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PATAGONIA: Part Two of a Series – To the End of the Earth in Ushuaia and Cruising Aboard the Stella Australis

The beauty of Patagonia outside our hotel window in Torres del Paine National Park

The beauty of Patagonia outside our hotel window in Torres del Paine National Park. photo by Russ Wagner


Thousands of shipwrecked sailors’ bones are forever entombed in the turbulent sea crashing against Cape Horn, the 1,400-foot high promontory soundlessly monitoring the endless savage confrontation of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Gusty winds and roiling seas batter the tiny isle of Cape Horn, of which the fabled promontory is like a jutting chin facing down the world’s most treacherous waters. Naturalist Charles Darwin tried unsuccessfully in the 1820’s to do what our intrepid group of adventurous tourists accomplished; we landed and hiked on Cape Horn (National Park), the northern boundary of the Drake passage and the last spit of land before one reaches Antarctica.
We reached Cape Horn aboard the Stella Australis, a sleek white Expedition ship. But before our afternoon boarding of the elegant lady, our Smithsonian Journey’s Patagonian Expedition group of 20 spent two days in Ushuaia, the world’s southernmost city.
Usushaia, Argentina
There are many reasons why Patagonian adventures begin in Usushaia. It’s where our ship would launch.
It’s an easy ride to Tierra del Fuego National Park, a 155,676-acre nature preserve created Read more

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – AUGUST, 2013

 

Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati opens new restaurant

Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati opens new restaurant

This has been one of the busiest Augusts I can remember in many years. When I was younger, having a mid-August birthday meant families were taking end-of-summer vacations and not around to celebrate, or we were moving from one Air Force base to another so I could start yet another school without missing any lessons. As I aged, August meant, “Oh no, another birthday is rolling around,” or it meant corporate work for entertainers had nose-dived and thank goodness, the start of “season” was just around the corner. Unlike all those other years, (except for my birthday crash landing with a chronological number that I have yet to comprehend could be mine), this August has flown by like our backyard ducks when a predator bird comes swooping in. I’ve been on several press trips (which you’ll hear more about in next blog post), worked some fun gigs as Natasha, The Psychic Lady, and visited with friends & family. Next week we attend the annual Central Florida Film Festival in Ocoee, FL: 3 days of non-stop independent movies and after-glow events.

September looks like it’s ready to burst onto the scene, so before that occurs, here are some final summer activities, hotel promotions, and planning tips for the fall.

 ACTIVITIES

 Just in time for a thrilling summer conclusion, Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino opens VooDoo Zipline, a ride that will send guests soaring higher than 400 feet in the air at electrifying speeds, offering 360-degree open-air views of the Las Vegas Strip. “Rio has always been known for having some of the best views in Vegas. Now thrill-seeking guests can enjoy the legendary views that VooDoo Steak and VooDoo Rooftop Nightclub are best known for – from an entirely new Read more

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – JULY, 2013

Pix Photos © 2013 Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. LONE RANGER ™ & © Classic Media

Pix Photos © 2013 Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. LONE RANGER ™ & © Classic Media

Summer is in full swing in many parts of the world. The extreme natures of the weather, with tornadoes, fires, floods, snow and drought has created stress and doubt about planning getaways. Fortunately, there are options available if you just need to get away and remember what it’s like to laugh, enjoy, rest and relax. Hope these discounted vacations put a smile on your face and get you packing.

Just saw “The Lone Ranger”, starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer. Totally fun and campy and even though it ran about 2-1/2 hours, it kept my attention. The fact that I happen to be going to Santa Fe, NM soon, where the film was shot, is thrilling, especially now that I know that the New Mexico Tourism office now offers tours of sites where movies and TV shows have been shot. www.newmexico.org/filmtrails is the new travel planning resource created by the state’s tourism department to help groups and individuals plan their itineraries around film history and lore. Filmmakers Jerry Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski chose New Mexico’s Rio Puerco as an authentic setting for their own version of a Wild West town. The movie’s thrilling train sequence in Cimarron Canyon was filmed near Angel Fire, N.M. For further information and a list of other films made in New Mexico, visit www.newmexico.org/filmtrails.

Fancy a train ride through East Anglia in the United Kingdom? If so, Read more