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Tomorrow (Thursday, November 22, 2012) is Thanksgiving in the USA.
Today is also a very special day–more on that in a bit.
Although I have celebrated many Thanksgivings, perhaps my most memorable Thanksgiving meal was my first after getting married.
In 1995, Julie and I lived in California and bought a house in Virginia. Our stuff traveled across the country by moving truck while we drove on another cross country road trip.
We ate our Thanksgiving meal at a Native American restaurant in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Although I do not remember the name of the place (I think it is the current Amaya), the meal remains a unique and memorable experience.
I remember reading and learning about the Three Sisters–corn (maize), beans, and squash–and having that combination as a major component of the meal. I remember Julie having trout and my entree being buffalo or elk.
At least, I think we did!?!
Well, I want to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers. Hopefully many aspects of your celebration will remain memorable for years to come.
What is your most unique Thanksgiving meal? tradition? memory?
By the way, today is not only the day before Thanksgiving but we celebrate the 16th birthday of my wonderful twins. Happy birthday, sweeties!
McCool Travel – Happy Thanksgiving
Previous McCool Travel post ====>American Civil War In My Backyard–Literally
For frequent travel deals, follow me on Facebook (McCool Travel) and Twitter (@CharlesMcCool). You can also follow me on LinkedIn, Pinterest, Klout, and StumbleUpon.
© 2012, Charles McCool
There is a very large hole on my property. It is probably 15 feet deep, 30 feet across, and 100 feet long.
Civil War trench?: McCool Travel
There are also several smaller trenches in my back yard. Thanks to the efforts of some neighbors, we know the trenches were used in the American Civil War.
Civil War trench: McCool Travel
Civil War trench: McCool Travel
That’s right, I have Civil War history in my backyard!
Historians, archaeologists, and architects have studied the trenches and determined that they were engineered and built specifically for the Civil War in the 1860s.
Why are there Civil War trenches on my property?
Well, the Washington & Old Dominion trail is nearby. The W&OD (we call it “wad”) is a bike/horse/foot trail converted from a railroad. During the Civil War, a train line ran right next to my property!
The researchers determined that the series of rifle pits were engineered and built to disrupt train service.
While I have a few trenches on my property, other trenches run perpendicular to the W&OD through other neighbor’s yards.
Civil War trenches: View Toward W&OD: McCool Travel
A recent revelation is that one trench likely served as living quarters. My neighbors figured this out while visiting a recreated Civil War site. One of the park’s trenches has a stone wall with a wooden hut built over it. Sure enough, one of “our” trenches has a stone wall.
Civil War Trench: Possible Living Quarters: McCool Travel
The soldiers probably picked this spot because it was on a hill and close to a natural water source. In the next picture, the fresh water spring is at the bottom of the green grass in the distance.
Civil War trench: View toward water spring: McCool Travel
In the second picture above is what remains from a mighty oak that fell a few years ago. For a sense of how large the tree was, note below my size 13 shoe inside the hollow trunk.
Civil War trench: McCool Travel
While I do not expect that our properties will become a National Park, one neighbor does lead historical tours. His tour visits many sites in the Hunter Mill corridor with a favorite stop being our trenches.
But you can have your own private tour on your next visit to the area. Just give me a holler!
As for the giant hole, no one knows why it is here. The researchers said it was not constructed along with the rifle trenches. In fact, it may not even be manmade.
Found Any Relics?
A couple of years after we moved in, I had a coworker come over with his relic-hunting equipment. He found nothing. My neighbors said the area was very well picked over before the houses were built (in the 1970s). One neighbor did find a cannon ball. I have found a suspicious metal object that may be a shattered bullet. That’s about it.
How’s that for nearby history? What is in your backyard?
Previous McCool Travel post ====> McCool Travel Tips: 5 Minutes With Samantha Brown
For frequent travel deals, follow me on Facebook (McCool Travel) and Twitter (@CharlesMcCool). You can also follow me on LinkedIn, Pinterest, Klout, and StumbleUpon.
© 2012, Charles McCool
This is a repost of a recent post. The information is important enough to repeat. Strongly consider buying Entertainment books for your upcoming travels during the next year. Entertainment books are now on sale online and in stores.
Every year about this time (early to mid October), I want to hurry up and use a bunch of my Entertainment book coupons.
Entertainment.com Promo – 9 October 2012
Most Entertainment book discounts expire on November 1–after which the next year’s edition is active.
You see, Entertainment books have SO MANY discounts that it is impossible to use them all.
On the other hand, the value of an Entertainment book is recouped after using two discounts–every additional use is truly saving money! You decide how much money you want to save.
That is why the Entertainment book is better than Groupon, Living Social, and other discount programs.
With Groupon, Living Social, etc., you buy one certificate at a 50% discount (usually) for one use. For instance, pay $15 for a $30 dining certificate.
With an Entertainment book, you pay about $30 for hundreds of 2-for-1 discounts.
The other night, I used the Entertainment card to get $15 off an entree at Supper Club of India in Herndon.
PLUS, there are hundreds of coupons for local restaurants and activities (including movies, dry cleaning, grocery, other shopping).
PLUS, each Entertainment book offers opportunities for discounts at national, mail order, and order by telephone vendors (flowers, dining, shopping, and more).
PLUS, and the BEST reason for me, each Entertainment books offers fantastic lodging and car rental discounts. They also offer other travel discounts (air, cruise, tours, package vacations), of which I have not used.
So, YES, Entertainment books ARE still worth buying. Entertainment books are better deals than online services such as Groupon.
There are several ways to get discounts on Entertainment books:
- Through Entertainment.com, sign up for auto delivery of next year’s book to get a discount on current edition.
- Through Entertainment.com, they offer discounted rates throughout the year (holiday specials, for instance).
- Buy your book when you need it. For instance, wait until June to buy a book for your vacation to San Diego in July. The book will be about half price then, through Entertainment.com.
- Buy the book at Costco. Last year, my book was $10 less than retail.
- Apply a store discount. When I shop at CVS, I usually get a coupon for $5 off $25 purchase.
- Share books with a neighbor, friend, or coworker. You can split the initial cost and coupons.
For more information about Entertainment discount books visit Entertainment.com and read my previous posts: Travel Tip: Better Than Groupon, 50% Lower Hotel Rate in 5 Easy Steps, Restaurant Discounts – Dining Deals,
Previous McCool Travel post ====> Scenic and Historic Loudoun County Virginia (Waterford)
To read previous posts in the Road Trip Diet series click here.
For frequent travel deals, follow me on Facebook (McCool Travel) and Twitter (@CharlesMcCool). You can also follow me on LinkedIn, Pinterest, Klout, and StumbleUpon.
© 2012, Charles McCool
Tonight (Monday, October 22, 2012) is the third debate between the two major candidates in the upcoming U.S. President election.
The debate will be held at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. I was fortunate to visit the gorgeous campus of Lynn University a few months ago where I followed up on a great insider tip.
The day before my visit to Lynn University, I had never heard of the place. My visit was definitely unplanned.
Having lunch with a high school friend who I had not seen in 25 years was a treat. I heard that Luis had done well; he was a Fulbright scholar and now owned his own architecture firm.
Luis told me about designing the award-winning Haiti memorial remembrance plaza at Lynn University. He proudly described the accolades his firm received, showed me pictures of the plaza, and mentioned that it would be featured as a backdrop for the Presidential debate.
The memorial was only one month old and I proudly and humbly visited it the following day.
While tonight’s debate will be in an auditorium, the Haiti memorial will undoubtedly be on display by at least one of the major broadcast networks.
The memorial is dedicated to four students and two professors who died in the massive January 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Luis excitedly described to me how the memorial symbolizes the humanitarian efforts of the six individuals, incorporating the natural beauty of the water, air, light, and stone. The colors are influenced by these elements so that the memorial always looks different yet always looks reverent and peaceful.
For more information about the memorial, here is Lynn University’s media kit from the dedication ceremony this past March.
Luis Sousa is the principal owner of Sousa Architecture in Miramar, Florida.
Whichever candidate you support, if you watch the debate you also now have a little insider information.
Here are some of my pictures of the memorial:
Haiti memorial: Lynn University by Charles McCool
Haiti memorial: Lynn University by Charles McCool
Haiti memorial: Lynn University by Charles McCool
Haiti memorial: Lynn University by Charles McCool
Previous McCool Travel post ====> Save 43% on Entertainment Books
For frequent travel deals, follow me on Facebook (McCool Travel) and Twitter (@CharlesMcCool). You can also follow me on LinkedIn, Pinterest, Klout, and StumbleUpon.
© 2012, Charles McCool
I hope my previous post convinced you that Entertainment coupon books are still worth buying.
Entertainment coupon books allow you to save hundreds or thousands of dollars (it is up to you!).
My previous post showed you six ways to save money off the retail cost of a new Entertainment book.
Well, I just purchased my new 2013 local edition book.
And saved 43%.
How?
Well, the retail price is $35. The books are being sold for $19.99 at my local Costco.
I saved $15, almost 50% off the retail price.
McCool Travel: 2013 Entertainment Coupon Book at 43% Discount
BONUS: at Costco, the Entertainment books are on open tables so that you can browse through them and determine whether you want one. Believe me, you want it! However, you can look at the index to see which local restaurants participate, for instance. At Barnes & Noble, CVS, and other stores, Entertainment books are usually behind the counter and/or shrink wrapped.
Happy Discounting!
For more information about Entertainment discount books visit Entertainment.com and read my previous posts: Travel Tip: Better Than Groupon, 50% Lower Hotel Rate in 5 Easy Steps, Restaurant Discounts – Dining Deals,
Previous McCool Travel post ====> Are Entertainment Books Still Worth Buying?
To read previous posts in the Road Trip Diet series click here.
For frequent travel deals, follow me on Facebook (McCool Travel) and Twitter (@CharlesMcCool). You can also follow me on LinkedIn, Pinterest, Klout, and StumbleUpon.
© 2012, Charles McCool
Every year about this time (early to mid October), I want to hurry up and use a bunch of my Entertainment book coupons.
Entertainment.com Promo – 9 October 2012
Most Entertainment book discounts expire on November 1–after which the next year’s edition is active.
You see, Entertainment books have SO MANY discounts that it is impossible to use them all.
On the other hand, the value of an Entertainment book is recouped after using two discounts–every additional use is truly saving money! You decide how much money you want to save.
That is why the Entertainment book is better than Groupon, Living Social, and other discount programs.
With Groupon, Living Social, etc., you buy one certificate at a 50% discount (usually) for one use. For instance, pay $15 for a $30 dining certificate.
With an Entertainment book, you pay about $30 for hundreds of 2-for-1 discounts.
The other night, I used the Entertainment card to get $15 off an entree at Supper Club of India in Herndon.
PLUS, there are hundreds of coupons for local restaurants and activities (including movies, dry cleaning, grocery, other shopping).
PLUS, each Entertainment book offers opportunities for discounts at national, mail order, and order by telephone vendors (flowers, dining, shopping, and more).
PLUS, and the BEST reason for me, each Entertainment books offers fantastic lodging and car rental discounts. They also offer other travel discounts (air, cruise, tours, package vacations), of which I have not used.
So, YES, Entertainment books ARE still worth buying. Entertainment books are better deals than online services such as Groupon.
There are several ways to get discounts on Entertainment books:
- Through Entertainment.com, sign up for auto delivery of next year’s book to get a discount on current edition.
- Through Entertainment.com, they offer discounted rates throughout the year (holiday specials, for instance).
- Buy your book when you need it. For instance, wait until June to buy a book for your vacation to San Diego in July. The book will be about half price then, through Entertainment.com.
- Buy the book at Costco. Last year, my book was $10 less than retail.
- Apply a store discount. When I shop at CVS, I usually get a coupon for $5 off $25 purchase.
- Share books with a neighbor, friend, or coworker. You can split the initial cost and coupons.
For more information about Entertainment discount books visit Entertainment.com and read my previous posts: Travel Tip: Better Than Groupon, 50% Lower Hotel Rate in 5 Easy Steps, Restaurant Discounts – Dining Deals,
Previous McCool Travel post ====> Scenic and Historic Loudoun County Virginia (Waterford)
To read previous posts in the Road Trip Diet series click here.
For frequent travel deals, follow me on Facebook (McCool Travel) and Twitter (@CharlesMcCool). You can also follow me on LinkedIn, Pinterest, Klout, and StumbleUpon.
© 2012, Charles McCool
I have read more than once that the American Civil War pitted brother against brother. I do not how often brothers actually fought on the battlefield but it really did happen in Waterford, Virginia.
The historic village of Waterford was founded by Quakers in 1733 and was the first settlement in gorgeous Loudoun County, Virginia–currently one of the fastest growing and wealthiest counties in the United States.
How historic is Waterford? It is one of only three National Historic Landmark Districts in the United States. It is also on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Historic Landmarks Register.
By highway, Waterford is only one hour from Washington, DC. However, unpaved roads still exist in Loudoun County, making for a much more fun journey. For instance, Old Waterford Road from Leesburg to Waterford, is a historic Colonial path with many remaining 100 acre horse farms alongside (in spite of the encroaching development).
Old Waterford Road, Virginia
This weekend, October 5-7, is the Waterford Homes Tour & Crafts Exhibit (aka “The Waterford Fair”). In addition to heritage crafts displays and historic homes open houses, there are historic demonstrations from the Colonial and Civil War periods.
Here are pictures of some of Waterford’s historic properties:
Waterford, Virginia
Waterford, Virginia
Waterford, Virginia
Waterford, Virginia
Waterford, Virginia
Waterford, Virginia
Waterford, Virginia
Waterford, Virginia
Previous McCool Travel post ====> Scenic and Historic Loudoun County Virginia (Old Waterford Road)
To read previous posts in the Road Trip Diet series click here.
For frequent travel deals, follow me on Facebook (McCool Travel) and Twitter (@CharlesMcCool). You can also follow me on LinkedIn, Pinterest, Klout, and StumbleUpon.
© 2012, Charles McCool
Loudoun County, Virginia is one of the fastest growing and wealthiest counties in the United States.
Along the Dulles Greenway and Waxpool Road, large tracts of farmland have been replaced by housing and shopping developments. The Washington, D.C. suburbs now extend to Ashburn, Leesburg, and Purcellville and in 2015 the DC area Metro subway Silver Line will extend to Dulles Airport and into Loudoun County.
All is not forgotten, however, as Loudoun County has retained much of its charm and scenic beauty. I recently spent a couple of days exploring Loudoun County and found plenty of history and scenic unpaved roads (my favorite kind).
For instance, Old Waterford Road–between Leesburg and Waterford–is a hilly unpaved (mostly) road with several gorgeous 100 acre farms. Several farms have already been sold and developed. Some farms are for sale and surely will be developed in the future. Perhaps the road will even be paved–NO, don’t do it.
Loudoun County Scenery – 100 acre farms with mountain views
Abandoned historic home along Old Waterford Road, Loudoun County
Unzoomed view of abandoned home setting, Loudoun County
Loudoun County Scenery – along Old Waterford Road
In a future post, I will cover Waterford, a historic town with buildings dating back to before USA was a country.
Previous McCool Travel post ====> Cheaper Rental Cars With This Feature
To read previous posts in the Road Trip Diet series click here.
For frequent travel deals, follow me on Facebook (McCool Travel) and Twitter (@CharlesMcCool). You can also follow me on LinkedIn, Pinterest, Klout, and StumbleUpon.
© 2012, Charles McCool
For a recent rental car search, I did my typical search with discount various codes.
Here is the results list:
Cheaper Rental Car Rates: McCool Travel
Usually I find a satisfactory rate on a midsize (intermediate) car and reserve it. These rates are higher than I expected so I did a little more looking around.
At the bottom of the screen there is a Display All link.
Cheaper Rental Car Rates: McCool Travel
Clicking Display All showed all available vehicles instead of the subset in the first results list.
Cheaper Rental Car Rates: McCool Travel
On this complete results list, note that many of the vehicles do not show the rate. Instead, the user has to click the Select for Quote button.
I did this for a couple of the vehicles and found a substantially lower rate.
Of course I started with the convertible but that daily rate was over $100. The economy and compact cars were much less expensive than the intermediate rate.
I reserved the economy car for a total of $260 versus the intermediate rate of $380.
With my Hertz Gold membership, the likelihood is that I will show up and probably get an intermediate class car anyway.
No matter which car I get, I will have saved $120. That will likely pay for the gas and a couple of lobster rolls!
For more information on how I get cheaper rental car rates, please see the following posts: #1 Tip for Saving Money on Rental Cars, Cheaper Rental Cars in Emerald Aisle, Slash Rental Car Rates With AutoSlash.com, Stealthy Rental Car Maneuvers, and Creative Rental Car Uses.
NOTE: these screen shots and this scenario was from Hertz.com. Features vary depending on the rental car company’s website. Your results WILL vary but this is a great feature to use to potentially get cheaper rental car rates.
Previous McCool Travel post ====> Matching Lower Prices
To read previous posts in the Road Trip Diet series click here.
For frequent travel deals, follow me on Facebook (McCool Travel) and Twitter (@CharlesMcCool). You can also follow me on LinkedIn, Pinterest, Klout, and StumbleUpon.
© 2012, Charles McCool
Have you ever asked a travel company to match an advertised price from a competitor?
Most airlines are copycats anyway. When one carrier drops the price on a route, the other carriers flying that route will match the lower price. When the sale is over and fares goes back up, they magically go up from all carriers.
In the pre-Internet days, every once in awhile I was able to convince an airline to match a deal from another airline. Not always, but sometimes.
Today, airlines offer a take it or leave it menu of airfares. They would no sooner offer a customer an unadvertised price than they would let you fly the plane.
Rental cars are the same.
I usually stick with a basic formula of checking Hertz and National, using my discount codes. That usually gets me the best deal–greatest convenience at close to the lowest price.
Often I will find a tremendous deal with another car rental firm. So, I will use the phone and talk to a representative. They are almost always friendly, professional, and competent. Sometimes they even find a little bit lower rate than I find myself. However, they never match the fantastic deals of other firms. They just don’t.
Lodging is another story.
I find that hotels, especially independently owned motels, are more likely to match competitor’s rates.
On road trips, I will pick up hotel coupon books from welcome centers and rest stops (or use the associated mobile app). Surrounding properties often match a competitor’s rate even if they do not have one of the listed coupons. Thus, I will drive by a line of hotels and motels, pick the nicest one, and ask if they will match the lowest rate coupon. Often Yes but sometimes No.
I once made a mistake on a reservation and went to the wrong chain hotel. I drove to the wrong hotel (which was much, much nicer than where I made the reservation) and of course they could not find my reservation. I insisted and even showed my reservation number. The agent said that was not their reservation code and they had no rates matching that.
However, they would extend me a courtesy rate assigned to industry personnel (flight crews). After checking into my room, I dug out my paperwork and saw that my reservation was at a different hotel. Oops. Good thing that it was a reservation that I could cancel without penalty.
Even though I made a mistake by going to the wrong hotel, I felt travel karma helped me out because I was patient and friendly.
Your results may vary. Mine certainly have. There were many other situations where a property did not match a competitor’s rate.
What are your experiences asking for matching rates?
Previous McCool Travel post ====> Co-Terminals
To read previous posts in the Road Trip Diet series click here.
For frequent travel deals, follow me on Facebook (McCool Travel) and Twitter (@CharlesMcCool). You can also follow me on LinkedIn, Pinterest, Klout, and StumbleUpon.
© 2012, Charles McCool
