Let's hear it for generous older travelers who roam the globe

Here are three things you should know about older travelers:

* There are a lot of them. Between Jan.1 and Dec. 31of this year, more than 7,000 of the nearly 78 million American baby boomers, born 1946-1964,  will turn 65 every day.  Those statistics come from AARP.

* They are traveling and spending. More boomers are turning to travel as a top leisure activity and they     are outspending their younger counterparts by an average of 74 percent on their vacations. That's the word from suddenlysenior.com.

* They are a generous lot. The Grand Circle Foundation  is  working with an organization that serves orphaned children in earthquake-ravaged Japan. The foundation sent an e-mail to travelers one night this week between 7-11 p.m. and as of yesterday at 5 p.m., $62,853 in donations had come in from 615 donors -- which, combined with the $25,000 match by Grand Circle Foundation, brought the donation at that point to $87,853.  Donors are Grand Circle and Overseas Adventure travelers, associates in Boston and around the world, as well as trip leaders and program directors.

Grand Circle Travel, along with sister group Overseas Adventure Travel,  is a favorite of older travelers. (The fellow in the accompanying Grand Circle photo is meeting the terra-cotta warriors in Xian, China.) So it's no surprise that this week more than 1,000 seniors are participating in Boston meetings to talk about, and hear about, overseas travel.  As we indicated, there are a lot of older globetrotters out there ...  and I'm proud to be one of them.

Search Amazon.com for senior travel

Trivial question

 The lily is the symbol of which country? (Answer somewhere below.)

Stay at these hotels and get your airline baggage fees back

InterContinental Hotels Group will be extending its Check It Free promotion through April 30. Guests can now get back up to $100 in checked baggage fees for each round-trip flight with a two-night weekend stay at any of InterContinental’s 4,500 hotels worldwide including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites.

Worth quoting 

“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” -- Aldous Huxley

Take 10% more off Nantucket inn's sale rates

People who stay at the Jared Coffin House on Nantucket now through May 18 will get an additional 10 percent off the inn's Hot Dates, Cool Rates sale. Those cool rates start at $125. 

Fascinating fact

The Himalayas have 19 of the 25 highest mountains in the world (but don't ask us to name them from memory). 

Royal Caribbean rolling out an alcohol-buying package
USA Today reports that Royal Caribbean Line is beginning to offer a package rate on buying alcoholic beverage. The offers range from a Beer and Wine Package for  $29 per person per day for all beers, house wine by the glass and a 25% discount on all other wines and liquors, to a Premium Package, at $49 per person per day for a whole lot more, including cocktails. Ah, but the offer will first be available only on selected ships that cater mostly to European customers.The full story is here.

So who says gasoline is getting expensive anyhow?

 Last-chance spring special in N.H. for $99

Snowy Owl Inn & Resort in Waterville Valley, N.H., has this offer for the first 100 bookings only: a $99 inclusive rate from now until the end of April for almost any room in the house. Book online using promo code JUST99 at www.snowyowlinn.com; the phone number is 800-766-9969. That price includes taxes, there are 10 room types to choose from, and the offer is even valid Easter weekend.

Trivial answer

The lily is the symbol of France.

 

Love is in the air -- and on the slopes

As Valentine's Day approaches, here is a story of the heart from Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow, Vt.

On Jan. 31, James Croswell, of Roxbury, Conn., wrote a message to his girlfriend,  Jenna Winter of Ludlow, Vt., in giant block letters written on the snow under Okemo’s Black Ridge triple chair. It read, “I [heart] U Jenna. Will you marry me?” How could anyone refuse a proposal like that? Jenna and James (pictured) are heading to the altar.

 And the romance will continue at Okemo.  On Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, the resort advises single skiers and  riders in search of a match to ride the Black Ridge Triple Chair starting at 1 p.m. Couples will be paired randomly, on-the-spot, and in the time it takes to ride the lift to the top, fate will make a love connection, or skiers and riders can go their separate ways and return to the “Lookin’ for Love Line” again. 

 That's hardly all, though. Ten oversized red hearts will be hidden along some of Okemo’s easiest ski trails on Valentine’s Day. When a skier or rider finds a heart and takes it to the Real Estate Info Desk in the Okemo Clock Tower Base Area base lodge, they will win a prize package of confections. Also on the big day, one of Okemo’s lift attendants will be wearing a bright red heart on his or her uniform. Skiers and riders who report the name of the lovable liftie to the Clock Tower Base Area base lodge Real Estate Info Desk, will likewise win a sweet  treat. Also, social media sweethearts who take a photo of themselves in front of Okemo’s digital lift signs when a special Valentine message is displayed can win a Snowcat dinner adventure for two. When they e-mail their photo to info@okemo.com, they become eligible to be a finalist in a Valentine Facebook photo contest.

Okemo is offering a Romance Lodging Package starting at $699.95 per couple and including two nights of lodging in a Jackson Gore Inn Executive room, a three-course dinner for two at Coleman Brook Tavern, a 50-minute massage for each guest, a Vermont gift basket and optional two-day lift tickets at a discounted rate of $112.20 per person. This package includes all taxes and a travel protection plan and is valid any midweek (Sunday-Thursday) non-holiday period, excluding March 13-18. Call 866)-706-5366. For more information about the resort, call 802-228-1600 or visit www.okemo.com.

 Search Amazon.com for Skiing

Trivial question

What are France's two longest rivers? (Answer to this easy question somewhere below.)

Spring on Nantucket starts at $125 a night

Guests who book Nantucket vacations by Feb. 18 get the lowest rates of the spring season with a  Hot Dates, Cool Rates Guarantee. Other benefits include a dinner credit ($25 on $100 spending, or $50 on $150) and two $25 spa treatment credits. The participants:    Jared Coffin House, from $125;    The Cottages & Lofts at the Boat Basin, from $175;  White Elephant, from $195,  The Wauwinet, from $225; and White Elephant Hotel Residences, from $350.  To book, click on the hotel name, navigate to reservations and enter the code GTDLOW, or call 800-ISLANDS (800-4752637) or 508-325-1000 and mention booking code GTDLOW. 

Worth Quoting

"It would be a great country if it had a roof over it!" -- comedian Noel V. Ginnity on sometimes-rainy Ireland. 

 Companions can fly free to the Bahamas

Goin to the Bahamas? Book through Feb. 28 to get free companion airfare or an instant air credit up to $300 for bookings of four or more nights. The offer is valid for travel now through June 30 (some blackout dates  apply). Companion’s Fly Free is The Bahamas’ most successful promotion of all time, with  more than 40 participating resorts and hotels located throughout Nassau/Paradise Island, Grand Bahama Island,  The Abacos, Cat Island, Harbour Island and The Exuma. Visit www.Bahamas.com for a list of participating hotels.

Fascinating fact 

Chinese immigrants first came to San Francisco in 1848. But, according to About.com, the Japanese Hagiwara family invented "Chinese" fortune cookies at Golden Gate Park's Tea Garden.

Give honey to your honey

Kimpton's The Muse New York has a honey of a package, called Bee Mine. Throughout February, guests will receive premier accommodations, 14 percent off the best available rate, in-room and take-home Burts Bees products, two honey cocktails at the in-house restaurant Nios and a complimentary evening wine hour in the hotel's living-room-style lobby. The package starts at $175 per night.  Call  212-485-2400 or book  at www.themusehotel.com with rate code PVAL.

Trivial answer

France's two longest rivers are the Loire and the Seine.

Friday's trivia answer

Domodedovo International Airport is in Moscow. According to Wikipedia, Domodedovo is the largest airport in Russia in terms of passenger and cargo traffic. A total of 20.43 million passengers used Domodedovo in 2008, a 9 percent increase over 2007. The airport is 22 miles south of the center of Moscow, and is one of the city's three major airports, along with Sheremetyevo International Airport and Vnukovo Airport. My principal memory of Domodedovo is being told that I could not eat my take-out sandwich within the security zone.

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Florida hotel and resort savings

Book the Boca Family Holiday Package from the Boca Raton Resort & Club and get two rooms for the price of one and a half-day session for your child at Camp Boca. Available holidays are Memorial Day (hurry, hurry), May 25; Father's Day, June 14; Independence Day, July 4;and Labor Day, Sept. Rates begin at $199 per room with a second room free. There is a two-night minimum with one night including the holiday.

Call 888-495-BOCA. For resort details and other packages, visit http://www.bocaresort.com.

*

Palm Beach County is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding with what it calls the Deal of the Century. We wouldn'ty go that far, but you can get a room for $19.09 in 75 hotels, resorts and B&Bs. But first you have to stay two, three, or four nights at regular rates.

For the offer, click here. To learn about the area, visit http://www.palmbeachfl.com.

It's all relative

You don't need a deep understanding of Einstein's theory of relativity to know why, although the same amount of miles are covered, the ride home seems at least twice as long as the ride to your vacation destination. Going there, you are filled with thoughts of new sights, entertainment, and good food. Coming home, your are filled with thoughts of dirty laundry and bills in the unopened mail.

'Concierge packages' at a New England inn

The historic Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, Mass., is introducing something called Concierge Packages, designed for those seeking shorting vacations or "staycations." The packages, for two guests, can be for three, four or five nights and include a full breakfast each morning in the inn, and dinners at night either at The Red Lion or Rouge Restaurant and Bistro in neighboring West Stockbridge. Also included are two “American Icons” passes entitling guests to visit three of the four nationally known museums in The Berkshires, including Hancock Shaker Village; Chesterwood, the summer home of Lincoln Monument sculptor Daniel Chester French; The Mount, Edith Wharton’s estate and gardens; or The Norman Rockwell Museum. The inn also includes a picnic lunch. Prices, based on two guests, range from $1,125 for a three -night stay to $2,185 for five nights in a suite. All taxes and gratuities are included. Packages are available Sunday through Thursday nights.

Call innkeeper Michele Kotek at 413-298-1656. For inn information, visit http://www.redlioninn.com/.

What’s in a pronunciation?

Calais, France, is pronounced Cal-lay but Calais, Maine, is pronounced Cal-iss.

A Super Pass for golfing in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City is introducing the Golf Salt Lake Super Pass. Each pass includes an 18-hole round for one to four players, golf cart(s), complimentary range balls and a 10-20 percent discount on rental clubs per player. In addition to playing some of Utah's top public courses, the pass allows groups of two to 12 players to make tee times 60 days in advance, as opposed to the typical seven-day advance booking policy.

For information, click here. To learn more about the area, go to http://www.visitsaltlake.com/.