Tagged With "Points"
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Re: November 24, 2016: Enger Tower, Duluth, Minnesota
Did you count the steps up ? Looks like an Olympian task !
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Re: November 24, 2016: Enger Tower, Duluth, Minnesota
Hi Garry I never thought of counting the number of steps to the top of Enger Tower for I was too preoccupied with the beautiful scenery; However, thanks to your question I did some internet investigating and discovered that apparently there are 105 steps you must walk to get to the top of Enger Tower (therefore 210 steps in total to get up and down the tower). You really don't need to be an Olympian to get to the top of Enger Tower. Although the number of steps sounds like a lot, and the...
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Re: November 24, 2016: Enger Tower, Duluth, Minnesota
Thanks Ottoman. Thanks for the reassurance. I did have a fear of a thousand tourists behind me - pushing to ascend the stairway - and all at the gallop. The intervals are all well spaced and welcomed. That's why older people carry a camera !
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Re: Marriott buys Starwood for $12.2 billion...what's in it for loyalists?
Received this e-mail this morning. Today we're excited to share the news that Starwood Hotels & Resorts will join together with Marriott International to create the world's largest hotel company. For our Starwood Preferred Guest® (SPG® members, this will mean even more choices in even more places, giving you access to 1.1 million rooms across 5,500 hotels and resorts in more than 100 countries. We will work to bring you the very best of SPG and Marriott Rewards®, two of the most...
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Re: Marriott buys Starwood for $12.2 billion...what's in it for loyalists?
I'm hopeful, since I think the last thing in the world Marriott should want to do is to signal Starwood loyalists that they aren't valued. Wonder how long before SPG rewards will book Marriott rooms...that could be a quick thing to do!
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Re: Marriott buys Starwood for $12.2 billion...what's in it for loyalists?
As I'm also a Marriott rewards member, I wonder when I'll get an e-mail from them.
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Re: Lighthouses of Lake Havasu – Part 2 of 3
Makes me want to go out, buy an RV and go see all the lighthouses in the world! I love lighthouses, and to have so many in one place, even if they're "just" replicas, is great! Thanks, Samantha.
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Re: Lighthouses of Lake Havasu – Part 2 of 3
Cool idea, lighthouses all over. Do boaters on the lake count on them, or just for fun?
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Re: Lighthouses of Lake Havasu – Part 2 of 3
They are cool to see. Some are just for fun, but many of them do actually light up to help the boaters.
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Re: Coastal California: The Pigeon Point Hostel
Any travel tale that starts with a road trip following giraffes (nice pic, BTW), includes a lighthouse, the surf, goat cheese and cute granddaughters, is top rate in my book! Can't wait for the lighthouse tour!
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Re: Coastal California: The Pigeon Point Hostel
My life in a nutshell, DrF! I cannot complain. And thanks.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, June 9, 2014: Protea, South Africa
These are such amazing specimens of this flower. Beautiful pics...
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
Thank you, thank you, for this, Dr. F. This is an excellent time (November 11, Remembrance Day tomorrow) to be reminded of the D-Day assault. We were in Normandy in 1994, when they were marking the 50th anniversary of D Day, and one night we were having dinner in a restaurant and struck up a conversation with a young couple. They were a bit rough looking, a couple of Brits who were starting on a tour of France on their motorcycle but they had stopped off in Normandy at the beaches to "pay...
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
Thanks for your comment, Arion. It's hard not to be moved by D-Day. The vastness of the assault, the staggering loss of life (civilian and military). What most impressed me is that the local people remember. Not French people away from the coast, but those whose relatives went through the assault make a point of teaching their children and grandchildren the price paid to liberate them from the Nazi fascists. The Juno Beach Center, built by the Canadian Beach, really did a great job of...
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
Thanks DrFumblefinger, It's been way too many years since I've seen the Normandy beaches. Your photos are very moving .
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
My Father received this from Dwight D Eisenhower at the start of D-Day:
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
That's an interesting and historic document, GarryRF. Many of those who landed on the D-Day beaches never spoke of this with anyone -- so horrible was the experience, so many wounded and killed among them. I'm curious --did your dad ever share these experiences with you?
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
Yes - my Dad and lots of other guys told me their stories! My Dad was in the Royal Navy and was taking landing craft full of soldiers from ship to shore - several times - under heavy fire! A guy I was doing work for had lots of photos and souvenirs on the walls of his house. Medals and maps. Newspaper cuttings and Badges. All in frames. I asked him how much he remembered of D-Day. "Every minute of every hour. Me and my mate had been together since the outbreak of war. Nearly 5 years. We were...
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
Several vets I know say that the Normandy beach landings as portrayed in the movie "Saving Private Ryan" are the way they remember it. Madness, chaos, noise, death, fear, adrenaline, more fear. And yet they ran into the madness. It takes a type of courage that's hard for us to imagine in the 21st century. Thanks for sharing that story, Garry.
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
When I was a little nipper and hadn't started school we would visit family at the weekend. No TV. No money. 1950's -you get the picture. So socialising with Dad's 9 brothers and sisters was as good as it got ! If you mentioned the War in some homes you'd be out the front door quicker than a Rat up a Drain pipe ! Others would tell you tales to make your hair curl. Tails of unbelievable bravery, absurdity and stupidity. The Ladies would tell the tale of how the American and Canadian GI's would...
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches
Thank you mr fumblefinger for your poignant description and photos. Our family lost my uncle at Omaha Beach. He was one of those young men caught up in the drama of war who did his best in a very bad situation. Several times during the 1980s and early 1990s, I made my way to northwestern France to visit the D-Day landing sites. At that time, I was struck by three things - the immaculate grounds and air of respect, the gratefulness of the French people and the fact that there were very few...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day. September 10, 2013: African Penguins, Boulders Beach, South Africa.
I really like penguins!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day. September 10, 2013: African Penguins, Boulders Beach, South Africa.
Yes, think about what items would fit well for thumbnail images that people could use as avatars. We can create a bunch, and I do have a number of penguin photos that fit the bill.
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
We must have passed Pigeon Point on our way to see the seals on a February visit to SF about 10 years ago...I wish I had known! Besides the seals, the highlight of that trip was breakfast in a roadside diner surrounded by avocado farms...a product reflected in practically every breakfast on the menu!
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
In that part of the coast, it's more likely to have been artichokes, grown there and all the way down to Salinas/Monterey. Avocados are a Southern California crop.
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
When I lived in So California, an acquaintance was an avocado farmer. He informed us that at the time about 10% of the avocado crop was stolen each year -- probably higher now. The most stolen crop in America, and impossible to trace I love old lighthouses and their setting on the roughest places on the coast. Thanks for sharing this one with us, PM.
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
I'm not surprised about the avocado theft, guacamole being one of the CA food groups.
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
I didn't mean to imply purloined produce...just that as a local product, they had a high place on the menu. From the conversations around us, it appeared that many of the others were growers...
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
PHeymont -- did not mean to imply that your restaurant proprietors were thieves. Just to point out that the crop you were surrounded by is a target of theft.
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
Gentlemen, I think you missed my point somewhere above. Artichokes grow in Northern California, avocados in Southern California. As far as I've observed, never the twain shall meet. Just to confirm, is this it? If so, not avocado.
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
No, really, we know the difference. And we saw the avocados and ate them. I haven't found production figures yet for San Mateo County yet, but it is significant.
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
I see no mention of avocados: https://agwm.smcgov.org/sites/...26%20PDF%20Print.pdf
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Re: Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
Great. I will be in Santa Cruz in a couple of weeks with HS friends and suggest we go thePigeon Point lighthouse! thanks again for a wonderful journey! Denia
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Road Trip, More Day 2: Point Cabrillo Light Station
Not quite recovered from the long drive the day before, and having just walked a couple of miles around the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden, had I realized the extent of the hike required to get to and from the the lighthouse at Point...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, April 18, 2015: A Rainy Morning at Point Arena
Leaving Elk on the Mendocino County coast, I turned left onto California Highway 1 and drove south under a heavier-than-foggy sky. The plan was to make a couple of stops for pictures, then turn inland and head into wine country for an...
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Emirates JFK-Milan $650 summer sale(but you have to buy 2)
Good time to take a spouse or good friend to Italy for springtime; Emirates is running a brief sale that closes March 26 for flights June 7 to August 22...$650 apiece in economy and $1900 in business class. The sale is basically to celebrate Emirates...
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OpenTable "re-brands" and spreads its reach
OpenTable, the online restaurant reservation service acquired 9 months ago by Priceline, is starting to show off its new directions and ambitions. First up, a new logo and slogan. The logo is a stylized round table and seat; the slogan gives a broad...
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May 25, 2017: Superior Entry Lighthouse, Superior, Wisconsin
This interesting and attractive lighthouse has stood guard protecting ships entering and exiting Superior Bay since 1913.
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Top five reasons to visit Baltimore, Maryland.
Why should you visit Baltimore? Stephanie outlines the top things to see and do in this charming city.
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July 27, 2017: Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada
While attending a family function in the Carson City Nevada area, Ottoman took advantage of a free afternoon and drove to Lake Tahoe.
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Old Law Beacons, Guile Point, Northumberland, UK
Seen across the estuary by most when they visit the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, the Old Law Beacons stand at the tip of a sandy spit on the south side of the entrance to Holy Island Harbour. Vessels entering the harbour lined up the two...
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Airbnb Teams up with American Express
Starting today, American Express, Card Members can create an Airbnb account with their existing americanexpress.com User ID and Password. It will allow cardholders to easily reserve accommodation at all of Airbnb listings. Also,...
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And then there were none: AAdvantage shifts to points-per-dollar
American Airlines' AAdvantage program, the last major U.S. holdout of the once-traditional one-point-per-mile-flown loyalty system has announced that starting midyear next year it will be shifting to a model that rewards those who spend the most, not...
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July 23, 2018: A Small Church on the Prairies
DrFumblefinger finally stops at and explores a small country church he's driven by hundreds of times.
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Coastal California: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
Officially called the Pigeon Point Light Station, it’s been my sentinel, standing at the edge of my personal territory, telling me I’m nearing, or leaving, my family on the coastside of the Bay Area, south of San Francisco. I...
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Coastal California: The Pigeon Point Hostel
Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not really a believer in “things happen for a reason”, more a believer in “things happen”. But I will say I was lucky, one day last month, to be waiting at a stop sign...
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Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park
The most amazing views in Yosemite National Park, and among the most spectacular viewpoints on Mother Earth, are found at Glacier Point. In the summer Glacier Point is easily accessed by the Glacier Point Road, but this road is closed in the...
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Qantas, Airbnb link up for frequent fliers
A tie-up with Qantas gives Airbnb its first airline loyalty program partner, along with a contest to promote it.
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First U.S.-run hotel in Cuba open for business
As trade restrictions between the U.S. and Cuba continue to loosen, Starwood becomes the first U.S. operator to run a Cuban hotel.
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November 24, 2016: Enger Tower, Duluth, Minnesota
Built in 1939 atop Enger Hill, this five story tower provides visitors with a spectacular panoramic view of Duluth Minnesota and Superior Wisconsin.