How to get around the world free (or dirt cheap)

If you’re low on cash or afraid of flying, there is an an excellent article from Totaltravel, with suggestions on getting creative to fulfill those holiday dreams! 




Some of the suggestions include:

Taking a motorcycle

Deliver someone’s car

Work on a yacht

Make friends along the way

Drive a rental car

Read the full Article here.

I love the Chinese proverb, "Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still."

Have a great Day.

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Tips for a financially healthy holiday season

As we prepare for the festive season, we expect these
celebrations to be a time of happiness and joy. But these
celebrations can be financially stressful.

 Now is the time to plan with these 7 suggestions


Plan ahead - make a list of everyone you intend to buy a
present for and write the amount you intend to spend on
them. Think of alternate less expensive gifting options.

Don’t stop paying your regular bills - Although it is
tempting to do this so that you have extra money for the
festive season - it will only make it harder in January to get
on track. Keep up with regular bills and set a budget that you
can afford.

Beware of interest free deals - these are only good if you
can pay off the entire amount before the end of the interest
free period. Make sure you do the sums yourself and pay
more than the minimum required otherwise you could be
paying a high interest charge.

Shop with a purpose - Take your gift giving list when you
shop. Avoid spending more than you need to or can afford.
Think about groceries in November - there are lots of things
you can purchase ahead of the big day to make it easier. Start
planning your festivities now and see what you can start to
purchase rather than leaving it till the end.

Be thoughtful - chances are you are not the only one
worrying about the costs to be incurred over the festive
season. Your family and friends might be feeling the same.
Consider discussing with your loved ones about how to make
the holiday less expensive and yet an enjoyable time for
everyone (ie: Kris Kringle/pooling money for food/presents
only for kids).

Reuse gift wrapping – Retain any ribbon and gift bags that
you may have received and use them next year... great for
saving the environment too.

Black Friday & Cyber Monday Specials! Send Smiles and get FREE SHIPPING on Flowers & Gifts at 1800flowers.com! Use Code: SHIPFREE2012 at checkout

 (Valid 11/23/2012 12:00am EST - 11/26/2012 11:59pm EST)

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou

Fwd: Experience Amazing UK And Europe Tours - Don't Miss This

Here's a great site to check out  

and some great deals  :-)

	Experience the Back-Roads touring difference on unique small group tours of the UK and Europe.
	With more than 25 years experience Back-Roads Touring has always offered a unique style of guided holiday. By limiting group sizes to a maximum of just 18 passengers our aim has always been to offer a more friendly, relaxed and flexible holiday experience. The company's purpose built mini-coaches can take you to places in the UK and Europe that larger coach tours are simply unable to reach. This means you can leave the typical tourist trails behind and visit intimate places like the cobbled town centre of historic European villages, or the narrow country lanes in the English Cotswolds.
	Back-Roads Touring is one company that still believes that the journey is as important as the destination and with our inspiring range of over 30 tour itineraries you can look forward to a unique, genuine and unforgettable experience wherever you choose to travel.
	Book today by calling 1300 100 410 or see your travel agent.
	7 Days/6 Nights from $2350* 14 Days/13 Nights from $4950* This tour has it all, history and architecture to breath-taking scenery and fine food. Drive through Dartmoor National Park and see wild ponies, visit Doc Martin's Port Isaac, enjoy lunch at Rick Stein's 'The Seafood Restaurant', explore Britain's maritime past in Falmouth and visit the stunning gardens of Trebah. Highlights: Dartmoor National Park, Port Isaac, Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant, The Gardens of Trebah, Private garden tour of Tregothnan Estate and St Michael's Mount. This tour has been crafted as an intimate, indulgent introduction to one of the world's most popular peninsulas. We include all the major, must-see attractions but take you to hidden gems in classic Back-Roads fashion. Uncover the elegance of Italian culture, cuisine and history. Highlights: Private tours in Rome, Florence and Venice, explore remote Tuscan villages, ferry ride on Lake Como, visit the Cinque Terre and the swiss lakeside town of Lugano
	EARLYBIRD SAVINGS SAVE 5% per person on the rates below when you book and pay before 15th December 2012!
	HEART OF ENGLAND 5 Days/4 Nights from $1670* HIGHLIGHTS OF BRITAIN 9 Days/8 Nights from $2725* IRELAND THE EMERALD ISLE 12 Days/11 Nights from $3695* THE WONDERS OF WALES 7 Days/6 Nights from $2350* A SCOTTISH JOURNEY 7Days/6 Nights from $2485* LA BELLE FRANCE 9Days/8 Nights from $2895* PROVENCE & THE FRENCH RIVIERA 11 Days/10 Nights from $3720* TUSCAN TREATS AND THE CINQUE TERRE 9 Days/8 Nights from $2730* CROATIA AND THE DALMATIAN COAST 7 Days/6 Nights from $2695* SPANISH INSPIRATION 10Days/9 Nights from $3650* ANZACS ON THE WESTERN FRONT 4 Days/3 Nights from $1240*

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"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou

Life is an Adventure'
Life is an Adventure on IBS

Mungo National Park

Looking across the baked, crusty earth that gives way to lumpish formations sculpted by wind and water and further on hill-sized dunes of pure white sand. The sun beats down from a sky so blue and so wide the occasional bird of prey scanning below for lunch stands out like a beacon.

The landscape is other-worldly, almost what you'd expect the rover Curiosity currently charting the surface of Mars to see.

This is Outback Australia, no doubt about it, but the interesting thing is that Mungo National Park in south-western New South Wales is one of the more accessible parts of the Outback to major population centres, and certainly one of the more fascinating.

Being just over 100km from Mildura in north-western Victoria and about 1000km due west of Sydney, Mungo is far easier to get to by car than (say) Ayers Rock or Coober Pedy yet arguably gives sightseers just as much bang for their visual buck.

Anyone thinking of visiting would do well to take the extra time and explore the area. A loop of a few hundred kilometres takes you to Broken Hill with its beautiful old buildings, art galleries and restaurants, then on to Menindie and its vast lakes, and Mildura with its burgeoning foodie scene.

The World Heritage listed National Park is based around Lake Mungo, the lake has not seen water in 18,000 years. Instead, its 200 square kilometers is a flat expanse of salt bush stretching from horizon to horizon. The tallest things out there are the small groups of emus plucking red berries from the blue bush.

 

But don't think for a moment that Mungo is a barren, empty wilderness. The major draw-card is on the eastern side of the lake where over millennium prevailing westerly winds have built up a 30km crescent-shaped arc of clay and sand called a lunette that has in turn been eroded into fantastic buttresses and gullies, colored white, red and yellow depending on the age of the sediment.

The area is known as the Great Walls of China and as well as being a spectacular place to explore and photograph, it is also of great cultural significance.

This was once the shore of the lake, a place where the local Aboriginal people fished, hunted, camped, cooked and dream of the land's beginnings. It is the place where the skeletal remains of Australia's oldest human inhabitant have been found, appropriately named Mungo Man, who was buried around 42,000 years ago. For modern day explorers the clues still remain of these early inhabitants.

Strong winds the previous week had shifted sand to reveal a pair of small white objects poking out of the hard-packed surface. They were the teeth of an extinct (in this region) hairy-nosed wombat, the little brother of much larger fauna such as the rhinoceros-sized Zygomaturus that lived in the area up until 45,000 years ago and was possibly hunted to extinction.

You can learn all about the history, geology and ecology of Mungo at the excellent visitor's centre built next to the shearing shed and homestead of what, up until the 1970s, was a sheep station.

There's also a self-guided drive around the park of about 70km that introduces a diverse variety of landscapes including the vast expanses of ancient lake bed (home to kangaroos, emus and echidnas), rolling sand dunes and the bird-filled stands of mallee woodland. At every turn, visitors are encouraged to park their car and walk through the various habitats - except for the Great Walls of China with its delicate, easily eroded surface which requires a guided walk to ensure its preservation.

It takes a good couple of days to properly explore the Park and accommodation is available at the comfortable and spacious Mungo Lodge, the more basic Shearers' Quarters near the old homestead, or various camping grounds inside and outside the Park.

The Park is closed at times due to poor weather or extreme fire danger. For up to date reports, always check with the park office on 03 5021 8900.
Access to the park costs $7 per car per day. Well worth a Visit..

 

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Dangers and safety - Water Skiing

Though swimming is not strictly a necessity to learn or start water skiing, it is always advisable to have learned the art of staying afloat on the water. One can always wear lifejackets to stay afloat in case of losing balance.

However, there are other dangers also. Skiing on shark-infested waters is always dangerous. When the activity is performed in rivers and lakes, the danger or attack from marine creatures is limited. But the same is not the case when skiing on the seas.

This peril was caught on camera in one of the Jaws series. The movie has kept a generation of people away from waters, and quite possibly from the sport of water skiing. 

Another danger is hidden or submerged rocks. These could ambush skiers and throw them of balance. However, this danger is minimal as most skiing is done over waters that has been tested and is familiar for the skiers. But when skiing over waters that is not familiar to the skier, or is not chartered, then the danger from rocks is real.

The skier always faces the danger of losing balance and crashing in the water. This could affect even experienced skiers. While skiing at high speeds, the skier could lose balance and fall. The impact of the human body on water while at high speeds can be  fatal for the skier.



The best way to avoid such problems is to ski with experts or in groups, so that there are other people to come to your rescue when something untoward happens. It is imperative that skiers always take safety measures before embarking on the activity.

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Water Skiing Safety and Inspiration

Water skiing has its flip side too. It is definitely not for the weak-hearted. If you cannot stomach water and getting wet, well stay away from even watching a skiing show on the TV. Also, those with spectacles have major trouble skiing.

Wearing contact lenses would mean the risk of losing them. Whereas, wearing spectacles means water droplets on the glasses and hazy vision. Drowning is another real problem facing water skiers.

The disabled people too can enjoy the joys of water skiing. Of course, the rules for participation of the disabled are mentioned and understood. This is a sport where the competition is primarily between you and yourself. To compete with oneself as anyone would vouch is the toughest thing to do.


Water skiing, though a high-adrenaline activity, it complements health too. It regulates metabolism and improves immunity. Well, that's true for almost all sports.

Every sports activity requisites different sets of skills to cope with the drills and water skiing is no exception. Certainly, balance plays a vital role in this activity. Balance stems from determined concentration and unwavering focus. And of course, concentration is achieved only when your heart is in it. First, have the passion for the sport and then it is only natural that the other traits would follow. After all, the mind is where the heart is!

You can mold water skiing the way you want it. The rules of the engagement are for fun and safety.

No one stops another from trying to innovate. Once you take to the sport, always remember that an individual found it and promoted it. You could be the special one who could make it better or even more spectacular.

Try out your permutation and combinations on the flowing and still waters and see what you can do.


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"International Talk Like a Pirate Day"

September 19 be "International Talk Like a Pirate Day" AARRGG

A little video to help you on your way matey.

[All Hope Abandon, Ye Who Enter Here To This Pirate Cove For More Treasure]