Photo of the Week: Manuel Antonio Beach in Costa Rica

Playa Manuel Antonio is described as one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica. It is located in Manuel Antonio National Park, which is a charming combination of rainforests, beaches and coral reefs. The rainforest is home to sloths, iguanas, rare squirrel monkeys and millions of colorful little Halloween Crabs; so named for their orange and black coloring.

Manuel Antonio Beach can be found after a short walk through the rainforest, which is the lush background to its aquamarine waters and white, powdery sand. There, the sandy shore is wide and deep enough to spread out for ample privacy, and the numerous coral reefs allow for excellent snorkeling.

About an hour's drive from the main international airport in San Jose, Manuel Antonio is the logical first stop on a trip to this wonderfully diverse, and beautiful country

Travel Tunes: I'm Yours

If there is a soundtrack to visiting Hawaii, this is one song that I would put on it: I'm Yours by Jason Mraz. If you haven't heard this song it is just down right infectious, and really has a Hawaiian feel to it. ("I'm Yours" Video.)


I'm Yours has, not surprisingly, also been a huge hit in Hawaii, and in our visit in May of this year, we heard it playing everywhere... on the radio, in the ABC stores, and by every street musician in Waikiki. Jason Mraz is a big fan of Hawaii and you can see the influence on the song as he filmed the video in Oahu and Kauaui and included Hawaiian back-up singers on the album version, and it even sounds great on the ukulele. The song though is technically a reggae rhythm and this is perhaps one of the strongest elements in giving it its island feel. It is also is hard not to like the Trilby hat wearing, avocado farm owning, and juggling Jason Mraz (read more in this interview). He seems to live a lifestyle that emulates the easy-going, laid-backness that permeates Hawaii.

Originally released in 2005, the song has had quite a bit of longevity. As of August, 2009, it has spent 70 weeks on the Hot 100, breaking the record for most weeks on the chart; it is the third best selling digital song of all time in the US, with more than 4.4 million paid downloads, and it has been on the top of the adult contemporary charts for more than a year.

You may have noticed that it was the background music in the trailer for "A Perfect Getaway". We saw it and not only is the song not actually in the movie, the "twist" ending is really just kind of lame. Save your money and just get the song. If you don't have it already, you can get an mp3 of the I'm Yours single at Amazon , or get the whole album We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things (I also really like Lucky a duet with Colbie Caillat). You can also get the lyrics to I'm Yours here.

Best Public Beach in New York? Robert Moses State Park

Admittedly, when you think beach, New York is probably not the first place that pops into your mind. There are actually quite a few beaches within the borders of NYC, though none really qualifies as notable, and, honestly, contamination and dangerous rip tides are an ongoing concern. However, New Yorkers, who enjoy a good beach, know that they don't have to travel too far outside of the city to get to one of the best beaches in the northeast and arguably in the US.

Robert Moses State Park, is an 875-acre (3.54 km sq.) park in Babylon, NY (in southern Suffolk County). It is on the western end of Fire Island which is one of the central barrier islands off the southern coast of Long Island (view google map). There are plenty of beaches on the south shore of Long Island, e.g Jones Beach and Long Beach, but what makes Robert Moses in particular so noteworthy? Foremost, it is really a beautiful beach. OK, the water is not as picturesque as the Caribbean or Hawaii, but there are very few places on earth that can lay claim to sand that is in such a perfect state of erosion. It feels great under your feet. The shore line is not at all rocky, which is an unwanted feature of many beaches in the northeast. It is also in a very serene location. You will not see any tall buildings or homes from the beach, the vistas are amazing, and it seems very, very distant from the hustle and bustle of NYC. Because of its distance from the city, it also tends to get a little less traffic than other beaches. It is truly the perfect day escape from NYC.

The water is warmest in August, usually by the second or third week. Though not a problem this year, August is also usually a peak time for jellyfish in the area - so be careful. Note that pets and alcohol are not allowed on the beach; and the police patrol the beaches on dune buggies regularly, explicitly looking for these infractions. There are several different beaches to choose from (a.k.a. fields). We have found fields 4 & 5 to be less crowded, though field 5 is sometimes closed due to ongoing beach erosion.

When we go, we tend to make a day of it and cap it off with a nice seafood dinner. Food is also available at each of the field houses, but why eat a hot dog when you can have some of the best seafood on the eastern seaboard? There are plenty of places to choose from, but the two we have personally visited and thoroughly enjoyed are Legal Seafoods in Huntington and Peter's Clam House in Island Park. In addition to the beach, you may want to also check out the lighthouse, and if you one to squeeze in a bit of pseudo-golf the Pitch and Putt, which is actually in a wooded area and quite scenic. Also, Fire Island in general is known for it's nude beaches so be forewarned or take this as an opportunity to check them out.

For the history buffs out there, this is the oldest state park on Long Island. Originally named Fire Island State Park, it was renamed for Robert Moses and is one of 2 state parks to bear this name (the other being Robert Moses State Park - Thousand Islands). If you haven't already, definitely check out The Power Broker which chronicles the impact that Robert Moses had on New York State and the national park system in general - though I assure you that you won't be able to finish it in one sitting; it's quite a thick book.

The park is accessible by car from the Robert Moses Causeway, and is open year-round from sunrise to sunset and vehicle fees vary by season ($8.00 peak, $6.00 off-peak). (Get driving directions here.) Folks aged 62 and over are eligible for free entry during weekdays (holidays excluded) with their NYS driver's license. This beach and others are also accessible via public transportation (more info here) so it is quite tourist friendly, though not many tourists seem to make the trip out. If you are in the NY area in the summer, and haven't been, you don't know what you are missing.

Unlimited One-Month Travel Pass on Jet Blue

I am not sure how this flew under our radar, but Jet Blue was offering a one-month unlimited travel pass for $599 that would have allowed you to fly as many times as you wanted to any of the 600 cities that they service including international destinations! (Click here to see which routes they service.) International fees were not included in the promotion so it could have gotten a bit pricier if you were planning to jet down to the Caribbean, but all domestic fees were covered. Alas, JetBlue has stopped selling the passes as it seemed to have become much more popular than they anticipated.

Although we are not a big fan of Jet Blue's airmiles program, since they have no reciprocity with other airlines and all of their airmiles expire after 12 months (terrible, really), this was an awesome deal in its own right and one that we would have surely jumped at if it were still available. Given the popularity of this offer, one has to imagine that they will resurrect this promotion again in some format.... and perhaps some other airlines will get competitive and roll out similar offers. We can only hope.

Hidden Gem: Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh is an easy city to stereotype, so I really was not expecting much when I visited recently. Pittsburgh conjures images of steelworkers and burly football fans, coal mines, smokestacks and steel production plants, railroads and robber barrons, and perhaps even a few slam-dunking fish. However, after spending a few moments in Pittsburgh, it is immediately apparent that tucked away in the western part of Pennsylvania is a hidden gem.

One of the first things that you will notice about Pittsburgh is that it has a magnificent, photogenic skyline which looks great from a number of angles. For a particularly good view of the city, take one of two funiculars (cool, old, ski-lift like trams) to the top of Mt. Washington. Another thing you will quickly notice is that it is a city surrounded by bridges, hence Pittsburgh's other moniker, "City of Bridges", which is befitting for a city that is triangular in shape and bordered by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers (that then form the Ohio River).

Once you have had a chance to walk around Pittsburgh, you will see that the architecture too is also a pleasant surprise that is not at all dominated by its industrial past and actually quite unique and captivating. Two buildings of note are One PPG Place, which literally resembles a castle complete with turrets, and one of the Midtown Towers buildings which looks like it is capped with a velvet crown. Walking around downtown is definitely worth your time if you are a fan of interesting architecture.

Pittsburgh has a number of good museums, but if you can only see one, make sure it is the Warhol Museum, and be sure to check out the Silver Clouds exhibit which gets a lot of praise from visitors. The nightlife in Pittsburgh also has a lot to offer. There is a great selection of bars and restaurants to choose from throughout the city, but some notable places to find them are in the Strip District, the Waterfront, the South Side, and the North Shore. Pittsburgh folks enjoy live music so you will find much of it at many of their restaurants and bars. The new Rivers Casino which just opened in August is one of the latest hot spots and also a great place to spend an evening.

There are plenty of hotels in and around downtown, but I personally stayed at the Omni William Penn and can vouch that it is a top tier hotel, especially if you enjoy old world charm and impeccable service. It is the perfect location to set up your base for seeing the city and is very convenient to the Lawrence Convention Center. Word on the street is that the Westin, also located nearby, is a good place to stay too, if you prefer something more modern.

There is, of course, much more than this to Pittsburgh, but this is what stood out for me on a short two day trip. For more information, check out the Visit Pittsburgh website, and, of course, give us a shout below if you know of any other must sees in Pittsburgh, and, or have any good restaurant and hotel recommendations.

What to do With Your 25k Miles: Getting the Most for your AirMiles

By now, hopefully you have opened your Chase account and are happily waiting for your easy 25K miles to be deposited into your Continental OnePass account. Now comes the fun part-- planning where to go with your reward ticket. What can you do with your 25,000 miles you wonder? Well, 25k is the minimum number of miles needed for a reward ticket for travel within the US and to Canada. We like to get more mileage for our airmiles so we think a free ticket to Alaska, British Columbia, California and Washington State (or wherever happens to be furthest from where you are) make the most sense, or just to any destination for which tickets tend to be pricier. For instance, Jackson Hole, Wyoming is not as far as Seattle, Washington for us (we are in New York City) but tickets are usually quite a bit pricier, so that would be a great place to use a reward ticket for. We wouldn't be likely to use a reward ticket for a popular route like Miami because that would really only be a savings of about $160. But using it to go to Vancouver, makes that reward ticket worth over $500 to us!

If you're willing to wait until you get to 35k miles, then you'll have enough for destinations in Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean. In the past year alone, we have used free reward tickets to go to Hawaii at Christmas (published fares were over $1100), Provence for lavender season (published fares were over $1600), Mexico, St. Louis, and to island hop from Kauai to the Big Islands; in other words, we used 135K miles for over $3500 worth of airplane tickets! Now that's getting the most for your airmiles.

Royal Decameron, Montego Bay

We spent a few days at the Royal Decameron, Montego Bay in early July of this year. It is in the middle of the spectrum of all-inclusive resorts in Jamaica and an excellent value.

Situated in the heart of the Hip Strip, the tourist section and nightlife district of Montego Bay, it would be hard to find a more convenient location. Of course, the resort doesn't provide much reason to leave as the pools, beach, and activities offered could easily keep you occupied for days. Although the resort beach is compact and manages only a sliver of sand, this is Jamaica so it is still breathtakingly beautiful. We found that the free snorkeling here was among the best we have ever experienced at a resort. One downside is that we also discovered a surprising number of sea urchins very close to the beach. We are not sure if they were poisonous, so watch where you step! If you prefer a more spacious beach, you are also in easy walking distance of the famous and best beach in Montego Bay, Doctor's Cave, a site also known as essentially the birthplace of Jamaican tourism.

We found the food and service to be great and were pleasantly surprised to find an authentic sampling of local dishes. There are different offerings each day, but you can definitely eat like a local if you want. We had salt fish and callaloo for breakfast and jerk chicken and grouper fish for dinner. We also found that the bars were plentiful and conveniently located, and the drinks strong and easily customized to your liking.

The rooms were spacious, renovated, clean, and it seems that all face the beach. There are a variety of room options with some providing ground level patios and terraces. Wi-fi is also available, but sadly it is not part of the all-inclusive rate, and has to purchased in 15 minute increments. The reception was also patchy and completely unavailable in certain parts of the resort, and we had to go back to the main lobby to get a good signal. This was definitely less than ideal, but also something that we quickly forgot about as we enjoyed a rum punch at the swim-up bar. This is not the place to go if you need constant Internet access, but then again, do you really need constant Internet access in paradise?

The price is right too at about $75 per person per night and we have even seen it as low as $70 per person. We enjoyed it so much that we not only plan to return, but have already booked our next visit. Book yours now too! Enjoy!

Photo of the Week: Doctor's Cave Beach, Jamaica

Doctor's Cave Beach in Montego Bay, Jamaica, besides being near and dear to my heart, is one of the best beaches ever. Powdery white sand, turquoise waters that are always mild and warm, and highly accessible right there in the middle of town. Historically, the waters of Doctor's Cave Beach were thought to have curative powers, and after a day there spent soothing body and soul, soaking up the sun and then diving in to cool off, it's easy to believe.

The Bucketlist of Waterfalls

If we were to put together our bucketlist of must see waterfalls around the world, this recent article at Women'sDay would be a good start. Although it doesn't include Dunn's River Falls or Reach Falls, it still includes all of the ones that we would include in our own top list, such as Iguazu, Angel Falls, and even a few we didn't know about. Give us a shout if you think there are any that should also be included here.

Earn Triple AirMiles Just for Paying Your Bills!

By now, hopefully you've opened your new Chase account, as we suggested last week, for an easy 25,000 Continental OnePass miles. Well now you can start putting that account to work for you for even more miles. Chase is offering, for the second time this year, the chance to earn 3 miles per dollar for bills you pay with your OnePass Chase debit card. We earned over 5000 miles the last time this offer was available. Just click here to find out more details and register, then pay your grocery, utility, and other bills with your Onepass Chase debit card between August 10 and October 31, and your bonus miles will be awarded in November, 2009. Finally, something to make you feel good about paying all those bills!

Book Your Next Trip on BezLu and You Could Save $100!

You can now book flight, hotel, and car rental deals directly on the BezLu site using the Orbitz booking widget available in the right column on every page! We use Orbitz frequently ourselves and have used it to find and book excellent travel deals. In addition to great deals, we also find that Orbitz is the only major online travel booking service that displays the total, real price on the first page of results, including all fees. The competitors often tease you with just the base price of the airfare or hotel and only reveal the fees involved later in the process. It also doesn't hurt that Orbitz does not charge any booking fees on flights either... forever. So, please keep this widget in mind and make BezLu the first place you go when you are planning your trip.

As an added bonus, use the code "PRIDE2009" and get $100 off your trip! Book a qualifying hotel or flight + hotel package between by September 7, 2009, for 5 or more nights for travel between May 1, 2009, and November 15, 2009, via Orbitz and instantly receive $100 off your booking.

Photo of the Week: Reach Falls in Jamaica

Reach Falls is one of the most beautiful and natural waterfalls in Jamaica. About 30 minutes outside of Port Antonio, Reach Falls is located in a peaceful mountain setting surrounded by virgin rain forest. Though not particularly tall or powerful, it is certainly visually stunning, with a series of limestone shelves cascading from one crystal clear, jade green pool to another. It is an easy climb, as you go from pool to pool, discovering hidden nooks and crannies along the way. About a half-mile back you will find a natural whirlpool that you can enjoy nestled inside a natural rock formation.

Our Exclusive On All-Inclusive

What is an All-Inclusive resort? Basically they are hotels that provide lodging and unlimited meals, alcohol, and activities in the daily rate. They are usually gated, protected communities... so that there is not much reason to leave, however, included activities often extend to off site locations, such as tour visits to local attractions and adventure packages such as rafting or swimming with dolphins. The types of resorts available vary from inexpensive to luxurious, but they are almost all concentrated in warm locations. They are ideal for the kind of vacation where you just want to kick back and relax and are usually not ideal for folks who really want to explore a country and culture. They are also not a wise economic choice if you are not planning to take advantage of the meals and activities.

Generally, staying in one location on our trip is not how we prefer to travel, however we do enjoy a change of pace every now and then and the break from having an itinerary. We also sometimes like to balance out our long trips by spending a few days at an all-inclusive and the other days exploring.

Recently, we found that the Sun Palace in Cancun, New Mexico (pictured above) lived up to all the positive hype. We highly recommend it. For you trivia buffs out there, although Club Med is generally credited with inventing the all-inclusive resort, Frenchman's Cove in Port Antonio, Jamaica actually holds the title.... also highly recommended, though no longer all-inclusive.

Drink Deals in New York City

If you are in NYC and you'd like to make sure the drinks flow without wrecking your cashflow, then check out DrinkDeal.com. This site is a gem for both NYC residents and visitors as it provides a searchable list of NYC watering holes. We are not sure how up to date the data it is, but it definitely provides plenty of options. We particularly like that you can search for Happy Hour deals by day of the week and by family of beverage.

A Travelers View of New York City

We often find ourselves getting excited about something in our jaunts around NYC that we think visitors, tourists, and travelers to New York can benefit from. With this in mind, we plan to post restaurant recommendations, especially places that are not tourist traps and will give you a good local experience; provide insider travel deals and tips; even review some of the must see tourist attractions; and expose what we believe are undiscovered parts of the city, the hidden gems, that don't get a lot of tourist traffic, but are certainly deserving of a bit more attention. Between the two of us, we have over 50 years of experience living in New York City in 4 boroughs (sorry Staten Island), and we think we have amassed quite a few good finds. So, stay tuned!

Dining Rewards... a.k.a. Airmiles for Eating

Most airmiles programs partner with the Rewards Network and allow you to also earn miles when dining at certain restaurants. The Rewards Network is often seamlessly integrated with your airmiles program. There are no extra or hidden costs for you, and it is completely automated once you take a few minutes to set things up. You just need to open an account and register your credit card numbers with the program... up to 5 cards, and, then any time you dine at a participating restaurant with one of these cards, airmiles will magically post directly to your airmiles program account usually within a week. These really are free miles that you are likely missing out on, especially if you eat out with any regularity.

Generally, you will accrue miles at a rate of at least 3 per dollar spent, however, there are often promotions and incentives that can increase that rate. Our favorite is the one that kicks in after a number of dines within a calendar year (usually between 10-15); the rate then jumps to at least 5 miles per dollar spent for all dines for the remainder of the year. When you do this on a credit card that also gives you miles for purchases, these miles are in addition to the miles that you get per dollar spent on the card, so this often means you are getting at least 4 miles per dollar spent. The particular rates, of course, vary depending on the airmiles program.

Although only a small percentage of restaurants in a city will choose to participate, you can often find a few that you like. You can search for participating restaurants here. We have our favorites, but it is a nice surprise when we eat someplace new and discover it has netted us some additional miles. And, every now and then, we browse the list and look for a new place, esp. if we know we are about to spend a lot on a meal.

You can belong to many dining rewards programs, i.e. one for each participating airmiles program, however, a credit card can only be associated with one airmiles program at a time. We recommend choosing the dining rewards for one airmiles program and adding all of your credit cards to it.

For your reference, here are some quicklinks for registering for dining rewards with our favorite airmiles programs. Happy Dining!

• Northwest WorldPerks Dining for Miles
• Delta SkyMiles Dining
• United Mileage Plus Dining
• Unfortunately, Continental OnePass no longer participates in the Rewards Network and has no dining rewards program at the moment.
  

Earn DOUBLE Miles Shopping with Northwest WorldPerks Mall

One of the many ways we accumulate airmiles is by making our usual online purchases through either Continental's ShopOnePass or Northwest's WorldPerks Mall. Both of them offer miles for your purchases at popular sites like the Gap, Target, Macys, Dell, etc. Some partner sites get you as much as 20 miles per dollars spent (e.g. FTD and Teleflora) for purchases you were going to make anyhow. During the Christmas season alone, we easily rack up 10,000 miles or more.

From now until the end of September, Northwest is offering double the miles for almost all purchases. That means you can get 8 miles per dollar spent at Figleaves, 4 miles per dollar spent at Macys, 4 miles per dollar spent at Barnes and Noble, and more. You just have to make sure to access them through Northwest and enter your membership number in order to receive proper credit. As with all special offers, you have to register for it. Click here to register and to see complete details.

Severe Turbulence on a Continental Flight

A Continental Airlines flight on Monday en route from Brazil to Texas hit sudden and severe turbulence over the Atlantic and was forced to make an emergency landing in Miami. Read more about it here and accounts from passengers here. It is an echo of Air France Flight 447 that came down in the Atlantic on May 31st, also originating from Rio de Janeiro.

We have experienced a bit of turbulence ourselves in our travels, but nothing, thankfully, this extreme. However, it is never far from our minds while we fly.

Get a Free Continental Reward Ticket Fast!

Want a free reward ticket right away? Now's your chance. When folks hear that many of our great trips are done with free frequent flyer reward tickets, they often get excited and want to know our "secret" for getting them. However, as soon as we start listing all the many things we do to amass miles, they generally start to zone out. We think an hour of our time per week is a tiny investment for the pay-off, and we actually think it's fun to come up with new and creative ways to earn more miles but we understand that you might need to see (at least) one quick pay-off in order to get excited.

So here it is: a way to earn your first free ticket, with one simple action. Well, maybe 6 actions, but they're all related. For the past 2 years, Continental OnePass has offered between 20,000 and 25,000 miles for opening a Chase checking account. The extraordinary offer is usually valid for a 2 month period but they've re-issued the offer for the 2nd time this year, and this time it's being extended to the end of the year!

All you have to do is open a new Chase checking account, with a new $100 deposit ("new", meaning you can't withdraw the money from an existing Chase account to open the new one). That's the main step; the other 5 requirements are simple: just request the Chase OnePass Preferred Debit card ($40-$60 annual fee) and make 6 purchases with it within 60 days of opening the account. You will receive 10,000 miles for opening the account and 15,000 for making the 6 purchases within 60 days. For those who don't want to pay the annual fee for the preferred debit card you can skip that part and just get 10,000 miles for opening the account only. Personally, we think the fee is worth it because with the Preferred card, you also get 1 mile for every dollar charged to the card. We use it to pay as many bills as we can, and therefore get miles for our utility bills, insurance, groceries, etc.

See our primer on Air Miles to learn more about the different programs but for now, get on down to Chase and start planning your first free trip!

Click here to get the voucher you need to print and bring with you to open the account, and also for full details on the terms of the offer.

Airmiles, Do You Have What It Takes?

Although it is easy to do, collecting airmiles takes some effort. It adds a few extra steps to the travel planning process and those extra steps will require a little bit of your time. A little extra time translates into a lot of inconvenience... if you have not found the right motivation. To this end, picture yourself seeing Paris or London for the first time, walking over a lava field on the Big Island in Hawaii, visiting the Taj Mahal, strolling down the Vegas strip, or wherever it is that you would like to be that seems unattainable at the moment; and keep that vision in mind. This is what it is all about for us as well. We keep our eyes on the prizes. As a result, we have come to view those extra steps as the tools that help us to achieve our travel goals. They are no longer inconveniences, but opportunities that we are excited to discover and use to our advantage whenever possible.

Collecting airmiles also requires a bit of patience. Airmiles are not something you can amass in an instant nor are they a discount program that allows you to save on a trip that you are planning right now. You collect airmiles so that 6 months from now, you can take a trip or several trips and ideally many more!

If you can find your motivation (i.e. picture yourself traveling), roll-up your sleeves and put in a little extra effort, and recognize that it will take a little time, we promise you that you will see great results. We have taken countless trips on airmiles and are eagerly planning where to go next with our stockpiles... and, of course, how to earn more miles!

Photo of the Week: The Blue Lagoon in Port Antonio, Jamaica

The Blue Lagoon in Port Antonio, Jamaica is among the most beautiful natural attractions of the Island. So much so, that it has been used in the filming of several movies; most notably, the Brooke Shields movie "The Blue Lagoon". With its change of colors from azure blue to deep emerald, to sapphire and turquoise, the ‘Blue Hole’, as it is also known locally, is absolutely mesmerizing. It is 200 feet deep and fed by underground fresh water springs as well as connected to the Caribbean Sea, making for a thoroughly refreshing swim. Though its beauty is exotic, it is not remote. Located just seven miles east of Port Antonio, it is convenient and easy to get to by car.