Why Japan?

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Headline: JAPAN TO OFFER THOUSANDS OF FREE AIRFARE TO LURE TOURISTS

Oct 10, 2011…REPORTING FROM SEOUL — Seeking to lure tourists to a nation still reeling from the effects of the March earthquake and tsunami, Japan says it will make it easier for foreign travelers to visit: It’ll offer free airline tickets.

Officials next year plan to offer 10,000 travelers free airfares to visit the country, which is still coping with the tsunami-triggered nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant several hundred miles north of Tokyo. Government officials say the nation is safe for travel anywhere but the area near the stricken nuclear power plant.

The Japan Tourism Agency announced this week that it plans to ask would-be travelers to submit online applications for the free flights, detailing the region of the country they would like to visit, according to a story in the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.

The agency will select winning entrants, who will be required to write a review of their experiences in Japan to be published on the Internet. Travelers are asked to cover their own hotels and meals.
Officials hope that positive reports from tourists will help lure travelers back to Japan, which endured a 50% drop in tourism for the first three months following the March 11 disaster, compared with numbers from the same period in 2010.

The sharp drop eased this summer but numbers had yet to rise to normal rates, officials said.

The day this hit the news I began to get emails from friends from all over. My co-workers also made sure I heard about it. I admit I’ve never been all that interested in Japan or in visiting the country even though I know a number of people who are fanatics about that area of the world.  But as my friends point out, I am making my humble attempt to write a travel related blog and this would certainly fit the bill for a subject. It’s actually a requirement of being chosen for the tickets. You must write about your experience in a blog.  Obviously there are more  established blogs than mine but many are professional so they might not be interested in free tickets since they are already paid to travel.

I searched for some suggested itinieries and was disappointed in what I could find on-line. They are heavily weighted with shopping, something I am not really interested in. Most of my souvenirs are my photos. I wouldn’t mind visiting a Shaolin Temple and some Japanese Gardens or having a dinner of Kobe beef..said to be the finest in the world. I’ve heard that Mount Fuji is very hard to climb and usually covered in clouds so what are the chances of seeing that?

And that’s where my research stands right now. That’s why I thought I’d toss the idea out for comment. If I should decide to apply I have to include what I want to see and why.

As one of my friends pointed out, an opportuity like this could open doors and lead to more travel opportunities. In that respect it is very appealing. I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Drum Roll Please!

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The winner of the New Hampshire Dream Vacation Photo contest has been announced and I couldn’t agree more with the choice. It’s a beautiful photo.

Photo

Grand Prize Winner:

Linda Adamczyk of Simsbury, Conn. won the contest for her photo of her husband and daughter enjoying the view of a sunset over Lake Todd in Bradford, N.H. with Mount Sunapee in the background.

The “I Love it Here” sign was propped up next to two candles overlooking the lake.

Linda Adamczyk

Enjoying a Sunrise/Sunset

View of Mt. Sunapee from Lake Todd

As you know I entered late and this was a contest that  definitely weighted with  the popular vote. At the time I uploaded my meager offerings the leaders had 6-7 thousand votes.  I entered for the experience. It forced me to explore the remote release on the camera and use the tripod. Two things I hadn’t done much of. So even though I wasn’t the lucky winner, I feel it was a great experience.

If they run the contest again next year and if I chose to try that one again, I have a much better understanding of what needs to be done and one of the big things besides having a beautiful picture is to upload early and have a very active social network.

So congratulations to Linda. It’s a wonderful picture and definitely worthy of the Grand Prize!

Interested in the other winners? You can see them all at http://nhdreamvacation.com/

A great job was done by all!

OOPS~ We’re Sorry

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Editor in Chief

Good Morning,

 It’s me Rocky, your Editor-In-Chief

I guess I was taking a cat nap and didn’t notice that Dusty was getting really backed up. I should have told you we might miss a post here or there. Our star reporter has been working a lot of OT again which has cut into the time she has to file reports for us.

Plus she’s trying to put the  2012 pet calendar to rest but there has been a flurry of activity from folks who want to have their pets included.

We heard the “S” word in the weather cast last night  so I got locked in the bedroom while Dusty brought in all the plants. (I try to escape out the open door so have to be confined). I don’t think we’ll get much snow, if any, but it was time to bring them in because even without snow, a frost has to be in the near future. It’s almost November!

Anyway, now all the plants need to be trimmed and pruned and fed and whatever she does so until that’s done the plants are all over the living room.  Fun for Smokey and me  as we play in the jungle but it drives Dusty crazy to have the mess.

I’m not making excuses for her lapse in posting but I do  want everyone to know that she is fine and I’m sure we’ll get back to a regular schedule very soon.

I know she has several topics on the drawing board plus a winner to one of the photo contests has been announced and she wants to share that. Scout is working on a follow-up on the “Bumping issues” with airlines and  some comments on the recent fare hikes. He’s researching a question on car rentals for another reader and is almost done with another article on jet lag…so you can see we have a lot coming up.

One last thing..have any of you been to Japan? We’ll tell you why we’re asking in another post. 🙂

Until then Happy Traveling.

Do you know how to Carve a Jack-o- lantern?

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How to Carve a Spectacular Jack-O-Lantern at Home


Probably the most frequently asked questions about the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular have to do with carving technique – what are the secrets of the Spectacular’s expert carvers? Here are some tips from the experts on how to get crafty with pumpkin carving.

Carve the hole and gut your jack o’ lantern from the bottom of the pumpkin, not at the top. This will provide more stability for your jack o’ lantern as it gets softer and it will make it much easier to light. 

Use the features of your particular pumpkin to your advantage. For example, if the pumpkin has a long, curly stem, place the pumpkin on its side and use the stem as a nose. 

Use a specialized carving tool, such as those used in ceramics, to peel the pumpkin skin in different thicknesses to make for more detail, rather than just carving holes into the pumpkin. 

Practice peeling more or less of the skin away. By peeling different thicknesses of the rind away, you can create a 3-D shading effect when the light shines through. 

Use markers to draw your design before you carve and to provide detailing to the finished carving. 

To help your pumpkins stay fresh longer, spray the outside with a diluted bleach solution. (Of course, this means there will be no pumpkin pie made from that pumpkin later!)

Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular 2011

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Last year I discovered The Jack-o-lantern Spectacular at the Roger Williams Park and Zoo. It’s a carved pumpkin trail lit only by the glow of thousands of pumpkins.

And last year I went alone to see what it was all about. This year I suggested to my friend Nancy that we take her two young children, Dawn (5) and Alex (7).. The only problem is that since I work weekends we would have to go on a weeknight aka school night.

Nancy decided it was worth it to keep them up so at 4:30 I was pulling into their driveway and we were bundling the kids into the car.

This year there was a new theme: All-new theme for 2011! The theme of this year’s show will be “A Journey Around the World.” It will include scenes from the Seven Wonders of the World (Taj Mahal, the pyramids and Sphinx, Mayan ruins, the Great Wall of China, and others) as well as representations of nations around the world, including a “European Vacation” and a trip through the Great White North complete with falling “snow”! And of course the famed centerpiece of the display, the “Laughing Tree,” will be back in all its spooky splendor. Visitors will be dazzled by hundreds of glowing jack-o-lanterns on the ground and in the branches, from tiny sugar pumpkins to gigantic gourds reaching up to 1600 pounds! (From RW web site)

We stopped at MacDonald’s and the kids were really wired. This was exciting for them then it was back on the road. We made one wrong turn… a slight detour that made me think of my sister’s philosophy…we’re not lost, just sight seeing…and then back on track it wasn’t long before we spotted the swan boats.

A bit farther along and we were being directed into a parking lot. Boy was it full! Even so we didn’t have to wait in line that long and were soon on our way to the start of the trail.

At first Alex was a little whiney..I’m not really sure why and Dawn kept saying she was scared but before too long we got to a section with music and from that point on the kids were in their element They danced the rest of the way.

According to the web site Photography is allowed on the trail when it will not impede movement on the pathway.
EXCEPTION:  flash photography, tripods and monopods may not be used out of consideration for other people enjoying the magic of the trail.


I struggled along trying to get pictures with a long shutter without support..a near impossible task, while many people around me used their cameras, flash and all. Last year the No Flash Rule was strictly enforced but this year it seemed everyone was using flash.

I don’t know how long we took to walk the trail. The web site says it’s 45 minutes. It seemed to go fast to me but it was late when we got back to the car.

 The kids were out cold before we were out of the parking lot. I had a great time and can only hope the kids did too. They were so tired when I dropped them off that I think they would have said yes to just about anything. 🙂