My girlfriends and I have had a lot of great getaways together. If you haven’t taken a getaway with your friends, there’s still time this summer and the airfares are still good — considering the price of fuel!
Some of my favorite cities — and those I’d definitely visit again — are:
Two Chefs Scout Out the Best in New York City
What do East Coast culinary types do on their day off? They take a train to NYC to sample some of the best the city has to offer. Alissa Jeffery is the catering chef at the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts in Vienna, VA – America’s National Park for the Performing Arts. She’s quite accustomed to preparing menus for special events using exquisite food items to dazzle the palate of the philanthropists who so generously support the Wolf Trap Foundation. When she’s not working, she likes to sample the work of others. She and a fellow cook/ New England Culinary Institute student took the train up to New York just to dine at this Lower East Side restaurant. Her full review was on her MySpace page. This is an edited version that she’s agreed to share with you.
Ryan and I went to Wylie Dufresne’s restaurant, wd-50. (50 Clinton St. NYC). Yes, he has been on Iron Chef and so has his pastry chef, Alex Stupak.
Midwest Airlines and PayPal have teamed up to help you get away to your favorite destination with an extra $50 in your pocket. It’s too good to pass up this summer. Midwest has no blackout dates, either. That’s $50 off per ticket on your reservation. So if 4 of you fly, you’ll save $200! Like I said — too good to pass up! You’ll need to purchase your tickets online and use the special promo code. Get that promo code here and get away for a few days with your friends.
Okay, my main purpose for this Las Vegas trip was to see Elton John in his Red Piano concert at Caesars Palace. But that left quite a bit of time to spend on other pursuits. Here’s how I planned this one-night trip.
My sole purpose in making this particular trip to Las Vegas was to see Elton John perform at his The Red Piano concert at Caesars Palace Colosseum. And he did not disappoint! He was definitely worth waiting a lifetime to see!
You just can’t beat a penthouse view of the New York City skyline. We checked in to an Upper West Side boutique hotel, On The Ave Hotel, not expecting a penthouse suite — but we did book a room with a terrace (at an unbelievable special rate!) Imagine our delight when our room key opened up to a penthouse suite with this spectacular view!
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I’d heard about Williamsburg, a neighborhood in Brooklyn. That it is pretty much the way Greenwich Village was 30 years ago or more. Young fashion designers, up-and-coming artists and musicians, less expensive living and the place to meet other artsy up-and-comers.
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Since Karen and I were touring Central Park, we thought we might as well stay for dinner at Tavern on the Green. It’s located in the southwestern corner of the park, near Columbus Circle. In fact, it was walking distance from our Upper West Side hotel. A delightful stroll after dinner.
What’s a “PediCab?” (A rickshaw vehicle for 2 passengers powered by a bicycle) This is a great way to tour Central Park — best of all, you don’t have to pedal the bicycle. You just sit back and enjoy the ride.
If you want to save money, but waste valuable time, take the Super Shuttle from La Guardia to your Manhattan hotel. My time in NYC is always limited — there’s way more I want to do than my time will allow. So when 3 hours of my time is totally wasted in transit, I get steamed. So would you …
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One of the many charms of Camp GetAway is that it offers a wide range of activities in which you can participate or not. If you’d rather hike or read a good book while others are trying their hand at archery, that’s fine.
Yes, I did say sleeping bag. And yes, I really mean “send yourself to camp.” Ginny and I did it this spring and rediscovered the pleasures of childhood “away camp” that’s now tailored to a gals-only environment. We went for a re-energizing weekend at Camp GetAway in the San Bernardino Mountains outside L.A. and San Diego.
Just started up my computer this morning and noticed an article on MSNBC about recession-proof travel and Dollar-Friendly Destinations. The only U.S. destination listed is the Santa Ynez Valley — the area in which Solvang is located. Wow, Solvang! It’s not only a spectacular area, a delightful little town, but an excellent value for your travel dollar.
Our Solvang accommodations could not have been better. We chose the Hadsten House Inn and Spa right on the main street of Solvang. A perfect location for walking around town, the inn was also a terrific choice for beautiful accommodations and dining. You’ve got to check out its Web site and see what I mean about luxurious room accommodations! And I would highly recommend its brand new spa — the Haven Day Spa — that offered a terrific range of services. Ginny and I indulged ourselves in the 75-minute massage! Probably the best massage treatment I’ve ever had! 
Seriously. Read the rest of this entry »
The Danish certainly know how to delight visitors. Just came back from what my friend Ginny and I consider “The Perfect Place for a Girlfriend Getaway.” And we do mean perfect.
You’d love to visit New York again. But you’re dying to see Boston … or maybe Philadelphia or D.C. You can only afford one trip this season. Which city will you choose? Now you don’t have to choose just one city after all.
Introducing 2-city roundtrip travel on Midwest Airlines and an inexpensive fare between cities on the brand new Bolt Bus. Read the rest of this entry »
Washington’s National Cherry Blossom Festival started last Saturday and I certainly didn’t want to miss it this year. So Mary-Pat and I headed out early Saturday morning and spent the weekend enjoying the sights and scents of DC in the spring.
Because Mary-Pat is a recently-retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, we opted to make this a military gals getaway and she made arrangements for us to stay on a military post.
It’s just 45 minutes from the Atlanta airport — you don’t even have to drive into Atlanta to get there. Historic Banning Mills is a family-owned and operated country inn, B&B, resort, team-building retreat and conservation center that will take your breath away!
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The third leg of the mid-air tour was to be done on a high wire — a single wire traversing 60-80 feet of open air. Oh, we had side wires to hold on to and we did for dear life. But it turned out to be something we just stepped out and did, although quite carefully. 
The zip line we had just traversed was fun. I kept my eyes open. I took in all the beautiful scenery. And I landed on my feet. It went fast, but no butterflies or flip-flops in my stomach as the zip line was more horizontal than vertical. No big plunge as on a roller-coaster or bungee jump. Very, very fun.Then we discovered that the next several legs of the canopy tour did not involve flying in the air, but walking on air! Oh-h-h my!
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Maybe you’re an adventurer, an X-Treme sport nut. Maybe you can’t even remember the first time you traversed a zip line. But Jamie, Loralee and I are not really X-Treme — well at least we weren’t X-Treme until we took the zip line “plunge” in Georgia. Now we think of ourselves as pretty X-Treme, I guess. We went out to Historic Banning Mills specifically to put ourselves to the test — the Tree Canopy Tour looked like fun, but could we really do it? Read the rest of this entry »
How good are you at facing difficult situations? Putting “mind over matter” to do what needs to be done, no matter how challenging? I have an adventure that will certainly test — X-tremely test — your mental stamina.
I just came back from Georgia (right outside of Atlanta) where I and two friends took this X-Treme test. It challenged our beings down to the very core. When we were done, we knew what we were made of. It took our fears (and make no mistake, at least one of us had significant fears) and reduced them to nothing. Then, after 3 hours, we looked back and said, “We did that?!!!” We did indeed and lived to tell about the adventure.
It was the Canopy Tree Flight at Historic Banning Mills Resort and Team-Building Center in Whitesburg, GA. But this “flight” was much more than a zipline — way more than we anticipated. It was about 3 hours of white-knuckle challenge. When we talk about it today to our friends and co-workers, the thought of what we did makes their stomachs flutter. It was fun. I’ll start to unravel the full adventure in my next post. But you can check out my pre-trip post for a glimpse of what we were to encounter.
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I’ve got a lot of fun trips planned for 2008!
Call your friends, pack your bag and fly. Las Vegas sounds terrific right about now. See my post about my last Las Vegas trip. 
And I don’t believe the airfare can get much better than this. Read the rest of this entry »
Just east of Columbus, Ohio is an area rich in country charm, quality craftsmanship and down-home comforts. 
An area that creeps into Appalachia, this part of the country is known for exceptional handmade crafts and antique finds.
Midwest has about 4 daily nonstops roundtrips to/from Milwaukee and two nonstops from Kansas City (plus more flights with easy connects in Milwaukee).
And I just Googled rental cars at CMH (Columbus airport) and found that Priceline offers cars starting at $12-$15 per day (and that’s before you even bid on them for a lower rate!) Of course, rental cars, like airline seats, are subject to demand and availability. So search an aggregator like kayak.com; follow the deal leads it gives you. Then go right to the car rental company site to see if there’s an even better deal. Once you find the lowest price, go to priceline.com and bid even lower. Use all these resources to help stretch your travel budget.
NEXT: More on Potteries, Glass, Antiques, Amish, B&Bs in Longaberger Basket Land
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I’ve got a lot of fun trips planned for 2008!
Don’t forget to check my NYC event calendar (at the top of the page) to see special events that might be happening when you visit. (It’s a work-in-progress, so check back often.)
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I’ve got a lot of fun trips planned for 2008!
FARE SCOOP!
If you’ve been dreaming of a trip to New York, you should do it now. When do you think you’ll ever see an airfare as low as $74 each way again — this is an individual airfare on Midwest Airlines, not a group rate!
This unbelievable fare is between Milwaukee and NYC’s La Guardia Airport. Catch a shuttle or cab and you’ll be on Fifth Avenue (or Canal Street) in no time at all. Read the rest of this entry »
Car rental is one area in which I know I can save money for my girlfriends getaway if I do some online homework. You can, too. Here’s how I do it:
Use Your Airline Miles. What a great way to save money on your getaway airfare! But plan well in advance of travel to be sure you can book the flight you’d prefer.Don’t have quite enough miles for a ticket? Check if your airline allows you to “buy” the additional miles you need. Could be much cheaper than buying a whole ticket. Midwest Airlines still offers roundtrip tickets for 25,000 miles. Or $150 + 15,000 miles. Worth checking out.
Book tickets during a fare sale or at a special small group discount. That means planning ahead — even months ahead — to get the best deal on your airline of choice.
Look for Nonstop Flights. Time really is money. You want to maximize your getaway experience and spend as little time on an airplane as possible.Nonstop flights rock!
Use a Credit Card That Gives You Miles. There’s nothing better than getting a free flight. You can do that when you earn miles with your credit card, not only on airline tickets but on everyday purchases. You could easily earn a free flight every year (or even more) — making your girlfriend getaways more affordable!
Thank you to all my readers. I am delighted to report that the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) has awarded my blog — girlfriendsgetaway.wordpress.com — an Award of Merit in the Corporate Blog category. 
This award recognizes innovation in the world of corporate blogs.
Now TravelswithTish(dot)com
As most of you know, I am in the process of transferring that blog’s content to my new site. Travelswithtish(dot)com affords me more latitude in offering you additional information about travel destinations and links to other travel resources. Look for a travel forum to appear soon and some additional travel-related topics.
Boston’s Italian North End
The North End is still a very cool area of the city and, unlike NYC’s Little Italy, it remains the place where many of Italian heritage still choose to live. That’s its charm. Narrow streets, lots of little Italian restaurants, neighborhood folks coming and going, a neighborhood school. And with its close proximity to 
Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, the Freedom Trail, etc.(just a few blocks away), the North End seemed a perfect place to stay.
If I had all the time in the world, I’d follow this itinerary from New York Magazine. But then I’d need another day or two 
to decompress — in New York, of course.
See what you think. The article hits all the best shopping in the city as well as some of the best places to dine. Pick and choose a few from each day in their itinerary and create your own kind of shopping and dining experience.
Don’t Forget …
Air fares low and New York hotels are looking for guests during January and February. Prices are not likely to be any better in NYC than right now. So get a few gals together and shop!
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I’ve got a lot of fun trips planned for 2008!
What an opportunity for certified Scuba divers! Baltimore’s National Aquarium at the Inner 
Harbor permits divers the opportunity to explore two of its big tanks.
Diving days are limited but include January 19, February 16 and March 15. Get the details.
Low Airfares to Baltimore.
Check Midwest Airlines for low fares on nonstop flights to Baltimore.
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I’ve got a lot of fun trips planned for 2008!
You can spend a lovely day browsing, shopping and visiting with friends if you make it a day trip from Dallas/Ft. Worth. Just 10 minutes from the airport, Grapevine offers both quaint shopping along its main street or high-power outlet shopping at the edge of town.
If you’ve been to San Francisco already, but would love to see more of its countryside (oceanside?), check out this post from RealTravel. Read the rest of this entry »
TriBeCa is a trendy section in Lower Manhattan – restaurants, shops and, of course, its annual film festival is well known. Chinatown, Soho, Little Italy and the financial district (Ground Zero) are all within walking distance. Read the rest of this entry »
Just came back from two terrific days in Baltimore. My friend, Ginny, and I flew a Midwest Airlines regional jet out on Sunday morning; came back late Monday night. 
Plenty of time to take in the city’s famous Inner Harbor and a few other great nearby spots. Ginny had never been to Baltimore and really liked it.
Soho, Greenwich Village, Little Italy and Chinatown are just some of the places in Lower Manhattan that intrique me. My friend, Sandy, and I had a great getaway there last year although neither of us had been to that part of Manhattan before. It was an experiment that worked out really well. Read the rest of this entry »
Since I started working at Midwest Airlines, I’d heard airline people talk about the fabulous deals they got on purses down on Canal Street. Designer bags — knock-offs, real? Maybe a mix of both. Who really knows? Sounded exciting. Sounded fun. We were anxious to see.
What we found were blocks of old warehouse buildings lined at street level with dozens of roll-up steel doorways in each building. Each Canal Street “shop” looked alike and was no more than 10 x 10 feet square with merchandise spilling out onto the sidewalk. Now this was not a glamorous 
location. If you’re inclined to this sort of down-and-dirty bargain hunting, then you have to expect a little grit and maybe a little risk.
The “designer” purses on view from the street looked okay — well, maybe just cheap. Not impressive enough to pass off at home as a true designer bag. I really own a few and these were definitely not. But the best Canal Street s
elections are to be found by invitation only — under the display table, hidden in a shopping bag or displayed in a private back room. (The purse-laden back walls have a concealed door to the back room.) Tawdry? Kind of creepy? Illegal? Dangerous? Probably all of those and then some. But there’ more …
As you wander down the Chinatownstreet, you’ll notice men and women whispering things to you. Yes, to you. They say “Gucci” or Louis Vuitton” or some other designer name that is barely audible. If you express an interest, they guide you down the street, maybe around a corner to a “location” where the goods are sold. It might be in a dank
basement or up three flights of stairs into a collection of roughly divided “showrooms.” You make your selections, pay cash and your “guide” escorts you back to the corner where you started. (If we chose not to purchase, we experienced no problem.)
It’s said that the FBI investigates this sort of business. But it’s right there going on for anyone who would care to shop. A co-worker told me she had just gotten into one of the shops when customers were hustled out and told to return in 30 minutes. When she returned, it was back to business as usual.
NEXT: Did You Ever Lose Your Hotel?
TIPS:
1)Cash Only. Don’t give checks or credit cards. Carry your cash in various locations — pockets, a hidden travel wallet or even in your shoe. It’s a crowded city environment — stay safe.
2)Canal Street. Most purse shopping is done on Canal between Lafayette and Bowery. Watch where other shoppers are going. You’ll also find some jewelry, pashminas, watches and assorted other knock-off items.
3) Haggling Encouraged. Purses may range from $30 to $65 or so. Buy 2 and ask for a better price. Buy 3 or more and you should be able to name your price. I got three $40-$60 purses for $100.
4) Caution with Blanket Vendors. Others parts of New York are filled with “blanket vendors” — people who spread out a blanket on the sidewalk and display purses, illegal DVDs, etc. If you buy from one of them, keep your hand on your cash until you have your purchase in hand. If the vendor spots the “authorities” in the middle of a transaction, he’ll grab up the blanket of goods and run.
5) Pack an Extra Duffle Bag. You’ll undoubtedly see purses and wallets you’ll want to buy. Pack a duffle bag in your suitcase that can be used as checked baggage on your return flight.
6) Check The Purse Blog. Take a look at what the designers are showing this year and what’s hot before you shop. Many of the styles on Canal Street are a year or several years old. Still nice, but know what you’re getting before you go.
10-13-06. Here’s a post that offers photos of Louis Vuitton purses that are being shown for spring. Check it out before hitting Canal Street.
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I’ve got a lot of fun trips planned for 2008!
Welcome to Travels with Tish — Girlfriends’ Getaway Guide. I’ll be visiting cities across the U.S. for a mini getaway, then sharing my experiences, great finds, unusual bargains and even the not-so-great aspects of the trip. I’ll also share links and tips to give you ideas for planning better getaways. And, above all, I’ll welcome your comments and recommendations for what you love about these cities. Read the rest of this entry »
