This morning’s USA TODAY featured an excellent article about Space travel. Of course, the article featured several mentions of and quotes by Virgin Galactic. Have you reserved a seat yet? Now is your opportunity to become one of the firs 1000 people to venture into Space! Contact Barbara King today, one of Virgin Galactic’s Accredited Space Agent, and share in the pre-flight events. Your journey really begins when you make a reservation! Call 913 338 2244 or email barbara@greatgetaways.travel.

Last month 5 intrepid (okay, strike intrepid, insert “fun-loving”) travelers from the US went on safari in Botswana, Zambia and South Africa. This bestseller (do 3 copies make a book a bestseller?) is available for your viewing pleasure…Safari, so very, very good!

Okay, you’re thinking summer vacation and where to take the kids–beach, mountains, national parks, the Disney route, and maybe a short city stay. Consider Chicago, San Francisco, and New York, all of which offer a feast of kid-friendly options. We recommend you consider including art museums, specifically contemporary art museums, to the mix. “What?” you ask incredulously, “Contemporary art and kids? I don’t think so!” Think again…the website moma.org (New York’s Museum of Modern Art) has a whole section on “I went to MOMA and…” which includes wonderful comments from folks who visited the venerable museum. We read several of the comments from children and learned that modern art and kids do mix—except if they believe the only proper displays in museums are dinosaurs! Go ahead, visit the site and give yourself some grins.

Welcome to our new feature, “Odds & Ends”. This is our first post in our new series and we will continue to add “Odds & Ends” on a somewhat regular basis (translation: highly irregular basis). If you have something interesting about the world of travel, please feel free to email barbara@greatgetaway.com or add your comments below.

Today’s feature is Gamirasu Cave Hotel Cappadocia in Turkey. There are multiple Cave hotels around the world and this one is perhaps most well-known and has Frommer’s stamp of approval. In honor of Earth Day, we offer you this restored 1000 year old Byzantine monastic retreat! Enjoy!