Saturday August 13th
11am – 8pm
Winter STORM Warning!
WINTER STORM SHELTER PARTY @BURTON NYC
Find the NYC Platinum Ticket and WIN $1,000 in Burton Gear*
Gift Bags for the FIRST 13 Customers to Purchase 2012 Burton Gear
106 Spring St
New York, NY
www.burton.com <http://www.burton.com>
www.facebook.com/burtonnyc <http://www.facebook.com/burtonnyc>
South Beach means many different things to many different people. To out-of-towners, South Beach is a melting pot and fashion mecca, home to celebrities like Madonna and Sly Stallone and destination spot for the rich and famous. For those guests – SoBe carries an aura of the exotic – appealing, attractive, and a place to be. For Floridians, South Beach is something entirely different – overpriced, touristy, pretentious and – unless you’re staying at one of the many overpriced mega-resorts like the Mondrian or Fountainbleu, incredibly underwhelming in terms of lodgings.
If your schedule has been anything like mine the past few months, you’re likely packing your bags for the long weekend without technology (I personally plan on putting away the laptop, PDAs, cell phone, and all other communication devices so that I can take in some legitimate R&R). And, if you’re anything like me, you’ll be waiting until Thursday evening to toss together your suitcase for the weekend – which will inevitably result in a strange combination of over- and under- packing (forgetting your sassy new stilettos and toothbrush while packing 4 pair of PJs…what was I thinking??).
Travel to NYC can be pricey, but for those who want to soak in the Big Apple, worth every penny. However, New York travelers need to shop smart – hotel rooms can easily pop into the $300+ per night range and still be roach motels (in New York, you’re paying for the address, not necessarily the luxury!). However, I was tickled to find out about these great pampering packages for ladies this summer, offered by the Carlton Hotel.
Looking for an eco-vacation this summer? Jekyll Island’s PR team is sharing details about their upcoming turtle nesting season for those travelers looking for a natural excursion, free from the long lines and tourist traps of many destinations:
Did you know that mid-May through August is “nesting season” for these amazing creatures? People come from all over the country to the coast of Georgia just to try to catch a glimpse at the amazing journey they take to lay their eggs! These creatures have swam the oceans and crawled onto nesting beaches since the era of the dinosaurs; however, many natural and human-induced threats have landed them on the lists of threatened or endangered species. Spending nearly their entire lives at sea, the turtles must overcome enormous odds to survive into adulthood.
Chic and sophisticated are the first two words that come to mind when walking into La Concha Resort in Condado, San Juan, where my friends, husband and I were stopping for some tapas before hitting the town and checking out San Juan’s nightlife. My friend, E, and I have very similar taste in restaurants/bars, so we knew immediately that Solera was going to be a great start to our evening. The tapas restaurant offered casual, yet chic, outdoor lounge-style seating with a great, funky setting, and a menu that was pricey but worth every penny.
Even coming from FL, the climate in Puerto Rico is something that any new arrival notices upon exiting the airport. As the automatic doors opened, it was an experience like being sucked into a sauna, and the sun immediately begins to tingle on the skin, reminding you to slather on the sunscreen or face a week of looking like a tomato. Perhaps secondarily I was taken in by the natural beauty I saw around me – even at the airport: the lush landscaping and huge, brightly-colored tropical flowers – nothing like what Thompson described in The Rum Diary (but that’s for another post). It seems that Puerto Rico has – if it ever once truly matched his Gonzo description – cleaned up.
I’ve spent quite a fair amount of time island-hopping in the Caribbean: Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Mexico, and more, so it’s ironic that in 30 years, I haven’t taken the opportunity to visit Puerto Rico. Even more ironic? My mother spent the better part of her childhood on the island (as a Cuban refugee, she fled to Miami in her toddler years, and then relocated with her frustrated father, who was unable to find any suitable work in the States because of a language barrier).
To all brides who are assisting out of town guests with wedding planning – or planning a destination wedding of their own – let my experience serve as a lesson to each of you. While planning my wedding, I encouraged my guests to book their tickets to the Bahamas through Spirit Air, which had fares that were nearly half the price of the competition. Those guests who were flying from states other than Florida, I advised them to find tickets into FLL, then book separate tickets to the island. BIG mistake.
As I was leaving for the Bahamas, reading the paper, I noticed a small blurb buried on page 5 announcing that Spirit Air would be going on strike on Saturday, June 12 – my wedding day. Hoping that the strike would be resolved quickly, I still checked and informed guests that the strike was pending and to contact their travel agents to find out about travel alternatives. Sure enough, the strike blew up and all flights were canceled, and many other airlines flying from the small airport quickly filled up with other travelers. By the time I was able to book my return flight, my tickets on Bahamas Air cost me nearly $800 (for one way tickets) – eating almost every penny that I’d received as a wedding gift.
Once home, I found out that Spirit would give me a $100 air fare credit or a refund of $76. Thanks, Spirit Air and your pilots. For every thousand dollars you earned as a raise, you took that money out of the pockets of my husband and I, and over 50 other wedding guests who skrimped and saved to be able to join us for our wedding day. I hope that you can sleep at night knowing that – that there are real faces on the thousands of people you left stranded – - many of us struggling in this terrible economy to even be able to find jobs, without the luxury of a union to give us all kinds of perks while screwing the people who pay our salaries.
Perhaps I’ve got Bahamas on the Brain, given my upcoming nuptials and crazy FOUR trips to the islands this year, but this festival, which just crossed my radar, sounds like a really cool event for Floridians and tourists who’ll be in Coco Grove this weekend! From their website:
In the early 1800′s, the first black settlers which were Bahamians came to South Florida seeking jobs and homes for their families. They were craftsmen and laborers who built Coconut Grove’s first hotel, The Peacock Inn. As time went by, the Bahamians got older and were unable to visit their home land. In 1976, several of these citizens from Coconut Grove, Florida whose parents were of Bahamian heritage, wanted to pass along their history to generations to come. The idea was to bring The Bahamas to Coconut Grove. They sought to preserve and perpetuate the history and culture through a celebration of a Bahamian-style festival.
The Miami/Bahamas Goombay Festival in Coconut Grove, Inc. is a celebration of culture expression embracing the legacy of a Bahamian-rooted community known as Coconut Grove. The street festival transforms Grand Avenue into a journey across the ocean, creating a perfect harmony on a rich Caribbean culture of the Bahamas and the strong African-American vibes of Miami. Over the years, the festival has become a signature event including a historical luncheon for the pioneers, a children’s corner, where kids read stories and make junkanoo costumes, a colorful parade of energetic, brightly costumed people gyrating and dancing to the rhythmic accompaniment of cowbells, drums, and whistles. Vendors prepare to share their authentic Bahamian and American cuisine in booths that align the streets.
This year (2010) the Goombay Festival will celebrate its 33rd year. The Miami/Bahamas Goombay Festival in Coconut Grove, Inc. is dedicated to preserving the authenticity of the Goombay Legacy. The Goombay Festival Board of Directors, Committee, Staff, Friends, and volunteers strive to provide a historical overview of the American/Bahamian culture by educating and exposing the public to the rich heritage and traditions that create such unique and positive blend for all too enjoy.
Looking back while looking forward to another 33 years of Goombay… Watch us as we pass on important traditions of the Miami/Bahamian heritage.
It looks like it’s a free event to the public, and there are a lot of really cool things taking place, from a traditional straw market to a pirates dinner with the Goombay family. If you have a chance – make your way to this cool street festival!
