Tagged With "Mayor Bill Overstreet"
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Re: Do you Like these Hotel Tipping Tips ?
also keeps you from being called unflattering names behind your back. No worries - I find that people don't mind calling me unflattering news to my face Dave B. has given this issue a lot of good thought. My policy in the US is to tip 15 percent for adequate service. I add and subtract 5 percent from there, depending. According to the guidebooks, many servers outside of the US are paid professional wages. In that case, we do not tip, but simply round up the bill. Hope that this is not wrong.
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Re: Sleepless in Cologne... Sea lions and zoo neighbors
My wife and I visited this very attractive zoo with pleasing fountains and gardens. I don't recall hearing the roar of sea lions, but I did get a candid photo when a pelican snapped his bill at my wife Diane when she ventured to close to their property. While many attractions can be closed on Sundays, we always looked for a chance to visit a European zoo.
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Re: Marriott to offer free wi-fi to all its Rewards member
And let us not forget the dreaded "resort fees". Defined as meaning anything the hotel wants it to mean. And charged whether we use the facilities it's said to cover, or not. Look in the dictionary for the definition of "chicken shit" and you'll find "resort fees". If everyone must pay it, it should rightly be included in the room rate. Even my favorite, AirBnB, makes options available for hosts - cleaning fee, security deposit, a charge for more than 1 person and even possibilities for...
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Re: Expensive Surface Pro 3, Great for Travelers
There are some features of a tablet that I've grown to like, but I really need a laptop too. This product seems to fit the bill for me combining them into one , but it's way out of my price range!
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Re: AirBnB vs New York. Update
Everything you say, P, is logical and fair. The problem becomes compliance and enforcement, not a separate issue. A segment of people will always try to game the system and it's impossible to enforce these kinds of regulations in such a complex and populous place. Even here, where I live in a relatively rural place, I suspect I'm the only one in a large county collecting and paying the short-term occupancy tax. I do it, not because I'm honest, but because I don't want to think about possible...
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Re: Portland Bill Revisited: Pictures from a small island
PortMoresby is very right DrF, Chesil Beach is a 'shingle' beach is 29 kilometres (18 mi) long, 200 metres (660 ft) wide and 15 metres (50 ft) high - and pretty steep too!! The 'shingle' (large round pebbles) varies from pea-sized at the north-west end (by West Bay) to orange-sized at the south-east end (by Portland). It is said that smugglers who landed on the beach in the middle of the night could judge "exactly where they were" by the size of the shingle. The beach has been the scene of...
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Re: General Grant National Memorial, New York
Did you know that in 2005, a proposal was made in Congress to replace Grant's portrait with Ronald Reagan's portrait on the $50 bill, but didn't succeed?
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Re: A Complete Guide to Buy Travel Insurance for your upcoming vacations
Just to add a personal note to these recommendations. I traveled for years without travel insurance, thinking that I could cover or recover lost reservations, luggage, etc. but friends' experiences made me realize that the medical and evacuation coverage is the real key. And then, a few years later we had an unexpected three-week hospitalization in Europe that ended with a medevac flight back to the U.S. The hospital bill was over $30,000 (much less than it would have been at home), and half...
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Re: Chip Credit Cards to Change the Way US Tips at Restaurants
Actually, that's only one way of looking at it...another is that it may push many people (I included) to resume cash tips. The "convenient" suggested amounts, which even now appear on many slips can be very deceptive, both because they usually place the normal or usual amount as if it were the lowest "acceptable" amount, but also because often—not always—they calculate percent not on the restaurant bill but on the total of the bill plus tax. The difference can be significant. Interestingly,...
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Re: Chip Credit Cards to Change the Way US Tips at Restaurants
We've had suggested amounts for years on the machines. I was just in Ireland where tips weren't usually included as an option on the bill I never had the right amount of cash. Frankly maybe I'm lazy but I don't mind having the option on the machine. It's been a while. Nice to see you all (metaphorically that is).
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Loganathan
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Nov. 7, 2013: Bicycle taxi, Santa Clara, Cuba.
Thanks for the link T&N. Bill Gates funds the School of Tropical Medicine here in Liverpool in its search for better treatment and a cure for Malaria. But tales of Save the Planet are all Hogwash. People who live in cool climates - like me - cant wait for the climate to warm up. When the Vikings discovered Greenland a thousand years ago they described it as a "Green and pleasant land with pastures and animals" - and now its just a frozen waste again ! Turn up the CO2 !
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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: Walking in England
Here's a walk that fits the bill DrF !! Follows the peaks of hills and mountains that will take you to Hadrian's Wall. 256 Miles of wilderness. http://penninewayassociation.co.uk/the-route
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Re: Airfare bill would roll back consumer protection
It was a task to compare fares before the law, so I hope it doesn't revert back. Gotta love the name of the new bill. I guess it's opposite day again.
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All the Tea In...Charleston?
Tea gardens, as the farms are traditionally known, no matter the size, have been seducing me for over a decade. In Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces of China, Himachal Pradesh and Darjeeling in Himalayan India, in the Cameron Highlands of...
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Arctic Birds on Migration: Saskatchewan
Many of the Arctic birds are large white birds such as geese and swans but also include smaller and different coloured sandpipers and other birds. Where is the best place to see these magnificent Arctic birds? The most...
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Ottawa – NOT the coldest Capital in the world!
Ottawa is a vibrant and charming small city — so pleasant that it’s hard to believe it’s home to soooo many politicians. Of the national capitals I've visited, Ottawa seems the most livable to me (ie. if...
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Bye Bye Sky-High Rental Car Fees
Recently, a company charged me $ 9.00 a day for the privilege of using an e-toll pass to pay $ 2 in tolls during a week's rental. Renting a car used to be somewhat simple - reserve, present license and credit card, drive, return, pay...
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Pictures from a small island - Portland Bill
Some 5 miles to the south-west of Weymouth is Portland Bill, a narrow promontory (or 'bill') at the southern end of the Isle of Portland, and the southernmost point of Dorset, England. This point of Portland bears the brunt of the many storms that...
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Portland Bill Revisited: Pictures from a small island
Begging indulgence from the Senior Gumbo Gurus. Following my previous visit to stormy Portland Bill last week, yesterday the sun came out and the wind picked up a notch more, so I just had to make a quick trip back there to see what might have...
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You can get that sinking feeling at Titanic museum
In Pigeon Forge, TN, the Titanic sinks every day—and for $27 you can go down with the ship, or perhaps be one of the survivors. The Titanic Museum (which has another copy at Branson MO) offers visitors the identity of a passenger, and a guided...
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London legalizes Airbnb, similar rentals
Making good on its February promise to legitimize short-term rentals up to 90 days a year in London (already permitted elsewhere in UK), the UK government's Deregulation Act has been passed in Parliament and, with the Queen's assent, become law....
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Have We Seen This Before? A Supercar, a Valet and a Mystery
Photomontage to Ferris Bueller's Day Off: Wikimedia Commons, Author Andre Koehne Details have not been released as the cause of the accident, but it's hard not to think of the famous valet scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. A...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, March 14, 2015: Taplow House Hotel
Taplow House is a rambling Edwardian English country house hotel on the outskirts of the village of Taplow, not far from Windsor, across the Thames from Maidenhead. I’ve stayed there twice, at the end of one segment of the Thames...
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Nashville, Tennessee.....the Elvis tour continues!
Until I attended my first medical meeting in Nashville, I'd never thought much about visiting this mid-sized city, an oversight on my part. Nashville's a fun destination in many ways, especially if you're a fan of Country music. I...
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Gumbo’s Pic of the Day, May 1, 2015: Pulpit Rock
Pulpit Rock is a coastal feature at the southern tip of the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. The artificial stack of rock was left in the 1870s after a natural arch was cut away by quarrymen at the Bill Quarry on the famous headland, Portland Bill....
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Gumbo’s Pic of the Day, May 8, 2015: Portland Bill lighthouse at dusk
On the isle of Portland in Dorset, England, the tip of the isle 'Portland Bill' and nearby Chesil Beach are the graveyards of many vessels that failed to reach Weymouth or Portland Roads. The Portland Race is caused by the meeting of the tides between...
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Gumbo’s Pic of the Day, May 15, 2015: By the lighthouse at Portland Bill
As dusk approaches the lighthouse at Portland Bill, Dorset in England, the little details of the surrounding area start to emerge. The fishing dinghys securely tied down as security from some of the sudden storms that can hit 'the Bill'. The carefully...
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Gumbo’s Pic of the Day, May 22, 2015: The Lower Lighthouse, Portland Bill
As early as 1669 Sir John Clayton was granted a patent to erect a lighthouse on Portland Bill, Dorset, England to warn seafarers of the perilous currents that converge around 'the Bill', but his scheme fell through and it was not until early in the...
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Gumbo’s Pic of the Day, March 27, 2015: Durdle Door
Today I take you back close to my home at Weymouth in the county of Dorset on the south coast of England. The 155 miles of coast surrounding Weymouth is a World Heritage site called the 'Jurassic Coast' whose cliffs display endless evidence of...
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Gumbo’s Pic of the Day, April 3, 2015: A brisk day on Portland Bill
The tip of the isle of Portland in Dorset, England, is called 'Portland Bill' and it is a place that I often visit as it displays dramatic visual day-by-day changes as the weather fronts surge in from the Atlantic. It is a place where no less...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, June 5 2015: Portland isle at dusk
For no better reason than I rather like this picture, please allow me to show you the island of Portland in Dorset, England, at low tide as the sun sets on a late winter's afternoon. We look out from below the defensive castle - the 'Nothe' (or 'Nose'...
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Route 66 - Pasadena to Needles
Last summer I had the opportunity to do something I had always wanted to do - drive a significant portion of Route 66. Having spent 4 days in LA, I started a drive to Albuquerque to meet up with The Amazing Ms. D. Instead of rushing down the...
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Gold Country, California: Auburn
Auburn is a town at a crossroads. Interstate 80 passes through from the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the desert of the Great Basin and the nation eastward, and west to San Francisco. It was the main route migrants traveled coming west,...
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Airbnb to be legal in London
Britain's Parliament is now considering a bill, proposed by the Housing Minister, to remove London-only restrictions that have made it illegal for tenants and homeowners to rent out their space for short stays without complicated planning permission...
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Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour of Seattle
Seattle's Pioneer Square is only the icing on the cake of Seattle's early history, preserved below. Samantha takes us along on a tour.
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Back to Oaxaca: Xochimilco
PortMoresby finds her ideal neighborhood for a return visit to colonial Oaxaca, Mexico.
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Nov. 3, 2017: Auditorio Adan Martin, Tenerife
Ian Cook shares some beautiful images and the history of the beautiful modern opera house in Santa Cruz.
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Arctic Tern Colony, Long Nanny, Northumberland
Ian Cook shares a gallery of photos and detailed natural history of this fascinating bird, which has the world's longest migratory routes.
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Svartisdal, Norway, Part 2
Bob Cranwell continues his tale of visits to the Svartisdal region in Norway, and some of the potential perils of hiking around this beautiful piece of geography.
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July 26, 2017: Lady Liberty—The Statue of Liberty
Samantha takes us to visit the famed Statue, and fills us in on its history.
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Bait-and-switch airfare legislation is back
A House committee gives new life to letting airlines hide the taxes (and the total price) until late in the ticket-selling process.
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House panel votes big changes for FAA
The House Transportation Committee is working on the FAA appropriation bill, and is proposing a slew of new rules to go with it.
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U.S. air traffic control still up in the air
House and Senate committees disagree with each other over airline-backed plan for privatizing air traffic control.
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Moraine Lake Rockpile Trail -- Banff National Park's best Short Hike
If you like hikes that aren't too strenuous and filled with gorgeous views, this one should be on your bucket list.
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Visiting Key West and the Hemingway House
Stephanie shares a visit to the Key West, a highlight of which was exploring the Hemingway home.
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40% find hotel bill errors
Chicago survey finds frequent errors, mostly fixed. Be sure to check yours!
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Are U.S. airfares a bargain? Only with competition
TravelGumbo recommends a must-read analysis of domestic airfares and what makes them less of a bargain than many people think.