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Spending any amount of time on the coast in Spain is bound to bring new ideas, and a very old and necessary sense of calm.  It’s one of the most romantic places in the world, no doubt, and although there are places where it seems as though time stood still, there are many more places that are thriving and buzzing with energy.  Malaga is one of the towns where there’s a generous combination of both.  That’s one of the reasons why it makes such a delightful destination, because there are so many choices for what you can do with a day, and how you might want to re-invent yourself this time around.

There’s also fantastic places to stay.  Check out this site here for some of the nicest accommodations.  It’s in the center of the action, as long as you’re looking for action that also includes experiencing a sense of time that is slower and much more luxurious than most of us are used to.  It’s a great place to enjoy the water as well as the city, and you might catch a glimpse of some local starts.  Antonio Banderas grew up here, and is often seen in these parts, and then there’s the famous actress Amparo Muñoz, whose life off camera is often as interesting as it is on camera.

Be that as it may, I’d rather let those skeletons in the closet rest, because they get dragged out all too often, and unfairly eclipse her extraordinary body of work.  She was the winner of Miss Universe in 1974 but was soon even more famous for renouncing the crown, and even throwing it out the window.  After that, she started to make films, and her presence on the screen has made for a very iconic life.  It’s difficult growing up in public, but she’s managed to pull it off with an exceptional grace.

I had many ideas, many myths, legends and stories going around my head when I would think of three words, the Hudson River.  I thought of black and white films depicting various late night epic tales of gangsters and mobsters, some wearing “cement boots” and others, the lucky ones, not.  My first trip to Manhattan was during the summer of 1996.  It was hot.  I grew up in Phoenix, but the August heat in New York was something to be reckoned with as the air was so thick I had to swim along the streets to my hotel.  I was lucky to find a great hotel with central air.  I mean, I knew I was lucky once I felt the heat outside and then felt the cool of the lobby.  I really had no idea that it would be so hard to breathe. 

My friend had suggested my hotel, as she had found it the year before by checking here.  And I was very appreciative of her suggestion.  The funny thing about traveling, is the small differences.  In Phoenix, once it’s hot for the summer…well, it’s hot for the summer, even at midnight.  But in places such as Chicago and Manhattan, the weather changes on a dime, sometimes catching you off guard but always providing unexpected relief.  This is what happened on my second night in NY.  My friend Robert grew up in the city, and he suggested we take a walk that second night, scheduled to begin at midnight with a cup of coffee in hand.  I said, “Cool”, he said, “Meet me in the lobby at 11:45″….I asked, “Where are we going?”…He replied, “Just wait and see.” 

With our cups of coffee in hand we headed west.  He wanted to take me down the walkway that runs parallel to the Hudson River.  I found that in the mist of that cooler evening the Jersey shores were in view.  I found that people were still out and about at midnight, something that in Phoenix really only happens in bars and night clubs.  I found that sometimes, the city of Manhattan is truly, quiet.  The one thing I didn’t find was evidence to support the myths, legends and the stories. He said to give it another hour, as those things tend to happen around 3am.  I would have believed him, had he not raised his eyebrow just before smiling and turning his head.

There is a little girl in my neighborhood who calls me her auntie even though I am not. Probably because I gave her some Keebler Elves cookies a couple of months ago. Cookies are a sure way to make friends fast. And her favorite kinds of cookies are any cookies. She is not picky. Her mother started to ask me for babysitting services since the little girl liked me so much. Of course I said yes because she called me auntie and loved cookies, any kind of cookie, as much as me.

Her name is Jaclynn. She wears her hair in thick dreads that are long and catch the sunlight in them even when there seems to be no sun. She started to call me auntie after she saw me in the street, walking home after a grueling ride on the bus and too tired to think of much of anything at all. She came running across the street after looking both ways with a plastic bag in her hand, calling auntie at me. I stopped in front of the mailbox of the ancient woman who lives next to me. She is ancient too because I never saw so many wrinkles and lines except in the cement outside my work, old from years of wear and tear. But Jaclynn gave me a bag of cookies, the Keebler Elf kind, and then ran away again to the other side of the street, looking both ways before she left me again.

When her mother asked me to baby sit her, I came over with some cookies. She asked me to tell her a story about the Keebler Elves and how they managed to continue to make such delicious cookies. I work doing leadership training not storytelling. It caught me off guard, especially since I knew it was a ploy to continue to stave away sleep. It turned out my lack of storytelling skills were perfect for the cause. I poured out all my secrets about business related topics, from team building program to quality control, and how the elves must use those things to make such great cookies. In just five minutes, she was out with only a few Keebler Elves left in the bag.

The debate between renting and buying has been going on for as long as people could rent or buy property. Even though they have both been around for a long time, our view of them has changed somewhat. Whether you are considering residential or commercial property, there are many advantages, and disadvantages, to both. With the slumping housing market, many are second guessing the decision to buy and are instead turning to rentals.
Transglobe Property Management is just one company that provides rental properties for both residential and commercial use. By renting you have the option of relocating your business, or family, if the area turns out to be not quite what you were expecting. Renting also frees you from the burden of a mortgage. Instead of being trapped into 30 years of payments, you instead have a year or two depending on the terms of your lease. For many renting frees them from some of the responsibility. If something breaks, the landlord comes to fix it. If they change their mind on the property, they can move when the lease is up. If you are new to an area Transglobe property management can help you get to know different areas until you find the one that is right for you. The disadvantages to renting are that you will never own the property. And there are often limitations on what you can do to the building like painting. Buying gives you the flexibility to do whatever you want to your space. With that comes the responsibility to fix things like the water heater or air conditioner if it breaks. If you decide later that you do not like the area or the property, it is too late. You are stuck with it.
As with any big decision it is important to weigh the pros and cons thoroughly before making your decision. The choice that you make will affect the future more than you probably realize.

Las Vegas Law is not just about gavels. It is not just about court rooms, warrants, and suits. Although the kind of law I’m talking about here does involve suits. The suit of hearts, the suit of clubs, the suit of spades, and the suit of diamonds, which is what everyone hopes to buy with their winnings, but the law of Lady Luck might have something else in mind for them. Though there are the kind of people who do seem to just make it no matter what game they play or what machine they put their money into. It could be one of those glass and metal machine with the big nasty claw and the joystick to drive it with a million little stuffed trinkets at the bottom to choose from. Justine was one of those kind of people. She was Lady Luck it would seem.

I met her when I was working the tables at a big time casino in the eighties. I love that era because for several nostalgic reasons. Keifer Sutherland’s hair in The Lost Boys. Sean Astin’s asthma in The Goonies. The leg warmers that always kept falling down my legs and caught on things, like my coffee table with the three cup stains that formed a strange kind of trinity on the pine wood that was stained red. I also miss mood rings and old school Madonna. I miss a lot of things because I was so busy working the tables, I never had a chance to really enjoy them. I think that’s why people are missing so much these days, and I’m not just talking about leg warmers, though maybe a little.

Justine taught me about the kinds of things she missed. She missed out paying the mortgage on her home and then missed out on her home. And since home is where the heart is, she had to get her heart back through playing a suit of them, and the three others two, though the suit of hearts is her absolute favorite. She didn’t win her old home back, but did win her back through the games she played at my table. I won something too from the times she came and threw down some cards with the others who come and go through Vegas : I won the ability to stop missing out on the things that matter, the small things like stories from strangers sitting across a table from you.

I woke up quite late today, well maybe that was because I got into my room around 2am! That’s not late, that’s early! I got dressed for the cold weather, and went stepped outside of one of the New York top hotels in the city. I went for a walk along Broadway, and even with this cold weather, there were tons of people out on the streets and in the shops, it was pretty manic if you ask me. I bought a ticket for the City Sights Tour Bus and rode the upper open deck, it was freezing, but how else could I get a true feel for the city?

The bus tour was terrific, we went around Times Square, Little Italy, Greenwich Village, Soho, Chinatown and then back to Times Square. I found it interesting how all of Broadway was filled with food vendors, which I thought was pretty cool market stalls. I had a corn-fritter and a delicious chocolate crepe, both were very tasty. I then went shopping for the usual souvenir gift to bring home to all my friends and family, like an ‘I LUV NY’ t-shirt, small Statue’s of Liberty, a Yankee’s and a Met’s baseball cap and other great New York trinkets.

I went back to my hotel and dumped off my shopping bags, and headed back out to Central Park. I was cold, but again, that didn’t stop anyone from being at the park; it was full of people. I sat and people watched, and then walked to a ice-skating rink and watched people enjoying themselves in this wonderfully cool weather. It was beginning to get too cold for me, so I found a bar not far from the park and warmed up with a nice shot of bourbon. This did the trick, several times. I had a very nice conversation with an Australian, who just flew in today. She was staying at a hotel not too far from me, she asked if I’d be interested in meeting her tomorrow to go see a Broadway show. I said sure, I’m not much of a Broadway kind of person, but she was really fun to be with and I really didn’t have any set plans. Even though she’s not a New Yorker, I can’t help but think just how friendly everyone is in the vast city.

There are many claims around the country of places being haunted and Huntsville Alabama also makes that claim. One of the stories told from Huntsville seems to be an imaginary friend turned real. This story really captured my attention. Apparently, there was a couple who had a year old son who was a normal infant. When this boy was one his mother noticed that when she put him down for naps or bed she would often hear him laughing and giggling as if someone was playing with him. At one point, she put the baby down to sleep and then listened through the door until he began to laugh and giggle. Then she would open the door and catch the boy laughing, reaching and interacting with the wall. It didn’t make sense. She told her husband and he just passed it off. Over the years, the giggling turned into talking with some imaginary friend. The mother was trying to get the boy to let her in on his friend. Who was this friend. The boy was very protective and secretive. The mother got professional help but the doctor said the boy was fine.

When the boy was about four he was able to speak better about things so she asked him again. Turns out it is a man who visits him each day and this has lead to him being distant with his father. The mother would peek in on him and catch him having full on conversations as if there were someone in the room. She got more frightened and began to press the issue even more. She threatened to move away from this home and the boy got upset and blurted out that he didn’t want to leave daddy. Now the boy thinks this “friend” is his daddy. So they separated him from the room but the boy would sneak back in. At one point the mother was looking through some old photos and the boy came in. She got tears in her eyes as she looked at one of the photos and the boy asked her why. She showed the picture to the boy and he said that that was the man from his room. That was his real father. She was shocked to learn that the boy knew how he died. The new husband had killed his father to get the mother and the dead daddy was now visiting the boy. Wow.

There are other ghost stories to learn about while getting out of your room from one of the fine hotels located in Huntsville.  See if you can sneak around the park where the ghost children giggle, sing, swing and play. You could get yourself ready for the spook by reading some great ghost books written by authors like Kathryn Tucker Windham and Margaret Gillis Figh. They wrote 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey together. Or watch a spooky movie like Amityville Horror before you visit.

There are some beautiful hotels nestled around Fort Collins Colorado to stay in while you visit the area. It’s not far from Denver and is mainly a college town filled with some great microbreweries and pubs. So you know what you will be up to at night based on that information. If you like micro brew beers you are in the right place. In fact, there are tours of the breweries that beer enthusiasts can take part in. They will show you around the breweries and you will have a chance to taste some of the different styles of beer made by the different companies. New Belgium Brewing Company has a nice tasting room and guided and self guided tours offered Monday-Saturday.  Coppersmith’s Pub and Brewing also offers tastes and tours as well as a nice place to play a game or two of pool.

If you want to learn more about the area there are a couple museums that can be visited. The Museum of Contemporary Art and the Fort Collins Museum. The contemporary art museum is filled with wonderful modern art ranging from a few of the classics to some new emerging artist. They do change their exhibits through out the year and sometime they are closed for the changes so check ahead to see what they have going on while your there. When the Fort Collins Museum started it was a Pioneer Museum built in 1941. It was moved in the mid seventies and is now inside the old Carnegie Library building. It has matured in its information on the history and culture of the area as time has pasted. In its decent collection of artifacts from the surrounding areas you will learn many things about the people who came before you. In the late 1980s they added the Discovery Science Center which has become a great feature in exciting people of all ages around science and stars.

There are many reasons to visit the New York neighborhood of Little Italy.  From the history of the neighborhood and the historical points of interest, to the plethora of authentic Italian restaurants, bistros and cafes.  This has long been a favorite spot in a city with so many different neighborhoods to choose from.  One of the best times to find a small, NY boutique hotel in this neighborhood and to make plans to stay for at least ten days, is during the month of September and the 10 day festival, The Feast of San Gennaro.  This is not only the longest festival in the entire city of Manhattan, but the most long running and famous of them as well.  2010 will mark the 83rd Annual Festival, and will donate all of the proceeds, as they have done for the last 13 years, to the Children of San Gennaro, which is a non-profit organization that benefits the well being and the education of the children of Little Italy.

San Gennaro is the patron saint of the Italian city of Naples, and the newly arriving immigrants continued on with this traditional feast upon their arrival to the city beginning in the 1920’s.  Originally, this was a one day celebration, but now has become ten days of celebration, religious ceremonies, feast and parades that wind through the neighborhood, along Mulberry and Mott, between Houston and Canal.  Once the parade has commenced, everyone attends Mass at the Most Precious Blood Church, which houses the national shrine in honor of San Gennaro.  The atmosphere is that of a large party, but it is imbued with the religious traditions of the early immigrants and ancestors.

This is a time when the more than forty of the most famous restaurants in Little Italy literally roll out the red carpet, for those in the neighborhood as well as the many visitors who travel here to celebrate.  Along with the fine meals to be found in the restaurants, the streets are filled with food stalls, all set in the decorative banners and colorful flowers, offering food, merchandise and goods.  It seems odd to say that this is one of the best times to visit the city, as many times throughout the year can be considered “the best time to visit” the city, however it is a truly wonderful time to experience the traditions and the flavor of the neighborhood of Little Italy.

Carrie had worked hard all last year. She was twenty-three and a recent college graduate who was eager to make her mark in the world and establish herself as case worker in the social service system. She always had a strong belief in the power of social change and the services provided to individuals who were in crisis and desperate need of life transition assistance. Throughout the past year she realized that her work was actually a lot more emotionally and personally demanding than she had imagined it would be. Carrie spent much of the last year learning how to cope with the stress of her job and maintain a balance between self-care and client support. It was difficult for her to care about her work without becoming so emotionally involved that it was unhealthy.

She began working right out of college and last July marked her one-year anniversary with her first agency. To celebrate this she decided to take a full week long vacation and visit her good friend Joyce in Florida. They had gone to school together and were roommates their senior year. They hadn’t seen each other since graduation and Carrie couldn’t wait for the trip. Joyce was excitedly waiting for her as she landed at the Miami International Airport and the two of them talked non stop on their way back to Joyce’s apartment. The next day they took the Metromover downtown and Carrie was impressed with the free transportation service. She also thought it provided a nice tour of part of the city. They visited the Miami Art Museum while they were downtown and Carrie enjoyed touring the recent acquisitions exhibit and was totally enthralled by the NeoHooDoo: Art for a Forgotten Faith.

The next day the two of them planned to take a trip along the coast and spend the night in one of the Florida beach hotels. It was a beautiful day and they enjoyed a great lunch at one of the outdoor patio cafes. Later they relaxed on a blanket out on the beach and Carrie thought about the three dimensional work titled Storm at Sea, which was part of the exhibit from the day before. This was a great trip and was definitely what she needed after her year of challenging hard work. The two friends made a pack to take turns visiting each other at least once every year.

Tennis balls were originally made of wood, but as the game progressed and so did the way it was played, it required changes be made to the equipment as well.  Soon enough, people started to make them from leather, and perhaps more disgustingly, hair as well.  But since people didn’t bathe much back in the renaissance era of England, when these changes started to take place, nobody probably noticed much.

There were certain things tennis balls could not be filled with it.  At least according to the French King, Louis XI.  Dirt, chalk, and sand were considered poor materials to make tennis balls out of, and as the game was considered a royal game, it was quite popular among the royals, what the king said went.  Various materials have been employed to create tennis balls throughout the years.  Often they were au natural, and not the technological influenced synthetics of today designed to improve tennis scores.  Sheep intestines, fur from various animals, and wood have all been used to try and create the perfect tennis ball.  But for these kinds of balls, they could only really be played indoors since that’s what the designers were working for; tennis was originally only an indoor game played off of walls.

Vulcanized rubber and outdoor matches changed that all in the late seventies.  Several other changes occurred in tennis around this time as well, such a reordering and organizing of the rules by which players should play.

Today, tennis balls still have a kind of strict guide for which they must be made, though no king is making the rules about it.  They must be between 2.575-2.700 inches and weigh between 1.975-2.095 ounces—very precise measurements.  However, tennis is all about precision for the players.  It takes an analytical mind to play tennis, to plan for moves and countermoves and to watch the ball with an eagle’s eye.  Standardizing the tennis ball only helps to make doing all that easier for a player.  For the upcoming Australian Open, though players might not realize it, the changes made to the tennis ball are helping them to make history.

Nestled in the southeast area of the San Francisco Bay lies Fremont California. This area has some interesting history and is thriving with life today. Join many business travelers and tourists and stay in one of the hotels Fremont California has waiting for you and come see what this area has to offer. John Charles Fremont is who the city is named after. It consists of five communities each with their own distinction. Warm Springs, Mission San Jose, Irvington, Niles and Centerville.

Centerville is the largest community of the city. The cemetery houses the remains of the founding pioneers. It is become a large Afghan community. It is called Little Kabul in some circles. It is so rich with this culture that some of the movie The Kite Runner was filmed in the area. You can see the biggest representation of the culture at 99 Ranch Market. This area started when George Lloyd refreshed the stage coach passengers with cold beer from his tent in 1850.

Niles has been able to hang on to its small town feel. The old town area even has a silent movie theater. You can take a walk around town and see the post office and library. Step into a craft or antique store and snoop around. The town got its name from Addison Niles who was a railroad attorney. Some if the towns claim to fame is that it was an early motion picture companies. Some of the most famous silent movies by Charlie Chaplin were filmed here. Broncho Billy Anderson also created some films here. Visitors can see more about this industry at the Niles Essanay Film Museum.

Irvington is small and rather rural but there are some shops and restaurants that where established around the 1800s. The town was named after a railroad executives birth place, Irvington New Jersey. The Mission San Jose is centered around one of the oldest Spanish missions in all of California. This is of course where it gets its name. Part of the mission houses a museum. Asian Americans have made quite a community out of the area. Warm Springs has been able to get some of the bustle from Silicon Valley because it is very close to that area. Here is were you may share a hotel with a traveling computer whiz.