When you’re traveling it’s easy to indulge yourself when it comes to diet; isn’t that what vacation is for? Yes and no. While it’s nice to experience the food and culture of a new place, it’s still very important to keep a healthy diet while you’re there. Here are a few quick and easy tips that may help you keep off unwanted and unforeseen traveling weight:

Avoid Airplane Meals – Have the foresight to pack a meal for yourself or your family to have on the plane, and avoid to sodas and aiport/airplane food, which can often be less than nutritious. Just don’t pack anything that will get crushed or smashed in your carry on!

Drink A Lot Of Water – You would think this goes without saying, but drinking water is a huge benefit when you are traveling. Try to avoid sodas and alcoholic beverages on the plane since they can increase the effects of jet lag. And stock your hotel room with water, preferably bottled; you can never have too much clean water while traveling.

Avoid Fast Food – This may seem like a no-brainer, but imagine you are road-weary and super hungry, and there’s a fast food chain up ahead; you will probably be stopping there to eat. It may be cheap and convenient, and something familiar in a new place, but not only is it unhealthy, but it’s also keeping your from a new experience, the food of the location you are at.

Eat Breakfast – When there are a million things to see and do, breakfast may seem pretty low on the list of things to do; you can always eat later right? However, not only does breakfast get you energized an ready to face the start of what is surely going to be a active day, it also boosts your metabolism, especially if you eat within an hour of waking. If your hotel offers complimentary breakfast, wake up early and take advantage of it.

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It’s a common worry while traveling that your important and sensitive documents will be lost or stolen. The best way to avoid this is to have specific safe places to stow such documents, such as driver’s license, passport, money, and medical information. Here is a list of the best ways to travel with these things in a safe way.

A money belt can be a great investment for a regular traveler. It is a garment worn underneath the clothes with a pouch or several to house your money, but can also be great for passports and the like, as they stay on your person and are safe from pick-pockets. You can find money belts at most travel or department stores.

Another option is to get a travel wallet, and though it’s not really any different from a regular wallet, it is at least one specific location where you know your sensitive materials are, so there will be no chance of misplacing them. Also the travel wallet is slightly large than a normal one, so as to better hold things like passports.

Medical information can be a bit more tricky, since a lot of the documentation you use in the U.S. will not work as well in a country where English is not the primary language. Be sure to get documentation from your doctor explaining your condition, and keep this in a safe place like the money belt or travel wallet. Alternately you can stow these in a front-facing messenger bag; it’s important that the bag rest on the front of your person, that way it is harder for pickpockets to access.

You can also always make copies of your ID’s and documents and keep them in separate bags in the event that one of the bags is lost or stolen.

Read the full story here: http://traveltips.usatoday.com/ways-carry-identification-traveling-105825.html

Have you waiting for the perfect reason to go on a cruise? This might be your chance! Celebrity Cruises has added five new cruises for early 2013, and is offering discounts to those who book by mid-November.

All the cruises will take place on the Celebrity Century, which holds 1,800 passengers and has many luxurious balcony cabins. The newly scheduled trips are as follows:

-       A cruise departing from San Diego on April 18, 2013, will be sailing the California coast for four nights, stopping in Santa Barbara, Catalina Island, and Ensenada, Mexico.

-       Another cruise departing from San Diego, this time on April 22, 2013, and will be sailing the California coast for 5 nights, with stops in Santa Barbara, San Francisco, and Ensenada, Mexico.

-       A “Coastal Wine Cruise” which departs from San Diego on April 27, 2013, and will be sailing for eight nights. Stops in Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Francisco (overnight), then moves on to Astoria (Oregon), Victoria (British Columbia), and ends in Vancouver (British Columbia).

-       There are also two trips that are planned to be setting forth from Vancouver on May 5, 2013, then May 12, 2013, heading to Alaska for a seven night cruise. The stops will be in Juneau, Ketchikan, the Hubbard Glacier, and the Icy Straight Point.

Read the full story here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2012/10/15/celebrity-century-new-cruise-alaska/1634313/

Many who enjoy the luxuries and benefits of travel do so with one thing missing: Their furry friend! It’s common for pets to be kenneled, or for a sitter to be found, which can be nice, but wouldn’t it be nicer to be able to bring them with you? If you’ve ever wanted to try it, you may want to look into getting a Pet Passport.

The idea of the Pet Passport came from the United Kingdom; since there are so many surrounding countries it is necessary for a safe and easy way to travel without having to leave pets behind. The passport is designed to allow your pet to travel without having to deal with the red tape and time-consuming list of “procedural security measures”. The “member” countries, or countries that the pet passport will allow travel to easily are: The U.K., the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, most of the countries in Western Europe, and even some of the Caribbean Island nations.

Now, before you run off to have adventures with Fido around the world, you should know that the requirements for the passport are 1) The pet has to have an identity microchip, the kind that has to be implanted under the skin, or serial number tattooed to the skin, and 2) The animal must have a rabies vaccination, and a certificate of the vaccination as proof. Some of the participating countries might ask that the pet be vaccinated within 34 to 48 hours before boarding time.

Keep in mind that some countries have different requirements, so you’ll want to do some research on the requirements of the departing and arriving countries to be sure, as well as research the procedures of your airline of choice. Once you have everything settled, your pet will be jet set!

Read the full story here: http://traveltips.usatoday.com/pet-passports-13259.html

The best advice someone can give about camping has to be “Be Prepared.” If you’re prepared it can be a glorious, adventurous dream. If you’re not, that can make a great trip into a miserable one. The way to be prepared is to make sure you have a fully stocked personal camping kit. This will be filled with all of the things you will need for day-to-day camp life, as well as items that could make a huge difference should an emergency situation come up. Here’s the list: (Note: It also wouldn’t be a bad idea to make a checklist so you can mark things off once they are packed.)

1) You will want, and need, a compass. This is the most basic camping necessity and should not be overlooked, no matter how well you are at reading nature’s navigation signs. The compass is the only way to be sure of where you are and where you are going, so you don’t get lost. Even if you have a map, it’s no good without a compass!

2) Map is the second thing you’ve got to have, and as was just stated, pairs beautifully with the compass. Even if you have a smart phone and GPS and all of that, it won’t do you any good if the power runs out. Navigation is key to not getting lost, and not getting lost is key to having a fun time while camping. Take a map.

3) Flashlights are also going to be something you won’t want to camp without. Yes, you can make a fire, but if it rains, you want something that will shed a little light on the situation. Be sure to bring extra batteries in a zip loc baggie, or if you can find the hand-crank flashlights that’s even better. Also large lanterns can really come in handy to make things brighter at night, as well as scare off potentially dangerous animals.

4) Swiss Army Knives are easily looked over or forgotten, but you won’t realize how useful it is until you’re out there. Bring one, and you’ll be glad you did, especially if you can find one with the scissors, fork, spoon, and saw features.

5) Food and Drink; not only do you want to make sure to bring them, you want to make sure you have everything you need to prepare them. Hot food requires a fire starter, or matches, not to mention cups, plates, and bowls. Bottled water is also a must, and lots of it. You don’t want to get dehydrated, and the water out in nature can look clear but is teeming with bacteria.

Be sure to bring this things, and always be over prepared rather than under, and you will have a great camping experience!

Read the full story here.

One of the biggest hiccups of long-distance travel is the dreaded layover, the kind where you have to change airlines at the speed of light. However, when done right this can actually be something that makes your trip easier, as hard to believe as that sounds.

First of all, sometimes booking your flight for multiple carriers can make the whole trip a whole lot less expensive. Also it allows you some flexibility on scheduling your wait time, since airlines can have varying schedules. Just be sure to cross-check the prices to make sure you’re getting the best deal, make sure that the flights are both from the same airport, and try to give yourself a manageable window between flights, so as not to stress yourself out.

Take the cost of the luggage transfer into account with the flight prices so that you’re prepared, or if at all possible, just take carry on bags to avoid any possible confusion. And be sure to make a note of the layout of the airport and where the gates are. Give yourself time to mosey, so that you’re not sprinting from one gate to the next. Avoid the stress; it’s always better to have more time than too little!

Read the full story here: http://traveltips.usatoday.com/information-changing-airlines-traveling-27442.html

Visit Upshur County and Explore Small Town Charm

Upshur County

Upshur County & Buckhannon is what small town charm is all about. With a combination of boating, fishing, arts, culture, local cuisine, heritage, wildlife, and unique shopping, Upshur County can please just about any interest. We’re not far from other great attractions! Neighboring areas offer 4 star resort and spa amenities, excursion train rides, wineries, museums and other unique shopping destinations. You can easily fall in love with our small town charm.  Get a glimpse at www.VisitUpshur.org