Space Goddess » Green Travel

In Honor of Earth Day…a cartoon!

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:54:47 +0000

admin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:01:57 +0000

Make a Smilebox greeting

My prayer for Earth

admin — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 03:13:02 +0000

Make a Smilebox greeting

Only take photos…Only leave footprints!

admin — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:45:30 +0000

Earth Day is a few days away and Space Goddess and friends are celebrating by attending the Lifetime Fitness Green Living Weekend tomorrow and Sunday, April 18 and 19. We’ll be at the Lifetime Fitness Club in Overland Park, Kansas. See you there!

admin — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:22:54 +0000

Welcome to the March/April Return on Life™ Getaways Issue of VIRTUOSO LIFE®
Sent with my compliments, please enjoy the latest issue of VIRTUOSO LIFE, our award-winning travel magazine. To access this digital edition, simply click any magazine image, a specific article shown below, or click here to download the issue.More than just a vacation, a Return on Life™ getaway begins with a beautifully custom-designed experience, and ends with the satisfaction of knowing you made the absolute most of your free time. So whether you travel to relax, to celebrate with friends and family, or for personal fulfillment, the memories you build through travel experiences offer you something that money just can’t buy.
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		62:: Kauai Connection A close-to-home sojourn delivers the ultimate luxury for a busy family: time to unwind. By Marika McElroy Cain 74:: Life in the Slow Lane A yacht, a bike, Crete, and the Peloponnese – prepare for a modern-day Greek odyssey. By Kimberly Brown Seely82:: Down Under Australia Often overlooked, Tasmania distills the Aussie experience into one easily drivable drop. By Roderick Eime92:: High Spirits In Bhutan, discover a way of life and natural beauty that’s as pure as the Himalayan snow. By Brian DobenPlus: Insider Expertise Need a great getaway for the whole clan? Turn to page 71 for family-friendly destinations recommended by Virtuoso travel advisors.
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It’s only Natural!

admin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:18:35 +0000

I admit it—-this city girl (okay–suburban girl) has morhped into an adventure-travel afficianado! To be honest, I am a lover of “soft” adventure—where I can soak up the beauty of nature, all types of flora and fauna, as well as being able to sleep “off” of the ground, take a hot shower, and eat yummy food!

I’ve traveled through: Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia—in the footsteps of Captain Cook; Antarctica; Alaska; Costa Rica; Peru; Ecaudor; the Galapagos; Argentina; Chile; Egypt; China; Indonesia; India; Fiji; the Amazon; Kenya; Tanzania; Botswana; South Africa; Zambia; Zimbabwe (when it was safe); Mauritius; Colorado; Arizona; New Mexico; northern Wisconsin; and southern Missouri (actually slept on the ground on the canoe trip—years ago!).

I’ve sampled many wonderful adventures and now I want to let you know about one of our exceptional partners, Natural Habitat Adventures. NHA knows adventure—from soft to adrelin-flowing! They follow the same philosophy as Great Getaways, which is “Cookie cutter vacations are great if you are a cookie cutter!” We both specialize in experiential travel and both companies are committed to sustainable travel. NHA guides are experienced, well-trained, knowledgeable and professional.

The trips they offer are unique! Let me give you an example: I’ve been to the Galapagos twice and hope to go back again soon. Both times I was on a wonderful expedition ship with great naturalists and guides. What I’ve discovered is that I like “small” and that is what Natural Habitat provides. The yacht they use for the Galapagos holds a maximum of 20 people and they offer something quite special and unusual—you can elect to spend the night in the highlands of Santa Cruz in a safari tent or “tree house” amid an area known for its giant tortoises! Another special offer from NHA is their new land-based Galapagos expedition, in which you stay on 3 different islands, almost unheard of, don’t you think?

This year they’ve added a few new adventures—including the Wild Colorado, Alaska’s Secluded Southeast Coast, Yosemite and the California Coast, and the remarkable San Juan Islands.

Next month I’ll tell you about an exciting opportunity to win a journey to visit the Polar Bear Capital of the World, Churchill, Manitoba, courtesy of NHA, Great Getaways and Lifetime Fitness!

So, if you are an adventurer of any kind, from soft to rugged, contact me today to experience the amazing journeys we create with Natural Habitat Adventures!

Are you “green?”

admin — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:34:33 +0000

I’m really not fond of buzzwords or fads, so when I talk about “green” travel I’m addressing some of our inner core values. What is “green” travel? For me, it means that I travel responsibly, only taking photos and only leaving footprints; I support hotels and travel suppliers that give back to the community—both socially and economically; I use the same sheets and towels for multiple day hotel stays; I avoid hoarding the plastic-bottled toiletries; I often walk or take public transportation when sightseeing.

What I don’t like about the label “green” travel: that it connotes “roughing it” vacations (shunning beds, hot showers, and yummy food); I resent airlines that “ALLOW” you to purchase carbon offsets for pollution caused by them—hello???? Why doesn’t the airline purchase their own carbon offsets and also research more environmentally friendly fuels? I also get my dander up (is dander green????) when companies charge you more for responsible travel. It’s like paying more for healthy food.

Core value? What kind of person am I? How do I demonstrate it? Do I care about others? About our world? Or is it, when I’m honest with myself, all about me? This isn’t just about travel–it’s about daily life. Sometimes I demonstrate compassion and yet, at other times, I forget that the world has a population greater than 1. My goal: be the change I want to see. And you?

Think and Act GREEN!

Goddess — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 23:17:46 +0000

Below is a link to Earth Clock, which shows what our current lifestyle is doing to our environment—socially, culturally, and phsyically:

http://www.poodwaddle.com/clocks3.htm

The year of the Spaceship has arrived!

admin — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:36:26 +0000

Below is a press release from Virgin Galactic:

VIRGIN GALACTIC HERALDS ‘THE YEAR OF THE SPACESHIP’ WITH THE UNVEILING OF THE DESIGNS OF SPACESHIPTWO AND WHITE KNIGHT TWO

New York, New York, 23^rd January 2008: Virgin Galactic today unveiled the design of its new, environmentally benign, space launch system based on the X Prize winning technology of SpaceShipOne, which successfully flew into space for the third time in October 2004 and won the $10m Ansari X Prize. The construction of the White Knight Two (WK2) mothership, or carrier aircraft, is now very close to completion at Scaled Composites in Mojave, CA and is expected to begin flight testing in the summer of 2008. It is the world’s largest, all carbon composite aircraft; it has a unique high altitude lift capacity, capable of launching SpaceShipTwo and its eight astronauts into sub-orbital space flight. The WK2 mothership is powered by four Pratt and Whitney PW308A engines which are amongst the most powerful, economic and efficient engines available. The WK2 mothership has also been designed to be capable of lifting other payload and launching it into space. Both Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic believe the system has sufficient lifting capability to launch unmanned vehicles designed to carry small satellites and other scientific payload into low earth orbit. While the first priority for Virgin Galactic is developing the market for human spaceflight, the Company is already assessing the potential for unmanned launch capability. SpaceShipTwo is now nearly 60% complete. It incorporates both the lessons learned from the SpaceShipOne program and the market research conducted by Virgin Galactic into the requirements future astronauts have for their space flight experience. It also has built-in flexibility to encompass future requirements for other scientific and commercial applications. Whilst the two vehicles comprising the space launch system have been under construction, Virgin Galactic’s cadre of future astronauts has continued to grow strongly to well in excess of 200 individuals with around 85,000 registrations of interest to fly. The deposit base now exceeds $30m representing more than $45m of future income to the fledgling spaceline. Astronaut orientation for spaceflight is progressing well and already 80 of SpaceShipTwo’s first passengers have been through medical assessment and centrifuge training at the NASTAR facility in Philadelphia. During their G Force acclimatization program, the participants were spun to 3.5GZ (head to toe) and 6GX (front to back) to simulate the actual flight profile of SpaceShipTwo during a 110km (68 miles) apogee sub-orbital space flight.

Do good! Play a game!

admin — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 14:34:42 +0000

You’ve done the crossword puzzle; Sudoku is not your thing; you’ve anesthetized yourself on Bejeweled; now what?

Play freerice.com!

Warning label: Play at your own risk. Side effects include: improving the health of those who are malnurished; increasing your vocabulary; doing something for others while playing a game; inner satisfaction of being able to contribute to life.