Packing Tips

Knowing how to pack a suitcase is essential to being a good traveler. Ever wonder how to pack light and still stay in style, my suggestion is to pick a basic color that you enjoy wearing and then add two other accessory colors and when you do this it will look and feel like you have several different outfits, for the males it is easy just a different shirt or tie and they are set.

The first think you want to do is start making a list of all the different items you will need for your trip, mentally take a note of all the activities and places you will be visiting and what you will be doing there so that you can gather all the items you will need for them. Pack a couple of plastic coat hangers in your bag, it seems like they never have enough hangers in the hotel rooms, if you pack plastic ones they weight almost nothing and are very handy to have.

When packing liquids remember they can expand under pressure, so never fill to the top and/or take some out if it is a new container. Toiletries should be as small as possible, and packed in sealable plastic bags for protection against spillage.

Pack each outfit in its own large re-sealable plastic bag, the rolling method works well for this packing style. If you have bulky items like for skiing use space bags that suck out all the air, you can fit so much more in your suitcase. The only word of caution here is that you want your suitcase to be packed firm so the contents won't shift and also you want to keep in mind to pack so your clothes will unpack wrinkle free.

Guard against lost luggage woes by packing your plastic bag(s) of toiletries in your carry-on bag, along with your most valuable items, and one change of clothes. Put all of your camera and computer items together in one carry-on bag, it will be easier during inspection, and then easier to put it all back together again after inspection.

Be vigilant in removing metal and in packing your carry-on. You also need to be aware of metal and batteries etc in you checked luggage, as that sometimes sets off an inspection alarm and may delay your luggage, it is easier to carry these items in your carry on so they can inspect them during your personal check in, rather than delay your checked in luggage.

No matter what type of bag you are packing, you will want to avoid spilling any liquids on your clothes or equipment and when you arrive at your destination unpack your bags as soon as possible after you get into your hotel room.

Youth Athletes and Diet

We have quite a few youth groups stay at our hotel and I quietly root for them to do well at their tournaments.  I Know that the team getting the proper fuel to make sure they keep their energy levels up is a trick all unto itself.  One that is even trickier with teen athletes.  Here is some great advice on how to maximize their energy from the food they get!

Eat Extra for Excellence

There's a lot more to eating for sports than chowing down on carbs or chugging sports drinks. The good news is that eating to reach your peak performance level likely doesn't require a special diet or supplements. It's all about working the right foods into your fitness plan in the right amounts.

Teen athletes have unique nutrition needs. Because athletes work out more than their less-active peers, they generally need extra calories to fuel both their sports performance and their growth. Depending on how active they are, teen athletes may need anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 total calories per day to meet their energy needs.

So what happens if teen athletes don't eat enough? Their bodies are less likely to achieve peak performance and may even break down rather than build up muscles. Athletes who don't take in enough calories every day won't be as fast and as strong as they could be and may not be able to maintain their weight. And extreme calorie restriction could lead to growth problems and other serious health risks for both girls and guys.

Electronics by our Pool?

While you’re enjoying our hotel, you may want to take a bath, but expect a call? Or want to read an e-book by the pool? Hate the very idea of getting your gadget wet? Don't want sand in it? No problem!

1   Dig around in your kitchen for a zipper storage bag and keep this in your suitcase just in case. (For most cell phones, a sandwich sized bag works well.)

2   Stick the device in the bag and seal it up. Make sure it's sealed completely.

3   Fold the excess behind it.

4   If it has a touch display, make sure there's some air in the bag to keep the plastic off the surface where you are not touching it. The touch display on most devices will work fine for single-finger taps and gestures.

5   Enjoy your phone or reader or tablet device with no worry about it getting accidentally splashed or dipped.

When you're done, don't reuse the bag. The zippers aren't really made for repeated use, and some sliding switches (like the power switch on a kindle) will tend to abrade the bag where your finger operates them.

Protecting a Folding Phone or Device1

You say it folds? Not a problem! Devices like flip phones can simply be folded with the bag around it.

2   Get a bag a little bigger than the device.

3   Put the device into the bag.

Classic Halloween Movies

If you’re like me you want to take in a couple of classic horror films around this time of year.  I’ve compiled a list of some of my GO TO movies that never get old.  Hope you like them.

The Shining, 1980

What's scarier than a haunted house? Try a haunted hotel. Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film centers on the young Torrance family — writer dad Jack (Jack Nicholson), homemaker mom Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and clairvoyant son Danny (Danny Lloyd) — who've taken on the task of caring for the remote Overlook Hotel in Colorado during the off-season. However, isolated in the snowed-in location, it isn't long before cabin fever and writer's block (not to mention the hotel's ghosts) begin to drive Jack murderously insane. Despite being markedly different from the Stephen King novel it was adapted from, The Shining is widely considered to be one of the scariest movies of all time, full of creepy twin girls, decaying corpse ladies, blood-spewing elevators and one hell of a hedge maze.

The Haunting, 1963

It's no surprise that a movie based on one of the best haunted house tales ever written (The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson) would be this good. A scientist and two women with psychic gifts visit an evil-looking mansion named Hill House, a place where everything is just slightly wrong, where the angles at which walls meet are off by half a degree, so that doors are always closing on their own. The trio is accompanied by the skeptical young heir to Hill House. As directed by Robert Wise (who had a delightfully diverse career, helming movies from The Sound of Music and West Side Story to the first Star Trek film, as well as being the editor on Citizen Kane), The Haunting perfectly demonstrates the power of suggestion. We never see any ghosts. We hear them — banging, giggling, crying behind walls. We feel them. But they always remain just on the other side of the door. Which is where they are scariest. For the second after we first see the thing is the second at which the fear begins to fade.

Poltergeist, 1982

The brilliance of Poltergeist isn't in its special effects or its Steven Spielberg-branded movie magic. It's in the film's mundaneness. The Freeling family home is an ordinary house inside an ordinary suburban community. The characters aren't overly likable, special or interesting. The Freelings could be any typical American family. Therein lies the terror. While the film lends itself to some wonderfully quotable moments, it also brought the good old fashioned haunting into the modern suburban home. As the Freelings got sucked into closets and harassed by electronics, audience members began to glance suspiciously at their own TVs, and white noise began a reign of terror that reached its apex with 2002's The Ring.

The Lost Boys, 1987

"Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It's fun to be a vampire." That says it all! This one is just plain fun. The cast features Kiefer Sutherland as a punky teen vampire, Jason Patric as the newest reluctant convert, and the two Coreys (Haim and Feldman). Feldman plays one of two wacky brothers (Edgar and Allen) who insist the town is crawling with vampires. They made the phrase "vamp out" famous.

The Evil Dead, 1981

Filmmaker Sam Raimi first hacked his way to notoriety with 1981's The Evil Dead. The film follows a band of students on a weekend getaway to a rickety Tennessee mountain cabin, where they plan for the typical sex and booze-type debauchery. Unfortunately for them, the gang encounters a group of demons and quickly realize these are no idle spooks. Even the forest greenery is under their control. (Is it possible for a tree to be misogynist? Watch and find out.) The gore fest, in which all the usual horror appliances get ample screen time (by film's end, the dagger, ax, chainsaw and shotgun get more than their share of screen time), was widely criticized as too gruesome by critics and theaters alike, which only seemed to hasten the audience's desire to watch the corn syrup flow.

The Others, 2001

Grace (Nicole Kidman) is alone with her kids. Stuck in a giant, fog-shrouded manor on the British isle of Jersey during World War II, Grace can't leave because her son and daughter suffer from extreme sensitivity to sunlight. She's isolated and anxious. But Grace and her kids are not alone, because there's something with them in the house. Kidman shines as a mother incapable of connecting to her kids, a mother who hides her fragility behind a stern countenance. The film begins with Kidman shrieking loudly and near the end, she breaks down in hysterics. The Others is as affecting as it is chilling.

Nosferatu the Vampire, 1922

Let's start at the beginning with F.W. Murnau's silent film featuring the creepiest looking vampire ever -- Max Schreck. Rumors at the time of the film circulated that the strange looking Schreck was indeed a real vampire. That became the inspiration for the film Shadow of the Vampire. But you can decide for yourself.

Arachnophobia, 1990

Spiders. John Goodman with a blowtorch. Who's scarier? I'm sure we could ask Roseanne, but that's the subject of a much more frightening movie. Anyway, as anyone who has ever squashed a spider can attest, things with eight legs are creepy. Gross. Big ones that fly through the air when provoked? Even worse.

Amityville Horror, 1978

A family moves into a perfectly nice house in Amityville, N.Y. Then things begin to happen: black goo comes out of the toilet, flies appear (does this have anything to do with the toilet?), a voice tells a priest to "get out," and something with glowing red eyes peers through the windows at night. Sure it was an "Exorcist" rip-off, but it was "based on a true story!" That's got to count for something.

The Exorcist, 1973

Spinning heads. Vile expletives. Buckets of vomit. Sound like your last blind date? It was worse for Ellen Burstyn and Max Von Sydow, who had to play opposite Linda Blair in "The Exorcist." When this puppy first hit the silver screen, people were running out of the theater in droves. Now we call those people sissies. But as approximately 6,453 previous "Scariest Movies of All Time" lists have noted, this movie is scary.

Haunted Hotels

You don’t have to worry about stray ectoplasma in our hotel but if you go to some of these Haunted Hotels you may want to put the Ghost-Busters on speed dial!

Hotel Provincial's elegance evoke the charm of old New Orleans and it modern ' Haunted' appeal.
For a good case of haunted chills and a great touch Southern haunted hospitality, head to the Hotel Provincial in New Orleans. You will be haunted not only by Haunted New Orleans it's great beauty but by one of the many ghost that haunt this Haunted New Orleans hotel.

Many a haunted New Orleans Honeymoon couple have told of their ghostly occurrences in the Big Easy over the years. And others or rather skeptical. But more stories of this spook filled Haunted Hotel keep occurring. 

A Couple from Haunted Washington State related to us their recent ghost filled tale Convention stay. Their room is said to be haunted by a soldier with a deep love and penchant for country music. This was told to them as they entered the room by a staff member. He said that once a hotel employee opened the door to show guest into their room and they say they saw a man dressed in a 1930's Khaki military uniform, Complete with hat and many medals, the Ghost looked them in the face then disappeared. The couple reported to us that the entire stay was filled with a feeling of being watched. And many a cold chill, they say that they captured his spirit on film.



The very haunted Hotel Coronado, located just outside haunted San Diego, has a ghostly tale of unrequited love. Employee's, workers and guests have been puzzled by odd noises, spirited breezes, strange faces and the ghostly figure of a young lady wearing a black lace dress.

Rising from water's edge on the quaint island of Coronado in San Diego , the Hotel del Coronado is considered one of America 's most beautiful beach resorts.  A classic historic hotel, The Del was built in 1888 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977. Today, The Del offers travelers contemporary luxury in an enchanting Victorian atmosphere. Add to this, the resort's beachfront location, and it's no wonder USA Today calls The Del "one of the top ten resorts in the world."

The most well-known legend and ghost story told is that of it's ghost Kate Morgan, who checked into the hotel in 1892 to meet her estranged husband.

He never showed up, and days later she was found dead on the beach from a gunshot wound. Some believe her lost lonely spirit still haunts the hotel, and there have been ghostly cold spots, numerous reports of noises, odd breezes in closed rooms and sightings of more then one ghosts.



This haunted hotel inspired Steven King to write "The Shining" while he stayed in room 217, but it is room 418 that reports the most ghostly activity.

There is no "red rum" in the haunted Stanley Hotel and Conference Center in the Rockies, but it is the place where Stephen King wrote half of "The Shining". The made-for-TV version of the film was shot at the Stanley, and King fans should book Room 217, which is where he stayed. It seems that strange haunted paranormal things were happening at the Stanley long before King came.

The hotel, which opened in 1909, is supposedly haunted by Flora Stanley, the wife of the owner, who likes to play the piano late at night. Her ghost is said to be very visible and a high profile haunting.

People who have stayed in Room 408 reported hearing children playing and laughing loudly outside their door, when getting up to investigate there weren't any. They also say they have left the room for a few seconds only to return and find the entire room in a dismay. And hand prints of small children on the mirrors.



Often called by many locals "The Belle of New Orleans." The Le Pavilion hotel offers guest turn-of-the-century charm in the heart of downtown Haunted New Orleans.

Twenty foot Italian statues representing "Peace and Prosperity" greet you at the Poydras Street Lobby front door. Inside t his spectacular grand reportedly the most Haunted New Orleans hotel, you'll find crystal chandeliers, historic antiques and several lively ghost to haunt you.

This New Orleans hotel makes all guests feel right at home by providing homelike touches, like complimentary evening peanut butter finger sandwiches.

At one point a few years ago the hotel management was said to have hired several local well known paranormal investigator, who identified several ghosts in the hotel. One group found four and recorded EVP"s saying "Please, get out." and " Hold On I see You Now.", another Investigative team say they documented over 100 individual Ghost and haunted hotspots in the hotel. And still another Ghost group said it was actually a portal to the other side.

Strange noises in the night, vaporous apparitions of figures standing at the foot of your bed. Coverlets and bed sheets being tugged into the air, from early morning to after midnight. Anytime is the right time to find a ghost here in this Haunted Hotel.



An elegant masterpiece in the heart of downtown Portland Oregon, the Heathman Hotel is a timeless classic that has all the comforts of somewhere other than home.

This is the only famous haunted hotel is in Haunted Portland, Oregon. and related is one of the most haunted tales of any hotel to be told.

Guests staying in one of the column of rooms that end in "03" (presumably  room 703) have reported odd events. Moving objects, rapping's and tapings and cold spots. Ghost photos in this room show a dark cloud over the entire room. And sometimes a distorted face peering at you from a dark corner. Odd shadows on videos and many EVP's.

One guest related to me, that they stayed in the room only an hour or two this tale was stated by the guest, and an Ex-front desk clerk. In late April of 2004, The front desk clerk got more then wall call that many the guest felt a presence in the bed with them. One particular guest related that he could hear heavy breathing and he felt the sheets wrap around him so tight that he could not move.

When in this point of panic The guest told, that he tried to get out of the bed, but was trapped and the breathing got louder and closer. By the hand of God he said, he managed to break loose of the ever tightening sheets and turned on the light to see both of his large heavy suitcase fly across the room towards him.

A dark image of a man then ran into the closet. When upon help was called to from the front desk, for he thought someone had broken into his room. Security arrived, and upon investigation of the closet, proved he was quite alone in the room.

I myself don’t believe in ghosts but if you have any good ghost stories please share!

How not to loose something

We’ve have items forgotten at the hotel all the time.  I hope by putting together these brain exercises maybe it can help just one person keep their items.  A fair number of people I know have a great deal of trouble keeping track of small personal effects: wallets, sunglasses, keys, and the like. When they encounter someone who does not have this problem, they assume it’s because of some inherent superiority of memory. In my experience, this is not the case. What differs between those who lose things and those who do not is the degree to which they are systematic.

Be systematic

The first vital aspect of being systematic is to maintain consistency in where things are placed. One’s keys should always be in the same pocket when out or at work, and always on the same table of shelf when at home. One’s gloves should likewise always be kept in the same place, at least during seasons when they are required, and moved to a consistent but less accessible place during the summer. All this is made dramatically easier by choosing clothes with a similar array of pockets. Having a single jacket with lots of pockets is an enormous boon: I always know that my wallet is in the right-side breast pocket, while my camera is in the left. The small sub-pocket under that holds a four-color pen. The inside left pocket has a pair of liner gloves, while the inside right pocket has an iPod Shuffle and space for valuable things carried rarely. Having a consistently used bag with lots of pockets is similarly useful.

Trust, but verify

The second vital aspect is frequent auditing. If you have followed the advice of using the same pockets at all times, this will soon become automatic and second nature. You learn to be intuitively aware of the presence or absence of objects from their designated spaces. If they are not there, you know to seek them out immediately and return them to their designated position.

Never trust yourself to remember a deviation from the system. Moving something into the wrong place – perhaps to make it more convenient to carry something else – will only produce anxiety while you are tying to remember the deviation and frustration when it leads to things being misplaced or not immediately accessible.

Fashion is your enemy

The real trouble begins when you have a wardrobe that has dramatically different elements: trousers with no pockets, multiple jackets, purses with differing internal compositions. For those who insist on such variety, I can offer no aid. Unless your memory is much better than mine, you are probably doomed to lose things relatively often.

Some level of variety must certainly be dealt with by anyone, and this can be accomplished by having a number of set collections of gear with defined associated positions. One might have a ‘no jacket because it is sunny out, still carrying photographic gear’ option, as well as an ‘out biking in the countryside, repair tools required’ configuration. In my experience, it is feasible to maintain a good number, provided they are as similar as possible (wallet always on the same side, non-included items left in defined positions at home) and they are always identically configured. Objects only carried rarely are by far the easiest to lose. I virtually never carry an umbrella (preferring to rely on waterproof clothing), so I constantly forget them when I have been carrying one for whatever reason.

Naturally, there are plenty of people for whom the above is too much work for too little value. The point is less to convince people that they should or should not adopt such a system and more to argue that losing or not losing objects is a reflection of planning and habit, rather than inherent cognitive characteristics. That said, a certain fascination with gear and a somewhat compulsive nature certainly help in the initial development and constant refinement of such an order.

One option is to keep related items together by having several pre-packed bags for different activities – for instance I keep all gear needed for snowboarding in the snowboard bag, all gear needed for a day cragging in my climbing backpack, all gear needed for mtbing in my mtb backpack, all my waterproofs together etc. This might mean duplicating some items (sunscreen, energy bars, sunglasses) but it saves considerable time & effort. My problems arises over the items that can’t be easily duplicated like a wallet, cellphone or ipod – I need to transfer those from bag to bag as required and don’t leave the house without checking that I have them all.
Of course, a major reason people lose things is simply because they keep their belongings in a god-almighty mess. Systematic behavior doesn’t help if it means that you put everything ‘important’ on the top drawer but then have to search the whole chaotic, overflowing drawer several times a day. Similarly, my brother’s strategy of keeping everything he owns on the bedroom floor means that he is certain of its approximate location, but it still takes a long time to locate things. Tidiness has many benefits ;0).

Misplacing items is the most common non-event of humans. Have you ever hid something so no one could find it. Your subconscious immediately erases it from your mind so that you can’t find it later. An event or link must be made each time so you can retrieve it later from your mind.
Purposely create an event when you place something somewhere. If you do lose something don’t panic. That emotion will block your mind from logically trying to retrieve the information you need.

5 On-the-Go Breakfast Recipes

Breakfast is brain food, but it can be a challenge to feed the kids healthfully and get out the door in time for school. These 5 simple on-the-go breakfasts will give your kids the energy to get through the morning -- without sucking up your time, too.

Dressed-up Yogurt

This is a quick way to add sweetness and crunch to plain yogurt. You'll get the nutritious benefits of yogurt without the excess sugar so often found in flavored yogurts.

Dressed-up Yogurt

What you need:
7 oz container plain yogurt (I recommend Greek yogurt)
1 Tbsp. raspberry jam (or any other favorite - raspberry just happens to be mine)
1 tsp. honey
2 Tbsp. toasted almonds, roughly chopped

Combine all ingredients in the yogurt container. Grab a spoon and go!

Extra: Any jam or nut combination can be added. Pair strawberry jam with pistachios for a colorful alternative.

Kicked-Up Quesadilla

These healthy quesadillas get a bright, fresh kick from the addition of tangy Granny Smith apples. Prepped and ready in less than 5 minutes, it's the perfect meal to munch as you head out to the car.

Kicked-Up Quesadilla

What you need:
2 flour tortillas (regular or whole-wheat)
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar
several thin slices of a Granny Smith apple

Sprinkle an even layer of cheese over one tortilla. Scatter the apple slices on top of the cheese and top with the remaining tortilla. Microwave for 30 seconds or until the cheese melts. For a crisper tortilla, use a large skillet and crisp for 1-2 minutes on both sides, until the cheese is melted. Cut into 6-8 wedges.

Breakfast Pizza Margherita

Now you can let the kids have pizza for breakfast with this healthy English muffin-version. The tang of the tomatoes, the creaminess from the cheese and the fresh burst of basil are just as delicious in the morning.

Breakfast Pizza Margherita

What you need:
1 whole wheat english muffin
1 large slice of tomato
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
*optional fried egg
1 tsp fresh basil, finely chopped

Turn on your broiler.

Top one half of the English muffin with the sliced tomato and then shredded mozzarella. Place it on a baking sheet, along with the other half of the English muffin. Slide under the broiler. Broil until the cheese is melted and browned in places. Remove from the oven and add the fried egg, if desired, and the fresh basil. Top with the other half of the English muffin.

Crepes On-the-Run

While crepes may not seem like a quick go-to breakfast, with a little planning you can enjoy homemade crepes any day of the week. Simply make a large batch of crepes, refrigerate or freeze, then enjoy all week long.

Crepes On-the-Run

Makes about 15 crepes

What you need:
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. melted butter
1/4 tsp. salt
additional butter, for coating the pan

Blend all of the ingredients until completely incorporated (an immersion or regular blender works well for this). Let batter chill in the fridge for at least one hour. (This allows the bubbles to subside, making your batter nice and smooth.) Your batter can be made up to 48 hours in advance.

Heat an 8"-10" non-stick pan over medium-high. Add butter to coat. Pour a scant 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly (you want a very thin even layer of batter -- adjust amount of batter according to the size of pan you are using). Cook for 45 seconds and flip. Cook for another 20 seconds.

Refrigerate any leftover crepes in a resealable plastic bag with a sheet of wax paper between each crepe to prevent sticking. Well-sealed, they can be frozen for up to one month.

When you are ready for breakfast, kids can help fill their crepes with ham and cheese, fresh fruit and cream cheese, Nutella and bananas, peanut butter and jam or any combination that appeals.

Roll up crepes like a burrito or fold in quarters to make a simple, portable meal.

Frozen Fruit Smoothie

These fruity, creamy shakes are refreshing on a hot day. They come together in minutes, use ingredients that you most likely have on hand, and pack nutrition and energy in every satisfying sip.

Frozen Fruit Smoothie

What you need:
2 cups frozen berries or fruit
2 Tbsp. orange juice concentrate (or 1/2 cup orange juice)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup yogurt
1 frozen banana
1 Tbsp. honey

Add all ingredients to your blender and blend until completely smooth.

*Optional: Add 1-2 Tbsp. of flax seeds to the blender for even more nutrition.