Boca Raton Retreat

At one point in time (2006 to be exact), Boca Raton was voted one of the best places to live and work in by Money Magazine.  The list was based on quality of life, health, and top earning companies within Boca Raton. Among the many Boca Raton companies is Westford Asset Management.  Westford Asset Management is located at 7280 Palmetto Park Road, Suite 310, Boca Raton, Florida, United States.

Aside from Westford Asset Management, the most popular companies to work for in Boca Raton today include:  AutoNation, Office Depot, Tenet Healthcare, Ptrs and Broward Health. According to Wikipedia, approximately 76 % of those live in Boca Raton, FL work for companies in the city.

Mizner Park (Mizner was developer of Boca Raton in the 20s)

Striped Bass in Maine

Piscataqua River, Maine – bass autumn migration now in session!

Chesapeake Bay, MD – striped bass and blue fish (saltwater fish) in season

Rockfish in the Chesapeake Bay

Outerbanks, NC -perfect for surf and pier fishing, freshwater, fly and sound fishing, inshore and offshore charter fishing.

Montauk Point and Gardiner’s Island, Long Island, NY – striped bass, albacores and blue fish.  Sak Narwal has written of his penchant for flyfishing at Montauk Point.

Florida Keys, Florida – This is the southern most tip of Florida, where, like Sak Narwal mentions on his blog,
“Bahia Honda, Big Pine Key, Little Torch Key. Summerland Key, Cudjoe Key and Sugarloaf Key are a few of islands in the lower Florida Keys that separate the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.”  Hence, saltwater fishing must be incredible. Indeed, this is one of Florida’s primary tourist come ons.

- Dorado/Mahi-Mahi  in season (also known locally as dolphins!)

Dorados in the Florida Keys

This looks like my bike (but for the color)

If we could take a Virgin Atlantic Plane, a YMT Vacations Cruise Ship and a Bike  to get to travel the world like never before , here’s what our itinerary would look like…

1.  Amsterdam, Netherlands (rated best city to bike in!)

-  where 40% of all moving traffic is on bikes!  Other modes of transportation also include cruise ships such as those offered by YMT Vacations which take you straight to

Paris!  Home of the Grand Prix and where there are actually “Cycling Holidays” that fully support bike tours to the French Alps and Pyrenees. 

Surprisingly, Paris is not on the top 11 best bike city list of Virgin Atlantic.  The second best biking spot is

2.  Portland,  Oregon

According to Virgin, “Portland has a varied bicycle network that connects all parts of the city. This network has proven successful in dramatically increasing bicycle use. Portland also has a strong bicycle culture where all types of cyclists can find opportunities to enjoy riding a bicycle. Portland’s Create-a-Commuter program is the first project in the United States that provides low-income adults with commuter bicycles as well as a session on commuter safety. The bikes come outfitted with lights, a lock, a helmet, a pump, tool kits, maps and rainwear.“

Portland is also one of many stops on a YMT Vacations cruise of Alaska and the Pacific Northwests that eventually ends in San Francisco (# 8 best biking city).

An hour or so north of San Francisco is the small college town of Davis.  Here bikers are king and are known to intimidate drivers.  Believe me, I was one intimidated driver!

For the complete Top 11 Cities to Bike In list go here

One thing is for sure, Hawaii is not cheap.  Usually, frequent flyer miles do not work for Hawaii, so one has the option of using those miles to get really, really close to Hawaii and then supplementing the fare from the West Coast to the island.

Let’s look at YMT Vacations’ deals:  I am a big fan of them since I have been doing some research on good value tour operators.

$1528 for a cruise tour price that includes 15 days anda 14 nights!

This is just as expensive as going to the Philippines which is all the way in Asia!

I think among the YMT Vacations deals the best ones right now are the European ones.  There’s the YMT vacations Transatlantic Cruise which includes Spain, London and Paris.  And theiir YMT vacations 25 Day European Cruise and Land Tour.

In any case, I think Hawaii is still a dream away.  The first place, we are trying to get is the Philippines.  And right now that seems to be always out of our reach due to costs.  Sigh.  Our Philippines trip is now moved to March.

I’ll probably start preparing for this trip in December.

Until then, here’s to wishful Pacific island thinking.

The best part of the journey there (for me) was seeing the Biltmore, the largest home in America.  I like getting ideas for possibly decorating my own home in the future and consider it a sort of education in interior design (classic style).
Here are some pictures…

It appears that the low cost tour operator, YMT Vacations is the best way to go if you’re a senior wanting a low-cost option when traveling this summer. You must be over 50, however, to avail of YMT Vacations‘ low rates such as…

Hawaii – 15 days $1379

Alaska – 15 days $1399

Europe – 24 days $1899

Canadian Rockies – 14 days $999

Compare this to other tour outfits such as Insight Vacations

Alaska Cruise & Canadian Rockies – 20 days $5999

Europe – 23 days from $5399

Canadian Rockies & Calgary Stampede- 15 days $6499

A big difference when booking your low cost tour however, will be to watch out for areas in which a tour outfit scrimps in order to give you the savings.  For seniors, in particular, comfort is a big issue.  Some seniors, may prefer to spend more money in order to enjoy the tour in a better hotel and together with their other younger family and friends.  Such amenities are what Insight Vacations are known for and YMT Vacations has been criticized for.

One great advantage YMT does have is the kind of tours it offers are actually preferred by seniors.  Insight Vacations for instance, has no Hawaii tour. Another such example is the YMT Alaskan tour is separate from its Canadian Rockies tour making it more manageable by those not in their prime. Furthermore, as I have stated in the past, the Religious Rome and Oberammergau tours of YMT include a private mass with the Holy Father!!!  I would think, one would like to put up with the 3-star h0tel in order to attend mass with the Pope.

For first time travelers to the Philippines here are a few tips:

1.  The earlier you buy the plane ticket, the cheaper it will be.  Right now, from the west coast, prices are at around $1350 per person.

2. Prepare for a lot of paperwork and what we in the RP (Republic of the Philippines) fondly call “red-tape.”  All Philippine government offices, companies, airline carrier, car rentals, hotels will have this. On the upside, all these establishments will also have excellent customer service unmatched by any American counterpart.  This will help in the frustration

3.  For US Citizens check the Travel Warning on the State Department website.  It says not to go to the South of the Philippines.  Honestly, I’m a Filipino and I haven’t been to the south either due to the fact that it is not that easily accesible. However, the majority of the islands are fairly safe, in my opinion.  So, do not be afraid. As in all trips, do not let your guard down either.

4.  Prepare for the humid heat and initial pollution by buying very hot weather wear.  Avoid the heat and pollution by traveling away from Manila/Quezon City.

5. If possible, buy a cellphone (that will work in the RP) and that is unlocked.  Everyone reaches everyone via text.  That way, when you get to the RP you simply have to buy the SIM card to activate your phone there.

6.  Pack lighlty as you will need your suitcases empty for all the outrageously cheap and beautiful shopping to be had.  Better yet, stuff “maletas” with “pasalubongs.”  gifts for the people you will be meeting on the islands.

That’s it for now…

I think one of the things America needs is building assesments and overhauls so that they are remodeled to comply with greener standards. I am perplexed at the fact that hundreds of flourescent lights in empty offices or even unfinished corporate buildings are left turned-ON night after night, when no one needs them.  This is not just a horrible waste, but horrible laziness.

How would your average remodeling company, take for instance K-Designers, a 30-year old business rebuild itself as green?  How would one check to see if  it is compliant with good environmental standards?

If I were to check to see if K-Designers was environmentally certified, I would have to ask the following questions:

1.  Is the company listed under a Green Certification Board?

Click on,

National Green Pages

2. Does it have Green Building Credentials, LEED Credentials or a Green Building Professional

Certificate?

Click on,

Membership Page Type in name of company, ex. K-Designers on the Find entry block.

Unfortunately, K-Designers is not a green comapny… yet.  However, this does not mean that they do not currently use green standards for buildings or are in the process of doing so.  Getting certified is a long process and costs $450-$600 for LEED certifications.

However, a small business can start by joining a green cooperative such as Green America’s Green Busines Network.  where membership fees for small business are $85.

Thankfully, there are some budding remodeling agencies that are good for the environment.

One such company which highlights eco-friendly standards is Greenwerks in Chicago.

Most others like it are located indeed, in California and can be found in the CalFinder.

The first place to look would be the US Tour Operator Members. There, one can search by destination or even by travel type. In our case, that would be Family.

PRICE

On the cheaper end of the spectrum you have, Your Man Tours.
Only thing is this tour operator is primarily targeted for seniors. Nevertheless, I didn’t find anything on the Your Man Tours website banning kids.

INTEREST in DESTINATIONS

They are also limited by their scope of destinations.

Alaska
Canadian Rockies
Europe
Hawaii
Mexico
National Parks
New England
Panama Canal
West Coast

Among these, my personal favorite on the Your Man Tours was their

12-day European Pilgrimage Land Tour (12 days, 21 meals) $2500

Yes, there are other sights out there that specialize in Religious Tours. But they are usually arranged by your local parish and can vary from year to year. YMT’s pilgrimage actually has an itinerary which includes Mass with the Holy Father and daily mass!

The other American-based religious tour that I found is called Faithful Holidays. Their website says that “most likely” Mass is included in the tour. They have only 3 destinations:

Israel (10 days 16 meals) $1769!!!
Greece (11 days 18 meals) $2000-$2100
Europe-Poland to Oberammergau, Germany (12 days, 18 meals) $3700

I haven’t price compared yet, but I’d say these are pretty decent deals. I am waiting to hear from a friend who found a European cruise ship which includes daily mass as well. A word of warning on this daily mass thing for Catholics… In my research I found that one must be wary about fake priests on these cruise ships. Such was the case in an article on ZENIT.
It’s reassuring to know that priests aboard ships are now supposed to be “certified” by the Apostleship of the Sea, a legitimate arm of the Catholic Church.

But alas, we are not going to Europe this year. We are going to San Francisco after Easter, Tampa in May, Puerto Rico and the Philippines in December.

Based on the US tour operator destinations list. It looks like no one goes to the Philippines!!!

One place that I did see was Goway.com where they make it really enticing to go to the Philippines but don’t give you a price tag like other websites do.
WEBSITE

In terms of website, the best one I’ve found is Smithsonian Journeys. There site has a very navigable menu next to the cruise of choice which details your itinerary, cost and other info. It doesn’t bounce you around to too many pages and sports a very clean and neat GUI

An example of a Smithsonian journey is:

Greco-Roman cruise/land (11 days, all meals) ranges from $7K to $30K PP

depending on your choice of ship’s sleeping quarters Pricey! Keep in mind, your tour includes an archaeologist who will lead study groups. This is awesome for nerdy families like mine but too heavy on our thrifty budget.

Once again, Smithsonian did NOT feature any educational trips to the Philippines.

In two weeks my family and I will be off to Tampa, Florida.  We are not using a tour for this domestic trip.  But are considering one for the Philippines and other international destinations.

The weather here is a fantastic 73 F with sunshine and soft breeze.  Flip flops,  greens and yellows are all the rage here, as are flowers!  Everyone here seems to have a garden.  Even people who don’t have time to garden actual hire gardeners to tend their apartment square foot gardens.

I wish I could just cut and mail my mom the local flora here as part of my annual Mother’s day flowers gift to her.  Speaking of Mother’s day flowers.  I have a short review of floral delivery services HERE.

I have taken a few pictures of my aunt’s garden but have yet to post them.  This is an excellent place for planting anything.  But especially for….

Orchids

Succulents

Roses

If there’s anything I’m taking home with me on this trip, it’s cuttings from Auntie Tess’s chubby succulents.  What to do with them when I get home:

Keep in water till roots form

Plug into the ground (good soil)

Add water and sunshine

Watch it grow!