Mar 31

Most people have to move out of one house and into another place at some point in their lives. The most common time for the first move is college. If it’s not your first move it’s probably the first move you are taking on your own without your parents. Not everyone has to go through this move, there are those who go to college close to home, and those who never go to college at all, but these days those people are rare as teenagers are ready to get out of the house and college is thought of as something you have to go through in order to get a good job. Due to the nature of this move, this more than any other move can be one of the most stressful, and it only gets worse if you are not moving into the dorms, but into a house near college . If you are planning this, there are a few ways to make it a little less stressful.

The first thing you will want to do, if you don’t know which house you will be moving into yet, is to locate a property management team that specializes in helping college students find a place to live. There are not a lot of these, so you may have to look around some. What you will want from them, is to find a place where utilities are included in the rent, because then it is less likely that you will have to turn the utilities on, but rather the company will have taken care of it for you before hand. You will also want to ask them to take pictures of the area you will be living in, not anyone else’s quarters, but the parts of the house you will live in. This will give you a better idea of what you want to pack and how much will fit in your room.

Remember when packing that you will have limited space and it is better to bring only your essentials and buy anything else later. Most collages are located near at least one general store where you can buy items like posters , blinds and other decorations, so don’t worry about bringing these with you. Make a list of the things you will use at least once a week, this includes clothes, those should be the only things you take with you, and most of those you won’t need to pack.

Mar 28

It’s only natural that many of the people who visit Manhattan are either there to see a Broadway show, work on a Broadway show or invest in a Broadway show. And those who don’t fall into one of those categories will generally take in a Broadway show while they are in the city. There are some incredible deals available with some of the great Manhattan hotels. New York is the greatest theatre town in the country and even if you never make it to a play or musical while you are there you will certainly hear about a few.

One of the latest musical productions that is starting to create a buzz and hasn’t even opened yet is a revival production of a classic lighthearted Comedy. Promises, Promises will open at the Broadway Theatre on Broadway Avenue on April 25 and begin previews on March 27. American theatre favorite Neil Simon had his hand in this musical and wrote the book for it. The show itself originally opened in New York in 1968. It is based on the 1960 movie The Apartment, which was written by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond. Music for the show was composed by Burt Bacharach with lyrics by Hal David. The original production at the Shubert Theatre ran for 1,281 performances.

The Revival production that is schedule to open at the Broadway Theatre will star Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes. Tony Goldwyn, Katie Finneran and Brooks Ashmanskas round out the cast. This production is directed and choreographed by Rob Ashford. There has already been talk about Tonys for this show, which is getting a lot of pre-preview attention. Hayes and Chenoweth are two major draws and what they will do with the show has a lot of people exited. The story involves a charming young on the rise staff person, Chuck Baxter, Hayes, at an insurance agency. In his efforts to become noticed and advance with the company he allows use of his apartment for affairs by his executives. Complications arise when Fran Kubelik, Chenoweth, the object of Baxter’s affection ends up in one of the affair scenarios.

Mar 25

From now until the end of the month, the Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo will continue in Austin, Texas. As with most things in Austin, the rodeo is combined with some great musical performances and there are other activities and events that should thrill and captivate children and adults alike. This event features many activities that are family oriented and the rodeo and fairgrounds even provides tours for local schools. These free and guided visits show the students around the fair grounds and lets them become accustomed to some of the events that occur during a rodeo and its various features.

People from all over Austin as well as the surrounding region and the great state of Texas itself come to this rodeo and fair every year. In addition, many people from outside of the state are attracted to it and luckily for them there is plenty of information on this and other major cultural events and festivals at some of the best hotels in the city . Of course the main attraction here is the pro rodeo event. Every March the city hosts sixth largest indoor pro rodeo event in the world. In addition to the exceptional skills that will be on display there are other incredible features of this huge annual event.

And in addition to the great rodeo events, there are some incredible concerts that take place during this fair. The Main Stage features some of the top award winning musical performers and is one of the central stages for the event. Other performance venues include Rockin’ Outdoor Stage which features some of the hottest acts in Texas. There will also be various competitive events included in the fair activities and different level and ages of livestock shows will be among them. Another competition, which continues to grow in popularity is the Miss Rodeo Austin . There is also a Youth Western Art Show that showcases some of the area’s top artistic talent.

Mar 22

I decided a long time ago that I want to get married in Santa Barbara, California. This decision first came into my mind when I was sixteen years old and went on a family vacation. We spent most of the two weeks in Los Angeles, but visited my aunt for a weekend and she lives in Santa Barbara. I had never really given the city much thought before, but that summer I realized how incredibly and enchantingly beautiful it was. One afternoon I was kind of lounging around on the beach. I was by myself and it was a beautiful day. I started watching these two guys throw a football back and forth. One of them, well they were both cute, was so incredibly good looking that I couldn’t stop watching him. That was when my fantasy of getting married, to him, right there on that beach began. Of course that only lasted a minute because it seemed kind of childish and immature to me. But the idea started to sink in that Santa Barbara might just be the greatest place to have a wedding and reception.

I started to have this thought in my head as I went about the rest of the weekend. We went to a free outdoor concert at Chase Palm Park that night and it just felt so romantic and enchanted I couldn’t escape the feeling I was in paradise. The next day my dad and uncle went fishing at Stearns Warf . I don’t fish but I asked them if I could tag along. I just wanted to be around the water again. And it was another gorgeous day in paradise, so why not? My memories of that summer never left, though the romantic fantasy associations kind of faded into the background, as I became an adult, went off to college and started my life. Then two years ago I met a great man, Steve, fell in love and two months ago we began planning our wedding. Immediately after he proposed I knew we had to have the ceremony in Santa Barbara and I know the perfect hotel for the wedding party to stay in. Steve loves the idea and we’re deciding on a date for next summer.

Mar 18

The Drytown Water Park in Palmdale, California is one of the city’s more recently established recreational facilities though it has quickly become a favorite. The park is an excellent place for families, friends and dates to enjoy some great water fun that is affordable, safe and even good for you. This is also one of the popular attractions that most of the seasonal guests are attracted to when they visit Palmdale. Hotels and resorts will have information on this and other great theme parks and attractions in the city and surrounding area.

Drytown is really more of an event than it is a water park, though most definitely it can be called that too. The slides are amazing and some of the largest in the area. They provide a cool thrill to those who are willing to climb the mining shaft and take on this rushing rivers and circular slides. The ride actually begins three stories above DryTown and this is where brave patrons first encounter the view of some those slippery slopes leading back down.

Some of the thrilling features at this park include the Devil’s Punch Bowl, The Wildcatter and Rattler’s Revenge. These are the various slides that can take your breath away as you descend the slippery water slides that enable you to reach speeds of up to 30 miles and hour. This place is great for families but it is not for the weak hearted. If you have the courage this can be some of the most fun you will have all summer. And arriving at the final shoot, which drops you into the larger pool at the bottom, may even give you as sense of achievement. That is, if you are still in one piece. If you plan to visit Palmdale this is definitely not something you will want to miss. And if you live there, you are likely already aware of it and have been there yourself.

Mar 15

Coming to Nashville with big dreams that seem much too large to fit in a pocket, but they do, and they make sense in my pocket. It’s not hard to see how this could become a pattern, because I’ve already fallen into it so easily. Enjoying the few first moments here at a Nashville luxury hotels for the beginning, a treat for before the move into living here. It sounds so much harder than it actually is. There’s plenty of moments in front of me, and on nights like this, they seem so much greater than the moments behind me, and there’s time to breathe several sighs of relief, every one delicious.

The city opens up like a wall of mirrors, not like the ones in the funhouses where I grew up daydreaming about myself staring at myself in rivers. These mirrors are all true, and in the daytime they are only shadows, but at night they glow. This is the first place I’ve been where the song about Echo first starts to make sense, and this tells me I might have been onto something, and for a long time, too. This is enough to keep going for another week, and then after that there’s a strange faith that new inspirations are around the corner.

My favorite song, and the one no one will ever hear, is the one about Orpheus and Eurydice . That’s the one that brought me here, and it seems fitting now that there would have to be some loss before all of this that lies before me. Nashville is more of a mystery than I could have imagined, and my imagination is larger than the dreams in my pocket. The first part of any story is getting to know the main characters, so I am keeping my eyes open for who I might meet. But I understand from the myth that I won’t recognize the key players at first, they will only reveal themselves when time starts to unfold, beyond my control, and far beyond my dreams.

Mar 8

The Huntington Theatre in Boston is the city’s largest theatre company. And as is reported by them it is also the most popular theatre in the city and one of the country’s most respected. Those last two statements are pretty strong claims though there doesn’t seem to be much argument against them. The company was established in 1982 by Boston University and is well known for presenting seven great productions from the theatrical cannon as well as the latest hits every season. Many of the country’s top theatre performers, directors and designers are attracted to working with Huntington and come to Boston for this purpose. Meanwhile audience members from all across the country are attracted to being part of the audience for any one of their productions.

Many of the top places to stay in Boston will refer their guests to the Huntington theatre
when they ask for a great entertainment oriented evening out. Dinner and a show is a great idea when one has tickets to a hit production. In addition to a diverse selection of productions offered by the theatre, the plays are staged in more than one venue. Two world class stages are included in their production space and these are the Boston University Theatre, which is designed after the historic Broadway theatres and seats 890. The other main stage is the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts.

Some of the theatre’s previous productions include Rock ‘n Roll by Tom Stoppard and Boleros for the Disenchanted by Jose Rivera from last season. The current season includes two productions that are currently running, Stick Fly by Linda Diamond, which is being performed at the Calderwood Pavilion and Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo, which just opened on the Boston University Theatre mainstage. Upcoming productions include, among others, Prelude to a Kiss by Craig Lucas, Fences by August Wilson and All My Sons by Arthur Miller.

Mar 8

In Hawaii, it’s sometimes difficult to find things to be anxious about. At least that’s true for those who come for vacations, enjoying all the beauty and splendor of a place that’s been a major travel destination for generations. Although there have been many attempts to minimize the carbon footprint, there are still many reasons for visiting, and there’s more to see beyond the gorgeous sand and sea. Those are pretty good reasons for coming, however, along with a very lively culture, and some interesting philosophies of the world that make for a complex and endlessly fascinating vision of how things are, and where there might be going.

It makes sense to go for the full experience and stay in hotels like these , so that luxury and hospitality rule your days and nights. You might get to wondering about the culture here, and how the multiple cultures came to form the modern Honolulu. Where there are many complicated layers of social structure and human development here, it almost makes perfect sense that one of Honolulu’s most influential architects was a Russian. Vladimir Ossipoff was born in Vladivostok in 1908, and lived here from 1931 until his death in 1998.

He was recently remembered and honored in the exhibition Hawaii Modern , which the Honolulu Academy of Arts organized so that his contributions would be noted on a larger scale, and to put it in a proper context. Here, the proper context was in the realm of art, because although his notions were very functional, they were also rather beautiful. He’s one of the generation of artists to bring aesthetic appeal back to architecture, in fact, and there is an attempt to integrate the beauty of nature with structure. That’s no small task in a place that’s as overwhelmingly lovely as Honolulu. Public buildings, businesses, churches, houses, and the airport here all have his stamp on them, and there is a uniform sense of space in all of them. They are marked with an airiness that is absolutely refreshing, and even breathtaking, so that at times going from beach to interior is made into a seamless gesture, filled with graciousness.