Block Island ? Memorable Vacations Are Made of This
Block Island ? Memorable Vacations Are Made of This
Block Island is a seaside jewel lying 12 miles off the southern coast of Rhode Island. This is a place where nature clings to every pond, stone-walled trail, beach, and everything in between. It's a paradise for cyclists, and a haven for those ready to leave the trappings and demands of the mainland behind.Most people take the ferry from Port Judith which takes one hour and plants you in the hub of Block Island at Old Harbor. A Seasonal ferry service also runs from Newport RI and Montauk NY.Coming to the Island is a shift in time, with its rugged undeveloped reserves? and open field farmlands? and narrow roads lined with stone walls and wild roses. Block Islands invites you to relax in dress and time. It's a chance for you to rediscover nature again.Here's suggested destinations to help you enjoy Block Island to its fullest?THE VIEW FROM MOHEGAN BLUFFS?You don't want to miss the view from Mohegan Bluffs. Take the Mohegan Trail from the village of Old Harbor out to the Bluffs.Mohegan Bluffs overlook the southern coast of Block Island, and on a clear day you can see Montauk, NY on Long Island, about 18 miles away. The cliff's tower 200 feet above the shoreline and offer stunning views of the landscape and the Southeast Light. A steep set of wooden steeps leads down to the beach below.THE BLOCK ISLAND LIGHTHOUSESBlock Island has two lighthouses: Southeast Light and North Light.Southeast Light sits atop Mohegan Bluffs and was moved back from a perilous position on the cliffs in 1993. This is an attractive redbrick lighthouse built in 1875, and contains a museum inside for you to explore.North Light is at Sandy Point on the northern tip pf Block Island. This is the fourth lighthouse in this location and was built in 1867. Two of the previous lights were washed away and the third was dismantled because its position did more harm than good.North Light is within the boundaries of the Block Island National Wildlife Refuge, and that's where we were heading anyway?BLOCK ISLAND NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGELocated on the North End of Block Island the refuge is now a 127-acre habitat for wildlife and for visitors to enjoy the wonder of this natural environment.If you're a bird-watcher then the fall season offers a spectacular opportunity to view migratory birds, especially songbirds. Bring your camera and binoculars for a very special trip to a very special refuge.The shoreline area runs from Settler's Rock to Sandy point and the North Light, and then from here to Great Salt Pond. This is an ideal area for walking, bird watching, and breathtaking views.BLOCK ISLAND BEACHES & PONDSBlock Island beaches are the first stop for many first time visitors. The choices are many and varied. It has 17 pristine miles of gorgeous beaches.The two-mile Crescent Beach area consists of four beaches: Frederick J. Benson Beach, Scotch Beach, Mansion Beach, and close to the ferry landing is Ballard's. These tend to be the most popular, but don't forget just a few minutes bike ride away are deserted beaches, where you can enjoy your own spot of peace and harmony.For such a tiny area, Block Island boasts an amazing 365 ponds ? that's right? one for every day of the year. So as you bike and hike around the island, it doesn't matter where you're at? you're only a few feet away from water.Permits are required to fish the freshwater ponds.Other things to do on Block Island include: visits to Manisses Animal Petting Zoo, Settler's Rock, located at the end of Corn Neck Road near a beach on Rhode Island Sound - the rock marks the landing point of European settlers of Block Island in 1661, and kayaking in New Harbor.While Block Island is a great place to visit for the day, you'll get more time to enjoy the island if you stay overnight, or even longer, at any of the varied lodging available. But advanced booking is a must.Inns and bed and breakfasts abound on the island, with many located near the village of Old Harbor and nearby New Harbor. For more information on inns and bed and breakfast accommodation check out www.blockisland.com.Cliff Calderwood is the owner and contributing writer of http://www.new-england-vacations-guide.com. You can read more about Block Island and get a free travel report at his New England Vacation online Guide site.
Luxury Cruise Line Vacations for Your Romantic Getaways!-Sailing
Luxury Cruise Line Vacations for Your Romantic Getaways!
Every cruise vacation offers passengers a luxurious cruising experience. Some of the cruise lines raise the bar so high that they are referred to as Luxury Cruise Lines by going "above and beyond" what one might expect in a great cruise experience. Taking cruise getaways aboard their ships is really considered a Luxury Cruise Line Vacation!This type of luxury cruise line includes such companies as Crystal Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, Windstar Cruises and Silversea Cruises. Vacations with these cruise lines are truly an unforgettable romantic and luxurious experience.For the most part, these cruise lines operate smaller ships on which they can better look after their passengers. They provide excellent service of "six-star" quality. Many of the cruise lines offer more exotic itineraries enhancing their Luxury Cruise experience. These lines also have a more genuine all-inclusive cruise nature.You might think that the staff on the luxury cruise lines' ships are telepathic. The crews are trained to anticipate your needs and desires and react with courteous service. Expect friendly service from a staff that will know you by name and remember your favorite drinks, remember your breakfast preferences and all the "little", but very important items that you may wish.In order to provide this type of luxury service, the staff to passenger ratio is higher than on the main stream cruise lines. As an example, The Paul Gaugan, a Radisson Seven Seas cruise ship has room for only 320 passengers with a staff of 211. Virtually every luxury cruise line has a passenger-to-staff ratio of at most, 2 to 1.As mentioned above, the luxury cruise line ships are generally smaller than the mega ships of the "mainstream" cruise lines. The passenger capacities of the smaller luxury ships average between about 150 and 400. Crystal Cruises is an exception. This luxury cruise line has a fleet of three luxury ships with passenger capacities of about 900. This however does not compromise their luxury cruise experience.All of the luxury cruise ships display expensive works of art, rare and exotic woods, fine fabrics and china and have expansive wine cellars. The luxurious accommodations aboard these ships are relatively large and very well appointed. The public areas - elegant dining rooms, enticing spa, exciting casino etc.- are in most cases smaller and more intimate on luxury ships than on the larger cruise ships.Because these luxury cruise ships are smaller, they have the ability to sail to ports that are inaccessible by their "bigger cousins". This again makes for a more intimate, luxurious and romantic getaway cruise experience in these ports - no crowds of four to six mega ships passengers.Luxury cruise lines offer itineraries worldwide and in the most exotic places. There is truly something for everyone looking for that special luxury cruise vacation!For more information on Luxury Cruise Line Vacations check out some of our other interesting articles at www.a1-discount-cruises.com/articles. There are also many informative articles here for other cruise lines, itineraries and other cruise related information.Brian A Schmidt is the author and web publisher of a1-discount-cruises.com your #1 source for cruise information, discounts and great deals! Visit http://www.a1-discount-cruises.com to book your fabulous romantic gift cruise vacation! For more interesting articles visit our Article Map pages.
Seven Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Vacations – Vacation-Rentals
Seven Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Vacations
This may seem like a very strange title for an article. After all, a vacation is supposed to be? a vacation. The title seems to imply that we should strive to make our vacation, somehow strategic or productive. In a way, that is what I am suggesting, but maybe not in the anal-retentive way you might have first guessed.I write this during a week of my vacation, because I have a weekly writing quota so I don't disappoint my loyal newsletter readers. I could have run a repeat article, or I could have written the article before I left, but since I had already decided to write something about vacations, and because I do like to write, I decided it might be best to write about vacations while on vacation.Vacations are important to our mental, physical and emotional health. They provide us a chance to relax, change our perspective and reconnect with parts of ourselves that we might misplace during the daily routine. Some people travel great distances, others stay closer to home. Some like to relax on the beach and others choose more active, scheduled vacations. This article isn't about those choices ? you know what type of vacation works best for you. Rather, this article is meant to help you enjoy and benefit more from the vacation, regardless of where you go, or what you do.Think about how you got there. Most people spend a huge amount of time thinking about, planning, and preparing for their vacations. And they get a tremendous amount of work done in the few days (hours?) before they leave. In other words, when it comes to vacations we are all good project planners and time managers. This experience of planning and preparing is the first lesson we can take from our vacation. While you are on vacation reflect on how productive you were in the days leading up to your departure. You will find lessons you can apply on other days to help you be more productive ? and therefore give you more time during your regular life for leisure and relaxation.Start when you leave. I have heard people say things like, "I need a two week vacation, because it takes me 4 or 5 days to start enjoying the vacation." To this sentiment, I simply ask "Why?". Resolve that when you are on vacation, you are there. Don't tell yourself it will take 2 days or 1 day to "get relaxed." Relax already!Immerse yourself. Whether you are sitting on the beach, on a tour bus or walking through a local shopping bazaar, be there. Experience the things around you. Be in the present moment. Even if things aren't going like you planned, if the water is cold or it is raining, be where you are. Vacations are huge anticipation machines. We build them up in our minds until there is almost no way the real thing can compete with the image. Immerse yourself in what it is. Be present and enjoy it, regardless of what happens.Recharge. Academic institutions have known for a long time the value in spending time in a new situation. That is why sabbaticals are a part of the lives of faculty members in much of the world. Sabbaticals are, in some ways, like long vacations. A vacation puts us in a new environment, changes our routine, and gives us a chance to recharge our batteries. This quote from the book I read on this vacation states it better than I can:"You have to think more like a fish than a man and look for the slack tides and the pools and eddies in life so you can catch your breath and reflect on the good moments."- Jimmy Buffett in A Salty Piece of LandLearn Something. No this isn't like homework; I'm not suggesting you send me a report on "What You Learned on Your Summer Vacation." But I am serious about learning something. Learn something in a museum. Learn something from the local people or customs. Learn something about the tides. Learn something from someone in the seat next to you on your flight. As humans we are most alive when we are learning, and vacations should be no exception.Make memories. Vacations are a wonderful way to expand our experiences and to create memories. New memories will enrich our lives both now and in the future. They also serve as the spawning ground for new ideas and insights that we may benefit from in all areas of our lives. After you make the memories, capture them. Record the events in your journal, purchase postcards, take pictures. These activities will help preserve those precious memories.Take them. If you stay at work without vacationing because you are "indispensable, but are never fresh and always burned out, what have you gained? Besides that, research says that people that take vacations live longer than those who don't. I don't think I can make a more compelling argument than that.If you have already taken a vacation in recent months, think back on it and see how many of my suggestions you followed. If you have an upcoming vacation, I encourage you to consider my ideas, and apply at least one or two of them to that vacation.All of these suggestions will help make your vacation more valuable, more entertaining and more fun. Plus, the vacation itself will help you live longer.Have fun!Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company. To receive a free Special Report on leadership that includes resources, ideas, and advice go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.