Israel in Review

Some of you may have noticed a significant absence over the past two weeks. I spent most of that time in Israel with Mrs. Lawhawk, touring the northern part of the country. It was part of our 10th anniversary gift to each other, and it was awesome to spend it with the love of my life.

It's a tour that I would definitely recommend to anyone who wants to see some of the most interesting and beautiful country anywhere in the world (I'll be posting photos from the trip later this week).

Our tour started in Jerusalem, and included touring the Stations of the Cross, the City of David, Tower of David, Western Wall and Jewish Quarter, the Western Wall Tunnels, Arab Quarter, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Israel Museum and Yad Vashem. Additionally, we visited Ben Yehuda Street and Machene Yehuda (the famous Jerusalem open air food and produce market).

From there, we headed to the Dead Sea and Masada. After taking the tram up to the summit, Mrs. Lawhawk and I hiked down, which was a highlight for the trip. I had done that hike (both up and down) the last time I was there 19 years ago.

Next, we stayed at a hotel on a kibbutz in Northern Israel and then headed to the Galilee and Golan Heights. Highlights there included the ruins of Bet She'an, Tzvat, visiting the Golan Heights Winery (which includes the Yarden, Gamla, and Golan branded wines), seeing the border with Syria, crossing the Jordan River and visiting the site where Christians believe that Christ was baptized.

Then, the trip proceeded on to Nazareth and the Basilica of the Annunciation, Caesarea, Haifa and the Bahai Gardens, and finally on to Tel Aviv. We walked through the old city of Yafo (Jaffa), parts of Neve Tzedek, and the Tel Aviv food market.

It was fascinating to see so much of the country and walk in the path of historical and religious figures from 2,000 years (or older). After all, we're talking about a country where events span thousands of years and form the seeds of current sociopolitical and religious divisions.

Costa Concordia Likely To be Scrapped Following Deadly Shipwreck

Rescue crews continue searching the ruin of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy for survivors or casualties. The death toll has risen as another victim was found inside the stricken ship.

There are also increasing concerns that any further movement of the wreck could cause some of the 500,000 gallons of fuel on board to leak into the pristine waters off Giglio. The waters are a protected dolphin sanctuary.

The confirmed death toll rose to six after searchers found the body of a male passenger wearing a life vest in the corridor of the above-water portion of the ship. Sixteen people are unaccounted for, including two Americans, identified as Gerald and Barbara Heil of White Bear Lake, Minn.

Chances that they would be found alive three days after the ship was speared by the reef and toppled to one side are growing slimmer.

The chairman and CEO of the cruise line said the captain made an unauthorized change-of-course that led to the deadly crash against a reef.

The Costa Concordia, which is operated by a subsidary of Carnival Cruise Lines, is likely to be scrapped following the deadly grounding off the Italian coast.



The ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, is under serious scrutiny and he allegedly left the ship before all personnel and passengers were safely removed from the ship. Moreover, it appears that the ship deviated from the typical course though the waters off the Italian coast to get much closer to the island of Giglio. That was a fatal error in judgement, as the ship struck underwater obstacles and eventually was run aground and now lists precariously to one side.

The captain at the helm of Costa Concordia is “heartbroken” by accusations that he wrecked the luxury liner and fled in a lifeboat, his attorney said Monday.

Capt. Francesco Schettino is “dismayed, saddened by the loss of life and extremely disturbed by what happened,” lawyer Bruno Leporatti said after visiting the captain in prison.

However, he added that Schettino is “comforted by the knowledge that he maintained the clarity of mind in the emergency to bring the ship to shallow waters, saving many lives.”

Schettino, 52, faces charges of manslaughter, shipwreck and abandoning ship while his passengers were still on board.

Investigators will benefit from black boxes on board the ship to help determine actions taken leading up to the fatal incident.

Destroying the Tourism Industry One Tax and Fee at a Time

States and localities have long thought that they had a sure way that they could raise revenues without incurring the wrath of their constituents. They'd simply tax the bejeebus out of anyone coming to visit from out of town.

They'd impose taxes on airport access, car rentals, meals, and hotel stays, to cover operating costs, or to fund new projects.

Boston's Mayor Thomas Menino is pushing to do just this in to the teeth of a recession all while the hotel and tourism industry is reeling as people stay home instead of traveling.

Currently, the meals tax is 5 percent. Beginning Aug. 1, the tax jumps to 6.25 percent. Under the mayor's proposal, an additional hike would bring the tax to 7 percent, effective Oct. 1.

As for hotel taxes, the current rate is 12.45 percent. If the plan is approved, the tax will jump to 14.45 percent.

Wisconsin just raised its car rental taxes significantly - from $2 to $18, to fund the construction of a rail link.

All over the country, states and localities are raising taxes and fees to balance their budgets, or to pay for new projects:

Popular tourist destinations were hit especially hard. Among places where taxes rose:

•Hawaii. The hotel room tax increased from 7.25% to 8.25% on Wednesday and will rise to 9.25% in July 2010.

•Nevada. The room tax will increase up to 3 percentage points, to a maximum of 12%. In Las Vegas, the hotel tax jumps from 9% to 12%. Reno's tax was already 12% and is not scheduled to change.

•New Hampshire. The tax on rooms and restaurant meals rose from 8% to 9% and was extended to include recreational vehicles at campgrounds.

•Massachusetts. Cities were given authority to raise the hotel tax from 4% to 6%, in addition to the state tax of 5.7%. Taxes on eating out will rise from 5% to 6.25% statewide, plus another 0.75% if cities choose.

•New York City. The city, which raised its hotel tax March 1 to 14.25%, not counting other fees, will start charging more for Internet reservations.

It that adds up to a significant chunk of the cost for a typical trip.

I take regular trips every year for leisure and have found that 30% of the costs to rent a car take the form of taxes and fees not imposed by the rental company but by the locality or state. It's insane. These localities are taxing me for the privilege of coming to their localities to spend my money on businesses and enterprises in their areas for a period of time before returning home.

I'm not alone in finding this situation infuriating. The recession is leading car rental companies to reduce their inventories, pushing the prices for the car rentals up, which only adds to the taxes owed on said rentals, and increasing the overall cost for a vacation.

There I was, going over a pending car-rental reservation and grumbling over the profusion of fees and taxes that increased my base rate by another 42 percent.

There was, of course, state tax (8 percent), county tax (1.5 percent) and city tax (1.5 percent). There were also the usual-suspect add-on fees, including an airport concession recovery fee (11.11 percent), customer facility charge ($3.50 per day) and vehicle licensing fee ($.20 per day), all of which were unavoidable as there was no convenient non-airport location.

There is one way I've found that can help reduce the overall cost of car rentals, and that is to buy Entertainment books annually. Since I take trips every year and make other purchases from the books, they more than make up for the $30-40 the books can cost. In fact, the Entertainment book more than pays for itself when booking car rentals. They have special rates that can save anywhere from $40-100 for a car rental over what you might find using Kayak, Orbitz, or any of the other travel websites, including Priceline. You have to play around with the various coupon codes offered, and might find that a 2-car class upgrade does better than 10% or 15% off for a weekly rental or vice versa, depending on which rental company you go with.

Still, those taxes and fees are unavoidable, and they mean that I have less money to spend on trinkets or restaurants or other items during the course of my stay.

So, while Boston looks to raise its taxes, it has a ways to go to being the highest tax burdened jurisdiction for travelers. That distinction goes to Chicago, which imposes more than $40 in taxes per day on tourists.

Travel Hypocrisy Watch

CNN writes with all earnestness that people should travel to see the following five destinations before they disappear as a result of global warming: Great Barrier Reef, Australia, New Orleans, Louisiana, Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, Colorado, Alpine Glaciers, Switzerland, and Amazon rain forest, Brazil.

How exactly does one get to these destinations without expending the very gasses that the eco-leftist believe causes global warming (COx)? Carbon trading schemes don't cut it either. Isn't it destructive to contemplate visiting such locales (eco-footprint)? Shouldn't one avoid extraneous travel if they want to save the planet?

Seriously, there are plenty of reasons to go visit these locations because of their stunning beauty, but the global warming rationale is wearing thin. Reports suggest that rain forests are rebounding nicely because more people are giving up subsistence living by slash and burn farming, which is allowing jungles to retake the former farmlands. Reefs and glaciers are transient in nature, and bug infestations are likewise natural phenomenon.

After all, it wasn't all that long ago in the Earth's history that New York City (and most of North America) was buried beneath a huge glacier. Glacial deposits can be found all over New York. And that followed a period when much of what is now North America was a shallow sea teeming with all manner of sea life, including reefs.

Part of the beauty of the world is that it is always changing. It's why going to many of these places is worthwhile - they never appear the same way twice. These kinds of reports play on the notion that there was some ideal temperature profile for the planet and that we're heading towards disaster, even though the history of the planet shows that it is forever changing - swinging like a pendulum between periods of cold and warmth.

Law's Bucket List of Travel Destinations

Inspired by this article (and no, I haven't seen the Bucket List), here's where I want to go and visit before I go and kick the bucket:

• London, England


• Yosemite National Park


• Yellowstone/Grand Teton National Parks


• Mount Rushmore and the Badlands of South Dakota


• Hawaii


• Athens, Greece


• Hong Kong


• Great Wall of China (why is this wall different than every other wall)


• Beijing (but only after the Communists fall)


• Cuba (but only after the Castroites are out of power)


• The Galapagos


• Sydney, Australia


• Venice, Italy


• Wellington, New Zealand

I've already gotten to see Jerusalem, Masada and other parts of Israel, the Grand Canyon, Everglades, San Francisco, and Paris, so I can scratch those off.

All are known for their amazing views and vistas, outdoor activities, and I can't wait to visit to take photos.

Not Too Hot To Trot

The New York Times was headlining this Travel section article this morning alongside the CIA interrogation tapes story on their website.

It's the 53 places to go see in 2008.

How exactly are you getting to many of them? Isn't that going to create global warming or polluting the local environment?

1 Laos
2 Lisbon
3 Tunisia
4 Mauritius
5 Mid-Beach, Miami
6 South Beach, Miami
7 Maldives
8 Death Valley
9 Courchevel
10 Libya
11 Hvar
12 Puerto Vallarta
13 Sylt
14 Prague
15 Quito
16 Liverpool
17 Munich
18 Iran
19 Tuscany
20 Anguilla
21 Bogotá
22 Playa Blanca, Panama
23 Alexandria
24 Mazatlán
25 St. Lucia
26 Oslo
27 Buenos Aires
28 Rimini, Italy
29 Malawi
30 Roatán
31 Mozambique
32 Kuwait City
33 Verbier
34 Lombok
35 Northwest Passage
36 Easter Island
37 Virgin Gorda
38 Namibia
39 San Francisco
40 Detroit
41 Itacaré, Brazil
42 Kilimanjaro
43 Algeria
44 San Diego
45 Málaga
46 Puerto Plata
47 London
48 Vietnam
49 Essaouira
50 Las Vegas
51 Barossa Valley, Australia
52 Tokaj, Hungary
53 New York

How many airline miles would it take to visit all of them from New York? Let's pick a couple out that strike me as fascinating selections, but ones that are dubious as to their environmental or political climate.

Easter Island. It's extremely remote, and has a sensitive ecosystem that can be overwhelmed with increased tourism. I thought we're supposed to tread softly on this green planet?

Northwest Passage. Again, it's another remote destination in an ecologically sensitive location where assistance in case of emergency is difficult at best. A recent Antarctic cruise ended in near-disaster as a cruise ship sunk after striking an iceberg. No one was killed in that incident, but plying the waters in the Arctic Circle isn't child's play and would release pollutants into the environment.

Then, there's Iran. Iran? Has the Times travel staff not been paying attention lately as to what Iran is busy doing? Don't consider Iran if you've got alternative lifestyle. That includes being Jewish. Or gay. Why would anyone go to Iran when doing so supports a regime that treats human rights as optional, and whose imposition of Islamic law is misogynistic and homophobic?

If you truly believe in man-made global warming, taking trips to these locales should be off-limits because of the COx emissions needed to get there, the pollution caused by staying at hotels in such locales, and the impact on the environment and ecology by your stay.

I guess the travel section doesn't have the same concerns for the environment as the environmentalists.

Travel Advice

Without question, New York is the most expensive venue in the United States," said John A. Fox, a senior vice president of PKF Consulting. "In the rest of the country, $225 will get you a very good four- to five-star hotel room. But in New York, for $225, you'll get a small room in a low-quality three-star hotel that was not necessarily recently renovated."

And the view? "You'll get a brick wall."

That's assuming you can get a room. Hotel occupancy rates have risen to 85.4 percent, up from 81.4 last September, according to PKF. "New York is essentially sold-out until the end of the year," Mr. Fox said.

The NYT writer, Denny Lee, seems to forget the basics of travel bargain hunting. Look early and often. After claiming that he couldn't find a room at the Holiday Inn Express for less than $299, I found rates through the Holiday Inn website (www.ichotelsgroup.com) for $159 for the weekend of January 6 through January 8. That's the advance purchase price. Midweek strike your fancy? Try $260 for December 27-29. It really makes me wonder just what and how the author was searching for hotel prices. The $299 price seems to be their rack rate, and with the slightest bit of effort you can get rates far less than that. I just picked a couple of days at random, and even managed to get comparable rates for the July 4th weekend that were pretty good at the UN Crowne Plaza.

The key to getting a good rate on hotels? Looking for deals well in advance and a certain amount of flexibility. I usually plan my trips at least three months out. I lock in good rates, and check to see if I can improve on them as I get closer to the trip dates. Signing up for the various affinity clubs can help secure better rates as well. Looking at places like Orbitz, Hotwire, Travelocity, and Expedia helps - and the rates can and will differ between each other. The direct links to hotel websites may offer the best rates.

But the bottom line is that it seems that Lee's weak initial search served as the basis of an article to find unaffiliated hotels that were priced at under $250 per night. And that's a shame. New York can be an expensive place to visit, but if you do your homework, you can stay for less than you think.

There are quite a few people who don't want to risk staying at a hotel that is unaffiliated with a chain, so staying with a familiar brand name is key.

Technorati: travel deal, travel tips, nyc travel deal, nyc.

Road Warrior

Mrs. Lawhawk and I love taking road trips. Not just trips near where we live, but ones that take us to some of the country's finest National Parks. I've planned all of our recent trips with an eye towards visiting National Parks, not only to get away from the usual city-life, but to experience nature at its finest and most glorious.

You've already seen some of the fruits of this labor - many of the photos displayed on this blog are the result of our trips to various National Parks. But the story of how I got some of those pictures is worht a blogging all its own.

Neither of us can stand being in one place for too long, and the idea of taking cruises doesn't really strike Mrs. Lawhawk's fancy, in part because of a fear of seasickness, but also because of the inability to see what you want to see on your own schedule.

Doing one of the prearranged bus tours has the same problem. You have to see stuff on their schedule, stay at the places they suggest, and you don't have enough time to see things off the beaten trail.

My trips usually start with a look at a map of the US. I pick a region that we'd like to visit. Our most recent trip was focused on Seattle, Washington. It is the locus of several major National Parks and has some very worthy vistas all its own. And the food and local wine isn't half bad either.

Once the region is selected, I begin looking at rates for hotels, cars, and flights several months in advance. I start locking in rates for cars and hotels first, because you can often get far better rates the furthest from your scheduled departure date. I have an Entertainment Card subscription, and find their car rental discounts to be superior to anything found online and can pay for the book in one trip.

On our Seattle trip, I happened to come to the National Car Rental counter at the same time as another couple. They had reserved the same car type as myself for a week's rental, yet their rate was nearly $100 higher than the rate I had for a week plus a day. It definitely pays to do research like that, since that savings went towards wine purchases (we came back with 15 bottles of Washington State wines) along with upscale restaurants along with way. For the record, I don't necessarily use the same rental company all the time, but I find that Alamo or National usually provides the best rates, especially for midsize cars, which offer the comfort and luggage capacity for a roadtrip and decent MPG.

I do all my travel bookings online, and use multiple travel sites to do the bookings. I use places like Orbitz or Travelocity for comparing rates, along with AAA guides, which I get free with my annual membership (benefits include roadside assistance, maps, and guidebooks). I'll often use individual vendor sites to book hotel rates, since these often offer the best prices over what can be found at the aggregators.

As for airfare, that was tricky this year because rates had been climbing steadily due to higher demand. I try to pick flights that let us leave on Friday nights (red eyes) because we don't have to leave work early, and maximize our time at our destination. The trip to Seattle was facilitated by our use of JetBlue, who continues to expand service around the country. Their rates for direct flights were lower than other airlines for the period I searched. Again, the key to locking in great rates is doing it well in advance. Last minute great rates might work in some cases, but you'll find the best deals with the most flexibility the further you are from your departure date.

To be continued...