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Recent Comments:
Major tourist site restored in Herat, Afghanistan. Please send me there! {Gadling}
Oct 21st 2011 10:31AM You know, Sean brings a lot to the table when it comes to adventure travel. His familiarity with archeology, scientific and academic research, and finding the best of any culture make him a strong candidate for bringing an educated and interesting take on Afghanistan to Gadling/AOL readers. Something that Gadling doesn't seem to have a lot of at times is refreshing looks on travel destinations that receive little to no attention. I think Sean would distill the best of what Afghanistan has to offer in a down-to-earth voice and an approachable manner. It'd be a worthy investment to help him get there and tell the stories that need to be told.
Camping Trips: Five Must-Have Camping Gadgets {AOL Travel News}
Feb 28th 2011 12:23PM Deanna,
There's a certain appeal to throwing a pack on a horse and heading out on a camping/horseback trip. I don't know much about the care of horses. I'm assuming that if you go camping with a horse, you have some additional considerations to make. Do you just tie your horse up to a tree when you drop camp?
All the best,
Shawn
Camping Trips: Five Must-Have Camping Gadgets {AOL Travel News}
Feb 28th 2011 12:18PM AimFire,
Thanks for the encouraging words! Yes, I also prefer tools that have a more long-term practicality. There's obviously a greater investment involved with these sorts of items. However, if you plan on doing outdoor activities like camping, backpacking, and hiking for a lifetime, these sorts of items seem like worthy investments.
Oh, and I dig the joke about dehydrated water.
All the best,
Shawn
Camping Trips: Five Must-Have Camping Gadgets {AOL Travel News}
Feb 28th 2011 12:14PM Billy,
Yes, contrary to popular belief, there are still a few humans writing behind the scenes. The robotic writing overlords haven't fully taken over. ;)
All the best,
Shawn
Camping Trips: Five Must-Have Camping Gadgets {AOL Travel News}
Feb 26th 2011 7:09PM Gina,
I grew up in a family of outdoors enthusiasts and have been camping since I was a toddler. I know a thing or two about camping, whether it's doing it frugally or with modern flair. You may view these five items as a total waste, but I disagree.
When I researched this article, I tried to focus on items that not only are very useful at a campsite but also hold practical use at home or other locations. I thought these five items to be quite useful for anyone who's going to be outdoors. The items have additional uses that make them very practical.
Sure, you can bring bottled water and a lighter. If that's how you want to camp, feel free. This article is obviously not geared towards your style. Rather, it's written to help those who want to be outdoors but also do it effectively using more modern tools.
All the best to you,
Shawn
Nude Beaches: Resources and Info {AOL Travel News}
Feb 16th 2011 2:54PM @snaps: I checked out the Caliente website. It looks like they're targeting the younger crowd, though I'm curious how successful they are. I'm also now curious about the average age of people who check into a clothing-optional resort.
@Derek: Thanks for sharing the story, and best of luck to you with your book.
@Naked Cowboy: According to the SFFB, the beach will this year celebrate 20 years with a clothing-optional area. I hope that it can continue for many more years and not get closed down as Trail 6 did in California.
Cheap Ski Vacations {AOL Travel News}
Dec 10th 2010 4:33PM @Karen: Ahhh, the ski club! Indeed, this is definitely worth mentioning. It goes along nicely with point four about traveling in groups. Thanks for the comment!
Shawn
Cheap Ski Vacations {AOL Travel News}
Dec 10th 2010 4:30PM @timyostdc: I'm sorry you found the article to be "possibly the most useless article ever written." However, you seem to have copied some of the exact same "useless" information that I had.
I said "For your next ski vacation, travel in a group" and you replied with "The larger the group you can put together, the cheaper your trip will be."
I said "If you're looking for last-minute ski deals, try a travel agent" and you said "Email travel agents."
I will give you a point for talking about searching for surrounding airports and using a flexible search feature. Those are things I've espoused in past articles, but I didn't mention it on this one.
All said, thanks for taking the time to comment, but next time be a little more constructive with your criticism, especially if you're going to repeat some of the same things I said in the article.
Regards,
Shawn
Best Restaurants in Canada {AOL Travel News}
Dec 3rd 2010 2:47PM Eva,
Thanks for the clarification! I'll update the article to reflect your information.
Warm regards,
Shawn
10 Helpful Tips to Planning Your Hawaii Vacation {AOL Travel News}
Nov 23rd 2010 10:24AM Janel,
This is Shawn, the person who wrote the article. Wow, that's some serious ambition that you and your husband have! You didn't say how many days you want to spend in Hawaii, nor when you want to do it, so I'm not sure where to begin.
Re: Honolulu cruise - Looking through AOL Travel's cruise deals I found a pretty nice price on a 14-day Hawaii cruise: http://travel.aol.com/travel-deals/honolulu-Cruise--deals
It was starting out at $1,100 per person, but 14 days is an awful long time. Trouble is, fewcruises around Hawaii go for fewer than seven days. I found one on Priceline but it's still $1000 per person for a seven-day cruise. (Keep in mind that right now is peak season, so things are more expensive.) Let's say at least $2100 for two people to cruise for seven days.
Re: Hotels - You can find Hawaii beach hotels but they're going to be the cheapest, especially if you don't want to sacrifice quality. I plugged in a four-night stay in January (including weekend dates) on Hotels.com and then looked at hotels people rated as 4.0 or better near Waikiki Beach. I did find some sales going in January that put rates at around the $110 to $130 range. Four nights for two people at a highly rated Waikiki beach hotel at $130 came out to around $600 with taxes.
Re: Dophin Swim - This may be a decent place to start: http://www.dolphinworld.org/reserve-hawaii.htm If you do the very basic dolphin and whale encounter at the bottom, you're adding in $200 or so for two people.
Re: The rest - Set a budget for how much you want to spend on shopping and nighttime entertainment. I can't really help you too much with that. There are plenty of cheap but good restaurants, and then there are amazing, expensive restaurants in Honolulu. What you spend here is going to depend on what style of living you want to have while you're there.
Oh, and sorry for the late reply! I don't get a notification of when comments are received.
Warm regards,
Shawn
