Travel Deals Now and Your Own Backyard Oasis

A regular work week has come and gone and it is time to plan your next adventure. Why else would you work so hard dear traveling friends. I had my monthly happy hour with my girlfriends on Thursday evening and besides comparing what medication everyone is taking (right now I take none) they all seemed amazed that I get away so often. Simply put, I make sure that I do. Whether I am enjoying local activities in the hood , seeking out music festivals or traveling abroad, for me it is as important as working out at the gym or playing tennis is for my friends. I am a wanderer and a people watcher. I will be staying put for the next three weeks or so and helping some friends of mine sell their incredible custom designed outdoor living furniture at the State Fair of Texas. Their Oasis Fire Pit tables, bistro tables and chairs help to create an escape in your own outdoor living environment. If you can't get away, at least you can escape to your own mini oasis! Check out their designs at Oasisfire.com and tell em the daily traveler sent you! Better yet, come see us in the Embarcadero building at the fair starting next Friday, Septemeber 28th. If you buy from me, I'll even tell you where to find the Texas wine and the free samples of culinary delights.
European Deals
Shoulder season travellers, need I say more? If you want to get out of your comfort zone and experience someone else's, American has smashing deals to Europe if you book your travel by October 3 at midnight for travel October 29 through December 14 and again from January 9, 2008 through April 12, 2008. The fare requires a Saturday night stay and tickets must be booked at least 7 days in advance.
Departures are valid beginning on October 29, 2007, through March 13, 2008. The cheapest fares for most routes are valid Mondays through Thursdays. Book tickets at least seven days in advance. Fares require a Saturday-night stay, and the maximum stay is 30 days.
Time For A Rest Cure?
Maybe some recovery time lazing on a beach, snorkeling or diving is more up your alley, if so...
Warm Islands, Cool Deals: Get away from it all in the Caribbean. $75 off Caribbean packages.
Of course, Mexico is also quite good for that one and a quick and inexpensive getaway to boot.
Journey Beyond the Ordinary: Take $75 off Mexico Packages!!

Looking to book Holiday travel? Try this link...
BEST DAYS TO FLY for November & December Holiday Season.
Gotta shop for the holidays...
If you are looking for the perfect gift try this link...at last check they had some excellent prices on wii bundles, Playstations, and x-box 360 packages.
Playstation 3 System - Get $100 Price Drop, 5 Free* Blu-Ray discs, and Free Shipping! exp 9/30/07

And in the End

We are all travelling through our lives, whether it is letting our thoughts drift out through the window screen and land on a tree where they actually start to make sense (great card Sister Soul Jah), walking around our home town, taking the commuter train to work, or boarding a flight for a life changing experience. Soak it all up, because it all happens in the blink of an eye! Watch out for the storms and stay packed. Ciao for now, Maggie

OJ, Vegoose,Voodoo Fest and Great Travel Deals to Boot!

OJ and The Crazies
Its all OJ news all the time today. CNN and Fox news have spent the better part of the afternoon with cameras trained on the door of the Las Vegas correctional facility where OJ Simpson has been held for the last several days. A media circus press conference occurred this morning and while the Lawyers blathered on and on, all the crazies stood behind them waving OJ bottles, and advertising web sites. (note to self good idea lol). The most fun this morning was some toothless guy chewing gum and popping gum bubbles in an I (heart) Celebrities gimme cap and an OJ 07 t shirt. Personally I get highly amused by such stuff, conversely it makes me sad to think that this is how the world views Americans. What to do about it? What the heck make reservations and go out into the world as ambassadors of good will doggone it.
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Las Vegas and New Orleans
OK, not all of us have the option of jetting off to Europe for a week to 10 days right now (my recommended minimum although the occasional five day foray is good too). You could plan ahead and head to Las Vegas on October 22 when the Juice has to appear in court. Think of the fun, you could spend your days hanging outside the courtroom with Greta and Geraldo and your nights gambling and seeing shows like the Beatles Love. Ok, maybe a side trip to the Grand Canyon or Hoover Dam or maybe even stay on for the Vegoose Festival October 26th-28th if you aren't headed to Voodoo Fest in New Orleans. (same dates).

NOLA
Just to whet your appetite here is a link to NOLA radio...there is a channel that plays Voodoo fest artists and another that plays Jazzfest artists...gotta love it!! Voodoo Music Experience features many of the same artists I just saw at ACL plus others I wish I had, like Rage Against the Machine, The Shins and the Smashing Pumpkins. One of my new favorites, STS9 will be there too.
Here is a lil clip from ACL of STS9 and their fans...you really should go to see them and buy their music if you have any chance at all.

OK, Cut Back to OJ
Oh for the love of god, they are speculating about OJ's possible flight choices as they keep the cameras poised for a shot of him walking out of the jail door. (as I said, I actually get soooo amused by this stuff)
And in the End
Once again Funjet is tossing out some great fares to Mexico, and some great Las Vegas packages too. Cheap Caribbean looks good for Turks and Caicos and The Dominican Republic. Travelocity also has some excellent Mexico packages not to mention the cheap Vegas fares and fares under 500 return to European destinations travelling friends. Stay packed and ready. BTW OJ has finally left the building and he is wearing a blue suit lol.First it is back the Palms to get his stuff then its off to Florida in a private jet. And that crazy guy it turns out is professional actor Anthony Barbieri that plays a character called Jake Byrd on the Jimmy Kimmel show and also was at the press conference when it was announced that Paris Hilton was going to jail and he made an appearance at Michael Jackson's trial as well.

We got punked today dude! Ciao for now,Maggie

Austin City Limits Rap and Wrap Up

Ode To ACL
The Party is over in Austin and what a fine play date it was. Sunday's fest was hot and happening with groups like The Little Ones, Yo La Tengo, STS9 ( Sound Tribe Sector Nine), Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Common, Charlie Musselwhite, Rose Hill Drive, Ziggy Marley, Amos Lee, Regina Spektor, Wilco, My Morning Jacket, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Billie Joe Shaver, Ghostland Observatory, and The Decemberists among the many.

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Bob Dylan

The big Fest closer this year was Bob Dylan. I stayed until the bitter end (odd, that is a place in Greenich Village Bob Dylan played back in the 60's) and for ACL, it was a bitter end. Dylan is a hit or miss proposition at this point anyway, but the sound sucked and they should have broadcast this the final act of a three day festival on all of the screens throughout Zilker Park. Even if the sound had not sucked I don't feel it would have mattered. From the moment he started with "Everybody Must Get Stoned" it sure seemed like he had(gotten stoned) and never come back. "bladetheblahtheblah, tangled up in blue, blahdetheblahdethe blah, like a rolling stone." I knew this was the possibility but I stayed none the less because it was Bob Dylan. OK, I did leave before the end, but that is because I was getting kinda claustrophobic at that point. I feel I have gotten my music fix on for a bit anyway and found some new acts (to me) that I might not have found otherwise. Sunday's faves include STS9, Common and Amos Lee. My dear new friends from Boston really loved Wilco and my son's heavily favored Ghostland Observatory for the day along with Common.
ACL does feature something for everyone and I really love the diverse age groups that you find there. There is also a pervasive sense of safety and a chill factor you just don't find everywhere anymore, certainly not in a concert venue.

For the Foodies The food area still features a few more adventurous offerings than other festival and fares, but Barbecue is a food group and Tex Mex is a food group in Texas ya'll so just get over it. If it wasn't on a bun or a skewer it was more than likely wrapped in a tortilla. Some of the items read well like chilled corn chowder (too salty), Chilled Mango Soup ( a texture issue for my sister in law) I just thought it would benefit by morphing into a mango collada...hey it was really hot outside.

Barton Springs

Not to be missed was the activity surrounding the festival all along Barton Springs Road like the guys playing home made vibes fashioned out of wood and pvc...really cool. The vendors and of course the people in general are always loads of fun in Austin. Just to top it off some Fundamentalist Christian group was outside with megaphones as we all exited urging us to repent and not to make a "graven" image of the lord...weird, wasn't that Jesus on their pamphlets ???? lol I kept feeling as I walked past them that this was really just a movie being filmed and we were all extras. Then a really chill girl checked with me to see if I wanted to achieve personal enlightenment and I said of course but I was in too big a hurry right now...isn't that always the problem...maybe next week or next year.

In The End
A great time was had by all, I cannot remember when I actually got to spend so much uninterrupted time with my brah and Sister Soul Jah, much less their cool friends like the Docstress, Schwade and Mellow girl. And what fun to meet really great new friends like the Boston Bonnaroo Girls and B-Buoy their manslave (he lost a bet so he had to wear the Goo Goo dolls t shirt and yellow doo rag). Just wish Mr Daily Traveler had come with me. May the Spirit of Fester and Town Lake Tavern be with you. More pics when I can post. Ciao for now, Maggie

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ACL Festival Part Trois

A Good Kind of Tired
Sister Soul Jah said it sooooo well last night, it feels like we have been to boot camp we are so sweaty, tired and exhausted...but it is a good kind of tired. Soooooo much great music and really fun people. The girls from Boston had an up-close and personal with John from Cincinnati yesterday (Austin Nichol) and we even held on to our table in the Heineken Town Lake pub. The beauty of that is the central location and the treas and oh, yeah the cool beverages...thank God for Sweet Leaf Green Tea and water and of course the occasional Blackstone wine and Heinies.
Oh Yeah, The Music
Those young whipper-snappers The Steps did not disappoint and the day was filled with awesome performances from the likes of Willie Mason, Dr. Dog, Augustana, Blue October (well actually I thought they we kinda dull), Damien Rice, Clap Your Hands Say yeah, Indigo Girls, and Arcade Fire. I think the highlight of my day tho, was Beau Soleil in the WaMu tent. Just needed to get my Zydeco on I guess and they did not let me down. Sister Soul Jah, the Docstress and I danced with some guys right out of central casting for a Larry McMurtry story about Marfa and Lubbock and their trek to and from their roots in the Bayous of Louisiana in the 1950's. Did I mention that I am a nut magnet? more about that at a later date.
And in the End
I can't wait to see what today brings, but I know it will start with brunch at SSJ and the Brah's house so I am off and running. More pics video and posts later. Ciao for Now, Maggie