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Joining Coastal Vacations Club has made it affordable for me to travel on a whim—even just for a good meal. I simply wouldn’t dream of visiting certain places without partaking in that town’s specialty foods. I couldn’t write this as a top 10 list as I originally intended. The flavors and foods are all wonderful and unique so we’ll just eat our way west to east.

In Alaska, salmon is the specialty. I had my first salmon in an Alaska Railroad dining car, but now I head for the more stationary Phylis’s Cafe and Salmon Bake in downtown Anchorage. Outdoor patio dining is the way to go here to enjoy the midnight sun in Summer.

Much of the southwest was once part of Mexico and the foods of that country are still the specialty there. In Tucson, you don’t even have to leave the airport to get some of the best Mexican food in town. El Charro Cafe is located upstairs near ticketing. I recommend the tortilla soup, and all the meals are authentic Mexican here.

Kansas City is BBQ country and Arthur Bryant’s is arguably the best in town. It’s not fancy, but you’ll find pictures of presidents, and the rich and famous chowing down, hanging on the walls. It’s a short walk from the original 18th and Brooklyn location to the Negro League Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum. Don’t miss them.

Speaking of Jazz, You can’t go to New Orleans without sampling Cajun food in the French Quarter while taking in the live music. It’s an experience for all the senses. Don’t forget to cap it off (or start your morning) with hot begnets and cafe ole at Cafe du Monde.

Florida is a favorite destination of mine, so we’ll make two stops there. I haven’t found bad Cuban food yet exploring the restaurants in Little Havana near Miami International Airport. Meals usually include rice, black beans and fried plantains with the main dish. Up the coast, Cocoa Beach brings memories of long walks on the shore, shuttle launches, and rock shrimp. I really dig in hear. Florida’s Seafood is “where shrimp happens” and they serve it by the pound.

As a huge baseball fan, Chicago is Wrigley Field, and of course a Chicago dog off the cart behind home plate. In New York, it’s a different kind of hot dog at Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island. I couldn’t visit the big apple without having a few sauerkraut and mustard dogs. Take in a minor league Brooklyn Cyclones game while you’re here.

Boston has great pizza and chowder, but we need to get to Maine for lobster. Boston residents don’t think twice about taking a two hour drive for that state’s specialty. If you’re flying into Logan Airport and don’t want to rent a car, Concord Trailways offers express bus service to Portland. Lobster doesn’t get any fresher than the many restaurants along the waterfront in Portland. If you found the ferry terminal, you’re in the right neighborhood. Work off dinner with a long walk through the dock area.

If you’ve taken the entire trip with me, your cloths are a little tight now. Venture up the road another 15 miles to Freeport and the L L Bean flagship store. We need some loose fitting threads so we can eat our way back out west.

Dean Marino is now a full time Internet entrepreneur, author, and sales consultant, after 22 years in the auto finance business. He has traveled extensively and has aligned himself with the Coastal Vacations Club after an exhaustive search. Learn more about it at http://www.passivecoastalincome.com.

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You’ve just arrived in Rome with a couple of days to kill. How is it possible to see all there is to see in such a short time? This is the guide to get the most out of Rome in the shortest amount of time.

19:00
Hopefully check in at the hotel has been fairly straightforward so now it is to venture out in search of a good meal. A meal in the old Trastevere part of the city has several benefits. Firstly there is a multitude of touristy type sidewalk restaurants and pizzerias to choose from and secondly they are within gentle strolling distance of several significant landmarks, including the well preserved Pantheon.

Rome is just as appealing by night as by day, with the heat of a Roman summer, night time walks may just save a few hours of excessive sweating during the day. Any of the little back streets between the Pantheon and the Spanish steps are perfectly placed to allow a generous meal of pasta and a good carafe of wine to be walked off quite easily.

21:00
Make your way to the Spanish steps to sit and hang out with the locals, while the view from the top of the steps in front of the church Trinita dei Monti offers a great view out over the city. Wander through to the Trevi Fountain and buy dessert in the form of a gelato and try your luck with the change. Throw one coin over your shoulder to come back, two coins to come back and get kissed or three coins to come back and be married.

22:00
Keep on walking through the streets until you reach Piazza Venezia, so named because of the Palazzo overlooking the piazza that resembles the Doges Palace in Venice. The balcony on the second floor may look familiar, it was the podium from which the dictator ‘il duce’ Mussolini delivered his fascist speeches. The other landmark overlooking the piazza is the unmistakable monument to Vittorio Emanuele II.

This has earned several nicknames over the years including the Wedding Cake and the Typewriter. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier lies here under armed guard along with the eternal flame. If the monument is open there is a fantastic view over the Rome rooftops, a glimpse into the Roman Forum and the Colosseum behind it. This is closed at dusk but many of the ruins are lit up at night.

23:00.
If the night air has revived you there is the option of checking out the local night life as there are plenty of bars and clubs open around the central city area. Also there are some in other piazzas such as Piazza Navona and Campo dei Fiori that stay open until the early hours. Otherwise it’s back to the hotel to get ready for tomorrow.

08:00
It pays to start early, particularly in the summer to beat the crowds and the temperatures but luckily the city is not too spread out to get from one sight to the next. The metro system is basic to use to say the least, there are only two metro lines that criss-cross the city and the buses are clearly marked with destinations. Termini is the central bus and metro terminal. Tickets must be bought before boarding and validated in the yellow machines, starting from

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Going on a long car trip with your children can be challenging no matter what their age. Young children and older children have trouble sitting still for long periods of time and can become bored, cranky, irritated among other things. The trick to help prevent this from happening is to prepare well in advance and be a step ahead of them.

The first thing you need to do is throw away the tight schedule of how long you think the trip should take. For instance, a seven hour trip to the beach is no longer going to take seven hours. You can expect it to take nine to ten hours depending on your child’s age. Babies need to eat on a certain schedule, toddlers need to stretch their legs and children who are just learning to go to the bathroom on the potty need more trips to the potty. Be prepared to stop and just add that into the time. Look for malls, Target stores or other places that you can stop along the way where children can run and use the rest room.

Pack plenty of snacks and drinks. If you know that your toddler likes a mid-morning juice or an afternoon snack, you can potentially avoid having to stop for these things if you keep them at hand. If you are just 30 minutes from your destination and they are getting hungry for dinner, a small snack can hold them off until you check into your hotel or park the camper.

If you have a DVD player in your car, take along their favorite movies, the ones that you know will hold their attention. If you take trips on a regular basis, you might want to consider purchasing a DVD player for your car. You can also buy a new DVD for the road, but come prepared with others that they like just in case they aren’t thrilled with the new DVD.

If it is a trip that will take over 12 hours, consider dividing the trip into two days. Perhaps you can leave in the afternoon, stop for dinner and get a few more hours of driving time in while they sleep. You can wake up the next morning, refreshed and ready to take on the hours of travel that you have left. If you can get up in the morning, jump out of bed and walk out the door, you can get a couple of hours of driving in before you stop for breakfast.

Bring along books, magazines, toys and car games to occupy time. Older children can play games such as the license plate game where they try to find a license plate from all 50 states. Make the toys accessible so you can easily swap them out.

The best way to make it through a car trip with children is to be prepared, be patient and be flexible. Turn the trip into an adventure and part of the vacation itself. Stop at attractions along the way. Take time to let everyone stretch their legs. Bring along plenty of things to occupy their time. If you can follow all of these tips it is sure to be a more pleasant trip for everyone.

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