Travel

Ski resorts in Virginia don’t normally jump into your mind when first considering a family ski vacation. Normally, one might think of the towering peaks found in Colorado, Utah, or New Mexico and begin to set their sights on some of the popular ski resorts found there. However, for families on the East Coast or Eastern area of the Country, the time and price involved to go to those places might be a bit too much, particularly if you allow a little more time for you to acclimate yourself to the higher elevation. See our map and mini guides for best ski Canada resorts including Whistler, Banff, Vancouver and more.

Although the mountains are not quite as tall, the good news is that you have many fine ski resorts within the Eastern United States, offering fun for your family, and Virginia has a lot of them. The reality is, the Mid-Atlantic area has plenty of ski resorts, many of which are four season resorts that include fun activities all year-long. To better acquaint you as to what all is available, here is some information on a few of the top ski resorts located in Virginia.

Wintergreen Ski Resort – Wintergreen, Virginia
Probably Virginia’s most varied ski resort; its situated within 11,000 acres of pristine forest within the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is located within Central Virginia only 1 hour 30 minutes from Richmond, Va. and approximately three hours from Washington, D.C. and North Carolina. Rising to an elevation of 3,515 feet, Wintergreen offers 26 slopes and trails, of which 14 are lighted for night skiing. The longest run is 1.4 miles, which has a vertical drop of 1,003 feet. The ski terrain mix includes approximately 23% beginner slopes, 35% intermediate, and 42% advanced/expert runs. On top of the ski runs, the resort includes 2 terrain parks and 2 tubing parks, so whether its skiing, snowboarding, or snow tubing which you enjoy most, there is a little something for all.

Massanutten Ski Resort – Massanutten, Virginia
This ski resort can be found about 10 miles east of Harrisonburg, VA, within the northwestern region of Virginia, on the tip of Massanutten Mountain with an elevation of 2,880 feet. Serving guests from Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley and the Washington D.C. area, Massanutten offers 8 ski lifts and 14 trails, and all of these are lighted for night skiing. The ski terrain mix is approximately 30% beginner runs, 35% intermediate, and 35% advanced runs, having a vertical drop of 1,110 feet. The resort includes 2 terrain parks for skiers and snowboarders and they also host Virginia’s first snow tubing park, which opened in 1998 and contains a 900 foot long tubing hill. In addition, there’s an ice skating facility at Massanutten, which accommodates close to 132 skaters at one time.

The Homestead Ski Area – Hot Springs, Virginia
Virginia’s first skiing resort, The Homestead has operated since 1959 and is particularly famous for its wide slopes along with a great learning area. Its located off of Interstate 81 and Route 64, and merely several miles from the West Virginia border in the Allegheny Mountains. For skiers and snowboarders, the summit is 3200 feet having a vertical drop of 700 feet. The resort offers 9 trails or runs and the terrain mix is 33% beginner runs, 33% intermediate, and 34% advanced runs, with night skiing on Saturday nights. The resort has a terrain park to offer additional challenge and excitement to both skiers and snowboarders. Off the slopes there’s still ample winter fun with ice skating, snow tubing and snowmobile tours. After the fun day of activities, relax by the fire in the Mountain Lodge to warm-up and share some of the highlights of your day with loved ones.

Bryce Ski Resort – Basye, Virginia
This ski resort is very nice for first time skiers or snowboarders and wins high marks for being a family friendly ski resort. It is located in the heart of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, tucked on a low-lying ridge between the Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains towards the West Virginia border. Bryce will be the closest Virginia ski resort to Washington D.C. and it is just A couple of hours away. The summit is 1750 feet having a vertical drop of 500 feet. You’ll find 8 ski runs or trails and the longest run is 3500 feet. If you are a parent or loved one who wants to watch your kids ski, then the mountain layout is great. All slopes funnel down to one central area at the base, so it’s simple to spot your children while enjoying a mug of coffee. The terrain mix is roughly 34% beginner runs, 33% intermediate and 33% advanced runs. The bottom slopes do a good job of accommodating beginners, nonetheless the upper slopes still offer challenging terrain for intermediate or advanced skiers and snowboarders. Tubing is extremely popular at this resort and their Ridge Runner’s Tubing Park offers 800 foot long snow tubing lanes to deliver fun for the whole family.

Whether it’s a quick weekend trip to the mountains to ski or snowboard, or an extended ski vacation, your family is certain to enjoy yourself. There is nothing like enjoying good quality family time amongst beautiful mountain scenery, where you can either discover how to ski or snowboard the first time or continue to challenge yourself and hone your skill. After having a day on the slopes there is nothing like enjoying a good meal and relaxing with family around a roaring fire to share stories about the day and mention both the good runs and the wipe-outs.

Hopefully this information about several of the ski resorts in Virginia is useful and gives you a better appreciation for the area. Especially for those of you who are in the Eastern United States, definitely consider Virginia when planning your upcoming ski vacation. Most important, make sure to plan family getaways like these each year. Our children grow up so quickly, and before we know it they are gone and out on their own, so make sure and create these special times and memories that last a lifetime. Have a good time and stay safe!

Rich Herman loves traveling with his family, and regularly shares vacation ideas with others. For more information on family ski vacations visit his website: Family Vacation Ideas

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I wanted to cover safety in deep snow today because skiers die unnecessarily every year from not being able to self-rescue in deep snow. During the winter months, Banff Canada experiences the best snow and you may also experience their Canada ski packages.

Today I skied Mammoth Mountain Ski Area just after they got 10.5 – 15.5 feet of new snow. I skied today because it is supposed to snow this afternoon and tomorrow. I skied about 6 runs this morning in mostly knee-deep, pretty heavy snow. And just when I thought my balance was perfect, I was 10? tall and bullet-proof, I did something weird and fell in the bottomless powder in the trees. I got snow in my mouth when I fell, and that always gives me a short-of-breath/claustrophobic feeling.

I fell softly with my skis to my left, and my body fell to the right. Suddenly, I knew it would be really difficult to get up and out of this bottomless powder. So I took a moment, took a few deep breaths, and accessed my situation. I was somewhere in the trees that someone was unlikely to find me.

I needed to self-rescue. I knew from experience that I was in bottomless powder, and my poles would be of little help. Some say to make a “t” with your poles and lean on them, but no way would that have worked. The powder was too deep, and deep powder provides unique, potentially life endangering challenges. So we need to be prepared. Larger baskets on your poles are helpful for pushing yourself on powder days, but do not provide enough resistance to aid you in standing up from a fall. Since my body is heavier than by boots and skis, the more I struggle and move, the lower my body will sink putting my feet be above my head.

In this case I was able to slowly over a period of about 2 minutes shift my butt to be more over my skis by pulling my body mass over the skis by pulling on my legs below the knees. The last part was hard because I had nothing to brace against, but I knew if I could make this one last move to get my butt over the backs of my skis, I could stand up. So I pulled on my legs one more time because I knew that would give me the resistance I needed.

I managed to stand up, now about 5 minutes after I fell. Both my skis were on, and sunk deep in the snow. I slowly pulled the right one up breaking the surface of the snow to get higher footing. Then I did the same with the left ski. OK, I was finally able to glide back out onto the groomed part of the run, and complete the self-rescue from bottomless powder.

In another blog post, I have detailed how to find a ski in bottomless powder which can be challenging. Search in the search window of this blog for “Lost ski” or “finding lost ski”, and it should come up. My method has always been able to find the lost ski quickly, so you no longer need to worry about that.

But I still want to cover what happened to me at June Mt. as a kid. It was a week with 8 feet of new snow at June Mt. I skied the face successfully, but fell and made a huge hole in the flat part at the bottom. At first I kind of panicked, and struggled to get to my feet. But the more I struggled, the more I sank down in the powder making the hole deeper. It got to the point where I was 8 feet down in this hole, and still could not get to my feet.

I knew no one was skiing the face that day. If a ski patroller skied by he would not hear my cries or see me unless he saw the track to my hole. I couldn’t count on that!

I was only about 11 years old, and I needed to get resourceful to self-rescue, or I could be there all night and freeze. I decided to take a break. I took out the camera I had in my pocket, and took a photo from the bottom of my 8 foot deep hole. I tried to push my poles to hit something solid, and I sank them all the way to my shoulder. I hit nothing that could support me.

I thought some more and finally I figured that I could take 1 ski off, and use it horizontally to be a form of support. I was able to take 1 ski off and holding the side of the ski and digging it in for grip, pull myself to a standing position this way. Then I pulled my upper body up, and stepped up sideways up the side of the hole. I kept doing this until I got to where I was only knee deep again.

I put the ski back on, and was able to break trail back to the chairlift. Please remember this technique if you get stuck in a hole in deep powder. This same self-rescue strategy could work to extricate yourself from a tree well, which can be fatal if you do not know what to do. More information about what to do if you get stuck in a tree well is located at: http://www.treewelldeepsnowsafety.com. There are some really good safety tips at that site that I have not covered here.

I can tell you from experience it is easier to learn these proven self-rescue techniques from some one else than to have to make up a rescue technique when you get stuck. People die from getting stuck in deep powder. I gave you 2 self-rescue techniques here. I also recommend you always carry a whistle when you ski the trees. It might give you the capability to summon help where you can not be seen. I also recommend you carry a fully charged cell phone with Mammoth Mountain’s ski patrol phone number programmed into your phone. This way, when you get injured, you can call for help and tell them where you are. You should program under ICE for In Case of Emergency, your person to be contacted in case of injury or emergency. Emergency personnel know to look in your cell phone for this, so you need to program your emergency contact phone number in there so they can find it if they need to.

Other emergency stuff I carry because I ski the trees are:

1) Small knife – Can cut you down from a tree, or filet a fish or squirrel if you have to.

2) I told you about the whistle – Can help ski patrol hear you when they are making their last sweep of the mountain at closing.

3) Lighter – If you had to spend the night, making a fire could save you from freezing to death.

4) Your cell phone programmed as recommended above.

5) Cliff Bar – These have a lower freezing point so you won’t have to chew on a rock-solid snack bar.

6) Fleece balaclava – Can really increase heat retention in winds, and if you get stuck overnight.

7) Ski helmet – Wear a helmet every time you ski. You cannot predict when a dangerous situation will present itself. 80% of fatal ski injuries could have been prevented by simply wearing a helmet.

I photocopy my driver’s license and medical card so if I am knocked unconscious they know who I am from my driver’s license. And they know my “ICE” In Case of Emergency person to call because it is programmed into my cell phone I have on me all day.

Being prepared and informed can save your life or keep you from being stranded in the woods for hours or overnight. If you just ski the groomed runs, you only need about 1/2 this stuff. But I like to duck into my tree powder stashes, so I keep this packed in my ski jacket at all time so I will have it if I ever need it. Please teach these deep snow self-rescue techniques to your family, friends and loved ones so they will know what to do in this potentially life-threatening situation. Be Safe On the Slopes!

Larry Conn has snow skied since 1968, and loves Mammoth Mountain so much he moved there in 2005 after taking 2 years off work to “test-drive” living there. Now he is launching Mammoth Ski Club for active adults who want more fun, activities and involvement with snow skiing and other activities at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area and Mammoth Lakes resort. Get your complimentary gifts, full color newsletter, and special report, “Who Else Wants Active New Affluent Friends of the Same Ski Ability Level, and a Lifetime of Great Memories?” by going to http://www.MammothSkiClub.com/

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Nano paint protection for cars is the very best possible kind of surface for your vehicle s surface due to the fact that not only does it keep the sparkle of your paintwork gleaming as though it has actually just left the showroom, yet it is additionally self-cleaning. Fineshinedetailing.com.au offers best paint correction Melbourne services that truly eliminate imperfections.

The procedure behind it is fascinating and is based on something from attributes. It is called the lotus effect considering that it was uncovered that the lotus flower has self-cleaning residential properties on its leaves. This also applies to a few other plants such as walking cane, nasturtium and irritable pear. On top of that, some insects such as particular butterflies and dragonflies have the very same capability.

When Was The Lotus Result Discovered?
Researchers first began to research this sensation in 1964, and the work was additional established by Barthlott and Ehler in 1977; it was they who first created the term the lotus result. The leaves of the lotus floral have an extremely higher water repellent residential property which is called super-hydrophobicity. When it rains, water droplets roll across the fallen leaves and pick up gunk, eliminating it from the area, hence making it possible for the plant to remain tidy and the leaves to do their function of photosynthesis to make it possible for the plant to expand.

The high surface tension of a water droplet indicates that it tends to lessen its surface area in an endeavor to achieve a form which is as close to a round as possible. On making contact with an area, forces of adhesion cause the area to end up being wet. The surface area may become partially wet or completely damp and this will depend on the fluid tension of the water droplet and the sticky attributes of the surface.

The much less of the water droplet that is in contact with the area, the higher that surface s hydrophobicity is said to be. This hydrophobicity can be gauged by the call angle of the water droplet on the surface area. The reduced the call angle, the lesser the hydrophobicity and the other way around. If a get in touch with angle on a certain surface is less than 90 degrees the surface area is referred to as hydrophilic. Higher than 90 degrees it is hydrophobic.

Some plants have a call angle of as long as 160 levels meanings that simply about 2 % of the water droplet is in contact with the area. In the case of lotus leaves, the call angle is as high as 170 levels. These areas are stated to be super-hydrophobic. The surface of a water droplet touching a lotus leaf could be as litlle as 0.6 %.

Just how Does Filth Acquire Washed Off The Surface area?
When dirt gets on to such an area the amount of attachment between the gunk particle and the area is much less compared to on many others areas. When a water droplet rolls throughout the surface area the amount of bond in between the area and the filth particle is less compared to that between the gunk particle and the droplet, so the gunk fragment is gotten by the droplet and brought away causing automatic cleaning of the surface. Nonetheless, this only works because of the high degree of area strain of a water droplet and does not operate in the same way with organic solvents.
Essentially, that is just how it works for the lotus leaf. Exactly the exact same concept is used in nano paint innovation for car paint protection Melbourne.

How Does Nano Paint Protection Work For Autos?
Nano innovation has progressed to the point whereby a challenging safety ceramic finish can be applied to the lacquered finished surface area of the auto s paintwork when it leaves the manufacturing facility. The lacquered surface is not insusceptible to bird droppings, UV, or chemical etching and could be conveniently ruined or scratched. When this happens the only alternative is to polish off the scrape marks or swirl marks thereby decreasing the density of the manufacturing plant paint layer. Gradually this means that at some point a respray will be needed.

Lots of people will utilize a wax polish or a polymer paint sealant on the paintwork, yet this still leaves the paint surface area prone to damage from scratching, bird droppings and more, as these could permeate the polish or sealant.

Just what Is the Solution?
The response is to apply a challenging nano paint modern technology layer to the area of the paintwork. The coating is much less prone to harm than other surface layers, but also if swirl marks or other damages need to take place the layer itself could be brightened off and re-applied. This implies that the manufacturing facility paintwork will not be harmed and will certainly retain its density and shine.

Essentially nano innovation copies the effects discovered in nature in a basic way and super-hydrophobic layers have actually been utilized on guy made areas for a significant variety of years. One such application is self-cleaning glass made use of for home windows, yet they have been utilized in various many others applications. For instance, super-hydrophobic coverings including Teflon bits have actually been used on med analysis slides.

The very same technology has actually been used for ordeals as unique as roof covering tiles and natural leather furniture. It could be used on satellite tv meals, as an example, in order to reduce the probability of rainfall discolor and to neutralize any build up of ice and snow on the antenna.

It has actually even been utilized for tree planting. The Groasis Waterboxx is a gizmo designed for planting tiny plants in areas of extreme drought which makes it possible for the young sapling to have adequate water reach its roots till the origins crash much enough into the ground to reach water. The Waterboxx could then be removed and utilized once again in other places. Nano technology allows the Waterboxx to harvest condensation and condensation and channel it to the root systems of the sapling even in locations of desert.

In order to shield the paintwork of your car and preserve that fresh from the display room appearance with none of the effort, nano paint protection is the response for the critical driver. You will certainly never ever have to fret about scratch marks or bird droppings, and your car will simply require a quick rinse to eliminate any type of dirt. It doesn’t issue whether your auto is new, or several years of ages; we can keep it the means it is, or recover it to the method it was.
You will certainly additionally manage to laugh at your next-door neighbors cleaning and polishing every Sunday morning!

Physical fitness is a must for good surfing. How do you get in shape and prepare yourself for the surfing season? How do you stay in shape to be ready when the next good swell arrives? What are the ingredients for you to be physically fit? In this article, I will lay out a plan that will be suitable for the majority of the surfers. Physical fitness should be incorporated in your surfer’s lifestyle. The Baja Surf Club Invitational was the first surf contest to promote friendship and solidarity between two countries.

For the majority of surfers, your surfing is limited to weekends and for most of you, the surfing season, which is normally spring, summer, and the autumn time of the year. Some of you who are deeply occupied with work and raising a young family will only surf when you are on vacation or at most once a week or every other week. Many of you live a long way from your surf spots, which makes it very difficult for you to get in the water.

The important thing is for you to be in good physical condition to paddle and surf when the occasion arises. Once you have the proper surfboard type and surfing accessories, you need to be in decent shape so that when you get in the water you have enough energy to paddle out into the break and get a good wave count. If you are exhausted from the initial paddle out and are not able to keep paddling out through the surf after each wave, you are going to have a terrible session. What a bummer.

How do you prepare for surfing if you are a weekend or vacation surfer? You stay in the gym with a good workout regimen, you do cardiovascular exercise and you learn to eat properly.

What is a good workout for surfing? I believe that every muscle group should be worked out each week. The muscle groups are the chest, shoulders, back, legs, arms and core. Your workout regimen will depend on the time you have available. If you can spend an hour in the gym 5 days a week, you can do a different muscle group each day. If you can make it only 3 days a week, you will have to double up on the muscle groups during each workout.

Some of you can only go to the gym one or two days a week. What do you do? Well, you are going to have to supplement your workouts in the gym with exercises and or workouts at home or in your office. The main thing is to “just do it” as Nike says.

I would suggest that when you initially start working out with weights that you hire a professional trainer if you can afford to do so. If you cannot afford a trainer, workout with a friend who is familiar with weight training or go online and research workouts for the different muscle groups. One very important thing to remember is to start out with very light weights and do a lot of repetitions. You are not doing this to be a body builder. You are working out to get and maintain all parts of your body in good physical condition. You want to build muscle tone and not muscle mass.

Working out at home or in your office can be very productive also. You can do pushups, abdominal crunches, leg squats and all kinds of exercises with bungees. You can also practice pop-ups where you lay flat on your stomach and with your arms you pop-up to your feet and take a surfers stance in one motion. It is very important for you to get your shoulders, back, legs and core muscles in good shape. In addition, you should also take fast walks or even running during your work breaks, that is, if there is a shower facility available. You need to build up your wind by doing cardiovascular exercising because paddling your surfboard requires lung capacity and endurance.

Eating properly is also another key to good physical conditioning, good health and good surfing. Not eating properly will result in either being overweight or being too skinny and underweight and weak. If you do not eat properly, your body will not be strong and you will not have the endurance necessary for surfing.

Here is a sample menu of daily proper eating:

General MENU Suggestion: (See special note below)

Start each day with 1 or 2 cups of green tea

Meal #1. 1/3 Cup Oatmeal w/small banana (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries), shot of honey, and soy milk, 4 egg whites fried in olive oil (first 4 months) (1 egg yoke after), one pineapple spear (mango, papaya, grapes)

#2. 1 cup brown rice, one tomato, 2 stalks celery (or green beans, spinach or broccoli), one bbq’d skinless chicken thigh with fat trimmed off or meat substitute, sliced mango or pineapple if available.

#3. one bbq’d skinless chicken thigh, meat, or fish, ½ boiled yam/potato/brown rice, green beans, spinach or broccoli, tomato

#4. Afternoon snack: celery stalks/apple with peanut butter or walnuts/almonds and dried cranberries

#5. Salad with tomatoes, scallions, chopped celery, hard boiled egg, 2 table spoons cottage cheese, one skinless chicken thigh. (or as an alternative, a bowl of broccoli, tomatoes,onions, avocado, chopped chicken with balsamic vinegar dressing, walnuts/almonds and dried cranberries) Mix it up!

#6. ½ cup cottage cheese with blueberries, blackberries, or tomato and celery, scallions, broccoli (all optional)

You can substitute wild ocean fish (also, canned tuna fish or salmon) for chicken. You can also eat lean meat about once a week.

Drink 8 oz. glass of room temperature water with each meal, except at night… drink water all day between meals! You can substitute green tea.

Note: all cooking is done with extra virgin olive oil.

Special Note: Gals, smaller kids, and Baby Boomers may want to cut these portions to smaller quantities.

NO SUGAR, BREAD, BOOZE, SOFT DRINKS, AVOID PROCESSED FOOD, ETC.

This sounds boring, but once you get acclimated you will enjoy the food and wonder how you could have abused yourself by eating the “normal” way. Once in a while it’s OK to have a hamburger and French fries or you favorite dessert, but keep it to a minimum.

Take this menu as a recommendation and not gospel. I give this to you from personal experience and at the advice of my personal trainer who is trained and very knowledgeable in nutrition. I changed my eating habits four years ago and adopted the menu I laid before you. Over a period of time, I lost 30 lbs and my waist size dropped 4 inches. I have been able to maintain my weight and my surfing and daily life has improved greatly.

I believe that proper eating is actually more important than physical training, but the two go hand in hand. If you look around you, you will see the majority of the population abusing their bodies by over eating. It is very hard on one’s body to be carrying around extra baggage in the form of weight. It’s hard on your joints and makes physical activity like surfing very difficult.

Get in shape, stay in shape and enjoy your surfing sessions. Enjoy how you look and feel. Carry physical training and proper eating over to your everyday life style and you will be surfing waves with more precision and you will definitely be Surfing Life, feeling much better physically and mentally.

Oak Street Surf was founded by Chuck Herpick, a Stanford graduate and former Naval Aviator, an accomplished surfer who has spent his lifetime in or near the ocean surfing most of the California and Hawaii breaks over the many years.

Chuck has been a friend and associate with legendary surfer Tom Morey who invented the Morey Boogie Board. Together, he and Tom have designed and made many different types of soft and hard surfboards and other surfing products.

Oak Street Surf, [http://www.oakstreetsurf.com], is an online surf shop representing the latest surfboard products. You can get a good review of top of the line surfboard types and designs including bodyboards, skimboards, SUPs and Custom longboards and shortboards.

Visit Oak Street Surf to discuss in detail the various options for you to ensure that you select the proper surfboard type and design that will bring you surfing fun and success.

Chuck believes that surfing, whether it is bodysurfing, boogie boarding, board surfing, skimboarding or riding a Standup Paddleboard (SUP) will change your life forever. You will be able to apply the love you will obtain from surfing to everything you do and will learn how to Surf Life! What a joy!!

Visit Oak Street Surf at [http://www.oakstreetsurf.com], the one-stop online surfboard and surfing equipment store, to find out more about surfboards, surfing, Standup Paddle boards, and what types and designs of water sports products are available. You will be able to talk to the experts with over 70 years of surfing experience. Visit the site now!

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Since the so-called “mad men” era of marketing that instigated a flood of mass advertising, marketing communications have undergone tremendous changes in terms of presentation and customer experiences. And with the rise of digital signage, the paradigm has shifted from promotions to personalized and immersive experiences for customers. It focuses on engaging customers after catching their attention. Increasingly, organizations are leveraging the latest developments in the digital sign industry for informing, engaging, and entertaining customers. In this regard, they are consistently striving to create useful content. Absolutesignsolutions.com.au is a signage Sydney based company, they design, manufacture and install quality signs locally.

But even compelling content needs a digital device to make it all happen-securely, reliably, and with affordable quality. That’s why searching for digital signage media players is one of the most important aspects of the digital media puzzle. The latest crop of media player technologies is enabling richer experiences. Some key trends to be watched in this domain are:

Real-Time Content Streaming

Integrating rich media and real-time content streaming creates a dynamic digital experience. Digital signage technology functions as a presentation platform ideally suited to sharing immersive content on embedded-graphic devices using IP. From live video streaming to audio content, there are many possibilities to be explored in this domain. The latest media players come equipped with the capability of functioning as IP streaming servers that connect 4K (UHD) content directly to presentation screens or video walls. This kind of display that easily scales larger than life is useful for training, entertaining, instructing, and promoting products and services in a fun, immersive way.

Enhanced Mixed-Media Experiences

Digital marketers and advertisers often need ways to enhance content relevance, and employing a content principle called “sticky” is a tried and true technique that meets this need. Considering this for digital signage, media players play a significant role by enabling widgets that source useful information that is often location specific, or event specific, or whatever is relevant at a given time and place. For example, when used at a ski resort, a digital sign placed near a lift queue gives riders specific weather conditions at the peak. Or, in a warm and cozy bar, an on-screen reminder may pop-up that lets everyone know their favorite craft brew is half-price between 3-6 PM. These kinds of sticky on-screen presentations provide better communication by being relevant to the audience. When searching for digital signage media players, seek out devices that support widget or app technology.

Cloud-Based Deployment and Security

Up until recently, swapping SD cards (memory) on digital signage media players was the most common technology for updating media playlists. SD cards are relatively inexpensive, are easy to copy for multiple locations, and are reliable. Unfortunately, updating media players by swapping SD cards does not gain much more usability than shipping around VHS tapes like we did 20 years ago. Today, there is a much better method available. The best digital signage media players use ubiquitous cloud technology that offers secure, effective, instantaneous, and scalable deployment. These cloud networks have overcome severe challenges for the deployment and security of the content. Hence, this new approach to digital signage is gaining momentum in the industry. As a result, businesses are experiencing more transparency, more cost savings, and lesser maintenance costs on their digital signage systems.

Mobile-Friendliness

When searching for digital signage media players today, don’t forget to put mobile interactivity on the checklist! With the integration of NFC and Beacon technology into these systems, retailers are enhancing their engagement with existing and potential customers. The two-way communication between media players and customers through their mobile devices helps by sending more personalized messages to the users. This targeted approach has improved the overall experiences and maximized the impact of digital signage technology. Indeed, this technology makes “location” one of the relevant factors in marketing, potentially reducing the annoyance that comes from a barrage of unwanted ads or messages. The right kinds of incentives may also prompt customer buy-in, which can lead to social sharing, and ultimately, can help build goodwill when tied to corporate purpose.

Advertising on Digital Signage Media Players

Considering how often advertising needs updating-think daily-the process of managing ad content on media players can be truly daunting for media managers. If this is your primary reason for deploying digital signage, then it is important to search for software systems that allow easy tagging of content and assignment to media players. Once again, cloud-based digital signage media players make all of this so much easier than in the recent past. A better system today is managed over a web browser. It should have multiple zones with assignable admin privileges for those zones. It should support nested playlists that can be triggered with external inputs such as weather conditions, traffic conditions, or some other variable, such as inventory, etc. These scheduled or triggered ads ensure that relevant, targeted content gets delivered to specified audiences.

These are some of the trends shaping the future of this industry. Yes, there are still elements of the Wild West in digital signage, so you should be leery of gimmicky pricing schemes that promise the world for free, old technology, or inferior technology that makes your screen blue and turns your face red. When searching for digital signage media players, prefer the system that is in sync with your needs and makes sense from a corporate viewpoint-not a consumer viewpoint.

David Little is the owner of Little & Associates LLC that specializes in marketing techniques that stimulate business growth. David developed a strong background in emerging digital technologies as a product engineer during the advent of digital video before becoming involved with marketing in the high-tech industry for the last 18 years. Today, he enjoys applying his marketing insight to overcome business stagnation, create growth solutions, and enhance customer experiences. For further insight on how digital signage can help your business communicate, visit Keywest Technology. Or, simply call 800-331-2019 or email [email protected] for expert digital signage assistance.

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Thinking about food seems to have been quite a theme for me these last few days. Not obsessing about food and tasty tid-bits, but really savoring food and looking forward to different types of food.

We went to see a local production (on the Isle of Man) of the musical “Oliver” the other day, and needless to say the refrain of “food, glorious food” rang in my ears for a couple of days afterwards. This rendition of Oliver was absolutely splendid and everyone left the theatre on a real high, smiling and happy.

I am also incredibly aware of how lucky we are. We have so much access to delicious food in a seemingly unending flow of both quantity and description; a far cry from a solitary and rather meager bowl of sloppy and tasteless gruel each day. No wonder we as a nation are currently rather prone to being overweight or suffering from obesity.

I am aware too of the contrasts in dietary availability and habits between different countries and cultures. There are even small variations from one county to another in England or from one State to another in America.

In England in general we have access to shop bought gourmet ready meals from Marks and Spencer’s, Tesco’s, Sainsbury’s and so on. We can just pop into the super-market, pick up a beautifully prepared and presented meal, take it home, pop it in the oven and thirty minutes later it’s ready to be eaten. Easy and delicious; no mess, no hassle. You can eat five star meals without even knowing how to cook.

An interesting knock on effect of this ready availability of great meals is that it is naturally possible to spend far less time thinking about food, or worrying about what to prepare for dinner. For those who are conscious of their weight, you can simply turn the packet over and immediately see the number of calories or grams of fat in each portion. Neither do you have to think about portion size. It’s all done for you. It’s really very easy to set yourself upon a gourmet diet!

I have to admit that I was surprised to find no real equivalent in California. Coming from the Isle of Man you tend to think that if you go somewhere bigger you will have a greater selection of everything, including food. And yes, there are so many more restaurants and more basic food ingredients readily available and definitely a load more fast food outlets. But gourmet meals to go are less available (almost extinct) in the local markets. And need I say anything about portion sizes? Chicken breasts look as if they have been taken from prize fighting turkeys and I woudn’t like to imagine how big American cows are!

A quick contemplation of this lack of fresh gourmet meals to go allows one to arrive at the conclusion that America is just too big a country to make this a truly viable business. A trucker can drive your meals from one end of England to another in a day without issue and so fresh food stays fresh. You simply couldn’t keep that food fresh for the length of time it takes to drive across America. And frozen ready meals simply do not have that five star gourmet quality.

When we are in California we also really miss our British and French cheeses. We think about cheese, search for good cheese and almost (but not quite) dream about lovely strong creamy textured cheeses. I have yet to understand why American cheese cannot have that same flavor and texture. But when we are in England we miss the wonderful barbequed American steaks and delicious salads and salad dressings. Yummy; food, glorious food!

The answer is always to make the most of what you have got. Enjoy what is readily available locally no matter where you are. I find it a great shame that so many people think about food to the extent of obsession and yet still manage to overlook its enjoyment. Instead of savoring each delicious bite they gobble their food quickly whilst suffering from a guilt complex at the same time. No wonder they become overweight; they do not appreciate their food and so cannot feel satisfied from eating it.

Overweight people tend to think that they should stop thinking about food. I am a firm believer that they have totally missed the point; you do not need to stop thinking about food. Rather, you need to learn to allow yourself to think about food in a different way which allows you to savor and enjoy it, take your time eating and feel fully satisfied as you detect it different textures and flavors.

You are, in this day and age, unlikely to obsess about food for the same reasons as poor Oliver. You are far more likely to have begun this food obsession as a result of thinking that you shouldn’t think about food or eat as much. To overcome this obsession and enable yourself to lose weight easily all you actually have to do is to think about food in a different way. Hypnosis mp3s designed to help you lose weight are perfectly designed to get you doing just this.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in weight loss hypnosis mp3s which help you program your mind for success.

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It’s possible you’ve never given a great deal of thought to the subject of the foods and drinks that are made in Snowdonia. That’s fair enough; the region is probably better known as a world-class outdoor activities centre and an area packed with family attractions than it is as the gastronomic centre of Britain.

But Snowdonia has a great deal to offer if you’re interested in cooking and eating amazing produce. From locally reared lamb and beef to local honey, preserves and even wines, you’ll be spoilt for choice when you visit Snowdonia.

1. Glasfryn Parc Farm Shop

The farm shop at Glasfryn Parc near Pwllheli is a real treasure trove of both local produce (including meat reared on Glasfryn’s farmland) and luxury ingredients from around the world. The Welsh Black beef from Glasfryn is especially good, but look out also for the ‘freezer pick ‘n’ mix’ where there’s a great selection of frozen fruit and vegetables for you to buy in any quantity you like. Just need a few berries for a cheesecake or enough veg for a casserole? No problem – you’re in full control!

2. Bodnant Welsh Foods

Bodnant Welsh Foods in the beautiful Conwy Valley isn’t just a shop – it’s a gastronomic experience! At Bodnant you can enjoy a full day out, to include cookery lessons, a look at local beekeeping, a visit to the garden centre and of course plenty of shopping! The farm shop at Bodnant stocks a fantastic array of produce from the estate itself as well as from other parts of Wales; in fact, around 75% of the produce sold at Bodnant is Welsh.

3. Hooton’s at Fron Goch Garden Centre

A visit to Fron Goch Garden Centre, just outside Caernarfon, is a treat in itself. Apart from the excellent selection of plants, garden furniture, gifts for the home and garden and other such delights, there’s a wonderful (and very popular) cafe serving delicious food and beautiful cakes. But there’s another great reason to visit Fron Goch, and that’s the Hooton’s farm shop that’s based there. This is a great place to shop for locally grown veg and locally reared meat, as well as a fantastic selection of luxury foodstuffs from all over Wales and beyond.

4. Pant Du Vineyard and Orchard

People are often surprised to learn that there’s a vineyard in Snowdonia! Pant Du in the Nantlle Valley isn’t just a producer of award-winning wine: it also produces excellent cider and delicious spring water. You can visit Pant Du for a tour and a tasting – or if you’re pushed for time, just pop to their shop and stock up your cellar!

5. Purple Moose Brewery

You’ll find Purple Moose Brewery’s excellent beers in pubs and shops all over the region and beyond. What’s more fun than drinking it in a pub or buying it from a shop, though, is visiting the brewery in Porthmadog and having a tour and a taste. The tour costs just £5 and at the end you’ll get a free glass and a tasting session – now that’s a bargain!

6. Y Pantri Cymraeg

Y Pantri Cymraeg is a little Aladdin’s cave of gastronomic treasures on the Maes in Caernarfon. It may be a small shop, but it stocks a fantastic range of Welsh baked goods, confectionery, preserves and pickles – not to mention an excellent selection of Welsh alcoholic beverages. It’s also a great place to grab a spot of lunch for eating on the move, so pop in and fill your picnic basket!

7. Bwtri

There are branches of Bwtri – a fantastic deli and local produce stockist – in Pwllheli, Porthmadog and Wrexham. Here you can stock up on fantastic Welsh cheeses, luxury pates, and a wide range of other local and exotic produce. You can even make up your own hamper to give away as a gift – though with the quality of food available at Bwtri, giving the hamper away is the difficult part!

8. Edwards of Conwy

Most notable for its award-winning sausages, Edwards of Conwy is a wonderful butcher in the heart of the medieval town. But it’s not just the sausages that make Edwards special (and incidentally, you can buy these in most of the local supermarkets too); their bacon is also fantastic, and as well as a great selection of meat the shop stocks a variety of other local produce too, including some excellent chutneys and other preserves.

9. Cadwalader’s Ice Creams

You can’t write an article about food in Snowdonia without mentioning Cadwaladers Ice Cream; it’s so delicious, so special, that it’d be a travesty to leave it out! There are branches of Cadwaladers all over Wales, but we’ll focus on the Criccieth branch for now – for this little town is where it all started, and it’s still quite possibly the most famous and best-loved branch of this 88-year-old business. What’s so special about the ice cream? You’ll have to taste it yourself to find out, but suffice to say, with ingredients including 6 lbs of “shan’t tell you” and “a great deal of love and care” the recipe is a very closely guarded secret!

10. Blas ar Fwyd

Last but by no means least let’s look at Blas ar Fwyd, which is a bit of an institution in Llanrwst. Not only is it one of the UK’s biggest delicatessens outside of London, but it’s also a bistro – so if you want to taste those wonderful ingredients as part of a hearty meal, you’ll be at the right place! With a vast selection of fantastic products from Wales, the UK and the world beyond, you’ll be hard pushed to find a more interesting place to shop for food – so pack a few shopping bags into your suitcase next time you visit Snowdonia, and head over to Blas ar Fwyd for the food shopping trip of the year!

Steven Jones is Senior Tourism Services Officer at Cyngor Gwynedd Council, a Welsh local authority whose Visit Snowdonia website provides visitors to Snowdonia with a wealth of useful information about the region, including things to do in Snowdonia and where to stay in Snowdonia.

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Every year literally millions of singles, couples, families and groups of friends go on summer vacations together. Summer vacations are popular, and it’s that popularity that can make planning and booking one a challenge, especially for families and groups of people. The demand for seats on airplanes are limited by demand, as are available accommodations. The demand to attend events or visit tourist attractions can also be affected by the higher demand summer vacationers pose.

There are a number of ways that you can make affordable bookings and reservations.

Obviously the first step to making summer vacation reservations is deciding on a summer vacation destination. When selecting a summer vacation destination, a number of factors need to be taken into consideration. Some of these factors are;

1. Are you going to be traveling with children and, if so, what are the ages of your children? Not every accommodation provider accepts infants, or even small children. This is especially the case with bed and breakfast operations or guest houses. Not every destination is suitable for children either. Some destinations are focused on honeymooners and couples seeking a place to go for a romantic getaway. While others target young adults seeking adventure or exciting nightlife. Destination catering mainly to adult vacationers offer little in the way of amusements for children.

2. Costs of airfare and accommodation are generally fixed, but services and amenities are often forgotten until vacationers are in country and being confronted with costly meals, beverages, admittance fees to visit museums, historical sites or other places of interest, souvenirs, and so on. Incidental costs can add up to a significant amount. If you have an overall summer vacation budget you need to stay within, these costs prove a problem.

3. Do you, or anyone traveling with you have food or other allergies to take into consideration? For example, if you or someone traveling with you is allergic to bee stings, areas famous for flowering gardens isn’t the safest choice for a summer vacation destination.

4. Do you, or anyone you’ll be traveling with have medical issues that could be exasperated by environmental factors, such as dry air, humidity, dust, elevation, and so on. This writer once worked with a tour operator that allowed an obese man with a heart condition to book himself onto a Nepal tour. He got off the plane, which was not disembarking passengers at a gate, but rather on the tarmac almost 100 meters from the terminal entrance. This is a common practice in many places, and especially at smaller airports. In such cases, passengers are expected to walk to the terminal to collect baggage and clear customs and immigration. The obese man collapsed halfway to the terminal and died shortly thereafter. The elevation, combined with his obesity and existing heart condition was a recipe for disaster, and it came to be.

5. Do you, or anyone you travel with have mobility issues, such as needing a walking aid or requires a wheel chair? If so, consider the width and surface conditions of sidewalks, accessibility to accommodations for anyone mobily challenged, and pedestrian congestion. You must take into account that mansions and heritage buildings that have been converted to hotels or bed and breakfast accommodations are not likely to have elevators. Many historic sections of European cities are paved with cobble stones, while sidewalks can be very narrow or non-existent. Both make navigation difficult for anyone with a mobility problem. For anyone needing to use a cane, a walker, or who is wheelchair bound, the congestion in market squares or bazaars can be nightmarish, as can the pedestrian traffic in cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Fez, Cairo, etc.

Keeping these factors in mind will enable you to select the summer vacation destination that will best fit your needs and address any limitations you or a travel companion may have.

Once you’ve selected a summer vacation destination you can look for accommodations to book for your stay. A large number of amusement parks, campgrounds and hotels in the USA, Canada and at overseas destinations don’t require reservations. However, it’s advisable to reserve accommodations anyway. Summer vacation periods are short, and the demand is therefore much higher than normal. This can cause available rooms to be filled with vacationing tourists quickly. By making a reservation, you not only assures that you have a room, but that you have accommodations that fit your needs.

When booking a summer vacation, a great many travelers will count on the services of a travel agent. Using a travel agent is more convenient than searching online for vacation packages, calling hotels to negotiate a booking rate, or sourcing your own rental car deal. However, there are two things to remember when using a travel agent to organize you summer vacation:

1. A travel agent only knows what you tell him or her about your needs. If you research your own summer vacation and make your own accommodation arrangements, you’re unlikely to book yourself into a hotel that can’t cater to the kosher, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, etc., dietary needs you or someone you’re traveling with requires. Nor would you book yourself into a room with a beautiful view from a 20th floor balcony if you suffer from Acrophobia (a fear of heights). A travel agent may do so if you did not specifically mention these or any other limitations.

2. Travel agents obviously don’t provide their services for free. Most are paid a percentage of the amount you’ll pay, and many add on a service fee as well. If you’re planning a summer vacation and are on a budget, you may want to book your own flight and make your own reservations. There are two reasons. Firstly, a travel agent will organize your transportation and stay based on what earns them the highest return. This may not be what provides the best service or value to you. Secondly, with very little effort, you can save the portion of a hotel reservation set aside to compensate travel agents and tour operators. Simple research the hotel rates online, then call or email and offer 30% less. It will either be accepted, but if not acceptable the hotel will respond with a quote. It will probably surprise you when you learn what the savings can be. Also, be sure to mention any mobility issues, allergies or special diets that may be relevant before you book. Discounted rooms are not usually entitled to special services without added charges, unless it’s including within the reservation package.

Aside from traveling by car, air travel is a preferred method of travel to reach summer vacation destinations. If you’re booking your own airline reservations, do so online and look for all of the alternatives to get you from point A to B. For example, a direct flight is convenient, but it can be costly if even available. Many departure to destination flights are simply not available because of the need to refuel. In cases where a direct flight is available, a flight with a stop over or two may be half the price. Likewise, for the same price as a direct flight, you can often choose to organize a tour for yourself.

When flying from Vancouver, BC, Canada to Quito, Ecuador, a peak summer season flight is just over CAD$1500 with taxes and surcharges. For the same price you can book a charter tour to Cancun, Mexico, spend a week there, accommodation included. After a week in Cancun you can take the train, a bus or fly to Mexico city. There you can stay a day or two, then fly from Mexico City to Quito, Ecuador. The cost is virtually the same, if not less, and you have an enjoyable tour. The original flight Vancouver to Quito requires at least on stop, most two. So does the alternative Vancouver, Cancun, Mexico City and on to Quito route. The difference is you have a stay in Cancun and Mexico City at no extra cost, rather than wait in an airport for your connecting flight. It takes a lot of searching to find these deals, but they are available. This is because, as the saying in the airline industry, “A plane that takes off with an empty seat lost revenue.” Airlines will do anything to fill every seat, even if that seat sale is drastically discounted.

If your summer vacation is centered on enjoying the outdoors, then you probably want to be camping. Even when planning a camping vacation, you should still make a reservation. Public and private campgrounds are limited as to the amount of camping space they have. By reserving a camping space you’re guaranteed a place to set up your tent or park your RV or trailer.

To book a popular vacation destination at a discount, check out online travel websites. Travel websites offer discounts on popular hotels, airlines and restaurants around the world. There’s a downside to using online discount travel websites though. The travel sites mostly focus on the more popular summer vacation destinations. That said, you can often find a better hotel deal that falls within your budget than you would booking elsewhere, saving nothing but enjoy far greater luxury at the same price.

There is a final, very important consideration to planning and booking your summer vacation flights and hotel reservations. Do your research and book well ahead of your intended departure. Deals on flights are rarely available under 21 days from departure, other than through last minute seat sales. The problem with last minute seat sales is that they’re limited in both availability and usually in the amount of luggage you can bring. This is because the weight luggage would take is allocated to freight, which is actually more profitable for the airlines than transporting passengers. Plus last minute means last minute. You do not want to risk your entire summer vacation on being able to secure last minute seat deals. Likewise, hotels will rarely make deals at the last minute either, unless you show up at the desk at 2:00AM and there are vacancies. Even then, the desk clerk has parameters as to the discounts he or she can give. When you start negotiating for rooms well in advance of your arrival you’re dealing with management, who generally have greater latitude when it comes to granting discounts to secure bookings.

Len Bowcott is a lifestyle traveler who funds his travels by writing SEO travel related articles for Vagabond Travel and other travel blogs, websites and magazines.

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