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Effective Steps You Can Practice to Save the Earth

March 3, 2017

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It is everyone?s responsibility to do their part in caring for the environment. There are many ways that an individual can reduce their energy usage and make changes that better benefit the environment. It can be as simple as using less water during showers, to as extensive as purchasing a new vehicle that runs on energy. Environmental friendly actions should also always be kept in mind, taking small steps throughout the day.

Recycle
Recycling is probably one of the easiest and most effective environmentally friendly actions that you can take. When you do not recycle items like glass and plastic bottles, they end up in landfills. Some of them even make it into the oceans, harming the world?s water, fish, and coral supplies. Eventually, landfills will become too full and they will affect our world?s air quality even more than they already do. Make it a habit to recycle all of your recyclable items. Even if you collect them into a bag or specific area of your home throughout the month, and then arrange a special recycling pickup once a month, you will be making an important step towards a better world.

Consider public transportation
Automobiles emit all types of harmful gases into the air. They also use up most of the world?s fuel supplies. Public transportation is not only beneficial for the environment, but can also be more convenient in larger cities. Some of the world?s largest downtown cities are so full of traffic that it is impossible to commute to your destination. Bus companies, instead, provide a timelier and safer form of travel. These benefits of bus travel are important when you are required to travel to a big city with time constraints.

Bus charter for trips
Arranging a trip with a lot of participants that must find their own form of transportation is putting a lot of unnecessary gas into the air. When participants are all traveling to the same destination, a charter bus rental is ideal. There are many tips on chartering a bus for the most convenient and cost effective process. Most charter bus lines run through all of the major cities, and have multiple travel times. U.S. passenger bus travel increased by 7.5% from 2011 to 2012, making it the fasted growing form of travel in the country, according to a study by the American Bus Association.

Additional tips on chartering a bus include prior planning with a charter company. You can ensure that a charter bus will be available for your guests if you arrange it ahead of time. You should also figure out departure times, and how to provide departure transportation for guests who desire to leave early. Motorcoaches are 3 times more efficient in reducing CO2 output when compared to commuter rail, and 6 times more efficient than transit buses. Consider your different charter bus options also.

Find alternative travel for students and seniors
Both students and seniors are likely to require less personal transportation. Students are simply traveling to and from their school. Seniors are traveling to medical appointments and to run errands. These types of minimal errands do not require personal transportation. In fact, students and seniors accounted for 50.2% of the passenger trips provided by the motorcoach industry in 2012. One of the most effective tips on chartering a bus for environmental reasons is to provide charter bus transportation in areas with high student and senior counts. Tips on chartering a bus are pointless, unless you have a high demand for the charter bus. Seniors and students are more likely than any other population to use a public charter bus.

Scientists are more aware than ever of the things that harm out environment. With this awareness, people need to ensure they are practicing environmentally safe habits on a daily basis. These include public transportation, chartering a bus for larger travel events, and recycling. If everyone does not come together and do their individual part in sustaining the planet?s health, it will be damaged for future generations.

4 Reasons Why Family Vacations are So Important

December 7, 2016

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Taking family vacations is so important to the bond that families build together. The benefits of the vacation extend far past the week or two that you are gone. Whether you go on family camping trips to save money or can splurge on an international adventure, there are critical benefits that your children need to experience. Here are some of the benefits of family vacations that you will notice when you start making it a regular thing.

Bonding time for the family
Life can really pass you by if you aren’t careful. You can probably look back at the day your children were born and it feels like yesterday and here they are, starting high school. The great thing about family vacations is that is offers an opportunity to really reconnect and bond again. Days probably go by where the family hardly sees one another. Between work, school, extra curricular activities, business travelling, sports, camps, church activities, community involvement and more, it’s difficult for families to make time for one another. During your camping vacations, none of you have any of these responsibilities. In fact, all you have is time. You can sit around and talk and laugh and just generally enjoy being with one another again.

Broadening the children’s horizons
It’s important that kids see that there is a whole world out there. Getting out of the country is a fantastic way to take that literally but even just getting them out of their daily routine and their own little bubble of experience will help them to see that there is a big picture that they are apart of. Something about seeing that there is a whole world outside of your little life really puts things into perspective. It could be summer camping trips or it could be a two week hike around Europe, whatever the case may be, the most important thing is to show them that they aren’t the most important thing! This will help them to be able to be friends with people of different cultures and races, it will help them appreciate different senses of humors and styles and more.

Offering a variety of experiences
Family vacations are a great way to fit in some experiences that you know your kids have not encountered. If you are taking a beach vacation you could let them learn to surf, kayak, canoe, jet ski, sail and more. If you decide to going camping then they can learn the practical skills of building a fire and using a map to go hiking. Even at a theme park you could challenge them to overcome fears by riding roller coasters and high rides. Everything could be made into an experience if you really try. Just look around the area that you are in and see what kinds of things are there that your kids have never done. It’s also never to late to start experiencing things. Find some things that you and your spouse could do that you never have before like sky diving or even tasting foods that you never dreamed you would.

Building lasting memories
This is probably one of the most important factors of family vacations. The smallest thing that really make a difference in your children’s lives. Using myself as an example, my father was a very serious and non emotional man growing up but during one family vacation we were watching a movie that really tickled his funny bone and he was laughing so hard, he had tears running down his face. To this day, that is one of my favorite memories of him. It’s great to build memories about the places that you go and the things you experience together but it’s also a great opportunity to let your family see a side of you that they really love and will also treasure.

You might not be able to afford an extravagant vacation for the family but that’s okay. The important part is that you get out there and you experience things together and have a good time. That’s what really matters when it all comes down to it. Just take a few days and get away, you will be amazing at the good it will do.

Make Your Experience Hiring a Motorcoach Company Better with These 9 Tips

December 5, 2016

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If you are planning a trip for a group of people, you have a lot of options. There are a lot of reasons to charter a bus but you have a lot or motorcoach companies to pick from and considerations to make. Here are some tips to make sure you have a great experience when you work with a charter bus service.

Ask about how much they charge. Before you ask any more questions, you should make sure the company you are talking to is within your budget. Make sure you understand how much it is going to cost for everything. Get an itemized quote. A company that gives you a really cheap rate, there may be hidden costs.
As about the safety record of the company and driver. If you look it up with the Department of Transportation, keep in mind that the highest rating that they give to motorcoach companies is satisfactory. Do not expect to see a higher rating nor disappointed with that rating. You should not pass over a company because of this rating.
Ask about the condition of the buses in the company’s fleet. Charter bus rentals typically come in several sizes. They can accommodate between 40 and 60 people. Buses have come a long way in the last few years. Many have WiFi and other amenities that were not available in older buses. Different motorcoach companies have different kinds of equipment so you should check with the company to find out what they offer for their charter bus services. You want everyone to be comfortable on the road. Make sure they have restroom facilities. That will make a big difference for longer trips.
Make sure the bus is clean. While this is no longer the case, many people think of buses as being dirty and smelly. While buses have improved quite a bit since they got that reputation, you should ask about how often the buses in the fleet of the company you are hiring are tended to. Ask how often the rest room facilities are cleaned.
Ask what kinds of amenities they have on their buses. Different motorcoach companies offer different things on their buses. If you know you are going to need something specific, you need to ask about it. Say you are taking a group to see a historic site, you may want to get a bus with television screens and a DVD player to show a video about the spot.
Ask about how long the drivers can work in a day. There are rules and regulations for the drivers for motorcoach companies. Typically, drivers are not allowed to spend more than 10 hours driving in any one day. They are prohibited from spending more than 15 hours on duty in any one day.
Make sure they have the proper licenses. It should be a given that the motorcoach company makes sure that its divers have the right license to drive charted bus but you do need to ask and verify when you hire them. The last thing your group needs is to be pulled over and find out that your driver does not have the right license to drive the bus.
Ask about how they handle miscellaneous charges. Along the way, you will may have to contend with parking fees or tolls charges. Ask how that is dealt with. Most motorcoach companies have policies about this but it is worth it to ask before you find you are on the highway and do not have exact chance for the toll.
Ask to talk to people who have used the company. Many motorcoach companies have testimonials on their website. Make sure you check them. By the same token, they may have people you can talk to about what it was like to work with the company and what the drivers were like. This is a great way to see what is like to take a trip with the company and drivers.

There are a lot of advantages to hiring a motorcoach company to take your group on a trip. You get everyone safely to your destination and the trip can be stress free if you have followed these tips.

Best Ways to Manage Successful Family Reunions

November 3, 2016

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When it comes to planning the perfect family reunions, you want to make sure that you take a few things into consideration. This includes having a plan setup ahead of time, scheduling attendance and figuring out all the minor details. Here are some of the best ways you can plan for family reunions.

Family Reunions Require Coach Buses
As with anything, family reunions require coach buses to help with lugging everyone around. You want to make sure you get a coach bus for family reunions that everyone feels comfortable taking.

Additionally, when you are planning with your local charter buses, you need to have a destination of start and finish. Having a starting point will give everyone the information on where they need to meet up for the tour group. You want to make sure you travel comfortably on a bus as well.

Check to make sure the bus offers you wifi on a bus because you want to make sure everyone (even the younger generation) has a good time on the trip. The better you plan for your family reunions, the happier everyone is going to be at the end of it.

Hire Someone to Help with Planning
If you find yourself too busy to do the planning like call local bus services, you can hire someone who is able to pan through all the details without much of an issue. When you have a reliable company standing behind you to help, it gives you security in knowing everything is going to be planned accordingly for your family reunions meet up.

Keep Everyone Informed
When everyone is informed, they will feel much better about the trip. It will also help everyone plan in advance. This prevents people from calling out. You don’t want people to do this. This is going to ruin your family reunion.

This is something you want to make sure you avoid. You want to make sure that you and everyone else is having as much fun as possible. You want to plan accordingly to make sure that you are enjoying the experience. You and the entire family will love your family reunions with the right kind of treatment and planning.

Four Lodging Accommodations You’ve Never Heard Of

October 13, 2016

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Are you looking for lodging accommodations for an upcoming trip? Finding the right lodging accommodations for your trips can really make or break the experience that you have. Some vacations are perfect because of the ocean resort hotel or seaside resort you stay at, other trips are a hundred times better because you stayed in a unique mountaintop cabin rather than the motel down the street.

When you are looking for lodging accommodations, make sure to keep these unique options in mind:

Four Lodging Accommodations You’ve Never Heard Of

Private Room Rentals

Okay, you’ve probably heard of this one. Websites like VBRO and AirBnB have become as common as standard hotel websites (there are several others like this). Basically, homeowners who have extra space (think: guesthouses, or a little apartment over their garage, or a spare bedroom, or maybe a vacation home) post them on these private rental websites, often for a fraction of the cost of staying in a hotel. Not to mention, your accommodations are far more unique and interesting than a standard hotel with this option.

Pros: Renting a room in a private home saves you a ton of cash, and gives you a potentially cool experience.

Cons: Since this option is not conventional, each homeowner is different, and you run the risk of landing a home that you wouldn’t choose to stay in. If you go with this option, it is essential to read up on the reviews from previous guests. Not everyone is easy to please, but if you see a common theme, you might not want to stay there.

Religious Housing

Many religious organizations have housing for the workers in their faith, that is not always occupied. Depending on where you’re visiting, you might find a monastery or a convent, or religious guest housing with vacancies that they offer to travelers for a small fee.

Pros: There’s a good chance this option offers you an extremely clean environment to lay your head at night, at a very low cost. Some religious housing options are in cool locations where you wouldn’t be able to find a conventional hotel.

Cons: Nuns and priests do not take a vow to live in luxury. If you want to travel in luxury this might not be the best option for you.

Also, these types of houses often have curfews in which the doors are locked. If you plan to party all night, you might find yourself with nowhere to sleep in the middle of the night.

Hostels

Staying in a hostel is extremely common in other parts of the world (such as Europe), and only beginning to gain popularity here in the U.S.. Sometimes they are referred to as “youth hostels” because the setup is most conducive to young travelers with little money or inhibitions. Many hostels are more or less a large room lined with bunk beds that you share with other travelers at a cost as little as $10 or $15 per night. If sharing a room with strangers isn’t for you, you might be able to find a private room hostel for a fraction of the cost of a low-end hotel.

Pros: You’ll likely meet interesting people while staying in a hostel. And of course, this is about the cheapest way to travel.

Cons: Some hostels can be incredible shady and even unsafe. Before staying in a hostel, it’s a good idea to do your research and check the reviews on it. Hosteling International is a good standard to check with, as in order to be a member of this group, the hostel must at least have a minimum standard of safety and cleanliness.

Vacation Rental

A vacation rental is a private apartment or cabin, or home that is available exclusively for short-term rentals. While vacation rentals might cost a little more than a standard hotel room, having a whole home to yourself makes it a more economical option for people traveling in a group or for families.

Pros: This option is great when you’re traveling with companions. The convenience of facilities like a kitchen and laundry are also handy. The accommodations might be more interesting and unique than the standard hotel route.

Cons: These options book far ahead in advance. You might need to plan a as much as year out to get one.

For more, read this link.

How to Plan the Perfect Football Road Trip

October 11, 2016

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It is finally here, America’s fall obsession, football season. Inevitably millions of Americans will be spending their weekends grilling out and hanging with friends while routing on their favorite college and professional teams. Football season also means taking the occasional trip to watch your team battle it out on the grid iron. If you are planning on taking weekend football outing there are a few things to keep in mind.

Hiring a Shuttle Service Can Mean Easy Travel to the Game

If you have ever tried to plan a carpool you know that it can be time consuming and annoying. Rather than trying to orchestrate who will drive who with your friends consider hiring a shuttle service to take make things a bot easier. There are many shuttle services that have good rates for smaller and larger groups of sports fans. Many times you will that it will be cheaper than using your own car, especially for longer trips for away games.

Make Safety a Priority

There a couple things that are tied to football season, passion, food and more dubiously alcohol. Each year many people are involved in auto accidents after sports games that are directly tied to alcohol consumption. By choosing to rent a charter bus to ferry you back and forth from the game you are making a responsible decision. Of all the things to do during the sports season having to deal with an accident, or even worse the law shouldn’t be one of them. By using a shuttle service you and your friends can have great time with no fear of being or putting others in danger. Keep your weekend fun and safe.

Win or Lose, The Name of the Game is Fun

Sports can bring out the best and worst in people. It is important to keep in mind that in grand scheme of things losing a game is not the end of the world. There always several stories about fans fueled by passion and beer that take things too far. We all probably know the friend who gets a bit too heated about their favorite teams. Make sure that your sports outing is one of camaraderie and sportsmanship. The mutual respect and sportsmanship between opposing fans is one of things that makes organized sports so great. This football season make sure to stay safe and have fun.

What You Need to Know Before Moving to a Western Ranch

September 23, 2016

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Moving from the city to a ranch in the west can be exciting an nerve wracking at the same time. Regardless of how you’re feeling, know that buying land on the prairie and moving westward will be a huge transition for anyone who hasn’t lived in that area before. Even farmers accustomed to open spaces are not 100% prepared for the life of a rancher. Ranch life is extremely rewarding, however, and ranch estates can actually be quite comfortable. Here are some things you should know when you’re preparing to purchase ranch real estate:

Luxury ranch homes offer many comforts of suburban living with an unbeatable view. These homes are removed from the hustle and bustle of the city, and have a calming aura to them. The homes, however, can reflect any lifestyle that the owner wants. Just because you’re living in a minimalist’s dream location doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice your surround sound or pool. The homes for sale in the mountains and prairies are as diverse as the wildlife that surround them.
Speaking of wildlife, you should be prepared to encounter some up close. Deer, elk, bobcats, coyotes, and wolves roam the rocky mountain region and can sometimes make their way onto privately owned land. This is a very real thing you will have to deal with if you decide to move west. However, hunting land is plentiful, so if you’re interested in catching your own game, the land and animals are readily available. Just be sure not to hunt any endangered or threatened species.
Luxury ranch homes have many redeeming qualities, but the luxury of proximity isn’t always available. City centers are usually not too far away, but you will need to commute some distance for most groceries and work. Then again, this is often why people choose to downsize and move to remote areas. It promotes self-sustainability and hyper-local business. If you need additional resources you may be able to find them among local vendors — who may even be your neighbors.
Know that you will more than likely become healthier. You will find a peace of mind in the great open skies and begin breathing in cleaner air. With local game and produce available, you’ll eat cleaner, and more than likely become more active with abundances of walking an hiking land available.

Western prairie or ranch living is a big change for most people, but it is ultimately very rewarding.

The Future of In Flight Entertainment Is Streaming

September 23, 2016

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Earlier this month, Indian airline company Jet Airways launched a new inflight entertainment system that allows passengers access to 220 hours of streaming digital content, including movies, television shows, music, and games, directly to their own personal mobile devices. Oh, and it’s free.

How is that possible, you might ask, when here in the Western hemisphere most flight passengers feel #blessed just to be able to pay $12 for a slow, painful crawl through their Facebook feed?

The wireless IFE systems, now called JetStream, use an onboard wireless streaming technology licensed from an American company, Global Eagle Entertainment. But make no mistake: this is not broadband. That type of access is still not allowed by the government.

Flight passengers need to bring their own WiFi-enabled devices to serve as “IFE monitors,” but that shouldn’t be much of an issue since 37% of travelers already consider their iPad or tablet a necessary carry-on essential. Users then simply have to download the JetStream app — and bam, streaming at your fingertips. Just like your couch at home, but, you know, on a small seat miles up in the sky.

“It’s part of our service and delivers on our commitment to offer enhanced full-service experience to our guests,” said Jet Airways senior vice-president for sales and marketing, Colin Neubronner.

The direct-to-device streaming is the first of its kind in global aircraft interiors, although other airlines have experimented with similar streaming services using built-in IFE monitors. Many planes also offer in seat power, which is a bonus considering how much battery juice all of that streaming might use up.

Ready to schedule a flight to India just to check out the latest Bollywood titles through free streaming? Don’t book your seat just yet. So far, JetScreen is only available on six aircrafts — all of them narrow body, the kind more likely used for shorter, domestic flights. They should roll out onto all narrow body planes by March, Nuebronner said, but there are no plans to take them into wide body planes usually used for international flights. Those, he said, already have plenty of in flight entertainment options.

The Essentials for The Perfect Family Camping Fun

August 23, 2016

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As the weather changes many families are finding that it is the perfect time to look into cabin camping sites. What can be better than taking the opportunity to get to reconnect with your loved ones or to celebrate a special occasion than heading out of town to spend some time in the great outdoors. For the novice camper there are several cabin camping sites that let you enjoy nature while at the same time being able to hold on to those amenities like electricity and running water. For the more wilderness ready campers there are a variety of family camping vacations to undertake. If you are thinking of planning a cabin camping vacation, there are a few things that you should keep in mind.

Research Your Campsite

When looking for the perfect cabin camping site it is important to make sure that you do the appropriate amount of research. Depending on season and climate campgrounds can change from comfortable to miserable. While many camp sites have web sites with pictures of their plots it is still important to call to make sure that all the information is up to date. Another great source of information for finding that perfect cabin camping site is to ask your family and friends. Sometimes you can’t beat a first hand account of a location from a trusted love one. Considering how unpredictable nature can be it doesn’t hurt to hedge your beats and do as much research as possible. There is nothing worst than paying for a camping plot that you just cant stand.

Have a Supply List

One of the most important things to remember during your preparations for your camping adventure is to have a list of all the required things that you will need for the duration of your trip. Depending on how far out into the wilderness you plan on venturing the amount of food, fuel and batteries may be limited to what you have brought. Especially if you don?t plan on having a survival based foraging trip, checking your list twice is probably the best course of action.

Are You Going to Make Your Own Meals?

There is a general rule in survival that has to do with shelter water and food. If you are on cabin camping sites, your shelter id pretty much taken care of, but if you are unsure of the amenities and the surrounding area, food and water are an important consideration. When you are going through your prep list make sure to focus on meals more than snacks. By having an ingredient based focus for your meals you are able to maintain a higher degree of nutrition each meal. If you are planning on hiking or other outdoor activities, this is especially important. In addition to bringing potable water, it might be worth consideration to bring some type of water purification technology as well. There are tablets and pumps that can sanitize water.

With the busy world that we live in it sometimes easy to forget that the best and most reliable entertainment is not on the computer screen or inside of our cellphone, it is in the beauty of nature. Nature is an experience second to none. The most well planned family vacations will not only bring you closer to nature, but also to your loved ones as well. For more tips on how to plan the perfect camping trip there are several resources online that include lists and locations.

4 Things to Consider Before Buying a Ranch

August 19, 2016

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If you were looking into ranch real estate in order to start your own cattle ranch, there are a few things you should know, especially if you have never done it before. Having farmland or a ranch very satisfying and rewarding work but work is the key word; it takes a lot of it. Here are some things that you should know before you start looking into different ranch real estate listings.

Animals
If you are already at the point where you were looking at ranch real estate then you should know that with no animals you have no ranch. The pitfall that many land buyers get into is that they tend to overestimate the capacity of the land they are looking up. Sellers frequently exaggerate the amount of animals that the land has carried previously. In order to make sure that the carrying capacity of the land will fit your needs you need to look up your local Natural Resources Conservation Service office and find out information about the potential of the land you’re looking at. Most counties should have that information available at the USDA office. You’ll need to know what type of soil it has, how much precipitation and the conditions for vegetation. This knowledge can help you get a more informed idea instead of having to rely on the seller’s word.

Time
One of the biggest misconceptions about running a ranch is that it will basically take care of itself. Although it make it easier, the ranch ranch is never going to get to a point where you don’t have to do anything at all. Cattle need a lot of care. Even a small ranch requires a lot of time to be devoted to it. Small ranches usually need up to about 20 hours of labor a week. If you were not committing your entire life to the ranch then you will need to hire someone that can. Obviously this will raise your overhead and lower the potential for profit. In order to avoid this you’ll need to plan carefully. Figure out the time that is needed for each animal in conjunction with ranch maintenance and make sure that you have the time necessary to commit to it.

Income
It’s a common mistake to overestimate what your annual production is going to be. Prices will change based on supply and demand and because of that the gross income will also very a lot. Generally speaking, a calf will be anywhere from $250-$400 but even those prices can change. Your best bet is to be fairly conservative when trying to project your gross income. Try talking with other ranch owners that are more experience and can give you a better idea of gross averages.

Expenses
The total cost of what you will pay depends on various factors. Of course you will have to pay for each breeding female and if you got a loan to buy the land. But even more so than that you will need to pay for regular maintenance, utilities and set aside money for taxes as well as paying any workers that you may have on the ranch. You should also consider emergency expenses such as backed up drains or flooding. You’ll need to develop a budget that you were able to stick to. Again, it’s a good idea to contact a professional that can help you figure out how to make a budget with variable income and expenses.

Ranch real estate may look enticing but don’t be deceived, there’s a lot of work involved and a lot of money and time that must be invested. Too many people start out on a ranch thinking that it’s going to be like living in a movie 24/7. Ranches in movies are just that- movies. They are real and they don’t show the real work that is done on them. If you have a lot of ranch hands then it might make the manual labor easier but it will diminish your potential for profits which defeats the purpose of owning a ranch. Once you get a little more experienced at the job, it will get easier or more habitual but at first it’s going to require 100% commitment from you and your family.