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Overflowing with history, art and culture, Florence is a city that’s very hard to do justice to in a single day. A visit to the Uffizi museum alone could easily eat a day or two into any itinerary.

If you’re fortunate enough to visit Florence for the first time, but unfortunate enough to have only a single day to savour the delights of this city, you will need to ensure that you have a plan.

So allow me be your guide for the day and take you on a whistle stop tour of the sights and sounds of Florence. I can’t promise you the Uffizi in a day, but hopefully at the end of the tour you’ll feel like you’ve seen the best of the city. Your only problem will be deciding when to come back for more!

The first thing you’ll need before you start your tour is a map of the city. The centre of Florence is pretty compact, so the best way to see it, without missing a thing is by foot. If you don’t have a map or a guidebook and you’re not the type that enjoys aimless wandering, make your first stop of the day one of the tourist offices where you can pick up a free map of Florence.

Starting off in the main Piazza, you’ll easily spot the famous Duomo, with its magnificent terracotta coloured cupola. If you are there early enough to avoid the crowds and feel you can face the 463 steps I’d recommend starting your tour by climbing up into dome for a spectacular view of the city. The Duomo is probably the most distinctive feature of Florence’s skyline and is the result of years of work spanning six centuries.

Once you’ve taken in the view, catch your breath with a leisurely stroll around the streets surrounding the Duomo, and then take a walk to the nearby Piazza della Signoria. Here you’ll find a unique outdoor gallery of sculptures, including Neptune’s Fountain and a copy of the famous Statue of David. You’ll also find the Palazzo Vecchio (the Old Palace) here. This was built in the early 14th century and is still used today for its original purpose, as a Town Hall.

Just beside the Palazzo you’ll find the Uffizi museum, with its unrivalled collection of Renaissance art. If you’re an art lover, you don’t want to miss the Uffizi, but it’s not something that can be easily covered in a short 2-hour visit!

Alongside the Uffizi you’ll find the River Arno, with its many bridges. If you take a right turn you’ll arrive at the Ponte Vecchio, the famed bridge that houses a multitude of goldsmiths and jewellery shops, with its medieval workshops overhanging the bridge. The bridge itself was built in 1345 and is the only bridge on the Arno that wasn’t destroyed in World War II.

Once you’ve crossed the bridge, you’ll arrive in the area called Oltrano, which literally means “Over the Arno”. Here you’ll find the Palazzo Pitti - a large 16th century palace. The palace was originally home to the Medici family who ruled Florence almost continuously between 1434 and 1743 and it now houses several important museums and galleries.

You may want to finish your day by taking a relaxing stroll in the Boboli gardens, which can be accessed through the Palazzo Pitti. These gardens were laid out in 1550 for the Medici a year after they bought the Palazzo Pitti and were opened to the public in 1766. Many parts of the gardens give stunning vistas over Florence and make a welcome retreat after a day of walking round the city.

If you have the time, it’s worth returning to view the Ponte Vecchio at sunset, followed by a walk along the bridge after dusk, when the lights on the bridge reflect on the River Arno and everything seems almost magical.

Finally, don’t forget to take a break from your sightseeing - stop for lunch or a drink in a pavement caf©, take some time to soak up the atmosphere and do a spot of people watching.

Suzanne Morrison is a keen independent traveller and considers Florence one of her favourite European cities. To find out more about Florence, visit her website www.PlacesToVisitInFlorenceItaly.com
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The state of New Jersey is often the butt of jokes, but in reality this area has much to be proud of. For travelers we have the best airport, and Newark Airport parking is about one hundred times easier than parking at one of the airports located in Queens too. The Sopranos are obviously fictional characters, but if they were real you can bet they’d never book a flight out of anything other than the Newark Airport. You can reach anywhere in the world in no more than 2 or 3 hops at most from good old EWR, and airfares are often cheaper from Newark as well. When you want to leave your Cadillac Escalade here you’ll find plenty of cheap lots that are ready for you.

Only a few times a year do these lots fill up, but when they do you’ll be glad you decided in advance to reserve a space. Several of these places offer this luxury now, but it’s actually the same price as normal drive-up service. The benefit is that instead of coming to Newark Airport and then going from one lot to another looking for one with open spaces or at least a short line out front, all you have to do is pull up, show them your confirmation sheet, and then toss them the keys before boarding the shuttle bus to the terminal. It’s totally worth it even if you aren’t sure the places will be busy or not.

At the end of July I saw a brief feature on local TV about a Canadian couple who had mortgaged their home to create an international non-profit development organization in Peru, starting with shipping a container full of donated medical supplies to a small town on the Peruvian coast. I didn’t catch the person’s name, but I did catch the website: www.paraelmundo.org. Once on the site I sent an email, and Josh, the co-founder of this organization, got back to me in an email from Peru to arrange an interview with his wife, Danielle, who had came up with the idea for this project.

I had a chance to do an interview with Danielle who told me about how she and her husband Josh remortgaged their home to raise $30,000 to start a non-profit community development organization in a town called Mancora, a small fishing town of 15,000 people, located in northern Peru on the Pacific coast, just south of the Ecuadorian border. They already shipped a container full of medical supplies to Peru, at their own cost.

In August Danielle moved to Peru to join her husband Josh, to help this Peruvian community of Mancora. Danielle will be sharing with us regularly how she and her husband are doing in this little town in Peru and she’ll tell us stories (sometimes humorous ones) about cultural adjustment as well as give us progress reports of her non-profit community assistance organiation.

Here is her first update from Peru, sent today:

——————————————————————————–

Hi everyone,

This is a group email, but it’s not that I don’t love you each enough to send you individual updates. It’s just that we don’t have internet at our place yet, and I’ve been really busy, so for now, this is the best way to let you all know what’s been going on.

So getting a phone has been a challenge. There are two potential problems in getting a phone set up in Mancora. One is that there might not be enough phone lines on your block, the other is that there may be too many phone lines. We are in the ‘too much phone zone’. So we’re still trying to figure it out….

I’ve been busy working with 3 teen girls, talking, watching movies, teaching English, learning Spanish, and laughing a lot. Two of them are young women I worked with last year, and they are each unique with different struggles. The tough thing here is that besides us, there is no one to call for help, no services or infrastructure. Cecilia and I are working on getting information on what women’s legal rights are here, and we will go to the provincial centre next week to speak with the police there. What we’ve learned is they don’t have many rights, but we are working hard to make friends with the police here so that they will enforce the laws that do exist.

A couple weeks ago, one of the women we know was kicked by her ex-boyfriend in the street and Josh, Frank, Sean and Cecilia were there, backing her up, but it’s hard to do much more. At least for now, the bad guys know that there is now a posse in town willing to help women.

Our house is great. I feel really comfortable and at home here. The guys did a ton of work in the few days before I arrived, installing shelves, locks on all the individual doors, and we have a well-stocked kitchen, lots of space, and nice furniture. We each have our own room, and the spare room has been busy as well. Chris, another PaM director from Toronto, is here now, and a friend of Miguel’s from
university was here last week. Our first two paramedic volunteers arrive Sept.11th, with 3 or 4 more coming in October.

Our neighbours on each side have dogs, and I think we treat them much nicer than most people here, so they like us and protect us, which is great. When I’m on the phone downstairs or walking outside at night, they each do a good job guarding me, so I feel pretty safe. The dogs here are very territorial, and I’ve seen them show their teeth to strange men, but never to any of us. They’re both big - one is a black lab and one is a golden colored mix. We’ve also endeared ourselves to many of
the kids in the neighbourhood. We have different running jokes with different kids, and they’re lots of fun.

Last night we were watching a movie on our projector, which is like 6′ by 7′ on the wall, and three kids and a dog, and our Peruvian friend Christian all stopped by. The kids were facinated by the huge tv thing, touching the wall as if they thought it was hot.

Josh and Sean visited the centre for special needs kids yesterday, and the kids there were literally hanging off them, jumping into their arms and hugging them. Very cute. The centre also hosts a number of volunteers, mostly from the UK, so it’s been nice to meet other volunteer travelers and talk about our experiences. Sean and I and another friend also went to see one of our students play volleyball at the local stadium Tuesday night. It was a full house, and the kids were really good,
despite having no kneepads and playing on a hard cement surface.

So, I’ll end this update with a funny story….there are many, but this one is choice. I still laugh when I think about it. The other day, Maria, who works with Frank and Cecilia, comes to the door with a friend and asks if we’d like to buy some Pina (pinapple) shampoo. In a glass. Hmmm. So we said that that wasn’t really ideal, because it was just going to fill with water in the shower. They started laughing, because they knew what we were thinking, but I guess with the language barrier, they couldn’t explain. So they came back a few minutes later with two glasses of thick, chunky pinnaplely looking stuff, and we took it. We figured ‘when in Rome….’, so Sean decided to try it out in the shower. He was laughing and yelling from the shower because it was getting stuck in his chest hair, and he needed regular shampoo to wash it out. As it turned out, it was a dessert served here, similar to a pudding, but it is in fact called ’shampoo’. We learned the hard way again to always expect the unexpected here, and never to assume things are as they appear! : )

So that’s all for now. In general, we’re all feeling very at home and very much part of a community. Our house is more often than not full of visitors passing through (kids from the neighbourhood, friends, dogs….with no phones, people can’t call ahead), and we’re all getting along well and working out the cooking and cleaning chores together.

I hope you’re all well, I miss you all, and will write again soon,
much love,

danielle : )

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions (http://www.travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.

Submit your own travel stories in our first travel story contest (http://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm) and have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the Amazon River.

“Life is a Journey Explore New Horizons”.

The article with photos is published at Travel and Transitions - Interviews

The Smokies Only Dude Ranch

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Maybe it was the small, closely-knit communities we passed through on our way to French Broad Outpost Ranch that told us we had ventured back in timethe ones that sold handmade Indian blankets and produce from small wooden buildings that clearly needed attention but more than made up for it in ambiance. Communities where folk still walked down town and met outside the barber shop on a rusty old bench to gossip and talk about the weather.

Everyone waved to my girlfriend and me as if they knew our namesnot from systematic reaction, but in a sincere, simple way.

But it wasn’t until we passed the green draw bridge that was shrugging off paint like a piece of whittled wood in an old man’s hand that our epiphany had come true. We crossed some cosmic time barrier into the simple Deep Southern life where the Smoky Mountains bellowed campfire fragrances of burning poplar and beech in a misty fog that lowered its tentacle-like fingers down the range and settling into the valleys.

White-capped mountains towered over us as we snaked down the dirt road toward the ranch. To the left was an elevated train-track, which we later found out was still guiding trains every few hours. The train pulled 49 cars of cargo.

On the right, the French Broad River swiftly passed by, untouched by time, seemingly peaceful and beautiful and housing more memories then anything unable to tell the stories should.

The trees opened their arms at the end of the road, revealing a rustic four building complex that looked sleepy and peaceful, as if an artist had brushed a replica of a gold-rush town. Behind the office stood two buildings butted against the side of a mountain. One of the buildings contained a dining hall on the first floor that transformed into a square dance floor later at night and the second floor was a saloon, complete with barstools made from horse saddles.

Cool mountain air makes you sleep great at French Broad Outpost.

The building to the left of the dining hall housed the sleeping quarters for the weary traveler. There were four rooms in the building, each with bunk-beds and a main bed with head-board and foot-board made of wood.

A black and white cat scurried in front of us as we pulled up to the office, holding a prize in the form of a field mouse in its lips.

The smell of the wooden building illuminated our ideas of a peaceful weekend as ranch owner, Shawn Gannon greeted us in traditional fashionfirm handshake and smile peering past a cowboy hat attached by a long dangling string that hung down his chest. His was old-worldly and simple with a Confederate-style ten button shirt, jeans and boots that rapped of golden days when the spurs jingled as he walked, but yet educated and understanding of people and personalities other than his own.

His wife charmed the area she walked in with a vibrant smile and soft spoken voice that made the whole experience feel more like a visit to distant relatives than a two-day squat around strangers.

Dinner was said to be at 6 p.m., so with a few hours to kill, we dropped our bags by the room, grabbed some amazingly large carrots and headed out to the numerous fenced in areas where over 50 Arabian horses were kept.

The horses were amazingly tame and trained to the sight of the carrots as they all converged, heads stuck over the fence praying for a taste. They were a collage of colors and sizes and mainly female.

Surprisingly free, our walk never uncovered a closed door or keep out sign, but it did reveal some very friendly goats and dogs, one hobbling on a bad leg, but curiously pouncing forward looking for a good rub behind the ears.

We rendezvoused at the dining hall after the dinner bell was sounded, where we all sat down at the same table and stared at a feast of food. I learned Shawn was vegetarian and had been since the early ’80s. “I don’t believe in killing animals and eating them,” he said frankly, as he rolled what looked like soy meatballs onto his plate.

The other workers of the ranch were introduced to us. Jade, the 18-year-old fellow that another guest had so correctly stated his looks as a carbon copy of Billy the Kid, grinned and tipped his hat in a shy mannerspoon full of food. Jade, I later learned, hailed from Texas and had spent more of his teenage years traveling the country during the summer and working at various ranches.

Our cook, Scott, was from Colorado and made the most amazing homemade bread I had ever tasted.

There were two other couples on that evening, one from Kentucky who owned a few horses and was living the cowboy dream but was there as a Valentines Day present to the husband. The other couple was lively and exuberant, neither being an avid rider but served as comic relief the whole weekend.

We retired to our respective rooms after dinnerall couples tired from their drive and ready to wake up in the morning and ride some horses.

Breakfast was at 8 a.m., consisting of eggs, bacon and biscuits. Shawn told us he started the ranch because he couldn’t part with any of the horses he had and after acquiring so many, the ranch came to him as a means of financing the upkeep on the horses.
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John Ross, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent - Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com

About the Author

John Ross, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent. Join the Travel Writers Network in the logo at www.jetsettersmagazine.com Leave your email next to the logo for FREE e travel newsletter.

When you want to go to almost anywhere in Italy your best bet is probably to shop for the cheapest airfare to Rome you can find, and then travel by train to your final destination if you are going elsewhere. The Milan airport is decent sized, but flights are almost always much more expensive into that city, and trains there from Rome are fast and pretty cheap. Even Venice is the same, since flights can be very pricey, but train trips from Rome are fast and cheap.

The Rome airport isn’t as busy as the top group in Europe, so airfares into the city are sometimes more expensive than you’d like. If your flight is looking expensive you might consider booking a flight into London, Paris, or Frankfurt, and then booking a separate flight on a low-cost carrier into Rome. This isn’t always the cheapest way to go, but often times it will save you money and the only added cost is that you’ll have to get your bags from one airline and take them to the other airline without going out through customs.

If you can fly into Rome in February or March you’ll get the lowest fares of the year. During these two months not many people are traveling anywhere so the airlines have to slash fares to even get their planes half full. Their loss is your gain.

England?s magnificent & frequently fierce history is beyond a shadow of a doubt best illustrated in its historic structures & nowhere is this more obvious than in those properties familiar to the Royal Family & their formal ceremonies.

For a monumentous occasion now the British Monarchy has been judged to be fundamental to the success of the United Kingdom. They have enthralled overseas visitors for many years and continue to stimulate the appeal of sightseers of all generations. Buckingham Place has been branded the London home of the British monarchy ever since Queen Victoria became sworn in as queen in eighteen thirty-seven. its one of a petite amount of functioning royal palaces enduring in England at the moment.

Buckingham Palace is used for the most part as a workplace but can additionally become a gala venue for the 50,000 people asked to the Palace yearly. There are more than 600 residences, including 19 state rooms, 52 royal and visitor bedrooms, seventy eight bathrooms, ninety two offices, but more impressively an in-house theatre and swimming pool. England tourist board the online home of tourism in England.

Right the way through the spring & summer, foreign tourists can go around the stunning state studies, that help to form the heart of the Palace. These grand rooms are enhanced with an assortment of the best assets from the Royal collected works, including sculptures by Canova as well as paintings by the many well-regarded artists like that of Rembrandt, Rubens & Canaletto.

India travel

The subcontinent of India lies in south Asia, between Pakistan,
china & Nepal. To the north it is bordered by the world’s
highest mountain chain, where foothill valleys cover the north
most of the country is 29 states. Side by side with the country
staging topographical variations is its cultural diversity, the
result of the coexistence of a number of religions as well as
local tradition. In the extreme north is the high attitude
desert of Ladakh, local culture is visibly is shaped by the
faith- Buddhism as well as by the harsh terrain, Indian culture
is observed in the colorful tribal lifestyles of the
northeastern states of Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura & Manipur with
their folk culture.

Indian mountains provides us hail skiing,river running
mountaineering and trekking. Its beaches provide lazy sunbathing
as well as wind surfing and snorkeling and its jungles provide
shooting wildlife-with a camera.

Features of India are ayurveda, art & culture, pilgrimage,
religion & cult, fashion & beauty, fair, festival, cinema
society history and legend. These all things make India best and
different from other country.

Tourist come to India for its wealth of sights, cultural
embrace, diversity, of terrain and in search of that special
something an extra punch that only India promises and delivers
teeming with over a billion people who voice over a billion
people who voice over a million concern in fifteen hundred
different languages.

All visitors are required to carry a passport valid at least to
6 months. Visa exemptions include:

1. Bhutanese and Nepalese visitors can stay for less than 3
months.

2. Nationals from the Maldives can stay for a maximum of two
days.

3. Transit passengers have follow on ticket within 72 hours of
arrival as long as they cannot go to leave the airport.

Special instructions apply to Pakistani and Afghan nationals.
It is always wise to check updated visa requirements prior to
travel. How do I get there? By air:-

Major gateways include; Indira Gandhi international airport in
new Delhi, Chennai international -20 km from city, Chhatarpati
Shivaji international airport in Mumbai-14 km from city, Netaji
Subhash Chandra Bose international airport Calcutta -18 km from
city. Airports tend to be an outskirts of cities. Prepaid taxi
services and auto-rickshaws are station outside the terminus to
get you into the city.

By rail:-

Railways do not cut across international borders in this part of
the world except understanding. Express that runs between
Amritsar (India) and Lahore (Pakistan). However, in many cases
it is possible to travel until the border by train. By road:-

Except the Lahore-Delhi bus (4 times in a week), there are no
cross borders coach services. It is possible to drive into India
with the requisite paperwork in order. Even driving in from
Nepal now requires a permit. Permits may arrange through the
Indian embassy in your country.

By sea:-

Several international cruise lines include stopovers at Indian
ports. The popular destinations are Goa, Mumbai, Kochi,
Kezhikode, Calcutta and Chennai. There are no regular passenger
services; the services between Rameshwaram (Tamilnadu) and
Srilanka has been identifying suspended. Travel by water is
not popular but there are ships to the Andaman’s from Calcutta,
Chennai, and Vishakha Putnam, backwater cruises in converted
rice boats called Kettuvatams are a delight in the lazy lagoons
of Kerala. They can purchase at major through travel agents.
Advance, reservations are necessary because this is a first
come, first serve service. Where do I stay?

There is enough variety in tourist accommodation in India for
the visitor always finds comfort; degrees of luxury through will
be directly proportionate to the degree of the depth of your
pocket. Hotels are grading on the star system-5 star being fully
air-conditioned, with a coffee shop, multiple specialist’s
restaurants, pools, sauna, Jacuzzi, health center, in house
shopping and all the razzmatazz. Down to hostels, ashrams and
public works guesthouses; dormitory style living with rationed
hot water (just about enough for a decent shave), no smoking and
no drinking restrictions and curfew.

Timeshares are a large part of the vacation travel industry.
Travellers who cannot afford to own a home abroad, or who don’t
want the worries associated with exclusive ownership, often see
timeshare as an affordable alternative. However, unscrupulous
salespeople, poorly maintained properties and unexpected hidden
costs have brought a lot of bad publicity to the industry. A
well-informed consumer can avoid the common pitfalls.

It is always risky to buy property sight unseen, but many people
do this when they purchase timeshares. If you purchase in an
area where you wish to vacation, you may be unpleasantly
surprised when you arrive at your destination. However, many
timeshares are purchased with the intent of trading them for
others in different locations, and in this case the location of
the property is a bargaining chip, not the actual physical
property. Timeshares in prime locations such as Hawaii are
easier to trade than others.

Recently, big corporations such as Disney, Hilton, Marriott and
Hyatt have entered the timeshare market, and their properties
are of a uniform standard around the world. First, you should
know that if you buy a new unit directly from a timeshare
company, it may cost up to 60% more than if you purchased from
the resale market. Buying from a time-share company is more
expensive primarily because of the company’s marketing costs,
which include free trips, meals and vacation activities for
prospective buyers. Most customers of these timeshare companies
buy on impulse, without any intent to purchase when they first
walked into the timeshare seminar. Hard-sell tactics and
“Buy-it-NOW-one-time-only-offers!!!” are the rule, and to avoid
being pressured into a bad deal, the best tactic is to avoid
these sales presentations altogether.

Try the resale market for better deals. Time-share resales are
listed on many websites, on eBay and with independent time-share
brokers. The search term “timeshare resale” produced
approximately 500,000 results on Google, so there are plenty of
services to choose from. If you buy directly from an individual,
a resale broker or a lawyer can handle the closing for a charge
of $300 to $500.

If you are buying a timeshare for the resale value, consider
regular real estate instead. Timeshares do not increase in value
in tandem with conventional real estate. From a strictly
financial point of view, time shares are poor investments. Most
real estate increases in value, but this is not always the case
with time-shares, especially those bought directly from
timeshare companies. If you get a good deal on a resale
timeshare in a prime location, it may increase somewhat in
value. But usually time-shares are like cars — they are
commodities to be used, and are resold for less than the
original purchase price. Don’t think of timeshares as real
estate; you are buying a vacation plan.

Also, unless you buy in a prime location, swapping them may not
be easy. Timeshares are frequently sold on the claim that the
buyer can trade a week in one place for a week at another
location. This is only true if the location is in demand by
other vacationers. Otherwise, expect to vacation in the original
location each year.

To find out whether or not you will be happy with a timeshare,
it may be a good idea to rent one for your next vacation. Many
timeshare units are placed on the rental market by owners who
couldn’t get away to vacation at their alloted time, and these
units often rent at bargain prices. Check the same websites that
offer timeshare resales for available rentals.

There is a new “points” system being offered by some timeshare
properties. Instead of getting a week each year, buyers purchase
a set number of “points.” These can be redeemed for a week’s
stay during the peak season, for longer periods during the
off-season, or even spread over the year in two- or three- day
segments. Some large hotel companies such as the Marriott also
offer a points systems whereby a stay at their hotel earn points
in the company’s time-share system. Points systems can be
confusing, so be sure you have a clear understanding of the
services you are buying. For instance, find out how much advance
time is required to reserve a week at the resort during peak
season, whether the points have an expiration date, and if it is
possible to transfer the points to other facilities in the same
resort chain. However, when it comes to vacation planning, the
points system offers more flexibility because the buyer is not
locked into the same week every year.

Most important, don’t forget the annual maintance fee.
Time-share owners are responsible for paying a portion of the
property’s upkeep. These annual fees, including maintenance and
real estate taxes, typically range from $300 to $700 per week of
ownership.

In summary, timeshares can be a good buy if they offer some
flexibility in terms of transferring to other locations and
timing your vacation. The typical timeshare is a small condo
with kitchen facilities and one or two bedrooms, ideal for a
family vacation, and since such units rent for $150-200 per
night, a timeshare purchase may be cheaper way to travel.
However, if you are a mobile traveller who likes to stay in a
different town every night, a single person who doesn’t need the
extra space, or if you travel at unpredicatable times, then a
time share may not be suitable.

Getting away to Charity Island offers you the chance to get in touch with nature while relaxing. Unlike other destinations, Charity Island is also a environmentally protected area.

Getting Away To Charity Island

Charity Island is actually two islands, Big and Little Charity Island, both of which are in the state of Michigan. It is located in the Saginaw Bay, which is part of Lake Huron contained inside the state. More than 80 percent of Charity Island is owned by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as part of its Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Also on the island is an old and beloved lighthouse, built in 1857 and used until a replacement was built in 1939. Choosing Charity Island as a destination can make your trip to Michigan special and unique, especially if you choose to stay on the islands.

While on Charity Island, you must be aware that you are in a protected environment. As such, there are some rules that need to be followed. There is no camping on the island, so you will need to make other arrangements for accommodations There are also no campfires, hunting, firearms, fireworks, pets or alcoholic beverages allowed on the island. All of these rules are for the safety of the wildlife refuge housed here, and you will need to be mindful of the law as you enjoy your time on the islands.

For accommodations on Big Charity Island, there is just one choice: Charity Island Lodge. This seasonal getaway lodging spot was built in 2003, and it is the only private lodging on the island besides the lighthouse keeper’s home. The lodge offers accommodations for six with a loft area and master bedroom for sleeping. A kitchen is provided stocked with utensils and other necessities, but you will need to bring many items with you; including food, water, linens and toiletries. Getting to Charity Island Lodge requires a boat; either your own or via ferry service that is available from June to September. Nightly rentals of the Charity Island Lodge are available.

Even if you don’t wish to stay on the island, you can still experience Charity Island on a day trip. Ferries to the island including a dinner cruise leave from Au Gres, Michigan all summer. The “Northstar” runs this trip, which includes a tour of the historic lighthouse and a buffet dinner at the Lighthouse keeper’s Home. The trip to Big Charity Island takes about 75 minutes, and is full of breathtaking views and a spectacular sunset on the ride back.

Whether you choose to stay on Charity Island, or in nearby Au Gres or East Tawas, you can be sure that you will have a memorable and exciting family trip. While enjoying the historic lighthouse and beautiful wildlife refuge, be sure to keep in mind the laws of the land, and your entire party will have a great time.

The year 2005 is drawing near to its end, which means that the holiday season is approaching once again. And that means lots of shopping– at least for most people.

Regardless of whether one looks for the perfect gift for a spouse, girl/boyfriend, mother, father, son, daughter, cat, et cetera, every year has its trends, especially among children — Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, He-Man, Cabbage Patch Dolls, Furbies, Tickle-Me Elmos, Giga Pets, Beanie Babies, the list goes on and on. In times more recent, of course, and with the older set, Apple iPods have been, and continue to be, quite popular.
But whether you are the type to give your loved one a paper clip, or an SUV, the following list is an attempt to sort of ease the stress of Christmas time shopping for the typical American. The suggestions are quite random, as a matter of fact; some are popular, “trendy”, even; others simply aren’t. Either way, happy holidaysand shop safely.

1. Shopping for a bookworm? Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold is certainly a worthy choice. It’s a critically-acclaimed piece of workand for good reason. It’s a novel about the life and adventures of a vaudeville-era magician, Charles Carter, otherwise known as Carter the Great. A sizeable volume, it is full to the brim with an assortment of three-dimensional characters, fictional as well as real; the incorporation of historical figures into the prose (think Harry Houdini and even President Warren G. Harding) serves only to tighten the book’s grip on the reader’s attention-span. “One of the best seasonal reads in the past decade…a single-read wonder, closer in tone to an intellectualized Indiana Jones adventure, but far more satisfying.”Austin Chronicle

2. Give Ali G a chance! Perhaps you are shopping for a young oneone who happens to be over 18, preferably, just to be safe. If that be the case, and you don’t mind subjecting other people to a bit of profanity, then you might at least want to consider purchasing Da Ali G Show: The Complete Seasons, 1 and 2 on DVD. Arguably one of the funniest television programs to come out of the United Kingdom and HBO in recent years, it involves actor Sacha Baron Cohen and the trio of characters he portrays, most especially the character Ali Ga Caucasian “gangsta” wannabe type from England who travels to the U.S.A. in order to conduct interviews with celebrities and politicians (among them: Ralph Nader, Newt Gingrich, and Pat Buchanan). Ali G asks some of the dumbest questions you will ever have heard coming from anyone’s mouthand the DVD itself contains some hilarious extras, like a “glossary of Ali G jargon” (Wot is yous banging on about?= What are you talking about?). The whole thing has to be seen to be believed.

3. One of the most popular, hence obvious, gift ideas for any age group: an apple iPod. Unfortunately, though, iPods tend to cost around $250, depending on where they are being sold, and that can be unaffordable for some families. The good news is that for half the cost you can purchase what is called an iPod Shuffle. Sure, it doesn’t hold as many songs as the regular device (240 tracks for the Shuffle, 5,000 for the Apple 20 GB iPod M9282LL/A) but it’s still a worthy investment or gift, and you save a lot of money, too.

4. Give your grandmother the gift that keeps on giving…the bad guys more than they bargained for. Especially during the holidays, it isn’t uncommon to hear of an increase in robberies, muggings, purse snatchings, etc. Maybe you have a friend or relative who might benefit from a gift that will come in handy in the event of a criminal attack. There are many examples, ranging from a Panther 100,000-volt stun gun for just under $20, to the Advanced Taser with Laser available for about $600.

5. As for the kids, the much-anticipated film adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has just arrived in theaters all over the country. And while it won’t be coming to DVD any time soon, the entire Narnia series is available in audio book format– unabridged. The Chronicles of Narnia CD Box Set can be found in bookshops for around $75. And for those of you who have a certain fondness for the actor Kenneth Branagh, well, the entire set is narrated by Kenneth Branagh. If your child enjoys this audio book, why not get an audio book rental subscription from a service like JiggerBug.com. It’s an easy way to get your child away from the television and into some books.

Random, indeed. Even if those suggestions really didn’t tickle your fancy at all, it is desired that they at least served as inspiration for some gift ideas of your own. Shopping for Christmas presents ought to be funand with a little imagination it can be.

Grandma’s Pepper Spray
Audio Book Rental
Ali G DVD