Travel Ideas - Guides for Travel and Vacations

by: Jeff Palmer

There are many vacation rental options available on Hilton Head Island. Villas and condos, homes and timeshares are all available in varying price ranges.Most vacation villa rentals range from $500 per week for a one bedroom accomodation up to $3000 per week for a 3 bedroom rental. Of course location and ameneties play a part in the price of these rentals. Rentals located on the ocean with private beach acesss fetch a higher price than those without. Another factor which effects the price of Hilton Head rentals is the month that reservations are made. The tourist season on Hilton Head begins in April and continues until about August. Villa rental prices during these months are at a premium. With about a million vacationers to Hilton Head each year, it’s easy to understand why rentals during these peak months are in such high demand.
Vacation home rentals on Hilton Head can range in price from $1000 to $8000 per week for some luxury oceanfront homes and condos. The number of bedrooms,amenities,location and season affect the rental prices of these homes.
Long and short term rentals are both readily available. Weekend vacations or rental arrangements lasting several weeks are commonly found. Most vacation rentals on Hilton Head Island include the standard amenities such as air conditioning, washer and dryerand cable television. Many villa rental choices include luxury features such as jacuzzis, indoor pools, ocean views, private beach access, tennis courts and golf facilities.
The vacation rental business on Hilton Head Island is highly competitive and many bargains can be found online. To save money, try to book your reservation in the off season months.Many times a villa or vacation rental can be purchased for at least half of what is charged during the peak tourist months.
There are a large number of hotels to chose from on Hilton Head Island. In general, prices range from$50 per night for basic accomodations to $200 per night for some of the more upscale lodgings.
Hilton Head Island is divided into plantations or communities. The various plantations offer differingcharacteristics and amenities. Before choosing your Hilton Head vacation it may be wise to consider the differences in plantations.
On the South West end of the island is Seapines plantation. Seapines was theisland’s first developed area. Seapines is a mixture of residential and resort areas with 3 public golf courses,several tennis courts, beach, two marinas and the very popular Harbour Town shopping district.
Shipyard Plantation is best known for it’s beautiful beach. Shipyard is a mixture of resorts and private residences. Bicycle and walking paths wind through the plantation’s 800 acres. Several golf course call Shipyard home,including the Galleon, Brigantine and the Clipper.
Long Cove is a stricly residential area, with about 570 private homes.
Wexford Plantation is a private community of about 500 acres.
Palmetto Dunes is a mixture of resort and residential communities. Boasting over 3 miles of shoreline, Palmetto Dunes is a popluar renatl area. Shelter Cove harbour and marina is l ocated adjacent to this plantation and is host to numerous fesivals, celebrations and other island events.
Port Royal Plantation features several historical sites. The Island’s namesake Captain Willian Hilton first landed here in 1663. The Port Royal resort features a convention center, entertainment and restuarant.
Palmetto Hall Plantation, the newest of the island’s residential developments features two outstanding golf courses.
Located on the northern edge of the island is Hilton Head Plantation is home to golf course and country clubs. Miles of nature walks and bicycle trails cover the plantation which is also home to two nature preserves.
Indigo Run is a resdential plantation located in the central area of the island.
Spanish Wells is one the island’s original developments and is a private community.
Windmill Harbour is home to the South carolina Yacht Club.

About The Author

Jeff Palmer is an internet marketing consultant and search engine optimization specialist. Currently residing in Hilton Head Island, SC., Mr. Palmer is the author of numerous ebooks and articles concerning online advertising and marketing.

http://www.hiltonheadislander.com

Info@hiltonheadislander.com

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by: Ed Williams

Are we still living in Georgia, or has our state somehow changed into Brazil or Mexico?
I mean it, I?m genuinely starting to wonder, and I?ll tell y?all why. Just this past weekend I made a trip over to Jekyll Island because I had a little business to attend to there. Thusly, I slipped away from work Thursday afternoon and started the drive down. I was feeling loose and relaxed, George Thorogood and the Destroyers were singing ?One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer? on the radio, and I was eating cashews and washin? em down with a Diet Mountain Dew - my two favorite road trip food items. Life was goin? pretty good until I got just outside of McCrae, and that?s when I saw it……
?It? was an armadillo. A real armadillo, the only thing of note was that it was a very dead armadillo, an armadillo who appeared to have lost a bout with a car. Needless to say, my appetite for cashews went south as I gazed upon this very mashed armadillo. Frankly, it took me a good three or four miles until I could even start to sip on my Diet Mountain Dew again. Amazingly, though, this initial mashed armadillo was only one of three dead ones that I saw on the way down to Jekyll! It puzzles me, I didn?t even think armadillos came from around here, I always thought they lived over in Texas or Mexico and were certainly not a member of Georgia?s animal population. I?m not even sure what species an armadillo is, is it part lizard, part anteater, or is it kin to the turtle family? Whatever it is, it?s not something you typically see out on a Georgia highway. Three extremely dead armadillos viewed on one trip to the Golden Isles is a first for me, and I?m a genetic, lifelong resident of Georgia.
I arrived in Jekyll late Friday evening, and on Saturday morning I found myself playing a little golf tournament. Well, actually I participated in it more than I played as it?s been years since I?ve swung a golf club. Fortunately, I was playing in a scramble, and after buying lots of beer for our team I found that my golfing skills were accepted and well respected within our foursome.
We?d played five or six holes, and then walked up to one that had a little creek running through the middle of the fairway. I teed off first, and actually hit a drive straight down the middle, landing only about fifteen feet or so behind said creek. After the other three members of my team hit, we got in our carts and stopped about twenty yards or so behind the creek. I jumped out, and noticed that there was a big log right in front of my ball, and as I walked up to it I was trying to figure out how I was going to clear it with my next shot. Imagine my surprise when the log suddenly moved and hissed!
Turned out it wasn?t a log, but an alligator! Let me tell you, I downloaded every personal bodily fluid that I possessed and then shagged heiny very quickly away from Mr. Gator! It was huge, and didn?t seem to be happy at all that I had approached it. Needless to say, the members of my foursome very much enjoyed watching me impersonate an Olympic class sprinter, cheering every gasping step of my mad dash away from harm. After it was over, I decided to stay inside the cart for the rest of the round for reasons that I can?t go into here, and don?t even email me to find out cause I ain?t tellin.?
Alligators and armadillos in Georgia? What in the devil is going on? Well, maybe those gators are tired of being around all those retired old yankees down in Florida and are wanting to live around regular Southerners like us. Or maybe these armadillos know that job opportunities are much better here than in Mexico, if you get my drift. Bottom line, I haven?t a clue as to why all this is going on, but animal wise my beloved state of Georgia is changing in a marked way. It almost makes you wonder what?s gonna be next, Perry Como singing ?Georgia On My Mind? at the Stone Mountain Laser Show?

About The Author

Ed?s latest book, ?Rough As A Cob,? can be ordered by calling River City Publishing toll-free at: 877-408-7078. He?s also a popular after dinner speaker, and his column runs in a number of Southeastern publications. You can contact him via email at: ed3@ed-williams.com, or through his web site address at: www.ed-williams.com.

Tags: armadillo, armadillos, commands, consider, jekyl, katz, kelly paal, log, price, speed, watercolour painting

Jeepneys the Backbone of the Philippine Transport System

by: Brett Jankowiak

No matter where you go in the world, each destination or country you visit, has something uniquely there own. They can range from landmarks, both manmade and natural, right the way through to transportation. For example, kangaroos are synonymous with Australia, Big Ben with Great Britain, cigars in Cuba.
Now one of the things that sets the Philippines apart from all other countries, is one of there many forms of transport, in particular the jeepney.
When visiting the Philippines, you cannot miss these colourful additions to the Philippine National Transport system. They are the means of transport for anyone who wants to travel short distances, whether you are in the cities of Manila or Cebu or in the mountain provinces, you will find a jeepney to take you where you need to go. Jeepneys are more than a form of transport, they are an indication of the resourcefulness and ingenuity of the Philippine people. They are a magnificent reflection on the capability of all things Philippines, once they put there mind to it.
Jeepneys evolved at the end of the Second World War. After the United States started sending home there troops, following the surrender of the Imperial Japanese Army, a huge surplus of equipment was left over, which was probably just as well as it gave birth to the jeepney.
The destruction the Second World War created, leveled the Philippines capital city of Manila and choked the roads with debris making them almost impassable. With the ability of the Willy?s Jeep to navigate, due to its off-road capabilities, this sturdy vehicle was to become the father of all jeepneys.
The original Willy?s Jeep was modified. A metal roof was the first modification to help keep out the various elements the Philippines weather can throw at them. It was the painted in bright, bold and startling colours, so that potential passengers could easily identify them and know where the ultimate destination was. Business soon boomed for these entrepreneurs, in order to increase passenger numbers, the Willy?s Jeep was stretched at the back and become the jeepney. Further modifications were made, including chrome bumper bars, screeching horns, blaring radio cassette recorders (now banned) and any number of religious ornamentation.
As with all things, bureaucracy plays a lending hand. All jeepney drivers need to be licensed fore the designated trips and have set fares imposed by local Philippine Government agencies. If a rogue Philippine jeepney driver steps outside the government rules and regulations that bind the jeepney drivers, the fines and penalties can be crippling. What maybe worse is the added confrontation with other jeepney drivers who your misdemeanors may have financially affected.
What any amount of regulation cannot change is the fantastic culture that you become exposed to when you jump in a jeepney. Not only are you traveling in a Filipino?s pride and joy and a work of art, but you are embracing a modern tradition that is showing no signs of abating.
If you are lucky enough to travel to the Philippines, ensure you give yourself a treat and catch a ride in a jeepney. The moment will be with you for ever.

About The Author

Brett Jankowiak is the owner of http://www.philippines-travel-guide.com, his passion for the Philippines is reflected in his writings and articles on his information based website.

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by: Stephen Schochet

It’s hard to say where old Hollywood ended and new Hollywood began. People in the industry don’t think of themselves as making history, they are just going to work. But the day in 1967 that Jack Warner cleaned out his desk at Warner Bros. studio, George Lucas and Frances Ford Coppola arrived on the lot.
The two young filmmakers were very different in demeanor. Coppola a legend at UCLA film school was 27, a loud boisterous mixture of mogul and marxist, who prided himself in dressing like Fidel Castro. He impressed film executives at first with his bravado, but later would upset them with his reckless overspending. Five years younger, Lucas, who went to USC, was quiet and introspective. The only guys at Warners who were below 30 and wore beards, they hit it off instantly with Coppola taking the mentor role. Lucas had made a thirteen minute science fiction film project called THX 1138, a dark look at a computer controlled future. Coppola convinced his prot?g? to extend it into a full-length film and talked Warner Bros. into financing it.
Over the next few months the wily Coppola played both sides. “I’m telling you this kid Lucas is making a great film.” Coppola told the Warner brass. “Don’t put pressure on yourself, they don’t expect anything,” He reassured Lucas. When they saw the completed THX 1138 the Suits were furious. “Francis what is this?” “I don’t know, I’ve never seen it.” replied the bewildered producer. To Lucas’s dismay the studio cut out parts from THX 1138 before they released it. “They’re cutting the fingers off my baby.”
THX failed at the box office and Coppola was held financially liable for $300,000, but the two filmmakers were given another chance to make a low budget movie at Universal. Impressed by the success of Easy Rider (1969) the old guard at the studio was reaching out to new talent, once again Coppola would produce and Lucas would direct. Lucas was encouraged by his wife Marsha to make the second project more positive. At USC he had studied anthropology learning that the American male has a unique mating ritual, he drives around in cars trying to pick up girls. Lucas combined this observation, with his own love of classic cars, his small town upbringing in Modesto, CA and his appreciation for top 40 songs played on the radio by disc jockeys like Wolfman Jack. The result: American Graffiti (1973).
The now beloved film got off to a rocky start. It was previewed in San Francisco to young crowd who adored it. After the show Lucas and Coppola waited for the Universal executives to come and congratulate them. Instead they were shocked by angry accusations that they had planted their friends in the crowd and American Graffiti was not releasable. True to their personas Coppola argued and Lucas stood quiet. Once again George saw his film taken away and cut up by what was in his view an interfering, know nothing studio. But there was one difference between THX-1138 and Graffiti; Graffiti was a hit, a highly profitable film that made Lucas a millionaire.
Now Lucas decided to return to science fiction, this time wanting to do a more positive story than THX. After failing to acquire the rights to Flash Gordon, he sat down to write his own screenplay. Influenced by the writings of Carlos Castaneda and the mythology of King Arthur, he based the characters on familiar figures. Luke Skywalker’s personality came from George Lucas himself, young, adventurous, and quiet from a small town, with a love of racing cars, or in this case space pods. Han Solo was based on . . . Francis Ford Coppola. He was loud, cocky, reckless, always in debt, going through a love-hate relationship with the younger Skywalker. And the empire was actually the Hollywood studios. George Lucas striving for his creative freedom as a filmmaker would parallel Luke Skywalker’s journey to win liberty from the empire, and both would achieve it thanks to Star Wars.

About The Author

Stephen Schochet is the author and narrator of the audiobooks Fascinating Walt Disney and Tales Of Hollywood. The Saint Louis Post Dispatch says,” these two elaborate productions are exceptionally entertaining.” Hear realaudio samples of these great, unique gifts at http://www.hollywoodstories.com.

orgofhlly@aol.com

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