Texas RV Travel blog

My mother, father and older brother and sister were born in New York City. I was the first native born Texan in my family. The first time we visited New York City, I was only five years old and remember being cold, ill, and wondering how Santa Claus was going to find us in a motel in New Jersey. I do remember seeing the Statue of Liberty and visiting family members.

As I grew older, I was happy to visit my family in New York. Growing up within a nuclear family means you miss family reunions, Christmas at Grandma’s and having a safe place to go when you need it. My extended family lived in the Bronx area of NYC. This is a very old part of the NYC and the apartments were built just after WWII. It was always exciting to stay there because you could not plug in more than one appliance at a time or you would blow circuit breakers. However, we could walk to Macy’s and to buy pizza, large hot soft pretzels and Italian ices. I could have lived on those four items.

My mother and I went to New York City three or four times before I left home. Each time, I was a little older and we did more sightseeing. We toured Manhattan and Brooklyn in a double decker bus. I liked the buses much more than the subways. We did use the subways to visit my aunts on my father’s side of the family. We ate lunch in the middle of Manhattan.

One tour gave us a ticket to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but my mom did not like museums, so I went on my own. On the way, I met some young people and found out about all the things to do in New York. I went on a tour of the countryside on a motorcycle with these new friends and saw some truly beautiful lakes and byways within an hour of NYC.

If you are planning to travel to New York or other major city, read the online travel guides at the Trusted Tours & Attractions website. While you are there, make sure you sign up for Trusted Tours & Attractions eNewsletter for a chance to win a $150 iTunes Gift Card!

Happy trails!

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Hotels Combined

HotelsCombined.com is a new hotel amenity search engine / price comparison site. I believe Hotels Combined (HC) is linked to more hotel reservation sites than any other hotel price comparison website. Now you may search one website and find the best deal.

Navigation

I really like how the first page brings up what you need to plan a vacation. On the top of the page is calendar loaded check in and check out dates, number of guests in party and number of rooms requested. This will bring up rooms that are available and are the right size for your traveling party.

On the bottom half of the first page, you have three choices:

1. Browse by country on the HC website to locate the geographical region to which you want to travel.

2. Search by hotel name if you have a favorite place to stay or if you enrolled in a hotel award program.

3. Search for another city.

When you have entered your search parameters, click SEARCH.

Refining Your Search

The next page will contain broad search results, so begin by narrowing down the list. Choose your currency from the drop down list. You will need to pay in US$, but putting the rates into your own frame of reference will help you decide on a hotel.

Price is certainly a consideration, so enter your Minimum and Maximum Price per night. There is no sense looking for sold out hotels, so uncheck Show Sold Out Hotels. Now decide if you will stay in a one-star hotel or a two-star hotel. If not, uncheck these Star Ratings.

Amenities Listed

Now, we come to the amenities. The following is not a complete list of amenities, but it is a good place to begin. To find out about hot breakfasts, manager happy hour and other extras, you must read the hotel page.

• Business Center is for using a computer if you do not have one, ordering media equipment for a meeting, sending faxes and making copies. A business center is helpful if you are traveling on business.
• Room Service is nice but usually you pay up to 20% gratuity for the person bringing it. However, this means there is a restaurant on the premises.
• High-speed Internet is what you need to stay in touch on the road.
• Fitness Room is almost a necessity in today’s fast-paced work world.
• Restaurant on site is good, but usually the prices are higher than neighborhood places, but you can sign the charge to your room.
• Parking may not seem like a big deal until you pull into a big city and find out that in addition to parking charges, you must use their valet service and are expected to tip the valet who brings your car to you and the one who parks it.
• Swimming Pool goes along with the Fitness Room in that it is a great way to unwind. If you have children with you, it is a necessity.
• Pets Allowed is your way of know that Fluffy will be welcome, but you will be placed in one of the older rooms in the hotel. You may also wind up with fleas.
• Airport Shuttle is a great service in that it will save you much money in taxi and bus fees. Not only that, but you know you will wind up at the hotel in which you are booked.
• Concierge is your best friend if you do not know the city. They make reservations for you, arrange transportation, book a tour of the city, give directions and suggestions.

Our Essential Amenities

Whenever we travel, there are certain amenities that we must have in a hotel. The first thing I need is Internet access in the room, whether wi-fi or Ethernet. For my husband, there must be a large TV with remote control and a working air conditioner.

We both love spas, so a Jacuzzi tub en suite or an outside hot tub and swimming pool are nice. The bed must be comfortable and I need extra pillows for my back. We also look for a dorm-size refrigerator, a microwave and a coffee pot, if not a full kitchenette.

Extras that we also like are self-serve breakfast (usually two chafing dishes with meat and eggs), toast, bagels, waffles, cold cereals, milk, juice and coffee. A very nice touch is a wine social with a light snack and fruit in the evening.

Whether we travel for business, pleasure or both, we have learned how to make the most out of any accommodation.

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May 24 - 25, 2008
Rockport Festival of Wine and Food
Rockport, Texas

Texas Maritime Museum Presents the Festival of Wines & Food at 1202 Navigation Circle, Rockport, Texas. Gates will be open from 4-11 pm on Saturday and Sunday and will feature great wines and beers from around the world.

Several food vendors will be dispensing wonderful food like Bacon Wrapped Apple/Basil Chicken Kabobs, Six Pan Seared Bacon Wrapped Quail Legs with Homemade Lemon-Honey BBQ Sauce and Sweet Corn Relish, Baja Style Fish and Chicken Tacos with Four Sauces, and Colossal BBQ Shrimp.

This festival benefits the Texas Maritime Museum in Rockport and attracts over 3,000 wine and food enthusiasts. See the Schedule of Events for more information

May 24-26, 2008
Austin Wine Festival
The Domain, Austin, Texas

A uniquely Austin wine celebration featuring wineries from Lampasas, New Braunfels, Fredericksburg and Dripping Springs. Texas is now the #2 wine destination in the USA, second only to Napa, California!

Enjoy local wines, food and entertainment continues with event proceeds benefiting the Austin Farmers’ Market. Hours are Sa 1-9 pm, Su 1-9 pm and Mo 1-6 pm.

What would any event in Austin be without music? See the music schedule here.

Want to know more about Texas wines? Right click and Save As to download Texas Winery Guide here.

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I was updating the Got Gas? section on the Library page on Texas RV Travel website, so I decided to post the information here as well.

While traveling around Central Texas, we have seen gas prices vary by as much as 10 cents per gallon in the same city, depending on location. The worst place to buy gas is right off the highway unless you hit a Love’s or other discount store. Look for HEB, Wal-Mart and Sam’s Clubs. In San Marcos, Sam’s Club is the cheapest gas by 10 cents.

• Alternative Fuels Data Center - fueling stations for the following alternative fuels: compressed natural gas (CNG), 85% ethanol (E85), liquefied petroleum gas/propane (LPG), biodiesel (BD), electric, hydrogen, and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Stations are located throughout the United States.

• Biodiesel - finding biodiesel is getting easier and the rewards are many. Many Americans have started manufacturing biodiesel at home.

• Fuel Economy.gov - maintained jointly by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
• GasBuddy runs 170+ local web sites that help you find cheap gas prices in USA and Canada
• Gas Prices - Motor Trend - gas price locator helps you find the best gas prices in your area.
• Gas Prices - MSN Autos - pricing data from over 90,000 gas stations across the nation, updated daily.
• Gas Price Watch - search by zip code, lat/long, intersection or name of gas station.
• Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores - check gas price listings for all states with Love’s. Some Love’s stores have biodiesel, Low Sulfur and Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel for sale.

Search for gas prices by US Zip Code

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If you are new to RVing or just want a source of information about buying and maintaining RVs, you should check out Mark Polk’s website, RV Education 101. Sign up for the newsletter and get useful information every month, direct to your inbox.

• RVING WITH MARK POLK ~ Feature Article: Spring Preparation Checklist
• This months RV Video tip is: “Carbon Monoxide Safety “
• Arm Yourself with Qualified RV Buying Information, Before you Buy Your RV!
• RVTV films more of Mark’s RV Savvy segments for season 5
• Searching for RV service doesn’t have to be a problem by Peggi McDonald
• Instant RV Education 101 video Downloads Money saving options!
• Q & A by Mark Polk and more…….

Click here for RV Education 101 April Newsletter.

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