View of the convention floor from the Press Credentials room on 2nd
floor.
Each year I go to the Los Angeles
Travel & Adventure Show as a freelance writer/photographer and
Field Reporter for Trainweb.com.
One thing I look for are Tourist Trains who have booths at the show so
I can plan trips to their venues for future reports for
TrainWeb.com.
Another reason I go to the Travel Show is to hear updated travel
information from well-known travel personalities such as Rick Steves, Samantha Brown, and Pauline Frommer. The following
are some notes and photos that I made during the Saturday which I
attended.
Finally, in four months, my son, Matthew, and I are going on an "Amtrak
USA Tour" circling the USA. I wanted to look for things that
related to that future trip and I found some!
Rick Steves kicked off the show with his 10:15 - 11:45 "Europe
Through the Back Door" on the large Travel Theatre.
Because I watch Rick on PBS often, I chose to skip this year's
presentation, with the same title as last year, and take the time to
see the vendors that I had nighlighted on the exhibitor list that I had
printed the previous evening. After visiting Rick's website, I
think this is the most valuable article for me: "Rick's Packing List."
The show always hires World Photo
Booth to take free photos of attendees then e-mails the result to you
as well as gives you a print. I chose a Mexico background because
it looked the most like Hawaii of the backgrounds available. The
towel is a prop they added. This is a cleaver way of getting
e-mail addresses of attendees.
Amtrak is always present with National Timetables, Amtrak
Vacations brochures, and schedules of their long distance trains.
I need to find a way to put some of my eBook ads in some of their
literature:
You can link directly to Amazon.com to purchase my eBook on the
Southwest Chief at: http://tinyurl.com/jmfeggf
Grand Canyon Railway & Hotel had a booth. AAA was there as
well (left). Deni Kemper (center) is Regional Sales Manager -
Southern California.
I have ridden the Grand Canyon
Railway from Williams, AZ, to the south rim of the Grand Canyon several
times, but Deni suggested that I should do it again showing what's
new. AAA will help
you set up a trip on the Amtrak Southwest Chief to get right to The
Grand Canyon Railway and hotel. My favorite package with GCRW is
their 3-night package. First night in their Williams, Arizona
hotel,
ride the train to the Grand Canyon the next day and stay overnight on
the rim, and return the afternoon of the third day and stay that night
back in
Williams. Either drive or take Amtrak to this great tourist train.
There was one of these GOSLEEP sleep mask/pillows in my Press Kit,
thanks GoSleepUSA.com.
The Travel Show has 4 stages. This stage had belly dancers
when I passed by.
At the SAVVY Travel Theatre at noon
was Angel Castelianos with his presentation: "Travel Smart &
Pack Right."
As you can see above, each presenter has many ways to see their
information: website, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
Back to the Travel Theatre, I enjoyed Samantha Brown's talk:
"Travel Smart: Lessons Learned From A Life Lived o the Road."
When she was announced, she came
running out saying she had just put in a throat lozenge when she heard
her name. She was fighting a cold, but put on a fine show with
slides.
She is an animated speaker. She talked about her 3-year-old
twins.
She is on the Travel Channel, but I have not found her shows.
Request a 52-page passport since pages cannot be added any
more.
Other Notes from Samantha Brown's
talk (typed during the talk on my iPad with ZAGG keyboard):
Two pillars of travel advice for a more personal travel experience - to
make travel count
I. Belong to the destination
Emotional value of travel strengthens the bonds with
friends and family
Travel strengthens family bonds and a survey said,
to children
travel is more memorable than birthdays. Travel allows your kids
to see you as a kid.
Travel is good for brain health (new experiences)
and good for family and marriage.
429 million vacation days go unused each year.
Project:Time Off
Don't spend all your time in the past (museums)
Go for a walk with no maps and no apps (Yeah right,
at my age I do not think that is a good idea.)
Take a walk on the side streets, off the main
thoroughfares where you are only a purchaser
I
II. Create a Ritual
Go to the same coffee shop each day and turn
your brain off
Don't be burdened by time
Talk to locals about where to eat and what to see
Travel marks a fresh start.
Three things she always travels with:
Earplugs (her noise cancelling headphones were
stolen, she now used the Home Depot orange plugs)
Pinky balls (at toy store) roll them on floor under
your back
Peanut butter (outside the US they don't know about
peanut butter.)
You might find this site interesting for travel tips: 1000TravelTips.com
Some exhibitors will try anything to get you into their booth.
John Golicz: CEO, introduced Pauline Frommer
I enjoy Pauline's talks, different
and updated each year. She always starts with, "Most speakers
tell you to turn off your phones, but I want you to turn them on and
take photos of my slides so you do not have to write down all the sites
I am referring to."
Since I had my DSLR with me, I was able to capture a much better photo,
then crop and straighten it. I also sat directly in front of one
of the two screens, rather than in front of the spakers, to get good
shots of the slides.
2016 is a good year to travel everywhere abroad and gas prices are
down for US travel.
Some current good flights.
When to book flights for the most savings.
If you are going to a country that has a local community here, use
their agent (Hawaii or China or Japanese)
She believes River Cruising is
oversaturated with companies. Sometimes you have to climb across
other boats to get to the dock. They all use the same land
guides, so select a cheaper river cruise line. Former bus
tour clients are now river cruising so bus cruises are cheaper.
Road Scholar used to be Elder Hostel. Elder Trek had a booth
this year.
Where you volunteer, such as in a semi-orphanage in India teaching
English.
This year is our National Parks' 100th anniversary so look for
special activities within the parks.
2017 Canada Parks are free for their National Parks' 100th Anniversary
I've asked for a couple of comped
jackets for Matthew and me for our July "USA by Rail Tour".
One jacket has a consealed compartment for a hand gun called the
"Enforcer."
Time for me to head home with my bag of freebies. A photo of
the outside of the convention center, behind me in the photo above,
follows. Do you like my "training pants"? (Pants I
wear on trains with pockets in front, not under my bum.)
An ad for 2017 Travel & Adventure Show, which will be in Los
Angeles. I will take the Surfliner and subway to that one.
I
