 they finished in a very respectable third place.

Also, when packing a backpack it is important to remember how to organize things. Travel backpacks should have the heavier items distributed across the bottom of the bag, to create an even weight distribution for walking. No one wants to tip over when they are on the mountain. Lighter items should be placed in color-coded stuff sacks to easily remember what you need.