March 28, 2011
I had the great pleasure of meeting the team of Lo & Sons Bags — Helen Lo and her sons Derek and Jan when I was at the Travel Goods Show in Chicago. Lo & Sons offer women stylish travel totes with lots of practical details. Numerous pockets offer options to keep your valuables secure and protected, while also allowing easy access to your boarding pass, book, etc. Whether you travel or not, these bags are very functional.
I wish I had the Lo & Sons’ OG bag when Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Shopping!, Travel |
March 23, 2011
The 2011 Travel Goods Association (TGA) Show held in Chicago is over, but the products I want to show you keep on going! I recently talked about several of the products from the TGA show that I thought would be of interest to travelers: More Cool Products from the Travel Goods Show, Travelpro’s New Walkabout Lite 4 and SCOTTEVEST – Love this Coat for Travel!
This week I showcase an additional five products. There were so many great products that I separated them into a few videos.
Take a look at this items, great for travelers and non-travelers alike:
Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Shopping!, Travel |
March 22, 2011
Let’s hope the answer to this question is Yes! According to an article in the New American, TSA Will Now Scan Your Shoes at the Airport. Don’t get excited if your next trip through airport security is tomorrow, next week or maybe not even next year. The Transportation Security Administration is only in the initial stages of seeking proposals from companies who can manufacture a Shoe Scanning Device (SSD). But hey, it’s definitely a step in the right direction!
And if we travelers have our wish list of requirements for these SSD’s, they would be:
Posted by Carol Margolis under Random Thoughts, Safety, Travel |
March 19, 2011
They’re not your typical type of ‘business travelers.’ They caravan from one city to another with trailers full of art and great hope for big sales. Many of them know each other as they go from one outdoor event to another throughout ‘the season.’
Just who are these business travelers? They are the artists and craftsmen who labor on their creations during the week, then get behind the wheel to bring their one-of-a-kind pieces to us — their buyers and art connoisseurs.
This weekend, all roads fed into the city of Winter Park, Florida for the 52nd Annual Winter Park Art Festival. They come from California, Oregon, North Caroline, Michigan, Wisconsin and numerous other states, all for the opportunity to show, and hopefully sell, their unique and beautiful art for three days.
They sleep in their campers or look for economy hotels. They’re up at Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Favorite Cities and Towns, Places to See; Things to Do, Travel |
March 18, 2011
Women are less likely than men to book travel from their mobile devices (21% vs. 29%), says an Adobe Mobile Experience Survey. I am in the other 79% of women because I have not yet booked any travel from my mobile phone.
Oh, I’ve tried. There are many weeks where I forget to book a car rental. Once the plane hits the ground, my phone is on and I’m clicking on Hertz’s site as fast as I can. Trouble is, I don’t know my login info so I don’t get too far. I need my own account so that I get the corporate rate that’s on my profile.
Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Web/Tech |
March 16, 2011
There were just so many great products at the Travel Goods Show in Chicago, it’s difficult to show them all.
Here are several you may be interested in: a great neck rest and arm rests from Anywhere Comfort, fold-up tote bags and a reusable coffee sleeve from RuMe Bags, Antler’s hard-side 22″ 4-wheel spinner bag and Backjoy’s orthotic for your back (great for those long international coach flights and coast-to-coast domestic flights).
I’ve been using the Anywhere Comfort neck pillow for all of my international travels in the past year and love it! It actually makes flying in coach bearable, even for 14 hours. It’s so cozy!
Let me know which products interest you. I’ll stock them at Smart Women Travelers or help you find a retailer who has them.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Travel |
March 15, 2011
While at the Travel Goods Show in Chicago, I met with Scott Applebee, Vice President of Marketing for Travelpro. Scott provided a preview for SmartWomenTravelers.com on the brand new Walkabout Lite 4 series 21″ spinner being introduced in June. This rollaboard weighs in at only 7 ½ pounds and has lots of practical benefits for the frequent traveler, including a light colored inside fabric to make it easy to see all that you’ve packed. With 8 well-built wheels, it’ll be easy to push this bag through the airport (and maneuver into the small airport bathroom stalls!).
So if you’re thinking of adding a new bag to your collection this summer, watch for Travelpro’s Walkabout Lite 4 series.
My motto is: One can never have too many bags!
Posted by Carol Margolis under Shopping!, Travel |
March 14, 2011
Even while on business trips, many of us are posting our updates on Twitter. Here’s a great sweepstakes that will keep you tweeting!
Travelers can now enter the Keep on Tweetin’ Sweepstakes today through April 14 for a chance to win $10,000 AND get free inflight Twitter access on participating flights, thanks to Gogo Inflight Internet. And it gets better…Keep on Tweetin’ Sweepstakes participants are eligible to come back EVERY DAY from March 14 – April 14 to enter for a chance to win. Travelers can either enter from the ground at gogoinflight.com or from 30,000 feet by breaking out their laptop or mobile device inflight.
Enter at gogoinflight.com. And send a tweet to @smartwomentrav when you’re in-flight!
Posted by Carol Margolis under Games, Pearls of Travel Fun |
March 11, 2011
It’s not often I get excited about a coat – how about never! That is until this week.
While at the Travel Goods Show in Chicago, I met Scott from SCOTTEVEST. He had samples of lots of jackets and vests on hand. I just had to try on the red women’s coat and was amazed at all of the pockets!
In addition to oodles of pockets in various shapes and sizes, the jacket has a built-in, patented wire management system. This can easily manage my headphone wires, which usually get tangled up in my hair.
I visited the ScotteVest booth each of the 3 days of the show and finally, on the last hours of the last day, I was able to buy the red Scottevest coat. It’s now hanging in my closet awaiting my next cold weather trip. Heck, I may wear it even in warm weather just to see how much stuff I can get through TSA security in the coat pockets — pockets big enough to even hold a pair of shoes!
Posted by Carol Margolis under Shopping!, Travel |
March 10, 2011
I attended the New York Times Travel Show on February 26th at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. While the show was three days long, my travel schedule got me there on day 2 after flying back to the States from Scotland. My daughter Jenn flew in from Chicago to join me.
It was great to listen to presentations by Arthur and Pauline Frommer, Rick Steves, National Geographic TV personality Julia Dimon, friends from TBEX Kim Mance, GoGalavanting.com; Andrew Evans, National Geographic; Robert Reid, Lonely Planet; and Jen Leo, LA Times Web Buzz.
Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Current Affairs, Favorite Cities and Towns, Travel |
March 4, 2011
I eat in restaurants a lot. Fifty weeks of travel last year alone with this year following the same pattern. So that’s a lot of restaurant meals.
Many of these restaurant meals are at hotels. Some hotels I stay at often, while others are for a one-time event.
One of the hotels I’ve been frequenting a lot lately is the Hilton Garden Inn in Aberdeen, Scotland. About seven stays of two weeks each – more than enough time to try every item on their Granite City Restaurant’s menu, at least several times each. And enough time to get really bored with looking at the same foods night after night.
But I didn’t’ get bored – not at all. In fact, I was sad when I had my last dinner at the HGI restaurant.
How could I have gotten so attached to one hotel restaurant? Easy. It was Chef Brian and his team.
Read more of this article »
Posted by Carol Margolis under Food and Drink, Health, Hotel Living |
