Jennifer W. Miner's Blog

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I received this email from Capt. Allan Walburn, a managing partner of Alaska's Kodiak Island Resort, regarding adventures on Kodiak Island (edited for brevity):

Visitors to Alaska who travel to Kodiak Island are surprised to find the multitude of exciting wilderness options that are available. From the moment you touch down in Kodiak you are surrounded by wilderness Alaska. Kodiak is most noted for the large population of Kodiak Brown Bears, the world's largest land carnivore. If you visit Kodiak you will not only have a great opportunity to see Brown bears in the wild, but also several different species of whales including humpbacks and Orcas.

If fishing is your passion, nowhere is the fishing better or more diverse than on Kodiak. Steelhead and Rainbow Trout frequent many streams and share the waters seasonally with annual runs of Chinook, Pink, Coho and Chum Salmon. Check with Alaska Fish and Wildlife for sportfishing permits to catch King, Tanner and Dungeness Crabs. All crabs are plentiful around Kodiak and can be caught in season with a recreational fishing license.

If you are looking for an opportunity to sample wilderness at it's most extreme and best, I suggest a trip to Kodiak Island and one the local villages around the Island! Kodiak has a road system that covers over 100 miles. For people seeking more adventure, both flight seeing and a boat charter around the Island will fill the bill. Kodiak is the premier location for wilderness adventures.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Frequent readers of this column know that my favorite multimedia PDA is the RIM Blackberry Pearl 8100. Sure, the non-QWERTY keyboard is a minor pain to get the hang of, but the Blackberry SureType works itself out in the end (it's easier if you don't look at the screen while you type).

My fellow gearheads who admire the Blackberry Pearl, but for one reason or another are committed to Cingular's wireless service, rejoice! Now that 2007 is basically here, T-mobile doesn't have an unintentional monopoly on the cell phone feature of the Blackberry Pearl. Some of us gave up Verizon for T-mobile, and I can tell you, switching your wireless service just aint that big a deal.

But: If you love your Cingular, you don't have to worry about switching servers in the first place. RIM Blackberry Pearls with Cingular service should be similar to the high speed access as T-mobile, and now you don't have to make the switch to enjoy a Blackberry Pearl 8100. As Cingular's ad line goes, "that's the power of now." Blackberry Pearl Cingular will support Push to Talk cell phone service, but in all major ways will be indistinguishable from T-mobile's Blackberry.

For a limited time, the Blackberry Pearl Cingular can be yours for $199.00 -- that is, with some fine print. This under 200 dollar Blackberry Pearl Cingular entails a 50 buck mail-in rebate, 2-year service on the Unlimited Blackberry plan, and eligible voice plan, according to the Cingular website. But still! That's a nice introductory price. And the RIM Blackberry Pearl 8100, for the uninitiated (where've you been? Mars?), is sleek, fast, and gorgeous. In my experience, the remote email access function doesn't crash half as much as the Blackberry 7100, the dig cam is high quality, and the high speed internet access won't be affected. All in all, the Blackberry Pearl Cingular should be as much of a gearhead's gadget dream-come-true as is the T-Mobile Blackberry. Placing a call from your new Blackberry Pearl Cingular will be a great way to ring in the new year.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Pasadena is a lovely town to visit. Southern California residents know about Pasadena attractions, such as the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens, the Jet Propulsion Lab at Caltech, and the Kidspace Children's Museum. Once a year, however, the biggest event in Pasadena is also the biggest event in North America. I'm referring, of course, to the annual Rose Bowl parade, held on January 1st and nationally broadcast on ABC, CBS and NBC.

Who hasn't watched the famous Tournament of Roses Parade, at least once, as a kid? The Rose Bowl Parade may be most people's initial awareness of Pasadena as a city, as well as our introduction to the first day of the New Year. I know I first heard of Pasadena because I watched the Rose Bowl on TV, back when I was little and living in the Northeast.

It's a big tourist attraction for Pasadena, too: Well over a million people attend the Tournament of Roses Parade each year. That's quite an increase from the two thousand that came to watch the first Rose Bowl Parade in 1890. Please click here for some tips and ideas about how to see the parade in person. The crowds may be hard to negotiate, but at least the weather is almost always perfect!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

This happens to me every December. With the holidays around the corner, I search and search for ideal presents for the important people in my life (oh, and my family, too). There are so many gift options out there, it's kind of mind-boggling. And by the time Christmas and Hanukah are over, I'm so creatively exhausted that I NEED it to be a New Year.

One year I focused on holiday gifts for gadget lovers - and, being married to a gearhead, I felt relatively safe with my options. My parents love to travel, so I'm always happy to learn about great gift ideas for travelers. What with travel gifts for my girlfriends, gifts for some guys I know, and so on and so on - well, it's time consuming, to say the least. That's why it was nice to see this Motley Fool article about Starbucks gift cards. Gift cards! They're not considered tacky anymore, hooray!

So easy to buy, the one-stop shopping of gift cards takes the horror out of Christmas shopping. Click here for some amusingly awful holiday gift ideas: Give someone the Worst Present Ever, and next year, he or she will be delighted to just get a gift card.

Because, honestly, what would you rather unwrap - a gift card for free coffee, or a hermetically sealed frog dissection kit, complete with dead frog? The answer's clear to me, and I haven't even been to Starbucks yet today.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

What is it about brunch that arouses such warm feelings? Maybe it's the idea of the late morning meal itself; almost time for lunch so I'm good and hungry, but still legitimately morning, enough, to crack open some eggs and get some bacon sizzling.

There's something almost primordially comforting about brunch. The savory smells of cheese melting into an omelette, with smokey ham or bacon layered in, can arouse my lumbering bear of a husband out of deep hibernation. And happily helping mix fresh berries into pancake batter clearly gets my children feeling that they're contributing to the health (and satiety) of the family unit.

It wasn't always this way. We used to live in New York City and, like many, many New Yorkers, we hardly ever cooked anything. Eating out is a way of life in the Big Apple. We managed to hit every one of my favorite brunch spots on the Upper West Side often enough that I had the menus practically memorized, and (also like real New Yorkers) we didn't blink at 20 minute waits to get seated. When we wanted to expand our horizons, we'd take the subway to the Grammercy area or Greenwich Village for brunch. Then, perhaps we'd visit one of the smaller art museums in NYC, see a movie, or stroll through Central Park.

My family doesn't live in New York anymore. We've lived in a warm part of the country for a few years now, in a house with a decent-sized kitchen. Weekend brunch is at home more often than not, these days, and I wouldn't trade these warm, homey, late morning meals for all the french toast in Manhattan. Still, those best brunches in NYC are part of my kids' early childhood, and as integral to my memories of parenting young children, as they are to my having lived in the city.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I was thinking about ideas of What Not to Buy for Christmas. To qualify, a gift has to be something that a child might want (no tube socks or educational videos), but that parents would stick on a high shelf...cursing your name.

I found some pretty bad gift ideas, of course, but a couple that I really enjoyed were the Jack Spade Frog Dissection Kit, and Giant Microbes. Please click here to read all about these wonderfully bad gifts for little children. A handful of those plush infectious diseases would actually look great in a dorm room, but that's another story.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

It appears that three of my favorite blog topics have joined forces in the form of one innovative new factoid: Hotel travel, luxury spas, and fangeek technology all merge in the Hyatt hotel chain's on-site spa massages for something called Blackberry Thumb.

Another medicalization of a common malady, you ask? Well, yes, but at least you can get a massage out of this one, and don't need to deal with being put on hold by your health care provider. The Blackberry Balm Hand Massage, at Hyatt Pure Spas throughout the US and Canada, is intended to relieve pain at the base of Blackberry users' thumbs - pain which comes from business travelers' overuse of their Blackberry. According to the American Physical Therapy Association, Blackberry Thumb is a stress-related injury stemming from overuse of any handheld PDA. I guess it got the moniker "Blackberry Thumb" because it's so darn catchy.

Blackberry Thumb seems similar to carpal tunnel syndrome, what with the pain, numbness and tingling symptoms. Medical treatment of Blackberry Thumb is similar to that for carpal tunnel syndrome as well; resting or strapping the thumb, cortisone injections, etc. But before you get your Blackberry-loving self into a panic, remember; this is a repetitive motion injury, easily nipped in the bud by cutting down on your Crackberry addiction and, perhaps, making a reservation at a Hyatt for your next upscale business trip. An appointment at the Hyatt Pure Spa for a Blackberry Balm massage may be all you need to feel better. And, since it's a work trip, time in a luxury day spa can be written off as a work expense. Now, isn't that nicer than a cortisone injection?

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I've gushed about Jet Blue Airways in this column before. In many obvious ways, Jet Blue's friendly service can't be beat. Now, Jet Blue has my heart, but American Airlines has my frequent flyer miles. Amass enough frequent flyer miles on American, and voila! Instant upgrade to business class. What a luxury. Say what you will about Jet Blue, but that egalitarian, no-first-class, "we're all equals" thing they've got going doesn't leave a lot of room for premium upgrades.

And now, American Airlines is offering a new menu for its US-Japan flights. Business and first class passengers flying to or from Japan can choose from a selection of Japanese food, or carefully prepared Western fusion cuisine. Click here to read more about American Airlines' new luxury Japanese fare, which assuredly puts the much maligned concept of airplane food into even deeper shame.

Miso soup, rice wine-marinated calamari, grilled shishito pepper...All that's missing is an air travel dinner of premium Kobe beef. I guess that's one first class dinner that will have to wait for American's arrival in Japan.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

My Suite cowriter, Mary Luz, recently got back from a trip to London. Rather than bemoan the fact that I haven't been to the UK in years, I grit my teeth and congratulate her on a great trip to a terrific city. Mary Luz had a few upscale experiences while away from her native Canadian soil, one of which was gourmet shopping at Harrods Food Halls. Harrods, famously owned by Mohamed Al Fayed and one of the most popular department stores in England, makes Neiman Marcus look like Walmart.

Such is Harrod's acclaim that even its food choices are incredibly high-end, and special. But if you're very lucky, while browsing the aisles of the Food Halls, you may even get a glimpse of Cher buying a salami. C'mon, what are vacations for, if not seeing an artificially preserved actress buying an artificially preserved meat product? And here I thought Harrods was all about the scarves.

You can read more about Mary Luz's trip to Harrods (click here). She knows about all the latest food trends, and is fun to read. Oh, and she also had a nice time in Paris, as if London wasn't bad enough!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

What is it about JetBlue Airways, a corporation like many others, that inspires such fealty and devotion from its passengers? I've seen people smiling and happily chatting while waiting on line to be checked over by the TSA at the airline's Long Beach airport. Happily chatting! At a security checkpoint!

The friendly customer service reps, from check-in to flight attendants, are part of the answer. My kids are glad to watch their own personal DirecTV's during the flight. Certainly, every time I save money by flying Jet Blue, I'm a happy camper to begin with, too. But Jet Blue is not all rainbows and butterflies; click here for an article about some good, and some not so good, aspects of this Little Airline That Could. It's part of the Luxury Travel section's ongoing look into what makes travel a positive experience. And if you have any thoughts on the matter, I'd love to hear from you.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

While I was putting together an article about the best luxury ski resort towns in the US and Canada, I almost left out Aspen. After a bit of hue and cry from a couple winter sports enthusiasts in my writer's group, I decided to add it, albeit begrudgingly, and at the very bottom of the piece. Why? What's my problem, you ask?

It's generally known, after all, that Aspen has a nice variety of slopes, dependable snowfall and plenty of upscale apres-ski activities to pamper the skier in the evening. Well, as a luxury travel writer here, I sure can't get away with complaining about luxury treatment at a ski resort. And I'm not. But what I can complain about, and with some justification, is the transformation of a great ski town into a place that starlets go to be seen, and photographed "all unawares" in their high-end ski gear. It's like Aspen is Hollywood East, during Christmas and the peak holiday ski season. And where young Hollywood goes, expensive and trendy boutiques shall follow ( I think that's in the Bible).

And then come along the trendy restaurants and nightclubs, the pricier lift tickets, the paparazzi...until you find yourself skidding to a stop because Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake are busy being noticed immediately downhill from you on the slopes.

When I think of an authentic, fantastic ski experience, I think of powder, blue sky, and a minimal crowd. (Click here for a funny, but almost completely unrelated video click of Aspen.) Perhaps, someday Aspen will be, like, so 5 minutes ago, and the celebutants will move on to somewhere else. Until then, the other top luxury ski spots have my vote.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

People really seem to be having a visceral reaction to the descriptions in the article, Worst Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes. The dessert, Turd Cookies, has seemed to ring a chord with many readers. One comment on Worst Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes' discussion board mentioned Kitty Litter Cake as a possible accompaniment to this visually disgusting way to end a completely unappealing Thanksgiving meal. Well, who am I to argue?

Let's take a look at Kitty Litter Cake. Just like with the Turd Cookies, the Kitty Litter Cake probably tastes better than it looks. It's basically crumbled cake with melted Tootsie Rolls on top, served from a kitty litter box with a litter scooper for added effect. I especially like the green cookie crumbs, meant to look like kitty litter's chlorophyll. Gotta appreciate the realism here! Because, let's face it, if you're planning a Thanksgiving meal meant to repel (and repulse) your guests, you can't go halfway. Prepare your worst Thanksgiving dinner right, and next year's Thanksgiving travel traffic jams will be a few cars lighter!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Christmas is such a great time of year. It's the perfect opportunity to give a present to someone which she would never consider buying for herself. If an important person in your life is hesitant to treat herself to time in a luxury day spa, a gift certificate to one will give her a weekend for herself. To relax during or after the flurry of the holiday season may be the ideal way to bring in the New Year.

SpaWish is on online spa finder that allows you to buy gift certificates from 50 to 500 dollars. Of the participating day spas included in their nationwide members list, are some very lovely upscale ones with solid national reputations for quality. There are also smaller spas with which I am unfamiliar, so take care in selecting the day spa for your gift. I can't vouch for all of them!

To find a spa near your gift recipient, simply click on her state in the map of the US, and scan the state listing. Bridal and corporate gifts are also available.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Many people first see the central coast of California while on a scenic road trip north to Napa Valley, or south to Los Angeles. The natural beauty of this strip is, truly, awe-inspiring.

One town that is a particularly high-rated tourist destination in California's central coast region, is Santa Barbara. Every time I go there, I discover something new. As with any tourist destination, tips and recommendations prove useful while planning your travels. Click here for a collection of articles about Santa Barbara, to serve as a reference for your trip.

Is Santa Barbara a town you love, too? If so, and you think I've left out some useful info, don't hesitate to leave a message! I always get a kick out of hearing from other fans of Santa Barbara.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Frequent readers of this section must have figured out by now how addicted I am to Lush bath and body products. The varied scents, the freshness, the organic ingredients all add up to a wonderful collection of body care items. Oh yeah, and the shampoos clean hair, and the lotions soften skin. What I'm saying is, Lush products are incredibly effective at what they are supposed to do, without using the chemicals and artificial ingredients other, similar product lines resort to.

And now, Lush's cruelty-free, fair trade, and no-animal-testing philosophy has won them real recognition: The CEO of Lush has been awarded PETA Europe's "Trail Blazer" award. Click here for PETA's news release. Mark Constantine, Lush's big boss, has arranged for Lush stores in Europe to help customers petition their governments to vote down legislation requiring animal testing for cosmetics. The very fact that posters in Lush store windows raise this issue raises public awareness.

As if I didn't like Lush enough already! Oh well...there are plenty of worse things I could be spending money on.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Life sometimes goes by so fast, that it's shocking when we take a step back and realize how much we've changed. One moment we're bar-hopping with our friends, checking out the guys, running interference when a creepy one hits on the hottest one of us, laughing about it afterwards. Then we wake up one day to find we're driving a minivan loaded with children, at least two of which are ours. School, violin lessons, soccer practice. Dustbuster to suck up the Fritos crumbs in the back, along with dog hair and caked mud that fell from cleats. How did we ever come to this? And, how can we possibly maintain a vestige of the cool we once had, tooting around in our Sienna, with tracks from High School Musical in perpetual rotation?

There are some high-tech gadgets and gizmos that, installed in a family minivan, go a long way in raising its coolness quotient. When the kids are in the back for a long road trip, the ceiling-mounted DVD player is indispensable. A GPS for high-tech directions and routes. Satellite radio, like Sirius, helps. Well, assuming it's tuned to a hip station like Classic Vinyl. I've heard some amazing music from this channel; rare tracks from The Who, Joni Mitchell, Creedence, Rolling Stones, and Neil (Young, not Diamond. Please). Not a high school musical in sight. Family travel is made easier, if not exactly brought to the heights of hipness, with the right accessories.

And what do I do, to desperately cling to the last shred of cool as it tries to slip through my aging fingers? Well, my kids don't take soccer, for one. No soccer mom, I! Two, I've tossed the kiddie music CD's in favor of gradually introducing them to my preferred music - it helps that my eldest has decided the Beatles are a "boy band."

And, honestly... I don't drive a minivan. But that dusty Volvo wagon, the one with lost homework and abandoned art projects on the third-row seats? That's only the coolest station wagon in suburbia, dude. Don't you dare tell this old lady otherwise.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Several years ago I was on the subway in NYC, headed towards my in-laws for Thanksgiving dinner. The 9 train was filled with a typical New York crowd; a small group of teens talking too loudly, a baby asleep in his stroller despite people bumping into it, a homeless guy muttering to himself, strangers standing, uncomfortably squeezed together and swaying with the motion of the train, and a row of seated young men studiously avoiding making eye contact with the pregnant woman standing near them. Usual stuff.

The door between the subway cars opened with a clatter, and a hungry-looking woman, holding an empty cup, announced herself. The mood in the train shifted, with several of the sitters instantly shutting their eyes and feigning sleep, and many others staring intently at the other end of the train. Undeterred, she cheerfully began a song:

"When you are lonely, and you're out of baloney, you can always go...Downtown." The crowd stirred, and began to smile and even make eye contact with each other as she earnestly continued, seemingly unaware of how mangled her lyrics were.

"If you need to shaver, but you don't have a razor, there's a CVS...Downtown." I knew she was at least loopy, if not literally mentally ill, but she provided for us one of those rare urban moments that unite people with a common source of amusement, only to dissolve away just as quickly. She earned several dollars from us passengers on that 9 train.

That woman came to mind when I read about an upcoming innovation for the London Underground. Undersound is a music-based technology that its website says will "enhance current social practices of mobility" in the Tube. Permanent Bluetooth transfer points in the stations stream music, and subway riders with Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones (and like gadgets) can pick up and listen to the tunes as a shared experience. If a commuter likes the track, it can be downloaded to their phone. Also, when riding on the tube itself, users can download tracks from other users, with a "ping" that alerts the latter. This increases the shared experience of the Undersound project, making the subway like a giant, shared iPod. Imagine: Strangers listening to the same tune, smiling across the tube to each other in acknowledgment of their commonality. No mangled lyrics (or tip jar) necessary. It sounds like a great idea to me.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I've never been to New Zealand, but it's "on my list." The idea of a trip to New Zealand's always been in the back of my mind, but the logistics of getting there - with two young kids in tow - have seemed too daunting.

But the mountains! The rainforest! The yellow-eyed (and world's rarest) penguin, the kiwi and flightless Kakapo parrot - don't any New Zealand birds know how to fly? It's all too fascinating. Eco travel opportunities abound on the two New Zealand islands.

And now that I've learned that one of the world's most unique hotels is in New Zealand, my childrens' no-long-flights lobbying may be doomed.

Woodlyn Park, in Waitomo on New Zealand's, North Island, offers three one-of-a-kind types of lodging: The Train Motel, Plane Motel, and (after all, this IS New Zealand) the Hobbit Motel. Click around the website: You have to see the pictures to understand how completely cool these rooms are.

• The Plane Motel is a genuine relic from the past: A genuine 1950's Bristol Freighter, one of the last allied planes, has been renovated into two separate motel rooms - one of which is in the cockpit. Isn't that great?
• The Train Motel is called "The Waitomo Express," and is in a refurbished 1950's rail car. Pretty cute, huh? But now let's get to what you really want to know...
• The Hobbit Motel. Yes! It's really like a Hobbit Hole, built into the side of a low slope, with round doors and the whole deal. Created with the Lord of the Rings trilogy (and theology?) in mind, these two Hobbit Hole units look less ornate than the movie set's Shire. They are pretty accurate, nevertheless, while keeping the furniture on a more human scale. A night or two in this New Zealand hotel might make you feel like you're visiting Middle Earth. But, if you see a gold ring laying on the floor, don't pick it up. That thing is Bad News.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The Italian city that has the most Renaissance art and architecture in the world is also one of the easiiest to get around. Florence is a great walking city, and the narrow Medieval streets make other modes of transportation seem almost silly. An American attempting to navigate these Florentine streets in a rental car would surely muck things up. We rented our car and drove right out of the city, and returned it immediately upon our return.

You can't hail a cab in Florence, but you can find an available taxi if you know where to look. Try the Piazza del Duomo, Piazza della Republica ( there's a gorgeous carousel here too), Piazza Santa Trinita, or Piazza San Marco for finding a few idling taxis.

A day of sightseeing, museum-hopping, and fine dining epitomizes a vacation in Florence. For an in-depth look at how to get around this famous city, go to Tips for Getting Around Florence. Florence is a world-class Italian city, with great Tuscan restaurants, the Uffizi and Accademia, and luxury shopping galore - but very little in terms of mass transportation.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Anyone who was lucky enough to get to the grand opening of the Universal CityWalk Lush store in Universal City, received a one-time freebie of a great shower gel called Honeywood. Some other lucky souls know Honeywood owners who decanted a little to send to them...but beyond those few, no one has been able to partake of a Honeywood shower and all its yummy honey-scented goodness. Understandably, there are some who mutter that this is unfair. And others - less quiet types - who rail at the heavens about the unjustness of it all!

As I watch, worried, as my own precious bottle of Lush Honeywood empties past the halfway mark, I feel a bit of muttering and railing coming on, myself. Nosing around the Lush discussion boards shows that I'm not alone; there are many, many Lush fanatics out there who would love to see Honeywood become part of Lush's regular shower gel lineup. Anyone at all familiar with Lush's Flying Fox or Honey I Washed the Kids products, knows how well the company does honey-scented bath and body products. Believe me, Honeywood is so good (click to read my review). It is definitely sweet-smelling, with several types of honey listed as some of its organic and fresh ingredients. Honeywood is also mild enough that it goes with almost any other scented Lush product very well (so far, I only didn't like it mixed with Karma Komba and Karma soap).

So please, sign the petition. I'll send it to Lush headquarters in England, and hopefully our impassioned voices will convince the BIG powers that be, that Honeywood should at least be given a trial run of mass distribution. To "sign the petition," all you have to do is add a message to the message board thread (click here), and all you really have to type is "Yes for Honeywood," or even, "Yes." Wouldn't it be great if anyone could try a Honeywood shower, and not just the bunch who live near Universal City? I think so.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Say you've been invited to your friend or relative's second home in the Caribbean. Hey, stranger things have happened! In any case, if this should be your good fortune, you're going to want to show up with a nice gift for your travel host. Something original and fun, right?

I'd be really happy to get a set of these mugs and tankards (click here) as a housewarming gift, even though I don't own a vacation home in the US Virgin Islands (or anywhere else, for that matter). Blackbeard and other infamous real-life pirates of the Caribbean would be proud that their legacy lives on.

Then again, a trip to the Caribbean isn't the only thing that necessitates a fun gift purchase: Those pirate themed stoneware goodies would be great to bring to an adult Halloween party too. They are all hand-made by a guy with an obviously great sense of humor. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's party for me!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Santa Barbara is one of my favorite mid-sized towns in America. From questionable bars and tattoo parlors, to full service day spas and fancy upscale shops, SB's charming town proper has something for everyone. A wide selection of great restaurants and a full range of hotel options help make Santa Barbara a perfect weekend getaway. And of course, the warm California sun warms your skin as you stroll on the beach, any time of year.

Now, Santa Barbara is a pretty ritzy and affluent town (anyone who ever sneaked a peek at that old self-named soap opera knows what I mean), but that doesn't mean there's no room left in SB for the fine arts. In fact, the philanthropy of some of Santa Barbara's wealthy residents has enriched the town's museums, art galleries, studios and other art venues: There's an impressive amount of quality art, including that of emerging artists. The artistic community is allowed to thrive and flourish here like in few other places in the US.

A new website run by Santa Barbara Visual Arts, a nonprofit organization, is a good resource for tourists and daytrippers looking to enhance their visits to this great town. (Click here) www.sbva.org has a monthly calendar of scheduled art events, and a frequently updated listing of visual art venues. I really like this website, and it's especially useful for newcomers to Santa Barbara; the "Useful Visitor Links" within the website help travelers know how to get around. So, next time you're planning to vacation in Santa Barbara, consider taking a break from all the boating and fishing, massages and luxury shopping. The art in SB is really special and interesting, and it can add to the quality, and memories of, your trip.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

While women have been taking weekend vacations for spa tripping with their girlfriends for years, our male counterparts have long been left behind, wondering what to do with their down time. Now, most men that I know would rather not vacation at all, than spend their vacation days in a luxury day spa, getting their nails buffed. However, when given the opportunity, a lot of men are figuring out that time with their friends is time well spent, indeed. This is why mancations have become increasingly popular.

Mancations, or getaways for men only, can range from low rent (10 college buddies crammed in a Vegas hotel room) to ultra high end (father-son trip to Gleneagles Hotel Golf Resort in Scotland), with a lot of room in between. Personally, I like the idea of mancations. Dudes hanging our together, doing their dude thing (I don't want to know too much here), getting smelly, scratching...No women allowed? That's okay! No, really.

There are some great upscale mancation gift ideas out there. If you want to treat the guy in your life with a mancation travel gift, it helps if you can arrange time off work for his closest friends as well. Cabo San Lucas has some fishing vacation packages, and my fellow Suite writer Alan can't speak highly enough about the Waterfall Resort in Alaska. From what I've heard, these mancations sound like really fun outdoorsman trips.

Another special gift that a lot of men would really appreciate is a real NASCAR Stock Car riding experience. NASCAR fans can travel to one of fifteen major American cities and ride shotgun in a stock car - and some locations actually let the guy drive the NASCAR top series top car himself! Imagine that: Up to 140 miles per hour, no cops ticketing the dude, and a memory to last a lifetime. Talk about a mancation.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Airport security is currently confiscating liquids in carry-on luggage. If you're taking a quick trip or a weekend getaway and want to only pack a carry-on bag, you'll have to leave your favorite shampoos and lotions behind. Some hotels are stepping up and providing guests with a basket of decent toiletries upon arrival, but upscale hotels and resorts already have had fancy name-brand shampoos and soaps in their bathrooms for years.

When I am lucky enough to get a chance to stay at a luxury hotel, one of the first things I do is check out the bathroom. When I see some of my favorite high-end bath products lined up on the hotel sink, I take it as a sign that the weekend ahead will be very luxurious, and that my other travel needs will be taken care of as well. Fancy shampoos and conditioners are like an extra hotel amenity!

On the other hand, if I'm worried that the hotel or resort is behind the curve, toiletries-wise, I can always pack my favorite solid shampoos and skin care products. I've tested them out, and they passed through the security gate at LAX, O'Hare, and JFK with no problem. TSA officials may have raised an eyebrow or two, but my stash of fancy bath products remained securely in my carry-on bag. No more liquid shampoos and lotions on airplanes? Problem = Solved!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

What is it about a vacation that brings out the shopaholic in so many people? St. Thomas is the busiest US Virgin Island, and this is due in no small part to the many shops and duty-free stores. Charlotte Amalie and Havensight are the two major tourists' shopping areas of all three US Virgin Islands, and both are on St. Thomas. Charlotte Amalie, the Virgin Islands' capital, has a harbor in which ships drop anchor, while Havensight has a large dock at which many cruise ships stop.

The shopping crowds on St. Thomas can be pretty intense, especially around the peak travel season. If, like me, you vacation to get away from the masses, you might want to avoid Charlotte Amalie during the holidays. But if you can't imagine a Caribbean vacation without bringing home a bunch of souvenirs, there's a part of Charlotte Amalie that's a lot less crowded. Stay away from the jewelers and perfumeries on Main Street, and duck into the alleys (not the scary kind). These smaller street have far, far less chain stores, and more small businesses like boutiques and antique shops.

Palm Passage and Riise Alley are two smaller streets I've liked for their interesting, unique shops. One of them has a local artist's works exhibited, with copies or original artworks for sale. I found her depiction of local island life so charming and vibrant, I now have two framed and hanging in my bedroom. One look at them and I'm instantly transported back to the US Virgin Islands, and a pretty great vacation.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

We all know what it's like to have like to feel pulled in all sorts of directions - sometimes life gets busy, right? And multitasking was never my strong point (not that I'm sure what my strong point IS, but it sure isn't multitasking).

But no matter how hectic things can get around here, I would be remiss in my blogging duties if I didn't help get the word out about an awesome giveaway happening right now. Styledash.com is giving away a designer label handbag every day until October 13. Today's, for example, is a Marc Jacobs Hobo Bag. It's easy to imagine taking a swanky vacaton with one of these slung over your shoulder. Marc Jacobs makes luxury handbags and purses; I've had my eye on a red leather clutch for a few weeks now, but haven't been able to come up with a solid reason for buying one beyond the usual "But it's so pretty" type of justification. About the Hobo Bag: These babies normally retail for over 500 bucks, so you know this website means business. All you have to do is enter a comment - one a day, and they say they'll catch cheaters over there- and if yours is selected, the bag or tote of the day is yours. What could be easier?

Styledash.com, click here to enter

Let's see...a winner a day, for 30 days...I may be busy, and you too, but wouldn't it be great if one of us won an upscale handbag from this website? And if YOU won, wouldn't it be awesome if you mailed it to me, as a way of saying thanks? Ha, ha.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Recently, I compiled a small list of my favorite high-tech travel gadgets. But now I'm thinking about travel host gift ideas. For example, it's good manners to bring flowers, or a bottle of wine or whatever, when you've been invited to someone's home for a dinner party. If you've been invited for a weekend stay in their summer home, respectable gifts usually have to do with home beautification, like a classy Waterford vase, or something related to where their vacation home is located. If you've been invited to be a guest in a beach house, for example, it's typical to bring an ocean-themed gift to your host.

But being part of Generation X, or Generation Y for that matter, means that we don't necessarily want to seem typical. A vase? How boring. Ocean themed doodad for a beach side home? Trite. These younger adult generations still like to take swanky trips, and who'd say no to a free weekend in a friend's house - but we want our gifts to say something about us, the givers, as well. Who's gonna say "Here, this gift is like me; boring and trite."

That's why I loved this new gadget (click here for a cute YouTube clip) - it's hilarious and original, plus it can slowly get you drunk. Now, that's something I'd like a gift to say about me! The next time you've been invited for a stay in a luxury second home, consider this as your gift to bring along. It'll be sure to garner you another invite to your hosts' house.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I love to travel, to see new places and experience other cultures. But anyone who knows me, knows I'm not a "roughing it" type of woman. My respect is boundless for backwoods campers who need only a sleeping bag, some bacteria-free water and relatively fresh food to have a great time outdoors; I however, am very unhappy when damp, cold, and bug-bitten. Yeah, yeah, that's a lovely view, can we go home now? I need a shower.

That's why I really like my portable handheld GPS. It's a Garmin eTrex Legend, and with it, I never need to worry about getting too lost during a hike. People use portable global positioning devices professionally, of course, but I am a pure GPS hobbyist. One particular hobby that would be impossible without a portable GPS is geocaching. Geocaching is essentially a worldwide, collaborative scavenger hunt. Geocache hobbyists use their handheld global positioning system to locate, via satellite, containers previously hidden by other geocachers. A world-wide scavenger hunt, the fun is in the finding.

The first geocache I found is less than 1/8 of a mile from my house, in a tree stump. (The decoded clue was, "Stumped?") I reached in, found a small container, and opened it. Voila! Inside each container is usually a pencil and small memo pad, to note who you are and when you found it. There are often little "prizes" with no monetary value as well; btake a keychain, leave a glue stick. It was pretty exciting to know there was a hidden world all around me. And, all around you as well; there little containers are scattered all over the world, with new ones hidden every week. Geocaching is not only like a riddle to be solved on foot, it's a hobby that makes the world seem like a smaller, friendlier place.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

We were scheduled to fly across the country two weeks after Homeland Security and the TSA tightened the rules regarding what is permissible in carry-on bags. Since my mother had her Chapstick confiscated during a recent pre-flight check, I assumed that the "no liquids" rule was pretty rigid. I was pretty surprised to find that, during my family's security check, nothing was removed from our possession. After all, I had these in my purse or carry-on:

Visine eye drops

Neutrogina hand lotion, travel size

Yucky old Carmex lip balm at bottom of purse

Lush Happy soap

Lush Honey I Washed the Kids soap

Lush Black Pearl bath bomb

Lush Marathon bubble bar

Pediasure

The only thing that raised eyebrows was the Marathon bubble bar, which looks like a roundish chunk of neon orange Play-doh. However, behind the security guys there were several bins literally filled to the brim with confiscated toiletries. As I was putting my shoes back on, I found myself looking longingly at high-end items peeking out the top. Really, are they just going to throw away that L'Occitane Shea Butter shampoo? And that Sephora Chocolate Raspberry body scrub - I mean, come on!

Since I didn't want to miss my flight by being thrown in jail, I decided not to attempt to save those lovely bath and body products from uncertain fate. It was with a wistful eye that I gave them a backwards glance, before wishing them a silent fare-thee-well and boarding my flight home. In these troubled times, luxury toiletry lovers must get with the program, same as everyone else!

If you love Lush products, and need to travel by air, check out Lush Solid Shampoos and Skin Lotions. You don't have to leave all your Lush stuff at home.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The last time I was in Santa Barbara, I was enjoying the lovely weather and strolling down State Street, window shopping. There's an Essentials store, about halfway between the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and our hotel. What can I say? I'm a sucker for upscale hair and skin care products; in I went.

What a pleasant surprise; the Essentials hair products are merely part of a larger day spa. Camille the Day Spa is downstairs from the storefront sales area. Offering a full array of spa and salon services sounds tricky in a windowless area. However, the spa is well ventilated and the air circulation is such that the smell of hair dyes, and other stinky salon products, does not intrude on the relaxing scents of aromatherapy, and other scents associated with day spa services.

I didn't have an appointment, but a spa associate briefly showed me around. I was pretty skeptical at first. A day spa in a basement? When I was a kid, my basement had a warped ping-pong table, crickets, and probably black mold. Needless to say, this is not my father's basement. Camille the Day Spa is clean, private, hushed and relaxing, with the sound of trickling water and a fresh herbal scent throughout. A real vacation getaway, right off Santa Barbara's busiest street.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The bathroom caddy I use is lightweight and fits into luggage for placing in hotel bathtubs...making for a more romantic travel experience.

Usually hotel bathrooms aren't associated with luxury and romance, but I like to bring familiar things with me, and pack some of my favorite bathtub add-ins.

The Aromatherapy Bathtub Caddy is perfectly designed to hold candles, bath treatments, and even a glass of wine. Glass of wine, warm relaxing bath...That hotel bathroom's looking pretty good!

Check out this article, a more extensive Bathtub Caddy Review on Living Simply - The Aromatherapy Bathtub Caddy: If you love to take time in a tub, or simply need more shower shelf space, I recommend this bathtub caddy to make your life simpler and much more pleasant.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Those of you who aren't married to a technophile have no idea of what it's like. High tech gadgetry is in abundance at our house, and the constant influx has me worried about storage space.

The other day I went to a spare closet to look for some acrylic paint, and upon opening the closet door, was attacked by yards of falling wires. I felt like Frodo in Lord of the Rings, fighting off that giant spider. When I subdued the wires, cables, and powerstrips, I looked in the big cardboard box that had seemingly birthed them. It was like an archeological discovery of Modern Marital History.

There, in the corner of the box, sits a forlorn cell phone that had once been at the forefront of modern technology. In the other corner, an intergenerational family of Palm Pilots huddles together for safety. Three (yes, three; I kid you not) battery rechargers lay prone at the bottom of the box, next to last year's Blackberry. I saw the portable DVD player that turned out to be, well, not so portable. And look, there's that digital camera watch that had once been so imperative to buy, that it was worth sneaking out while supposedly getting me the Sunday paper! ...I wondered what happened to that little guy, and there he was, curled needfully around a USB port that rested atop an inkjet printer. An early-model MP3 player looked somewhat hopeful, as though there wasn't a video iPod legally uploading last season's episodes of "The Office" even as I gaped at the innards of the Cardboard Box of Shame.

I grabbed the Canon EOS-1D, circa 2001, and marched righteously to where my husband lay, innocently playing Pac-man on his relatively new laptop PC. I held it aloft, ready to state my complaint. Without looking up, or pausing the game, he said "By the way, this weekend I need to get a USB port adapter/converter. It'll just a take a minute, and it will be just what we need to make our lives easier."

USB port adapter/converter. USB port...yeah, I guess we don't have one of those.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

When I was a kid, gifts for my father almost always fell into the tie and homemade card category. Thankfully, times have changed, and men no longer have to settle for a tie and a new fancy rake or snow shovel. Special, high quality travel gifts for men are out there, and men appreciate luxury in their lives now more than ever.

Here are some quick travel gift ideas to start off the season in a classy way: Luxury Travel Gifts for Men.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

There was a grand opening of a new Lush store at Universal CityWalk in, well, Universal City. The directions were to wear black and a funny wig, but we're talking August in the San Fernando Valley. A hundred degrees in the shade. So, somehow, I forgot the dress code...but I was not turned away at the door. Lush employees are much too friendly to do something like that.

Inside, the mood was beyond festive. Women and men of all ages walked around with facial masks on, hand massages were being given in one corner, and there were bath bomb demonstrations in another. Many, many people wore wacky wigs of fuchsia, chartreuse, and other colors not usually associated with hair. And then there were my poor kids who, in a moment of maternal delinquency, I put in goofy hair bands that made them look like slightly intimidated sea anemones. Before you feel too sorry for those sea anemones, you should know that their hairdos entitled them to the grand opening Lush giveaway of a new one-time-only Lush product, Honeywood Shower Gel. Honey is the first ingredient, and the several honeys listed are from Hungary, Greece, and Yorkshire. That's a lot of honey for one shower gel, yet it is somehow not overwhelmingly sweet. Orange peel and bergamot fruit oils are among the other organic ingredients. The scent of this shower gel is just wonderful. I can't get enough of it!

I usually have three Lush soaps in my shower; Karma, Happy soap, and Honey I Washed the Kids. Now, combining the new Honeywood with Honey I Washed the Kids is a no brainer, considering that honey is the primary scent of each. In fact, I would say the two are meant for each other; bergamot and orange oils are also in Honey I Washed the Kids. The new shower gel also combined well with my Lush Rehab shampoo, and the Happy Soap, which is primarily a citrus scented soap. As a cocktail, the two together smelled something like sweet oranges. It brought to mind honey-sweetened orange herbal tea. However, Honeywood Shower Gel mixed with the Karma soap was nasty. While orange oil is in both, in my opinion Karma's patchouli oil clashed with the Honeywood. It smelled like a dorm room. Yuck! ...So, of course, I had to start my shower all over, with more Honeywood Shower Gel, and more Honey I Washed the Kids. It only makes sense.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

We needed a new baby monitor! Words almost cannot describe the sense of relief for us, when we switched to the static-free Philips Digital Baby Monitor. Since our kids' bedrooms are on a different floor than our master bedroom, we needed to have some sort of monitor set up, to hear if they called in the middle of the night. While our Sharper Image video baby monitor had infrared night vision, so we could see which child was stirring, the static was constant and annoying. On particularly bad nights, I'd sleep with a pillow over my head (which obviously negates the effectiveness of the monitor in the first place).

The Philip's baby monitor doesn't come with a video option at this writing, but the absence of static and the clear quality of the sound are unassailable. Even better, the Philip's monitor comes with a two-way communications system, like a super-terrific walkie-talkie. Now, we didn't bother to tell our children about this added feature, since we didn't want then making a game out of it. One night, our 5 year-old was having an especially hard time settling down for the night. All parents know about this type of bedtime process: I'm thirsty, there's a scary shadow, I had a bad dream, I have to pee, I'm thirsty again. After escorting her to the bathroom the second time, we'd had it. If you get up one more time, her father said, I'm going to get very angry with you.

She has a typical 5-year old's idolization of her father, bordering on the religious. The potential of paternal anger is often fearsome enough a threat to improve her behavior immediately. Our daughter grew quiet, but a few minutes later we heard the unmistakable sound of her feet hitting the floor. This time, instead of going to her room, my husband pressed the "talk" button on our Philips monitor receiver. "Jessica, get back in bed right now," he intoned. The monitor is so clear, I swear we could hear her eyes widen. We heard her climb back into bed without a peep, and that was the last we heard from her until the morning.

As if she didn't think her daddy was God already.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

There are so many wonderful things about Florence, Italy.

The internationally famous museums, with more renaissance art than anywhere else in the world. The architecture, with Medieval streets and centuries-old buildings, many wired for Wi-Fi and other 21st century amenities. The great authentic Tuscan cuisine, found at both high-end restaurants for luxury travelers, and casual fare for tourists on a budget. There are, naturally, a full range of accommodations ranging from 5-star to budget hotels and B&B's. If you're making travel plans for Italy, Firenze will be an unforgettable part of your vacation. And even if Italy is not in your foreseeable future, you can experience it vicariously through our collected articles. Click here for our Suite 101 Florence Basics index.

Who knows? You may even (shudder to think) learn something new!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

My younger daughter graduated from preschool, and I realized belatedly that this was a bigger deal than I'd thought it was. To make up for my shameful lack of flowers to present to her after the "moving on" ceremony, I offered her a one of a kind Graduation Day of Luxury. One part of this was lunch at the restaurant of her choice. No, she didn't pick Nobu, or French Laundry, or even a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Pizza she likes, and pizza it was!

The pizza joint was so classic it almost hurt: Checkered tablecloths, Frank Sinatra crooning from the overhead speakers, and a waiter with a Mediterranean accent. A couple was on an obvious first date at the table next to ours, and a few surly teens nursed their sodas a few seats over.

We were eating our pizza and discussing the relative merits of two popular children's television shows, when I took a few moments to dab some oil off my slice. She was silent during this, and when I looked up, she was waving her arms. Her face was beet red with wide, panicked eyes, and I realized in a flash that she was choking. I don't remember sliding across to her seat, but there I was, pulling her mouth open. I reached into her mouth with a hooked finger, and pulled out a wad of mozzarella cheese that was larger than a golf ball. She coughed a little, drank some water, and gave me a curious look. Then, my kid picked up her slice of pizza, and recommenced eating.

What could I do? I returned to my seat and sternly told her to swallow each bite before taking the next one. My hands were shaking and I felt nauseous. Around me, the couple on a date still got to know each other, the teens still waited on their refills, and Frank was singing the same song he was before my child choked. The whole incident lasted less than 10 seconds, but of course it affected me very, very deeply.

An hour later we were home, and her babysitter greeted us at the door. How was your day, she asked. My child, my darling child whose life I perhaps just saved, pointed at me. "I was eating pizza when Mommy stuck her finger in my mouth and choked me!"

...And that, I'm certain, is how she will remember the lunchtime portion of her Graduation day of Luxury.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Whether you want to stroll through the beautiful state park, bet on a thoroughbred at the race track, or relax in an upscale day spa, there are plenty of options for you in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Saratoga Springs Vacation Basics

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The polls are closed and the results are in! The July poll asked readers to think about what their favorite hotel amenities are, and the clear winner is free internet access (is it a coincidence that this column is found in a web magazine? On the Internet? Hmm).

My personal choice would be 24-hour room service, but really, more for "safety net" reasons than anything else. Tell you why: I've stayed at some lovely resorts with my family, and while I would be perfectly content with coffee and maybe a bowl of cereal first thing - in fact, that's all I really want - the rest of the gang gets excited about the room service menu and wants the whole shebang. We're talking French toast, omelettes, fresh-sqeezed orange juice, etc. Next thing you know, we're looking at a 40 dollar tab, and all I wanted was my cup of coffee! Spending as much on breakfast as I do to tank up my car just feels wrong. Let me amend that: almost as much as I do to tank up my car. Times (and gas prices) have changed, haven't they?

But then there's the safety net. Oh, yes, the safety net of room service! I remember once I spent a solid afternoon hiking amidst petroglyphs on Maui, and it was in the hot midland, not near the ocean. When the day ended, I was wiped out. We're talking, not even going to stand up to cross the room and get the remote control, wiped out. Fortunately, the phone was within arm's reach. Flash ahead one hour, and I'm in the middle of some of the best macadamia nut-encrusted chicken I've ever had. Now, if only someone would pass me that remote!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I really can't speak highly enough about Saratoga Springs. For a town of its size, it's got a remarkable amount of culture, outdoor activities, and entertainment. For tourists who love to shop, there are both high-end luxury stores and interesting, funky little bohemian arts stores, as well as a sampling of Upstate New York dusty antique shops.

But remember, Saratoga Springs first rose to prominence as a travel spot for luxury travelers because of its natural springs. The elite of the Victorian age spent many summers relaxing in Saratoga's mineral waters. It seems only fitting, therefore, to consider the natural spas here as not merely a luxury, but a tie to the past as well.

The two day spas that still pump their water in directly from the earth are the Lincoln Baths and the Crystal Spa. Both are on the Saratoga Spa State Park.

The Crystal Spa features body exfoliation scrubs, body wraps, and other body treatments. Also, facials and other face treatments are available. There is an aromatherapy sauna (dry heat) and - of course - the mineral baths. Massages include deep tissue massage, reflexology, swedish massage, and more. Here, you can indulge in luxury in the same location as did the wealthy Victorian elite travelers.

The Lincoln Baths are a state-run bath house. It has mineral baths and mud baths along with massages and facials. There are add-ins such as lavender aromatherapy, to individualize your luxury spa experience. The prices here are shockingly reasonable for a luxury spa treatment, but the decor is what you'd expect from a state-run bath spa; a bit grungy and plain. The staff, however, couldn't be nicer! The Lincoln Baths is the oldest spa in Saratoga Springs, and believe me, you get an authentic old-fashioned spa and bath experience here.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The Lush store I go to, in Southern California, is usually a busy, festive place. It opened in a storefront of what was previously a rare comic and old cartoon cel store, and I was so aggrieved by the loss of that special little store that, for several months, I refused to even look at the Lush store. It's in an area I frequent, however, and I could only hold out for so long. Finally, I allowed myself to peek in the window. Ooh, pretty...I wandered in, mesmerized, entranced by the giant chunks of colorful soap and enticing displays of - what are those? Cheese? Cupcakes? No, they're bubble bars and bath melts. And they smelled soooo nice. But my attention soon was grabbed by a Lush saleswoman, who was showing a Butterball Bath Bomb do its thing in a metal bowl. A small crowd gathered. Free theater! Well, not so free: I ended up buying that bomb, along with around 20 dollars' worth of other goodies. I stashed my Lush bag in the trunk of my car, and continued about my day.

Included in these "other goodies" was a Floating Island bath melt. (I can already hear the sympathetic groans from readers in the know.) Bath Melt does not combine well with Car Trunk in Southern California, any time of year. When I popped my trunk at home, my Butterball and Lemony Flutter hand cream were fine, but my poor little Floating Island bath melt did not survive the trip. With no preservatives, the cupcake (primarily cocoa butter and sandalwood oil) didn't have a chance. Simply, the Floating Island melted. The Lush bag now contained a sodden mess, which I sniffed, sadly. Smelled great, but completely ruined. It did what it was meant to do, I suppose, only prematurely and in the wrong place.

I've bought two or three Floating Island bath melts since that unfortunate start, and all made it to my home, and tub, successfully. So that others may avoid my mistake, I say this: If you buy a bath melt at Lush - and I recommend it - keep it cool! Bath melts melt, and they don't need to be in a bath to do so.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

We were looking for a great place to have dinner in Florence, and we didn't want to take any chances. A friendly tourist recommended La Giostra, and our concierge verified that this would be an excellent choice for fine dining. That's all we needed to hear; a reservation for our party of five was made in short order.

What we didn't know until we were seated and read the menu, was the interesting history behind La Giostra. Believe it or not, this restaurant is owned by real live Austrian royalty, who also are active presences in the kitchen and wine cellar. We thought this was pretty neat. Also neat was that our waiter told us, almost conspiratorially, that Sting had sat at our table the night before. Poor Sting! A renown vegetarian, he missed out on some of the best steak carpaccio in the world.

The menu reflects the subtle Austrian influences on some of the entrees. The food here is basically Tuscan, however. When we ordered one particular Tuscan wine, there was a bit of a stir: Apparently, that red wine is rare and restaurants throughout the world are only allotted 7 or so bottles per year. This was enough for us to get a special table-side visit from the sommelier, a joyful man in a floppy chef's hat.

The happy man in the chef's hat who was thrilled with our wine selection, is the blue-blooded Hapsburg prince. Prince Dimitri Kunz d'Asburgo Lorena created and now runs La Giostra in Florence, with his adult sons' active participation. He was very engaging and happily told us the origins of the special entrees we had ordered. The Austrian influences of the Hapsburg prince are reflected in the creative and subtle introduction of some Austrian cooking with the traditional Italian style of most entrees. He was quite entertaining but didn't overstay his welcome. After a show of oxygenating and decanting our wine in the sommelier way, he graciously accepted our thanks (not to mention a glass of wine for himself!) and moved on to the next table. His mood was contagious, and we spend the rest of our evening exclaiming passionately over the high quality of our food and wine.

The sacher torte and tiramisu were the perfect dessert to end one of the best meals the five of us had ever had. We were still talking about La Giostra all the way back to our hotels.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

A well-run luxury day spa knows that half of attracting new clients is sensory; what we see, hear and smell the first time we enter a day spa goes a long way in determining whether we stay or go. Calm hues and relaxing decor are often integrated into the overall look of high-end day spas, as well as a comfortable, inviting sofa and chair set-up in the foyer. A friendly, yet not overbearing greeter is something I've come to expect, even in busy spas and simple manicure storefronts. Exhale day spas, in several locations across the country, are certainly busy, but there is no way you'd confuse an Exhale spa with a mani-pedi joint. This popular spa is a genuine example of the high-end attention to detail that its affluent customers expect from a luxury spa experience.

Exhale day spas have a certain amount of uniformity between locations, in that the interiors are all vaguely Asian and Zen-inspired, with Roman antiques and other Mediterranean artifacts that are unique to each Exhale spa. Two locations in NYC both feature tropical grasses woven into room dividers and the walls themselves, whereas the Santa Monica location (being 2 blocks from the Pacific anyway) forgoes these topical touches in favor of more multicultural decor such as Buddhas and other statuary.

One aspect of Exhale day spas that I especially appreciated may seem trivial, but upon reflection I think it's pretty important, and indicative of how this spa can break away from the pack. The scent of lavender is so common that it's practically ubiquitous in day spas that feature aromatherapy. Exhale, on the other hand, has a light, calming scent that I had a hard time identifying. It smelled subtly tropical. The young woman at the front desk told me that it is derived mainly from eucalyptus, and is featured throughout all the rooms in the day spa. While Exhale does provide lavender among other scents for clients that opt for aromatherapy candles beside their saunas and baths, this delicate scent of eucalyptus was special, and refreshing.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Oh, happy day! One of my favorite stores for luxury bath treatments, Lush, is having a promotion: Bring back the same Lush bag four times, and get a free Lush organic Happy Pill bath bomb. This should be easy enough, considering that I find myself walking by Lush at least once a week. Lush is like a bakery; its great smells come wafting out, pulling the innocent passer-by (in this case, me) into the store despite the rolling eyes and sarcastic comments of my usual companion. I earned that free Happy Pill bath bomb easily.

The Happy Pill, an orange and yellow disc shaped Lush bath bomb, didn't change the color of my bath water in the pleasing way the Avobath (green) or Black Pearl (dark grey) did. The bath water looked very light yellow, if it changed at all. The orange side seemed to dissolve faster than the yellow, and both sides foamed up instead of fizzing. This may be due to the organic olive oil in it. Other organic ingredients of the Happy Pill include grapefruit oil, lemon oil, and orange flower, and gardenia extract. The yellow side of this bath bomb is Lush's trademarked, grapefruit scented Happy Hippy, and the orange side is the store's Olive Branch scent, which is also largely a citrus scent. I was really looking forward to my free Happy Pill bath bomb, because I like both fragrances and thought that the bath would be invigorating.

All that organic oil did not make my tub greasy, yet I was surprised to find the usual skin softening effects of most Lush bath products missing from this bomb. Also, the scent was fainter than I've come to expect from the citrus lines of Lush. The Happy Pill had a strong smell in the store, but it had a weak scent once in my bathtub. Now, Lush has a signature scent, Karma, which appears in several Lush products. I have the Karma soap, which by and large I love. It has a strong patchouli/citrus scent, and is extremely invigorating and clean-smelling. If I were to get another Happy Pill bath bomb, I think I'd pair it with some Karma soap or even the to-be-discontinued (sob!) Karma bath bomb. That way, the citrus scent may be less subtle, and be longer-lasting.

So, that's my experience with the Happy Pill bath bomb. Can't win 'em all! Lush bombs are very popular with the luxury bath treatment crowd, as seen in the Lush Bath Bomb message board.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

My family recently spent a summer week in New York City, notable mostly for its daily downpours, alternating with scattered showers and incredible humidity. Needless to say, my family was looking forward to returning home to dry, humidity-free Los Angeles. We typically fly American Airlines, as that's where our frequent flyer miles are, and we usually also manage to use these miles to get upgraded to business class. Forget the comfy seats which fully recline; my older kid's favorite part about flying business class on American Airlines, is the heated mixed nuts served by flight attendants at the beginning of the flight. She loves picking through both her and my bowl for her favorites, and is as hopeful as the title character in "Oliver" that she'll get some more.

This fact occurred to her as we waited to board the Jet Blue airplane for our trip home. Jet Blue has very friendly flight attendants, but they sure don't serve heated mixed nuts. The lack of prepared meals and pampering is one money-saving aspect of Jet Blue that helps keep their costs down, and this is reflected in their much less expensive tickets. But in the waiting area of JFK, my charming eldest realized the loss of business class amenities would continue as they had on our Jet Blue flight to NYC. The only thing for a kid to do when facing such adversity, apparently, is to chant. "Warm nuts! Warm nuts! Warm nuts!" This, repeated loudly in the hopes of inciting the crowd a la "Attica" in Dog Day Afternoon. Al Pacino she's not, and the crowd of travelers remained un-incited. I, however, was embarrassed and hushed her as quickly as I could. We couldn't board fast enough!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

For people with the travel bug, it's hard to beat an actual vacation, or trip to a new part of the world. But very few of us are able to simply pick up and go anytime, passport in hand and confirmation of hotel reservations on Blackberry. When that travel bug bites, but the responsibilities of the real world rule out a vacation, what do we do?

The Everyday Luxury Poll asked just that question, and the voting booths are now closed! Examining the results make it clear that we have many and varied ways to compensate for not traveling when we want to. Time dining with friends and loved ones got almost a third of the votes, and the rest of the results are remarkably close. It is elucidating to realize that a purely social activity trumped the several more solitary options; clearly, we travel-oriented people are a friendly bunch!

How about you? Social activity, or alone time? Read our discussion to see all of our various preferences, too. And jump right in; the water's fine!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Getting my kids to help cook dinner used to be easy, as they were eager to take part in whatever activity I was doing. But lately, they seem to have lost their enthusiasm. Could it be that they really know how to prepare Hamburger Helper and microwaved broccoli-with-melted-cheese so well, that it's gotten boring? Perhaps. These days, they prefer to sit at the kitchen table and draw with magic markers while the ground meat browns, or the noodles boil. Or the chicken shake-and-bakes. While I have received several lovely gifts of updated "family portraits" from the kids, part of me misses the days when dinner preparation was filled with "it's MY turn to stir!" and "She licked off the spoon and got her GERMS on it!" Not to mention my constant admonishments about the hazards of the hot stove. Sigh: The Good Old Days.

But when it's summertime, and they see their father ceremoniously unwrap his barbecue tools, it's another story. The scramble to be first in line to help daddy grill up some steaks on the BBQ brings to mind the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. Only, they're the bulls, and I am some innocent pedestrian.

While their father delegates responsibility and my youngest remembers her only-hot-dogs rule of acceptable barbecued dinners, I prep the steaks with a little salt and freshly-ground pepper. Prime grade steaks, grilled right, require little else in terms of seasoning. My oldest sets the table, carefully folding our napkins the way she's seen it done in fancy restaurants, and my youngest wraps the corn in tin foil. There's music playing, my kids are laughing and joking around with their dad, and the foody smells coming off the grill are mouth-watering. I sit back, glass of Napa Valley Merlot in hand, and smile. How could I forget? These are the good old days.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Ah, Italy! Land of medieval towns, renaissance art, villas overlooking vineyards on rolling hills, and...the bus depot next to the Ikea by the Florence airport. Florentine furniture and Ikea are, truly, an unusual match. But why, you ask, would anyone spend part of their Italian vacation in this semi-industrial neighborhood?

For a recent trip to Italy, we flew Air France, with a 90-minute layover at the De Gaulle Airport in Paris. Landing in Florence a couple of hours later, the passengers wearily disembarked and shuffled over to the baggage carousel. After a 12-hour flight, unaided by any prescription sleep medication, I was thrilled to have arrived in Florence. And, just as thrilled to have the airplane portion of the trip over. Watching the suitcases go 'round and 'round the carousel was hypnotic, and I almost dozed off standing up.

But what is this strange sight? I blurrily realize that I'd been standing there for almost 15 minutes, no one is claiming the few remaining suitcases, and mine certainly isn't there. Also, there is a growing line of malcontents behind me. I recognized several people from our flight on this line, and slowly it dawned on me...Air France lost our luggage.

Standing on the line for lost luggage was my first memorable experience in Florence. I'll never forget the charm of the signora who listened to our description of our luggage, as she sat behind the bullet-proof glass. Forever etched in my memory, is the romantic sound of the pen clicking as I prepared to fill out the lost luggage documento, in triplicate. And forever memorialized, will be the tiny Air France canvas bag we got, containing one disposable toothbrush, a gram of toothpaste, the littlest deodorant possible to make without changing its molecular structure, and...one T-shirt. The T-shirt was blank, much to my surprise: I fully expected it to say, "Air France lost my luggage, and all I got was this stupid T-shirt."

It turned out that most of the travellers' luggage did not make it from Paris to Florence, and the next day they all arrived relatively unharmed. We rented a car (which we were going to do regardless), spread out our road maps, and headed back to the airport. But the street signs are in Italian (shocking!), there are many roundabouts, and we got hopelessly lost. We could see the airport, but couldn't get to it. My husband was proud to make use of the time-honored tradition of Men Not Asking For Directions. Finally, and after much debate, we decided to drive straight towards the sight of arriving and departing planes, until we couldn't anymore. Hence, the bus depot next to the Ikea by the Florence airport. The charm, the allure of old Italia. It never ends.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Last month's poll was about fantasy vacations. I wondered where readers would most like to go, if money were no object. Now that the poll is over and done with, I am surprised to see that the Mediterranean received nearly half the votes.

Don't get me wrong; I love Italy and Greece as much as the next person. I had thought, however, that the voters' preferences would be more evenly divided among the options. Now, it could be that some poll-takers didn't see their top vacation spot on the list, since there were only five choices available -- and I thought, "none of the above" would not be a particularily elucidating choice. It's interesting to consider how the votes may have differed, however, were choices in areas of Western Europe, South America and Africa been available. Hmmm, food for thought. And, possibly the genesis of a future poll!

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Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Some children like bathtime, some don't. We've all heard stories of the temper tantrums, screaming, pleading and bartering involved in getting some children to take even a quick dunk - and I'm not even talking about the kids!

While toddlers' bath issues may involve fear of going down the drain with the water, older recalcitrant kids may dislike the feeling of a loss of control, all naked in the confined tub while a parent scrubs away at the days' detritus. They may also find bathtime boring. In either case, a visit to Lush is the perfect solution! Children can enjoy fresh, hand-made bath products as much as adults, even if their skin doesn't actually need softening.

My daughters both generally like taking baths, but the routine can seem lackluster to them. They've often noticed the floral or citrus scents coming from my bathroom when they've astonishingly allowed me time for a bath of my own, and I enjoyed their curiosity. Finally, I let them in on my secret with a visit to my local Lush store. They enthusiastically sniffed almost everything in the entire store, oohing at some and crinkling up their noses at others. They were impressed with the manner in which the Lush staff treated them as mature young ladies, even though some of their behavior was anything but mature. I allowed them each to pick out a bath melt or bath bomb, and they approached this task with utmost seriousness.

My younger daughter picked out the perennially available "Bunny I Shrunk the Kids" bath melt; its rabbit shape and real cotton ball tail proved irresistible. My older kid selected the pink Creamy Candy Bath, with a little candy flower in the middle. That night, they fidgeted and rushed through dinner, greatly anticipating bathtime. "Bunny I Shrunk the Kids" won the coin toss, and, suffice it to say, I had to literally plead and barter with them to get them OUT of the bath!

They smelled wonderful the rest of the evening, and the next morning their hair still held the sweet vanilla scent of their first luxury bath experience. My philosophy regarding bath treatments is, you can never start 'em too young.

Related Blog - A Man Learns to Like Lush, by Business Travel writer Dan Florio.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The Atlantis resort on Paradise Island is the archetypal all-inclusive resort. The aquariums, casino, pools and plentiful dining options guarantee that all your travel dollars can be spent at one place. There's even "Club Rush," a faux nightclub place for teenagers (no one over 17 allowed). From what I saw, it seems that the age limit had the effect of keeping away the 15 and 16 year-olds as well, so Club Rush was predominantly filled with tweens and prebubescent teens feigning nonchalance and tossing their hair. Good times.

An architecturally encircled all-inclusive resort has its drawbacks, however: At least for me, it began to feel artificial. I wanted to swim in some real open water, not the anesthetized environment of Atlantis. I've always enjoyed snorkeling in the past, and so my husband and I decided to book a half-day snorkel trip. The hotel lobbies display pamphlets from independent contractors who supply scuba and snorkel equipment, included with boat rides to assorted local reefs. We basically chose one at random -- maybe the one closest to the fruit basket, who knows -- and called to reserve our place on that company's boat.

We had already decided, on the advice of other vacationers, that we would go to either Rose Island Reefs, or Goulding Reef Cays. Those two options were said to have the best and more varied fish. However, when we scanned down the names of scuba/snorkel options, one stood out: Booby Rock Channel. Booby Rock! How could we pass on a name like that? So we changed our plans.

The way out to Nassau Harbor on the motorboat was typical: Experienced scuba divers sizing each other up, honeymooners being a little embarrassing, and Old Marrieds like us making small talk. Oh, you're from Philly? My cousin lives there, etc. But when the captain cut the engine and began the standard spiel regarding water safely, I had a hard time believing we were already at our destination. Bobbing up and down in the wakes of other boats, we were not in what I'd consider a prime coral reef habitat. And I was right; Booby Rock is a rock, that may at one point have had boobies on it. (It's a kind of bird, wise guy.)

What happened next? The boat operator actually threw some dog kibble into the water to attract fish! I have never had to swim in dog food before, and I don't recommend it. The fish must have known the drill, since they came quickly for their brunch. There were a few squirrel fish, a bunch of silvery grey jobs and a smallish barracuda. Nonetheless, most reef fish are too shy to come to the surface, even when tempted by delicious lamb meal & rice flavored kibble. The scuba divers among us reported that around 20 or 30 feet down, the coral attached to Booby Rock and an old junked boat did provide some interest; tropical fish like queen parrotfish, sergeant majors, and wrasses darting among staghorn coral and sea anemones. For those of us stuck paddling amid the kibble, however, it was at best a unique experience. I hope it remains that way.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

With this year's Mother's day officially behind us, it is time to review the Mother's Day Treats poll.

The question was, "What do you like to give your wife, your mother, or yourself on Mother's Day?"

And the results are...

• Voters' number one choice is "A mini-vacation, such as a trip to a day spa", with 42.86% of the votes.
• Following closely at number two is "A family outing, to the theatre, a museum, etc." with 38.10% of the votes.
• Number three is "A phone call," with only 14.29% voting for this option.
• Far behind in fourth place, is "I don't buy into these made-up, Hallmark-inspired holidays," with only 4.76% of the votes.
• And in last place, with no votes at all, is "Jewelry: Tiffany's is always nice!"

Well, well, well. The results of the Mother's Day Treats poll are quite surprising to me! Not so much for the close contest between numbers one and two, but for the complete lack of votes for the jewelry option. The amount of advertising dollars the high-end jewelry stores pump into newspapers and magazines in the weeks leading up to Mother's Day, led me to believe that jewelry would be one of the higher-ranking gift options in the poll results.

Clearly, moms are divided between the desire to be with their family and the desire for some alone time; this is reflected not only in the results of this poll, but also by any casual eavesdropping at stroller-littered Starbucks across the nation. This division is not solely a between-groups one in the poll, but a within-groups distinction as well. What mother among us has NOT felt the urge to both constantly hug our kids and occasionally lock them out of our bedrooms as well?

Meanwhile, those mothers whose adult children have moved out of state, surely relish Mother's Day phone calls. The day is a bonanza for the phone companies, thats for sure.

And what did this poll-meister receive for Mother's Day? Why, jewelry, of course! This, non-ranked option of the poll, is what I woke up to: Two Crayola-scribbled boxes, with the shining, proud faces of my young daughters hovering above. In one: A bracelet, with flower charms meticulously glued into place. In the other: Another bracelet, with plastic beads carefully strung to read "WOW." No, wait, she's holding it upside down. It reads, "MOM."

Perfect, perfect, perfect. I wore them all day.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Okay, confession time: I did not actually go down the Mayan Temple water slide, in the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island. I availed myself of whatever excuses seemed plausible at the time. The line was too long, the sun was too bright, someone might swipe my lounge chair. The truth is -- and it pains me to admit this -- I was a little scared. Fine, I was a lot scared! My husband was not so reluctant, however, and he happily stood on line with the whooping 8-to 15-year olds.

He must have gone down the gigantic Mayan Temple Waterslide a dozen times each day, and with each slide down he seemed to regress to a younger age. During a break from this activity, I watched him wolf down a 15 dollar cheeseburger and realized I had unwittingly married a little boy. After hastily wiping his mouth on his forearm, he'd scramble back up the stairs of the slide, to rejoin the other kids on line. There were several other wives and mothers smiling benignly at the view of their children AND spouses waiting their turn to whoop down the slide into the pool. They provided for me a rare sense of community among fellow travelers.

I provided for them, however, a whole other sense. My thirsty baby was still nursing at the time, and our hotel room seemed so far away... One of my best friends came with us on this trip, and she draped a plethora of towels across me and my chair. This attempt at privacy backfired, because few things draw attention to oneself more than the sight of a giant, squirming lump of towels with a sweaty woman's head sticking out the top. I suppose that at this point I should be happy to have been able to provide some free poolside entertainment. Back then, though, I needed an oversized pina colada to recover from the unintended exposure. Go down the Mayan Temple Waterslide? No, nursing in public was quite enough adventure for me, thank you very much.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I discovered my love for soothing nighttime baths many years ago, longer than I'd like to admit in public. Around the same time, I also discovered that The Body Shop in my neighborhood was selling an assortment of bath beads in rainbow colors. Rose, lavender, jasmine and sandlewood were my favorites of the bath beads, and half the fun may have been the act of purchasing them. The Body Shop had their bath beads arranged in apothacary-style glass jars, and I would scoop out my choices from the colorful array. It was like a candy store (even better, because I could "sample" the eye liners too).

I would often buy some on the way home, after a stressful day at my job, as a way to help me unwind and forget the demands of the workday. You know the deal; Drop two or three in the tub, wait for the gelatin casings to dissolve, then -ahhhh, the senses relax as the scented bath oil works its magic. The scents of the floral bath oils at The Body Shop are not at all subtle; they follow along the hit-you-over-the-head-with-a-mallet theory of perfumery. In retrospect, I probably stunk up my bathroom to a larger degree than I pretended not to notice back then. But they were an affordable luxury for a young woman just getting started in New York City, and I look back upon my bath-bead-therapy fondly. Well, mostly fondly. The day after a long soak, I'd often slip and almost break my neck while taking my morning shower, and it took me an embarrassingly long time to put two and two together. Hmm, oil is slippery, isn't it? Once I realized that I would have to follow a luxury bath experience with a sturdy sponge and a bottle of Clorox, the magic was gone. Nothing kicks me back into real life faster than scrubbing out a bathtub. THAT can't be relaxing for anyone!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Which type of hotel pillow provides the most comfort? And, is this issue relevant for travelers in the first place?

The poll results are in!

• Ranking as number one is "Soft and squishy," with 43.33% of the votes.
• Coming in at a close second is "Pretty firm, with a little give," at 40% of the votes.
• "Organic buckwheat, with just a hint of lavender" comes in a distant third, with a mere 10% of voters choosing this option.
• Tying for last, at a statistically insignificant 3.33% each, are "I travel for adventure, not a good night's sleep," and "Where I"m staying, the pillow is the least of my worries!"

So, what does this poll tell us? Well, with the top two choices being so close in votes, we can see that the comfort of a hotel pillow is to a certain degree subjective. Most people clearly prefer either firm or soft pillows. It is notable, however, that the vast majority ( 83.33%) consider the comfort of their hotel pillow an important part of their night's sleep. Less than ten percent of the total don't give the quality of hotel pillows much weight, when determining the quality of their vacation overall. With so many more voters having a distinct preference of hotel pillow type, we can see that it's not just a few of us who thinks quality hotel pillows are relevant to our overall hotel stays. It really is important!

It is almost certain that managers of luxury resorts are aware of this fact when determining the caliber of pillow they purchase. It goes without saying that no one would prefer the kind of neck-ache producing polyester rocks or parchment-thin, practically translucent membranes that pass for pillows, at hotels whose managers put no thought into this aspect of their business.

Chalk one up for the luxury resorts, and their glorious, heavenly pillows.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

Guest blog: Mother's Day is around the corner. The Luxury and Resort Travel Section of Suite 101 presents a two-part series on how to indulge the most important woman in your life with a day set aside for her. This piece is all about day spas. Stay tuned for Jennifer's next article, for Mother's Day home spa tips!

Know of any great day spas to add to Jen's list? Post them here with your own experiences at them. So far we've been discussing day spa background music, which really varies in style from place to place. - Jill Florio

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I like my adventure manageable, and when possible, prettily arranged on a plate. That's why, for me, the height of fun in an upscale sushi restaurant is ordering omakase, or "chef's choice." I don't know what the chef will prepare for each course, and it's exciting to see what arrives at the table. Don't expect the standard Japanese tuna rolls with omakase; the chef assumes more sophistication with someone who puts his or her dining fate in the chef's hands (so to speak). I do like to request no sea urchin, however, and from my experience sushi chefs always respect specific requests such as these. Urchin: Too slimy!

Many of the excellent Japanese restaurants in the LA area have tiered pricing for their omakase, and in my experience the quality and freshness of the sushi has always been top-notch.

No sushi-themed week here at the Luxury section of Suite 101 could be complete without a mention of a great sushi restaurant on Little Santa Monica Boulevard, in Beverly Hills, called Yu-n-Mi Sushi. I was reluctant to go, at first, because I couldn't imagine a place with a name like that could live up to its reputation. While the name made me think I was going to be served by Hello Kitty, all my preconceived notions about cuteness were erased by the arrival of the toro sashimi that started off the night of Best Omakase Ever.

This restaurant is yet another contender in the ongoing, overwrought argument among gourmands regarding the best sushi in the country. The ardent supporters of Yu-n-Mi Sushi have a point: It's inexpensive for Beverly Hills, yet the creative entrees are just as mind-bendingly awesome as are those at Matsuhisa and Urasawa. Now, the crowd is hip and young, and the restaurant is nearly always crowded and noisy. Positive attributes for some; not for me. But the outside world seems to slip away when the baked lobster handroll arrives. It's so amazing, so astoundingly delicious that all that matters is the plate in front of me. A circumscribed world, perhaps, but the world of sushi doesn't get much better than this.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I remember being a kid and racing through any art museum my parents had the temerity to drag me to, mindless of whatever exhibit they thought would enrich my obviously blighted youth. What was I looking for? Why, the gift shop, of course! What else could possibly have been the point of bringing such a distracted and recalcitrant child to The Most Boring Place on Earth? Imagine my complete jaw-dropping shock when I was informed, yet again, that no, the museum store was not my personal playspace and no, I was not getting anything. I'd collect myself (and my jaw), and commence the next stage of youthful swag-acquisition. Those of you who have kids, or remember your youth with unfortunate clarity, will recall that each stage grows progressively louder, sometimes escalating to the tossing of the head and the stomping of the feet. This process was repeated so often in my childhood that it's surprising my parents ever took me anywhere, frankly.

They must have occasionally caved and bought me whatever doodad I saw as just reward for having suffered through my parents' attempts to give me culture and class, or I'd have realized the temper tantrums were futile. Research by psychologists has proven that unpredictable, sporadic rewards have a stronger reinforcement for behavior than do no rewards, or predictably timed ones. I think of this fact often when gearing up my kids for their own life-enrichment-through-art-museum-exposure. What I have done from the get-go is stick firmly to our "every 5 times" rule: Every five visits to a museum, aquarium or zoo gets each child one visit to the gift shop. No temper tantrums so far, and because they can predict when they are allowed and not allowed to get a treat at the end of a family outing, the pressure is off and they enjoy all the museums, zoos and aquariums that much more. Score one for the developmental psychologists!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

The comfort of a hotel pillow can be a major factor in the overall impression of a vacation for me, since it affects the quality of my sleep and my alertness the next day. But, of course, there are plenty of people who just lay down, turn off their bedside lamp, and bam! Sound asleep. Putting aside my deep, deep jealousy of these instant-sleepers, I have to wonder: Is it me? Am I some kind of princess-and-the-pea woman who needs the perfect bed, blanket and pillow arrangement before sleep finds me?

A quick search online seems to prove I am not alone. Well over ten million hits for "pillow" + "comfort" indicate that a good night's sleep for many people is impacted by the quality of their pillows. Further, what makes a pillow comfortable is a matter of opinion, right? Some people prefer very soft and squishy pillows, some relatively firm ones. And a pillow that seems great at one time may not quite cut it the next. I recently bought a "Nap" pillow at Brookstone, because it conformed so well to my head at the store that I was tempted to curl up right there on the massage chair and catch some Z's. Unfortunately, some kind of chemical alteration in its infrastructure must have occured (the only plausible inference!) because when I tried it out at home, the magic was gone. That poor pillow is now collecting dust in my linen closet, and my search continues.

For those of you who can sleep sitting up on a rock, well, that's very nice for you. It certainly would make my travel experiences better if I could learn to emulate your obvious talents, but it just isn't going to happen. Yet. In the meantime, I will still do my best to seek out hotels whose managers put obvious thought into the quality of the beds and pillows. When I'm well-rested, I'm a happier person, and therefore so is everyone else around me!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

When you get right down to it, I am the world's worst packer. I pack too many of one thing, like 5 bras for one weekend away, or not enough of another (my daughter will never forget the trauma of mommy-forgot-to-pack-my-blanket-and-bear, circa 2002). But what about forgetting something essential? When I unpacked my bathroom pack at the Maui Prince, I realized I forgot to pack my toothbrush. And it was after 10PM, the hotel shop was closed, and I was tired and cranky. Spoiling for an argument. Instead, the lovely concierge sent up a brand new toothbrush (and toothpaste, which I weirdly did remember to pack), courtesy of the hotel. Sundries like this are often gratis at nice hotels, so my dental health was secure for the night! Crisis averted.

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

While I unfortuately have never been able to pass up a high-carb breakfast (even embarrassingly, an ALL-carb one), my older kid decided at some point that she doesn't like bread. When we were staying at The Shangri-la Hotel in Santa Monica, she was only momentarily perturbed to discover that the free continental breakfast was bagels, toast, or danish. She managed to pass on these and made do (quite contentedly) with eating the little jellies and butters. Hence our new expression, "Free Condimental Breakfast."

While a hotel with only starchy free continental breakfasts doesn't exactly bring up images of luxury (no eggs benedict!), The Shangri-la is just a couple of blocks away from many, many fine eating establishments in Santa Monica. Since I, myself, couldn't make do with a condiments-only breakfast, I availed myself of a different restaurant each morning. This "adventure" helped my family acclimate to our new home...after all, we think it's IMPORTANT to know what's out there!

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner

I was born a poor black boy.