Stocking Stuffers to Knock Your Socks Off...and Suitcases to Boot

If you still haven’t bought that perfect gift for your favorite traveler (or me--address provided upon request!), here are a few last-minute ideas. If you watched my segment on WUSA-TV in Washington today, here is the promised where-to-purchase information. If you are shopping online, however, you will have to make due with a product picture for Christmas Day itself. Or procrastinators can put a positive spin on the delivery delay and say they are extending the holiday.

On the Saturday before Christmas, you don’t want to find yourself at Best Buy, Target or Wal-Mart…you really don’t. Instead, hit a luggage store. No lines here, which, you must admit, is an anomaly when suitcases are in the picture. So many of us travel with boring black or blue bags, which can be easily mixed up at the baggage carousel. So, why not buy a present that pops? Heys Britto Collection is based on the designs of pop artist Romero Britto. Thanks to its polycarbonate material, the carry-on size weighs a mere 6.7 pounds. Yet, it’s as hard as nails in terms of protection. The Britto 22-inch bag retails for $300.
If you prefer something a little lighter, a little cheaper and a little less flashy, Heys 20-inch xCases cost $150. They weigh in at just 5.1 pounds. www.heysusa.com

If you prefer something super-duper lightweight, you can go with canvas. The Briggs & Riley BRX collection provides a lightweight solution with extreme performance capabilities. The Exchange Duffle is like two bags in one…it goes from duffle to backpack in one easy zip. Since the duffle compresses, it’s perfect for squeezing into small spaces, like overhead bins. It costs about $160 and is available at fine luggage shops. For a store locator-www.briggs-riley.com/

If you are looking for last-minute stocking stuffers for the traveler, iPad and tablet accessories will knock their socks off. Aside from being available on-line, you can find them at electronics and computer stores.

Love, love, LOVE the Menotek Waterproof Bluetooth Flexible Keyboard. Anyone who has been frustrated trying to write an article (ahem) on their iPad or a text on their iPhone will find this type of gift striking. It’s waterproof, it’s washable, and it’s wonderful. The retail is $79.00, but I found it on Amazon for $29.99.

If your travel/computer geeks are also yoga freaks, they will be head over heels…or heels over head…for this adjustable Gorilla Mobile Yogi for iPad by Joby. The Yogi stabilizes the iPad on any surface and offers adjustable viewing angles, including Downward Dog (left), Half Lotus (below) and Spinal Twist. You can also hang it from a bar, in case your exercise of choice is pole dancing. It retails for $39.95, although I found it cheaper on Amazon.


Joby also makes the Gorilla Mobile Ori for iPad for your favorite Zen master. Inspired by the art of origami, it’s a iPad case that bends and folds in multiple ways. Best yet--it has a swiveling hinge. It costs $59.95 at http://www.joby.com/

Speaking of iPad cases, this year's style is both fashionable and functional. In this case, if you want your iPad to look super skinny, just like a catwalk strutter, there’s the STM iPad Skinny case. Like its supermodel cousin, the case is sleek with a hard shell. It has an auto on and off front cover that wakes up the device, and control buttons are easy to access.
The foldable front cover can be styled for typing or viewing angles. It retails for $50, but you can find the case on Amazon for $30 or so. http://www.stmbags.com/

Where To Go This Winter*

Thanks to climate change, it's likely that this winter is once again going to be long and brutal. Even the hardiest cold-weather enthusiast is likely, at some point, to be driven to get the heck out of Dodge. And if Punxsutawney Phil decides the cold will extend six weeks beyond Groundhog Day, a winter getaway will go from a maybe to a must.

From January through March, people usually seek out the sun. Naturally, thoughts turn first to islands or cruising. But don’t forget, if you go south of the border….south to the Southern Hemisphere that is….it’s summertime. South America is often overlooked as a winter destination, but with archaeological treasures like Machu Picchu and Easter Island, along with natural wonders like Iguazú Falls and the Galapagos Islands, it’s a continent that should definitely be placed on the map of winter possibilities.
While flights to South American countries can be lengthy, jet lag is rarely an issue, as the continent shares most time zones with the United States.

If you don’t want to go beyond the equatorial beltway, however, a tropical escape to the Caribbean or Hawaii can be the perfect elixir to whatever SAD symptoms you may be feeling. Aside from escaping the cold, another advantage of traveling to islands in January and February is a lack of crowds and shoulder season rates. Even five-star resorts are known to discount during these months, which fall between the busy holiday travel season and spring break.

The same season delivers value on the high seas. The big news in cruising these days is the proliferation of home ports outside of Florida. That is particularly helpful in the winter, as cruisers can avoid the potential of airport delays by driving directly to their ship of dreams. On the East Coast, winter port options now extend from Florida to Charleston, South Carolina to as far north as New York City (with Baltimore in between). Most of the ships sailing from these ports during the winter are Bahamas-bound. If you want to sail farther into the Caribbean, the Florida ports are still the best option, although there are also winter trips scheduled out of Galveston, Texas.

Winter golf getaways are par for the course in some of the country’s southernmost states. If you want to shoot for a multi-sport winter getaway, remember that it’s easy to hit the greens and then sample the succulent fruits of baseball during Grapefruit League season in Florida and Cactus League season in Arizona.

Of course, for some folks, a winter sports vacation can only mean one thing--skiing. The good news about ski resorts in places like Colorado, Utah and Idaho is that while the weather is cold, it’s also generally sunny and dry. So the cold doesn’t feel as intense. If you want to go to a legendary ski resort without the crowds, Sun Valley, Idaho may be America’s best-kept secret. Although it lays claim to being the country’s very first ski resort (thank you, Averill Harriman, circa 1936) and a former mecca for Hollywood movie stars (circa the 1940s and 1950s), most folks nowadays find it challenging to locate on a map. While the Hollywood scene is far more low-key these days, star power still exists in the form of present and former winter Olympians who call the town home. And if these moguls of the mountains consider Sun Valley a gold medal winter sports destination, the peak is worth the trip.

*A version of this article appears in The Weekly Standard's December 19 issue.

Travel Expert Talks Holiday Travel Goodies

It’s that time of year when Santa, Hanukah Harry, and Kwanzaa Kwame are checking out who has been naughty and who has been nice. For all of the nice travelers on your holiday gift list, here are a few items I suggested playing the travel expert on NewsChannel 8’s Let’s Talk Live on Tuesday.

Treats for Travelers

It’s that time of year when Santa, Hanukah Harry, and Kwanzaa Kwame are checking out who has been naughty and who has been nice. For all of the nice travelers on your holiday gift list, here are a few items I suggested playing the travel expert on NewsChannel 8’s Let’s Talk Live on Tuesday. If the clip doesn't appear below, try clicking here. Below the clip is ordering and pricing information.

For the Airport:
TrayGUARD: $7.99 http://www.trayguard.com/
Briggs & Riley Exchange 26 Duffle: $160 Check http://www.briggs-riley.com/ for a retail store locator.

Technology Gadgets and Gizmos:
Clear Harmony Active Noise Canceling Headphones: $299.99 http://www.ableplanet.com/
Samsonite Computer Travel Kit: $50 http://www.samsonite.com/
Contains keypad, mouse, earphone, 4-port USB hub and card reader.

As Santa prances to my door throughout December, I will be blitzen you with other options. Stay tuned.

Untried But True Holiday Travel Tips

It's that time of year when scores of people ask me, "Laura Powell, you are a travel expert. Give us some tips." Generously, I comply, with directions to allow yourself plenty of time when traveling; to keep presents unwrapped if you are going through airport security; to wear your bulkiest clothing and boots on board to save luggage space; yadda, yadda, yadda. But this year, I want to present to you, dear reader, the gift of tips that keep giving all year long. And lest the headline fool you, I have tried them all, and they all work like a charm.

First, if you are a contact lens wearer, stop by a local optometry office to pick up a free, TSA-approved-size bottle of contact lens solution. By law, these offices cannot sell sample-sized bottles, but most will give one or two to the nicely-dressed consumer who asks nicely. If you are naughty, though, expect nada.

Feet aching after a day or two or three in stiletto heals? Raid your panty liner container. (For any gentlemen who are still with me after reading the word "stiletto", you may skip ahead two paragraphs). A panty liner can prove a pillow for your sole. Simply stick the adhesive side onto the sole of your shoe (liners are skinny enough so that they will not bleed over the sides of even the narrowest shoe) and let the ball of your foot absorb the newfound comfort.

As an aside, let me also mention that the larger sanitary pad can serve double duty as a duster, particularly for wooden floors. Lest you laugh, do note that The Swiffer was invented in the 1990s by an engineer at Procter & Gamble who noticed that very phenomenon. So, if any of you have extra pads lying around, you can always fashion your own cheaper version of The Swiffer and clean carefree.

But I digress. Gentlemen, welcome back to the conversation. Did you know that those little environmentally-wasteful bottles of amenities placed in your hotel rooms can also do double duty? That's right. In a pinch, conditioner can become shaving cream; shampoo can become detergent for washing your delicates; and skin lotion can serve as an anti-static agent for hair or for clingly socks/stockings that insist on sticking to your pant leg/skirt.

I will be back with more heartfelt travel tips as the holiday season progresses. Meantime, please share some original tips from your list.

What You Don't Know About Idaho

After spending two months in Idaho this year, I have unearthed many interesting facts about a state best known for its potatoes. To wit...

Despite its beauty, Idaho is the only state that has not staked claim to the Miss America title.

Sun Valley is considered the first winter destination resort in the United States. It was built in the 1930s by railroad magnate W. Averill Harriman.

Sun Valley was the home of the world's first chairlifts. The lifts were installed on Dollar and Proctor Mountains in 1936.

The Hokey Pokey was invented in Sun Valley during the 1940s.

Elsewhere in Idaho...

Idaho is the only state with two time zones divided north and south. The state divides between Mountain and Pacific Time just north of Riggins.

Television was invented in Rigby, Idaho in the 1920s by local science prodigy and farm boy Philo Farnsworth.

Bruneau Dunes State Park is home to North America's tallest sand dune, at 470 feet.

Calling All Spuds...


Potatoes are not the top agricultural product in Idaho. Milk is.

Potatoes are the #1 crop, but are third in the agricultural product list after dairy and cattle.

And while we are on the topic, Idaho is the country’s #1 potato producer, serving up 29% of the U.S. total.

Batter Up!

This article appears in the current issue of Hotel F & B Magazine, a publication for which I serve as breakfast editor.

In keeping up with and getting ahead of the competition, hotel brands simply can’t waffle. That’s why Holiday Inn Express is mixing a compact automatic pancake-making machine into its breakfast bar.“We did follow-up research that said guests wanted something more than scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast,” says Sue Morgan, former VP of franchise F&B, InterContinental Hotels Group. “Our average stay is about 2.2 days, so guests would probably experience two different occasions to eat breakfast with us. They were very clear in what they wanted, and we needed to be just as clear in delivering for them.”During the past three years, the mid-priced, limited-service Holiday Inn Express brand has undergone an extensive re-launch, adding hallmarks such as new signage and contemporary artwork. But the change that seems to provide the biggest bang for the buck is the Popcake™ machine, which can produce several flapjacks every minute.The machine, which has been exclusive in North America to Holiday Inn Express until this fall, has been in use in various hotels in the Asia-Pacific region for the past several years. The technology crossed the ocean last year, with Holiday Inn Express testing the machine at 60 properties. It was rolled out at all 1,800 North American hotels during the first quarter of 2011.Al Reingold, director of brand management for the Holiday Inn family of brands, explains, “We are always looking for innovative ways to enhance our offerings and increase the value proposition to franchisees and our guests. The pancake machine was a timely addition to our breakfast bar, which had remained fairly consistent since the introduction of hot items five years ago. After the testing, we found it to be operationally sound. Plus, the cost structure was in line with the franchisee bottom line.”Properties don’t pay for the machine, which is on loan. Instead, they buy batter from a corporate-approved vendor. It comes in bags of pre-made mix, which, with added water, can make 35 pancakes per bag. Dollops of batter drop onto a Teflon-coated cooking belt, producing one pancake every 18 seconds. After 60 bags (enough for 2,100 pancakes) have been emptied, it’s time to change the cooking belt. Hotels receive a new easy-to-install belt free with every 60 bags of batter ordered.“Our guests love it, especially the kids. The aroma of fresh pancakes is stunning, and it’s easy to execute—similar to a tortilla machine,” says Morgan.The pancake maker allows guests to control the quantity, size, and degree of “doneness” or browning, and is in line with the overall Holiday Inn Express brand image, says Paul Snyder, VP of operations for parent company InterContinental Hotels Group, the Americas. “It is a great fit for our guest and the perfect choice for a ‘griddle’ entry versus the ubiquitous and messy waffle machine.”Kathy Tabora, general manager of the Holiday Inn Express Albany Western Avenue University in Albany, New York, is a fan and says guests have raved about the device. “It is very efficient, easy to use, and not messy,” she says. “It’s small, self-contained, and doesn’t require more staffing.”Reingold says the pancake machine has created only one hitch for Holiday Inn Express. “Lines have been the only problem with the machine, and we figure that’s a good problem to have.”