Insider It Gear 11.21.07

Pack It Up, Pack It In

Now here’s one good-looking (imagine Derek Zoolander saying that two-word phrase, and it’s a lot funnier) travel case. The Excursion Gadget Organizer from Red Envelope aims to tame the raging mess of cords and adapters and handheld devices swimming in the bottom of carry-ons and handbags. But unlike many similar options, this one says, yeah, I organized my cords and I can pull off a Burberry scarf. Or something like that. Available in brown leather, the case features a tan canvas interior with two zippered pockets and an outside plaque that can be monogrammed. Cost: $45.

Slopes, Camera, Action

Show all those pansies back at the ski lodge how the hardcore do a little thing called shredding with the Oregon Scientific ATC-2k Waterproof Action Camera from Sharper Image. The hands-free video camera mounts on helmets, handlebars and other strategic spots and records up to 90 minutes using an SD media card (gotta buy that baby separately). Edit your footage on either a Mac or PC, upload to YouTube and just wait for the ladies to start knocking at your door. Cost: $129.95

Get a Grip on Those Drips

Move over juice box, there’s a new sheriff in town. Perfect for traveling parents with babes in arms, WaddaJuice comes in this nifty spill-proof bottle designed to keep kids from dribbling all over creation. And this ain’t no shady “juice product.” It’s 100 percent juice and filtered water. So keeping your kid clean doesn’t have to involve pumping him with extra sugar and preservatives. Flavors include apple, cranberry, grape, fruit punch and wild berry. Cost: $12.99 for 12

Proper Identification

Well, you can’t make jokes anywhere else in the airport these days, so you might as well make them on your luggage. Here’s how: Pick up a pack of Funny Luggage Tags from Pulchritude’s etsy shop at a bargain basement price. Tie one onto your bag. Let the games begin. Even better – there are 12 tags in each order. Great as little stocking stuffers or replacements when yours gets mangled by angry baggage handlers. Cost: $3

And now for the final last minute Thanksgiving hotel package of the day. After much hunting, we found a great spot that still has availability: the Samoset Resort on the Ocean in Rockport, Maine. First opened in 1889, this coastal resort is a well known golfing destination that’s home to the ESPN Golf School of Northern New England. Other diversions include the health club with its 30′ x 50′ indoor pool, gorgeous grounds and ample activities for kids.

The Samoset Resort Thanksgiving Package includes two nights’ accommodations, breakfast for two each morning, Thanksgiving dinner for two and activities like kids’ crafting sessions (pinecone picture frames, anyone?), an adult pastry class, a live turkey display and cupcake decorating. Following a $3 million renovation project completed earlier this year, the 178-room hotel offers rooms with new furnishings, flat screen TVs, free wi-fi and private balconies or terraces. The hotel still has queen oceanview and king oceanview rooms available. Rates start at $189 and go up to $209/night.

At the Boulders Resort and Golden Door Spa just outside of Scottsdale, AZ, you could begin Thanksgiving this year with a breakfast horseback ride, continue with mid-morning tennis instruction before settling in for a traditional Thanksgiving meal with prix fixe menus at resort restaurants The Latilla and The Palo Verde. On Friday, the festivities continue with a tennis doubles round-robin in the morning, midday children’s arts and crafts and an afternoon walk with the resort’s resident geologist to uncover the history of the rocks surrounding the property. Or you could just say screw it and go to the Golden Door Spa. You certainly won’t have a problem being thankful there.

When we checked today, you could still book a casita room for $319/night. These are the most basic rooms at the resort, but still offer wood-burning fireplaces, oversized tubs, private patios, robes and slippers, Egyptian cotton sheets and separate sleeping and sitting areas.

About three hours’ drive from Minneapolis and two hours from Fargo, there’s a Thanksgiving special that’s ideal for a family with younger kids looking for something do spice up the holiday week without breaking the bank. The Thanksgiving Special at the Arrowwood Resort & Conference Center in Alexandria, MN includes four passes to the resort’s Big Splash Water Park (pictured), a 38,000-square-foot indoor playground complete with three four-story waterslides, a Lazy River and spouting geysers. In addition to park admission, the resort is offering family activities like crafts, face painting and a special campfire and marshmallow roast throughout the week. And of course, a traditional Thanksgiving meal can be had during your visit. A midday meal will be served in the resort’s Lake Cafe (so named for its views of Lake Darling). On the menu? Everything from the requisite turkey and dressing to Swedish meatballs and a make your own waffle station.

When we checked, available rates included a standard room with two queen beds for $99 on Thanksgiving and $129 on Friday and Saturday nights.

Happy Halloween. It’s that fabulous day of the year when you can get dressed up like a freak, wear clothes far sluttier than you’d ever dare in real life and get totally smashed without remorse. Unless, of course, you’re a kid. In that case, it’s really all about the candy.

Today we check in with some of our favorite travel experts to get into the Halloween, uh, spirit. Instead of blithely regurgitating tales of haunted hotels, ghost towns and places of supposed supernatural import, Concierge.com editor-in-chief Peter Frank (that’s him in the picture) and his team at Conde Nast decided to put their heads together to create a different kind of Halloween story for the web site this year.

Says Frank, “I’ve seen my share of haunted hotels, but we wanted places that will actually creep you out a little bit, places that send chills down your spine.”

And so they have. The World’s Creepiest Places, written by Ralph Martin, follows the axiom that reality is always more frightening than fiction as it roves through 13 (yes, 13) destinations pretty much guaranteed to leave you feeling like you’re on a tour of Rod Serling’s favorite vacation spots.

At the TravelPost.com Insider, we’re constantly fascinated with how travel publications compile their round-ups and select editorial content, so we decided to check in with Frank to get some firsthand information on this seasonal feature from Concierge.com, a.k.a. the home of Conde Nast Traveler.

So why do travelers specifically seek out scary places?

“There are people out there who are just drawn to the slightly macabre…. [Places] where famous events from history happened – there’s just an inherent fascination,” Frank says.

Among the places deemed creepiest by Concierge.com are familiar tourist destinations like the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, Calif., a mysterious mansion built by the wealthy and, by all accounts, disturbed heiress to the Winchester gun fortune and known for features like fake doors and staircases with no destinations.

“Once you’ve heard the story, you go there and get this window into this woman’s mind,” Frank says.

Pause for a brief tangent: The home’s bizarre past becomes all the more intriguing if you imagine our favorite modern-day heiress, Paris Hilton, similarly plagued by voices that instructed her to build and modify the same hotel over and over again until her death. Now that would be cool. And really weird.

And with digital artist Jeremy Blake’s reported devolution into paranoia and subsequent suicide this year, the Winchester House has attained even more creepy cache by association. One of the late artist’s most famous works is entitled Winchester and involves a series of unearthly images based on the mansion’s gothic interiors.

There are other places near and dear to tourists’ hearts, like, say, the stomach-turning displays of anatomical oddities at the Philadelphia Mütter museum and Romania’s Bran Castle, once home to the legendary Vlad the Impaler (upon which the film Bram Stoker’s Dracula was based).

But many of the spots included in the list are remote destinations many travelers will never see. For example, the site of the infamous 1986 Chernobyl power plant explosion that ended the short, sweet life of Pripyat, Ukraine.

“You go there, and it’s a real ghost town. It’s deserted. And things are exactly as they were 20 years ago,” Frank recalls.

And then there is the remote Easter Island (a five+ hour flight from Chile), where heavy-browed moai sculptures are the only remains of the now-extinct Rapa Nui people who once inhabited the island. If that’s not ultra creepy, we don’t know what is. Just looking at the landscape gives us chills:

What you won’t find in this list are sites where crimes against humanity and gross human atrocities have occurred.

“We didn’t do anything that was too sensitive. We wanted to have places that were distant enough in the past,” Frank says of the few locations with devastating histories attached.

One ultra-creepy spot that didn’t make the list for that very reason?

According to Frank, “We almost did the Jonestown massacre, but we decided it was just too gruesome.”

Yup. And on top of that, in the years since the Jonestown Massacre, the nearby town of Port Kaituma, Guyana has not exactly rebounded into the next vacation hotspot. Today, in fact, it’s largely home to transient workers who come to the nearby jungles to hunt for gold.

And with that, we bid you adieu. It’s time to go put our face paint on. Be sure to check out all 13 of the World’s Creepiest Places on Concierge.com.

Insider It Gear 10.30.07

Getting Fleeced

Oh the cold winds are starting to blow, but that doesn’t mean we have to suffer the chilly temperatures in silence. Brookstone’s new ActiVHeat Jacket features a rechargeable internal heating system to keep you warm for up to five hours per charge. With its clean, simple design and non-bulky fit, the jacket means you can leave that extra sweater or layer you’re always carrying at home. A control panel fits into the pocket and starts warming action with the touch of a button. Three zones of ultra-thin, carbon fiber webbing concentrate heat on the chest and upper back, while a laminated layer of microfleece blocks wind from the outside. And because you can turn the jacket on or off at will, you’re free to add heat when you need it and do away with it when you don’t. The jacket is available in black for $179.95. The vest version costs $149.95. Sizes are unisex.

Slippers on the Go

When it comes to packing light, bulky slippers aren’t likely to make the cut. But when you’re away from home, it can be even more desirable to wrap your feet in warmth and protect your precious peds from whatever may be lurking in the fibers of your hotel room’s carpet. Luckily for those of us with slipper separation anxiety, Land’s End has just come out with a solution: Fleece Travel Slippers in their own little fleece bag. The streamlined, ballet-style (Sorry boys! These are clearly for the ladies) shape means they take up little space in your bag, while the suede sole give you traction on hardwood floors. Another perk? They’re machine washable. Cost: $25.

Crash Course

While we hope they never happen to any TravelPost.com Insider readers, we know that the vast majority of drivers have fender-benders sometime during their driving careers. The Collision.kit from Wishing Fish won’t prevent an accident or repair vehicular ailments that ensue, but it can help you remember to collect the right information when you’re totally stressed out and in crisis mode. The zippered kit includes pre-formatted pages for recording key information from drivers involved in the accident and the police responding to it, as well as a pen, clipboard and disposable flash camera to snap pics of damage on the scene. Stow it in the glove box, and all you have to do is remember to pull it out when road mishaps strike. If you can stand the oh brother eye-rolling, this would make a nice little gift for those cross-country road-tripping college kids in your life. Cost: $14.95

Surfin’ Safari

For the diehard surfers in your life, the Surf the World Board Game makes a fun gift that just might keep ‘em busy through cold, rainy weather. Think of it like Trivial Pursuit for surf bums or wannabes seeking a little solace until the weather turns. The game ushers players through eight of the world’s best surf spots and through trial and tribulations like couch crashing, lost boards, groin stitches (ouch!) and infected foot cuts. But play well and you might just get to hang ten, dude.

Strolling down Market Street in San Diego’s Gaslamp District on Saturday night around 8pm, I suddenly noticed a huge line of jumpy-looking teenagers clogging up both sides of the street. What were all these teenagers doing amid the myriad bars, restaurants and posh hotels of San Diego’s downtown? With a minor amount of investigation, I discovered the attraction that had drawn the kids out in droves: The Haunted Hotel.

Located next to Hooters (yup, we said it again), on Market at 4th Street, the Haunted Hotel is an annual fright-fest based on classic and contemporary horror flicks. Pay the $13.99 admission and tip toe down the hotel’s creepy hallways and into different rooms along the predetermined path. Each room is devoted to a different horror film.

While teens will love the gross-out props and portrayals of silver screen boogeymen and the hype and energy that comes with an outing to the Gaslamp, parents can breathe easy knowing their kids are heading into an enclosed house of horrors - not an outdoor venue where people can get lost in the dark (either accidentally or on purpose, if you know what I mean).

The Haunted Hotel is open Friday and Saturday from 6pm to 1am, Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday from 7pm to 11pm and special hours the week of Halloween.

Welcome to the TravelPost.com Insider It Gear Report

Show ‘Em What You Got

Aren’t dopp kits usually like the most boring travel accessories in the world? Well, not this one. The X-Posed XRay Dopp Case by Fred is one way to bring the fun back to an experience many frequent travelers have come to loathe. Okay, okay. Schlepping this through airport security may not actually be any more fun than carrying an undecorated alternative, but we think it’s cute. So there. Oh and thanks, Fred. Whoever you are. Cost: $12.

Hide Those Hooters

Lest you think we’ve become a wee bit obsessed with hooters lately, let me point out that Bebe au Lait’s new breastfeeding coverlet is actually called the Original Hooter Hider Nursing Cover. We’re not making that up. Designed by Claire Ekelund, this travel accessory for nursing moms comes in European silks, as well as organic and cotton fabrics and features a structured neck that allows mom (and only mom) to see baby nursing. No more slipping blankies and angry, anti-nursing-in-public airline attendants. Cost: $35.

Dude, Where’s My Wi-Fi?

Good traveling folk, we may soon see an end to the dreaded hotspot shuffle (which, if you don’t already know, is the increasingly common dance one must often perform to find a strong wi-fi connection in an airport, coffeeshop, hotel, etc.).

The ThinkGeek Wi-Fi Detector Shirt detects wireless Internet networks and announces their signal strength using an animated, glowing decal only a true geek could love.

Suddenly, just by wearing a shirt, you’ll know exactly where to plop down and fire up your laptop in airports and hotels (places where signals are notoriously uneven). But how, you may be asking yourself, will I be able to wash this new specimen of high-tech fashion? Easy. The decal is detachable (as is the AAA battery pack). This geek-tastic piece of apparel will be in stock by the end of October. Cost: $29.99

Source: Gizmodo

Toss One Back

These days, seems everyone in water bottle land (a highly populated, very wet place) is talking about Swiss-designed Sigg aluminum water bottles. Patagonia’s new all-black version is sure to appeal to traveling granolas, while the Sigg Lifestyle water bottle offers a hydration solution for style-conscious eco-ists (and, um, thirsty people).

For those of you thinking, why should I care about this aluminum water bottle, here are a few important advantages of this alternative to plastic: they’re ultra lightweight, extra durable, leak-proof and made with a non-toxic liner that is designed to be safe and devoid of taste or smell. You know, so your beverages taste like they’re supposed to. And when you’re done with the bottle (maybe after you’re dead, unless you bequeath it to your beneficiaries), you can rest easy knowing it’s 100 percent recyclable.

Insider It Gear is a regular series from TravelPost.com that showcases new travel gear, products and accessories that today’s active traveler simply can’t live without. Okay, maybe you can, but we’re having a hard time. Got ideas for an upcoming edition of Insider It Gear? Contact Us. We won’t bite. Often.

For the winter 2007-2008 ski season, Ski.com has some good package deals for families who book their trips through the web site. Book United Airlines tickets to Vail/Beaver Creek, Steamboat Springs, Jackson Hole or Crested Butte through Ski.com, and you’ll be entitled to one free ticket for a child 12 or under traveling on the same itinerary for each adult ticket you buy. Pay for lift tickets and/or rental equipment through Ski.com, and kids 12 and under ski free and/or rent free (1 paying adult=1 free child), depending on the resort.

Kids ski free at these resorts:

Beaver Creek
Mont Tremblant
Big Sky
Steamboat Springs
Breckenridge
Vail
Keystone
Whistler Blackcomb
Moonlight Basin

Kids rent free at these resorts:

Aspen/Snowmass
Lake Tahoe
Banff / Lake Louise / Jasper
Park City
Beaver Creek
Snowbird
Breckenridge
Steamboat Springs
The Canyons
Sun Valley
Crested Butte
Telluride
Deer Valley
Vail
Jackson Hole
Whistler Blackcomb
Keystone
Winter Park

As you’d expect, blackout dates for these deals apply. You have to book your flight or trip and buy your tickets and pay for rentals through Ski.com for the discounts. Packages that combine airfare, lift tickets, rentals and lodging are also available, but they vary so much in price depending on where you fly from that I am not including them here.

Black Hills Vacations is offering customizable family vacation packages in the Hot Springs, South Dakota area through Oct. 31, 2007 that can be a pretty good deal (depending on which of the several lodging options you choose and what activities you add on to the base rate). Hot Springs hotel options range from the budget-friendly Best Western Sundowner Inn to the Red Rock River Resort, which offers a spa and a location in downtown Hot Springs. Add-on activities like cave tours at Wind Cave National Park, a visit to the Mammoth Site or admission to the Adams House Museum in Deadwood cost extra. I came up with a total price of $424.80 for a family of four (kids 12 and under) staying for two nights at the Red Rock River Resort (the most expensive lodging option offered), with admission to Badlands National Park (pictured above) and the Wind Cave National Park included in the price. The web site reservation system was a little wonky - there weren’t room details available during checkout, for example. If you’re doing more than just looking around, I’d suggest calling the reservations number (866-601-5103) to book instead.