50 Shades of Wildlife: An R-Rated Valentine's Day Story

Kudos to Widness and Wiggins PR for coming up with this sweetheart of a press release.  
  I've added a few editorial comments of my own in  pink.

All the World Loves a Lover -
Wild Planet Adventures Delivers
Week’s Worth of Animal World Courtship
In Honor of Valentine’s Day

“All the world loves a lover,” mused American thinker, Ralph Waldo Emerson.  That being said, with Valentine’s Day around the corner, here’s a week’s worth of romantic courtship rituals of the wild kingdom.

Wild Planet Adventures, the recognized experts in viewing wildlife through habitat-sustaining practices, call these rituals “Animal Valentines.” Following are founder Josh Cohen’s personal favorites.

1) Gibbons: Nature’s Great Crooners: For these tree-top swingers, marital harmony begins with sonic harmony. Each morning, males and females of these Asian apes sing love duets to each other as the mist burns off the rainforest. The duet is repeated in such precise sequences that it often takes newlyweds many months to learn to make beautiful music together. In a duet between a male and a female, the female's part is a long, rising series of notes that end in a fast "twitter". The male's song is less complicated. He grunts, squeals and whistles in delight. (Sounds familiar) 

2) Tarsiers – Tiny Tenors: 
These tiny, uber-cute, wide-eyed primates use sound as part of their courtship rituals, performed by the male. During courting, potential partners often chase each other around while making distinctive soft sounds. The male, if aroused, will escalate his sound within five minutes of merely looking at an attractive female. The female, if receptive, will display her genitals invitingly; however, if she is not sufficiently wooed, she’ll emit an antagonistic call, often followed by biting and pushing the male away. Ironically, when mating begins, they maintain complete silence. Once bonded, Tarsiers are extremely vocal and make loud shrieks with their partners. In fact, they call in harmony, with each partner making its own distinct sounds. (I got nothing here--I'm still stuck on the female openly displaying her genitals)

3) Resplendent Quetzal: Beauty with Equality: Perhaps the most beautiful of all birds, the resplendent quetzal sports gorgeous two-foot-long green tail feathers, a red breast, blue sides and green crown. In February, just in time for Valentine’s Day, males begin an elaborate courtship ritual to entice females. In a dazzling display of color and sensuality, they circle in the sky with their long tails dancing behind them, then dive down to the cloud forest treetops in hopes of attracting females. By March, once a mate has been selected and the mating process is underway, males can easily be seen sharing nesting duties with females, alternating guarding the eggs every half hour, including sitting on them (the male quetzal is an excellent role model, IMHO) 

4) Tigress – Saving Herself for True Love? Female tigers distinguish between true love and “friends with benefits”. Normally tigers take as long as a full day to develop mutual confidence, through ritualized purring, playing and moving their tails left to right with spring in their steps.  Once the tigress has developed confidence, she will roll over on her back in a playful manner, rub her face, and move closer to the male tiger, who will mount her. Their climax is signaled by a loud roar. Then the tigress turns her head and takes a swipe at the tiger with her foreleg. The tiger instinctively takes evasive action. The tigress then rolls over her back to facilitate insemination. However, if the tiger is a transient male just passing through the area and its dominance is not clearly established, the tigress will treat him like a “friend with benefits”, engaging in “false mating”, but not rolling over on her back.

(I don't know--nookie after only a "full day" of courtship still seems rather slutty to me. Plus, that transient male --seems to me he's getting all the upside without getting kicked in the face)

5) Giraffes – Nature’s Great Neckers: Male giraffes will establish dominance by swinging their heads and necks at each other, followed by a longer period where they will caress one another with their necks and then actually have sex, including reaching climax. Interested females also rub their necks against potential mates as part of their courtship. Recently, researchers also observed adolescent giraffes performing a complicated, prancing, dance-like step that some observers have compared to the fox-trot.  Could giraffes be nature’s greatest romantics? (Is this where the term "necking" came from?)

6) Waved Albatross – Kissing Fools: The complex and expressive courtship ritual of the waved albatross includes extensive kissing and bill-fencing, in which the partners bend, face each other in an exaggerated upright posture, open their bills wide and shut them with a loud clap, often alternating with rapidly clattering their bills or slapping them back and forth. If that isn’t strange enough, they will also bow and circle each another while swaying their heads from side to side in an exaggerated manner.  The newer the pair, the longer and more elaborate the dance. (New reality show on Animal Planet: Dancing with the Albatrosses)

For detailed itineraries, visit http://www.wildplanetadventures.com/.

Mid-Atlantic Getaways for Beating the Winter Blues

Let it snow. And when it does, where better to weather a storm than at a cozy resort?

In light of Snowmageddon, WTOP Radio in Washington, DC asked me how to select the perfect mid-winter getaway. Here's  the reporter's write-up of our chat.

WASHINGTON — By now you’ve seen the signs:  frigid air, salty sidewalks, cracked skin. We’re officially smack dab in the middle of winter — a time of year when the sun seems to hibernate and warm weather is a distant memory.

If you’re looking for a way to beat the winter blues but don’t have the time or cash to fly to the Caribbean, plenty of local destinations and activities can take your mind off the seasonal grind.

The D.C. area is home to several famous luxury resorts — from The Inn at Perry Cabin to the Salamander Resort and Spa, but travel expert and blogger Laura Powell says you don’t need to go all-out to escape and recharge.

“I sometimes like to go to some of these resorts that are not necessarily off the beaten track, but they’re certainly not as well-known as [some of the others],” she says.

Regardless of which destination you choose, Powell offers one important tip:  Book a place that has a fireplace, an indoor pool or a spa.

“If you can find one with all three of the above, you’re going to be assured that you’re going to have a nice, relaxing winter weekend,” she says.

One of Powell’s favorite winter destinations is the Omni Bedford Springs in Bedford, Pennsylvania. The destination is only two hours from the Washington area and checks off all three boxes on Powell’s winter wish list.

“It’s a beautiful, historic property, so you’ve got your fireplaces, you’ve got a fabulous spa,. , and it's one of the few spas in the country that utilizes natural spring water for all of their treatments.”

And guests don’t have to worry about getting bored, as the resort offers a variety of amenities and activities to keep them entertained, including an indoor pool and tours of the historic property. When it’s warm enough, guests can cook s’mores over an open fire or take a hike in the surrounding mountains.

Powell also recommends Poplar Springs Inn and Spa, in Warrenton, Virginia, just one hour outside the city. The hotel went through bankruptcy about a year ago, but the property, which sits on about 100 acres, is open for business again. Powell says the hotel’s restaurant, Manor House, is one of the resort’s highlights. And every Thursday night during the winter, Poplar Springs offers free tastings of local beers and wines.

Poplar Springs Inn is also close to several wineries: “If you go into Virginia wine country, a lot of the wineries are still open, even though they’re not necessarily in production, so you could do wine tasting.”

Can’t make it out of town for the weekend, but still want to relax and recharge? The spa at The Four Seasons in Georgetown offers a variety of services, including massages, aromatherapy and facials. And for $50 extra, you can use the spa’s gym, pool, sauna, steam room and more for the entire day. After you’re done being pampered, slip outside the spa to the patio at Bourbon Steak. Grab a seat by one of their fire pits and enjoy a glass of wine and a bite to eat.

Similarly, the spa at the Mandarin Oriental makes its heat and water facilities (showers, a steam room and a vitality pool) and its relaxation room available to spa guests for the whole day, with a service appointment.   ---By Rachel Nania

http://wtop.com/news/2015/01/best-local-getaways-beating-winter-blues/

Follow @WTOP and @WTOPliving on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.

More Airport Developments

Following up on my coverage of international airport trends for CNN (see post below), here's this week's Let's Talk Live segment. I discuss worldwide and Washington, DC airport trends.

http://www.wjla.com/blogs/lets-talk-live/2015/01/airport-trends-in-2015-24200.html

My Story for CNN on Airport Developments 2015

Many moons ago, I helped develop CNN's very first travel program. I produced the original edition of CNN Travel Guide, and was responsible for doing that show, plus ten daily segments a week, for several years. Sounds dreamy, no?  However, with no budget to actually travel beyond the outskirts of Atlanta, the job had its challenges. Even so, working for CNN was the launching point for my travel journalism career. 

I also was one of the original producers for CNN International. So, it's particularly gratifying that my return to CNN is marked by a travel story in the international edition of the website. Here it is. 

To read the entire story, please click on 

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/05/travel/airports-2015/index.html

TV RESUME

Laura Powell

(202) 415-6455

dailysuitcase@gmail.com

www.dailysuitcase.com

Career Summary To Date: 25 years covering travel and lifestyle topics for a range of media outlets. Work has included television and video management and production, writing for print and online outlets, custom content development, strategic consulting, and spokesperson and media training work.

Current Positions:

Executive Producer, LP Productions/Daily Suitcase Chicago, Illinois

Produce, host and write travel-related programming and videos. Write freelance travel articles for national and international outlets. Appear on television and radio programs as a guest travel expert.

2017-
Luxury and Special Correspondent, Skift, New York, New York
Report on luxury, wellness and trends for the premier outlet covering the business of travel.

2014-
Contributor: CNN.com, ShermansTravel; Orbitz Blog, Travelocity

2005-

Travel Correspondent, Around the World Radio Santa Barbara, CA

Professional Journalism Experience:

 

2007-2017

Contributing Travel Expert, WUSA and NewsChannel 8, Washington, DC

1993-2014

Special Sections Writer, The Washington Post

Write special sections on travel, lifestyle, shopping and the environment.

2007-2012

Contributing Editor, Hotel F and B

2002-2006

Writer, Travel Supplements, USA Today

1998-2005

Contributing Editor, Lodging, Washington, DC

2001-2003

Contributing Writer, Good Housekeeping New York, New York

1998-2002; 2007-2009

Columnist/Blogger, www.wyndhamworldwide.com/women_on_their_way

And Before That:

Producer, CNN TravelGuide Atlanta, Georgia

·        Created and produced CNN TravelGuide.

·        Provided management direction to production of CNN's travel coverage, including daily segments on business and leisure travel.

·        Coordinated and planned field production at domestic and international locations, and wrote and produced daily packages and weekly programs.

Selected Television and Radio Appearances:

ABC World News This Morning, ABC News Now, CNBC, CNN Headline News, CNN Airport, WUSA (Washington, DC), NewsChannel 8 (Washington, DC), WTTG (Washington, DC), Fox News Channel, Good Day New York, Today Show/New York, WABC (Los Angeles), CBS 2 News This Morning (Los Angeles), AM-Philadelphia, WTOP-AM (Washington, DC), WOR-AM (New York), WGN-AM (Chicago), NPR, Martha Stewart/Sirius Radio.

Education:

Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York B.S., Broadcast Journalism

Distinction: Summa Cum Laude and Class Marshal-Newhouse School of Public Communications

University of Essex, Colchester, England M.A. International Relations

Distinction: Rotary Foundation Scholar

European University Institute, Fiesole, Italy  

China’s Mandarins Shanghai The Pun

I’m appalled. China has banned puns. This is a crying shang. It has me seeing red. And almost as offensive is that, in reporting this news, many writers (clearly those not practiced at the fine art) have dubbed punning “the lowest form of humor.” 
Foo-ey, I say.

双关语

The Forbidden City

Those critics are simply noodles. Nonetheless, today I am opting to focus my ire on the Chinese mandarins who made the pun a forbidden ditty. Deng it, how could 1.357 billion people not like puns? Well, it turns out they do, and that has created a sticky pun problem.

Puns are actually considered an important feature of Chinese culture. Puns are ubiquitous in Chinese, because the language is not wonton for homophones. It’s all in the way the Chinese write words from characters. Substituting one character for another can alter the meaning of a phrase while hardly changing the sound.

IMO, China's Next Generation
is being pun-ished by this new ruling

At any rate, China’s State Administration for Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television issued an order in November saying wordplay has no place in broadcasting and advertising.  While spearing a chopstick through the heart of punditry, the order conceded that “idioms are one of the great features of the Chinese language and contain profound cultural heritage and historical resources and great aesthetic, ideological and moral values.” Nonetheless, the statement says improper exploitation of words may lead to cultural and linguistic chaos. and could harm the nation’s young people. Certainly, the government doesn't want to have a han in that happening.

Here’s my slant. Clearly, the Chinese government is not panda’ing to its pun-crazed public here. In fact, yuan-a bet that this great wall has been erected as a form of censorship? Indeed, puns and wordplay are just one mao way the Chinese work around censorship in the Internet age. The Chinese use puns and wordplay to duck censorship software, designed to catch and embargo obscene or politically sensitive words. So, an entirely new lexicon of puns has been developed for online discussion of sensitive topics. As a result, the amount of online punning is one way to gauge the tempura-ture of public opinion.

I am just glad I do not have to wok a mile in the shoes of a Chinese writer. For if I were not able to employ the venerable pun, I might have to be peking into another line of work.

But No Puns Allowed

Holiday Gifts for Travelers

It's that time of year when the Travel Elves drop off all sorts of sample goodies upon my doorstep for me to test. Here are a few of the products which pass gift-giving muster in my book. For more, you can watch my show-and- tell on Let's Talk Live: 

 http://www.wjla.com/blogs/lets-talk-live/2014/12/last-minute-gifts-for-globetrotters-24023.html





A Heys Ecotex 5 Piece Packing Cube Set is like a Russian Matryoshka doll. Unzip the biggest one and a smaller one appears...and so on and so on. The colorful quintet costs about $44 and a three-pack runs around $27. Both come with nifty little stick-on labels to identify what's in the bag. Available at http://shop.heys.ca/










It's not a foot rest. It's not a computer case. It's both. This Leggage laptop case has a nifty design that allows you to safely stow your computer and then use the case as a foot rest on the airplane. While the company claims that the wedges on the hard side serve to massage the tootsies...well, that may be stretching it just a bit. But especially for those with shorter legs, having a on-board foot rest will definitely add to comfort and better posture.
It's $79.99 at www.leggage.com.



LiteGear's Hybrid Rolling Tote is the perfect alternative to being weighed down by a heavy purse or tote bag. The fashionable roller, is just the right size for a change of clothing, an iPad, and many other small odds and ends, including your purse..With dimensions of 13.5″ x 8.5″ x 14.5″, it can either replace your carry-on or supplement it.  The LiteGear Hybrid Rolling Tote is available at Travelsmith, Amazon and other on-line retailers. The price ranges from $79.00 to $99.00.




Finally, from Shoes on the Fly, we have washable cotton bags in which to pack footwear. Sure, one can always use a plastic bag to separate shoes from clothing...but that's exactly why this is the perfect gift. It's one of those things that your favorite travelers might not buy for themselves, but they'll absolutely be happy 'soles' when they receive it.  The bags are adorned with various slogans and an embroidered bug matching the theme, They cost between $27.00 and $29.00 at www.shoesonthefly.com.

Nine Images of Georgia (Okay, 11)

One of my most adventurous journeys of the year took place in October, when I headed to Georgia (the country). Take a listen to my perspective while looking at the pictures below.

Mother Georgia Stands Over Tbilisi 

Tbilisi's architecture is a mix of ancient and modern.
The white spaceship is the Tbilisi Public Service Hall,
affectionately known as The Mushroom.

Monks at the Alaverdi Monastery in the Khakheti
region has been making wines in qvervi for
more than 1000 years.

Georgia has been producing wine longer
 than any other place in the world....
8000 years!

The Sixth Century Jvari Monastery near Mtskheta is
a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Stalin was born here.
The Stalin Museum in his hometown of
Gori (appropriately-named) is a throwback
to Soviet times.

The Tskaltubo Health Resort is
where members of the Soviet Ministry
of Defense took the waters
back in the day.

While considered luxury during its heyday,
most would consider the rooms and facilities
rather spartan now.

The Caucasus Mountain Range
contains Europe's highest peak. 

The www.georgia.travel website isn't up and running, yet. If you can read Georgian (good luck with that), click here. Although what I am saying on the live stream doesn't always match the images, more pictures can be seen  here.

Holiday Gifts for Travelers: Part II

Looking for a holiday list a frequent traveler?  Ho-ho-ho, here are some ideas!

For years, I've traveled with two tennis balls in my suitcase. No, I'm not looking for a pick-up game. Instead, I roll my back along the balls in the comfort of my hotel room. I place balls on either side of my spine and then press downward as I slide along pressure points and crack my tired bones. The choreography is a bit complicated--the challenge is keeping the balls parallel while rolling along. Well, now the RAD Roller is making my version of an everywhere massage tool easier. The company has developed a functional, lightweight and durable massage and release tool that looks like two fused balls. You can easily roll your back over it, and it's small enough to target other aching muscles and sore fascial tissue. $24.99

Worried you might bust a zipper thanks to all of those holiday gifts you are packing? Maybe you just want to distinguish your blah black or blue bags from all the others on the luggage carousel. ORB Luggage Straps come in a variety of snazzy designs, and they're only $9.95. Or you can buy a coordinated accessories pack containing a matching lock and luggage tag for $24.95 at various on-line retailers.

Speaking of straps, as I type this post, I am experimenting with the BackJoy Posture Band. While it took me a few minutes to figure out the way to set it up, I managed to tie it together and throw it around my arms. The comfortable elastic tension band gently pulls your shoulders back as you are sitting at a computer...or sitting on an airplane. Granted, if you walk around the airport wearing it, some people may think you are into S & M. Little do they know that your goal is solely to get your posture on the up and up. $19.99



Finally, for the uber-organized, Eagle Creek presents its Pack-It system. The smart, methodical and slightly OCD-prone traveler on your gift list will love it.  The PACK-IT line has everything from Folders, in which you can pack clothing to be wrinkle-free, to Cubes, perfect for compressing pants, Tees, or PJs.. You can buy them as stand-alones or as sets. For example, a starter set contains a mediim folder and a large and a small cube for $35.  Other pricing is available at http://shop.eaglecreek.com/.

Ideas for larger items can be found here.

.

Holiday Travel Tips

Need holiday travel tips? Here's a link to my November 14 appearance on Let's Talk Live. Below is a recap of the discussion.

1. Book your flights early in the day. Morning flights are less prone to delays. Furthermore, if you do get stranded, you have a day filled with alternative options ahead.

2. Fly in and out of secondary airports. BWI is likely going to be less crowded than Dulles; Midway an easier go than O'Hare. Fewer crowds during the holidays often equal fewer hassles.

3. Book non-stop flights, even if they cost a little more. With the potential for delays, cancellations and lost bags at a premium during the holidays, it's best to go for the most hassle-free options.

4. Avoid luggage fees by booking flights with an airline-branded credit card that offers one free checked bag for everyone on the reservation.

5. Speaking of checked bags, don't follow a one-person-packs-one-bag rule. Distribute everyone's stuff among the checked bags. That way, if one suitcase gets lost, everyone still has clothing.

6. Obvious Wisdom: Check all essentials in your carry-on. That includes chargers, cell phone, medicine, basic toiletries, and a change of clothing.

7. Obvious Wisdom 2: Don't travel on peak holiday travel days. Since Christmas and New Year's Day are on weekdays this year, it may be a bit easier to find decent "off-peak" flights. For example, if you choose not to fly out Christmas Day (which is perhaps the best day to travel), heading out on the Friday or Saturday after the holiday is likely to be better than on the Sunday.

8. To get alerts on low fares, check out www.airfarewatchdog.com..

9.  Keep a handle on the weather where you are, where you are going, and everywhere in between by checking www.weather.com. Travel insurance may help if you encounter weather delays along the way. In addition to covering additional costs like hotel overnights or meals, many travel insurance companies will also assist in re-booking you should a flight be cancelled. Before signing up, though, always read the fine print to know exactly what you are purchasing.

Choosing A Private School for Your Child

When is a travel journalist not a travel journalist? When she is commissioned to write a piece about private schools for The Washington Post Magazine. I wrote the lead story in the section below. Parents, I would love to get your feedback. Enjoy.

PrivateSchools 11.02.14

Falling for Virginia

This piece originally appeared in The Washington Post Magazine on September 21, 2014.

Washington Post: Fall Travel in Virginia

Talking Iceland

On the day I was heading off to Georgia, I reported on my fortnight in Iceland. Here's the segment that aired on Around the World Radio in California on October 9. To accompany my dulcet tones, here are a few images. Please note: The segment cuts out about seven minutes in, but we reconnect after the hosts ramble for two minutes.

Skaftafell Glacier

 The Black Sand Beaches of Vik

Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon

Reykjavik: The Sun Voyager 

Landscape near Krafla Volcano

Hverfjall Crater near Lake Myvatn

Pseudocraters near Lake Myvatn

The Northern Lights

Reykjavik: Church of Hallgrimur and Leif Eriksson

Hofn in the Eastern Fjord Region

Curious Georgia: Nine Things to Know

To clarify before we count down, we are talking Georgia of Eastern Europe/west of Russia--not south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

1. Why is Georgia called Georgia? There are three theories.

--St. George is the patron saint in these parts.
--Some accounts I see online says it comes from the Perisan word gurj ...meaning wolf.
--I tend to believe my lovely guide, Tamara Natenadze, who says it comes from the Greek georgios, meaning land of agricultural or cultivation. She says Greeks came to the area in the first century before Christ and were surprised to find such an advanced culture....

2. ....which included wine production. Georgia has an uninterrupted 8,000-year history of grape cultivation, making it the oldest wine-producing region in the world. About 535 varieties of grapes are grown here.

3. Georgians, by the by, called themselves 'Kartvelebi'...derived from the pagan god Kartlos, said to be the father of all Georgians.

4. King of Queens: King Tamar was a woman who ruled Georgia during its medieval Golden Age.

5. More Girl Power, Georgia-Style: St. Nino brought Christianity to the region in 330 AD after wandering here from Cappadoccia.

6. The town where Joseph Stalin was born, and where a self-aggrandizing museum to the tyrannical dictator is located (opening date--1957), is called...appropriately... Gori.

7. Ushguli, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the highest village in Europe, located 7,218 feet above sea level.

8. Georgian Cultures: They eat lots of yogurt here, called matsoni. In places, it is made with the milk of water buffalo.

9. Dannon's 1977 ad featuring Georgian centenarians was the first US commercial shot in the former Soviet Union. It put both Georgia and yogurt on the map....although I highly doubt locals opt for the commercial brand.

Let's Talk Live About Airbnb

I chatted about Airbnb, taxes and regulation (oooh, sexy) on today's Let's Talk Live in Washington, DC. Below is the promo and here is the clip of the segment. Let me know what you think.

#tunein with @dailysuitcase to find out things you should consider before using #airbnb to #rent out your #home. pic.twitter.com/9r0zzMwvxn
— LetsTalkLiveDC (@LetsTalkLiveDC) October 6, 2014