Safety first: Tips for camping teenagers and their parents

When children go to camp -- be it a traditional overnight camp,   a school field trip or a adventure halfway around the world --  parents understandably worry about their children's safety. And that worry doesn’t cease when the youngsters reach their teen years. Here, from a Chicago-based service adventure travel company called The Road Less Traveled,  are safety tips for both parents and teenagers.

 For Parents
Choose a credible company.   Select a program that has a great track record and an established reputation.  Don’t be afraid to ask for references or testimonials from previous participants.  Another possibility is to choose a program that is accredited by the American Camp Association. 
 
Check the State Department’s website. At www.travel.state.gov,  you can find up-to-date information on country-specific travel warnings.

Check your family’s overseas medical insurance coverage. Make sure your policy applies to overseas and will cover emergency transportation expenses. If it doesn’t, you might consider supplementary coverage for your child.

Check the certification. See what minimum first aid certification level the leaders are required to have. If your child will ever be more than two hours  from a hospital, the best training is Wilderness First Responder (WFR). The Road Less Traveled maintains that standard first aid, and wilderness first aid, are not sufficient certifications in remote settings.

Talk to the directors of the program. If they are inaccessible when you are making a decision, they may well be inaccessible during the summer. Ask what their mission and values are. Make sure they align  with your own values.

For Teens

Leave a detailed itinerary and duplicate documents. Make copies of your itinerary, passport and credit cards and leave them with your parents. Make sure the itinerary includes addresses, phone numbers and any other relevant information.

 Register. For those traveling in another country, register your trip on Smart Travelers Enrollment Program (STEP). The program is a free service from  the U.S. government to U.S. citizens who are traveling to, or living in, a foreign country.  STEP allows you to enter information about your upcoming trip abroad so that the Department of State can better assist  in an emergency. 

 Locate the American Embassy. Take the embassy phone number and address with you and keep it in a safe place. Should an emergency arise, you may well need to contact them for help.

Stick together. Avoid walking around alone, especially at night.  Stay away from isolated areas and always take a friend or staff member with you if you need to venture away from the group.

Know the laws of your destination. While in a foreign country you are subject to its laws.  Be aware of local conditions and respect  the local culture.

For information about The Road Less Traveled, visit www.theroadlesstraveled.com or call 800-939-9839.

Trivial question
Which country is nearest to Scotland’s Shetland Islands? And no fair peeking at a map. (Answer somewhere below.)

The holidays are half off at this St. Thomas resort
The Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort & Spa., an all-inclusive resort in St. Thomas, has launched an early booking sale for travel this upcoming holiday season.  The Holiday Sale provides a 50% discount on all-inclusive reservations of four nights or more Dec. 23-Jan. 1. Rates start at $$439 a night, including meals and beverages, entertainment, half-day access to the supervised Kid’s Club, and a comprehensive activities program. Book through July 17  by calling 888-582-9104 or visiting www.sugarbaywyndham.com. 

Afternoon tea in London for 11 cents
To honor its 1865 opening, The Langham, London will bring back the original price of afternoon tea  on June 10.  For just 7 pence (or U.S. 11 cents), guests will  experience the Wonderland Tea, normally priced at £38 (U.S. $62). This signature tea features dainty sandwiches, scones with Devonshire cream,  pastries and cakes and a variety of teas. Guests must submit their table reservation request at www.palm-court.co.uk/1865 by midnight May 31. Names will then be chosen at random and  recipients will receive  reservation notifications by email on June 3. I stayed at the Langham a few years back and loved it.

Book those Disney dining reservations early
As soon as you know the dates for a trip to Walt Disney World, you might consider making dining reservations because some dinners, especially those that feature the Disney characters, book up fast. I’m speaking from experience: After booking a trip to Disney World for late September yesterday, I tried to make reservations for Donald Duck’s Safari Breakfast at the Animal Kingdom theme bark. Tables for every day of my stay were already filled. No breakfast with Donald? I don’t know if I can survive this!

Worth quoting
“Throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Mark Twain

A special Father’s Day weekend for the golfing dad
The Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, N.C., will hold its third annual Father’s Day Weekend  June 17-19 with a celebration of golf and golf stories, and a round on the recently restored Pinehurst No. 2 where guests can attempt to re-create the Father’s Day putt that won Payne Stewart the 1999 U.S. Open.  The package, which starts at $795 per person, includes three nights’ accommodations; a Saturday round of golf on Pinehurst No. 2 with a caddy followed by an early Sunday round on Pinehurst No. 4; access to the U.S. Open VIP room all weekend; breakfast each morning; and two dinners with speakers. Visit www.pinehurst.com or call 800-487-4653.

Trivial answer
Norway is the country closest to Scotland’s Shetland Islands.

Walt Disney World plans a few pleasant surprises for summer

While the big change -- a major expansion of Fantasyland -- won't happen until 2012 and 2013, Walt Disney World has several changes and new attractions that will be in place by summer. Among them:

* A 10-minute projection show that transforms Cinderella Castle into a shimmering spectacle (pictured) called “Let the Memories Begin.” The show, to be presented on select nights at the central Florida theme park, will be  highlighted by images of Walt Disney World guests photographed that same day in the Magic Kingdom.

* At Disney's Hollywood Studios, the Star Tours attraction  (scheduled to reopen May 20) depicts an earlier chapter of the Star Wars saga than the original Star Tours did, so the spaceship of choice is now the Starspeeder 1000.  C-3PO, a new pilot (by accident) takes the controls for a journey to the "metropolitan" planet Coruscant or to Tatooine (pronounced tætu'in), an arid planet on the "Outer Rim," or to some other planet within Star Wars' mythical universe. Even the outcome of the adventure may change from one "launch" to the next.
* Also, Animal Kingdom will add a new extra-cost experience, Wild Africa Trip. Jake and the Never Land Pirates will be part of Disney Junior -- Live on Stage at  Hollywood Studios, which also plans a new parade called Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun. Also at the  Hollywood park, TV's Phineas and Ferb will put on an interactive show.
Visit www.disneyworld.com

(Photo/Walt Disney Co.)

Search Amazon.com for Walt Disney World

Trivial question

What is the name of the country once called Dutch Guiana? (Answer somewhere below.)

What'll it cost you to fly standby?

It's 1 p.m. and your flight's not scheduled until 6. Naturally, you don't want to hang around the airport, but will requesting standby for an earlier flight take a bite out of your budget. According to travel guru Terry Trippler's  Airline Rules To Know, that all depends upon the airline and what kind of ticket you have. Example: If you have a refundable ticket, American Airlines charges no fee. But if you have a nonrefundable ticket, the same-day standby option isn't available. Ah, but there are exceptions such as active duty U.S. Military on orders or personal travel, and persons with certain AA awards cards. It's complicated, so be sure to check the airline's policy well in advance.

Fascinating fact

All of Australia's large, permanent lakes have been created by dams. You might say they are unnatural.

St. Thomas resort at 50% off

The Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort & Spa, an all-inclusive resort in St. Thomas, is holding a  Winter Value Sale.  Guests get up to 50 percent off all-inclusive nightly rates for travel through Dec. 22. Those rates include meals and beverages, entertainment, half-day access to the supervised Kid’s Club, and an activities program featuring snorkeling, kayaking, sailing, scuba instruction, miniature golf and family movie nights.  Guests can book the special  rates from  $368 double occupancy through April 3 by calling 888-582-9104 or visiting www.sugarbaywyndham.com.  

Worth quoting

“Kilometers are shorter than miles. Save gas, take your next trip in kilometers.” -- George Carlin

 Pardon me boy, is this the Transylvania Station?

Calling all fans of Dracula and/or train travel: The Great Canadian Travel Company has a four-day, three-night train package called “Transylvanian Journey.” Beginning from Budapest,the journey follows the course of the blue Danube to Istanbul and provides sightseeing on the Bosphorus. Passengers will  find stunning scenery and ancient architecture as they pass through rural Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. Included  are three nights’ accommodation on the Danube Express, all meals (with drinks) on the train, drinks in the train’s lounge car, and all tours, excursions and entries during the journey.  The price is about $3800, and  there are five departures between May 4 and Sept. 21. Visit www.greatcanadiantravel.com/europe-hungary-transylvania-train-tour.

Trivial answer

What was once Dutch Guiana is now Surinam.

Tangier: a Virginia island that's like no other

Top, golf carts are the preferred method of getting around. Bottonm, the Methodist parsonage.

(Story and photos by Richard P. Carpenter)

The first thing you notice on Virginia's Tangier Island are the accents. They are none like you've heard before, largely Elizabethan with a dollop of Virginian as well.

There's a reason for those unique accents. The island was settled in 1686 by people from Cornwall, England, and their isolation from the mainland of Virginia and Maryland, a dozen or so miles away, has kept that method of talking relatively intact.

Tangier, though, would be fascinating to visit even without those accents. Some 600 residents inhabit this 900-acre island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay and, not surprisingly, most make their livings by fishing and crabbing. There are two churches, one Methodist and the other non-denominational, two schools and one policeman, whose official car is a PT Cruiser. (Good thing the island has virtually no crime. People get around the island by golf cart, motorcycles, bicycles and cars but there are only about 20 of the latter. Seven artesian wells provide the water supply.

The same family names keep cropping up, Crockett, Pruitt and Parks among them. "No, we're not all related," said one resident. They all know each other, though. How could they not in an island this small. They are susceptible to "outside" influences, though. They watch television largely by satellite and get on the Internet, mostly by dial-up. Residents have their own boat to take them to and from the mainland. No liquor can be bought or sold on Tangier Island, but there is no law against bringing a supply back during those mainland visits.

Tangier Island is accessible by commercial boats from Onancock and Reedville, Va., and Crisfield, Md. The ride takes a little over an hour, and residents are welcome indeed. For those who want to stay longer, there are three bed-and-breakfasts. One of them, Hilda Crockett's served a lunch so hearty -- there were crabcakes, clam fritters, ham and corn pudding -- that I felt no need to have dinner that evening.

For more information on the island, click here and here.

Travel tip

During flights, especially long ones, passengers' feet tend to swell. Consider wearing Crocs or other loose-fitting shoes, then changing to more traditional footwear after landing.

Family savings in St. Thomas

Summertime is savings time in the Caribbean. For instance, the Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort & Spa in St. Thomas,has an an all-inclusive SunValue Island Getaway package available through Aug. 24. The price starts at $387 per room, per night, for two adults staying four nights or more, but here comes the good part: That price includes unlimited food and beverages, entertainment, non-motorized water activities and half-day access to the supervised Kids Club. Children under 12 who share a room with their parents stay, play and eat (from the children’s menu) at no additional charge. The cost for children ages 13 to 17 who stay in the same room with their parents is $95 per child per night. And for those concerned about the new passport rules, those documents are not required for US citizens who visit the U.S. Virgin Islands.

For that offer, click here or call 877-999-3223 and mention code PKGAIP. For resort information and other offers, visit http://www.wyndhamsugarbay.com/.

Monday's trivia answer

Sitka, Alaska, is the largest municipality in the United States by area, with a total area of 4,811.5 square miles. Of that amount, 1,937.6 square miles, or 40.27 percent, is water.

Let your dad heed the call of the wild

Looking for a memorable Father's Day gift? The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge in Alberta is offering its first annual "men's only" weekend, July 3-5. The package features two nightsat the lodge, which is in the Canadian Rockies; a men's barbecue; two breakfasts and one lunch; a poker night; transfers to and from Jasper; unlimited onsite recreational rentals, including canoes, kayaks, and bikes; and a choice of one of the following: a whitewater rafting excursion,
guided fly fishing, or golf at the lodge. The cost is $1,244 based on double occupancy.

Call 800-441-1414. To learna bput the lodge, visit www.fairmont.com/jasper.

Worth quoting

I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.

-- Robert Louis Stevenson