The Adirondack Scenic Railroad

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LOVED IT.

LOVED IT!!!

I did a full review here.



Riding the train is magnificent. I love taking Amtrak to New York City. It's so relaxing, like a quiet oasis after the city's heat and noise.

Riding the ADK RR is spectacular. The views are great and the crew is greater. The husband and I are already planning another special trip just for us. I'm going to have to write a lot of articles on cleaning leather furniture, but it will be SO worth it!

Trying to Make Some Deals

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Sometimes a tourist attraction or hotel will sponsor a trip at a discount, sometimes they won't. Even though my NewYorkTraveler.net website is incredibly popular and is the only one of its kind in New York State, it seems some companies are still very wary of the Internet as a means of advertising. These places seem determined to waste their thousands of dollars on colorful, beautiful, expensive brochures that no one ever reads.

I've made some really great deals lately, and folks in Central New York seem to be a little more open to Internet word-of-mouth. But in New York City? In the Finger Lakes? Not much.

We'll see what develops. I'm working hard to promote my talents and my website right now. We've only got 3 more months of travel season up here, and when the crowds start to to thin that's when I really like to travel. I'm hoping for a number of big trips before the year is out. I'll have more on that later.

How is your summer turning out? Have you done much traveling?

In Which the Frozen Chosen Collectively Melt into the Atlantic..

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Who cares about the glaciers, WE in the Northeast are dissolving into tiny pools of sweat across the region! Hey, who the heck turned on the heat? Shut it off!

It's *only* 86 degrees (so says my computer thermometer) but it feels like 95. I am struggling to maintain control after the weather man says it will be nearly 100 tomorrow. If I can barely manage when it's 86....

I had travel plans for tomorrow afternoon, but if it's going to be this scalding hot, I think the last thing I want to do is sit outside, baking on a grassy field, watching a reenactment in which actors clothed in wool Redcoat uniforms duke it out with the Patriots on a dusty, sweaty, gunsmoke-filled, cannon material handling blitz of a battlefield. :( I really wanted to go but now I am not so sure. It won't be very fun, sprawled out unconscious from heat stroke.

Last summer we were flooded THREE times. This summer we're baking in drought. What the heck?!

The Jobs Conundrum

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The reports have been rolling out, detailing how dire the economy is here in Upstate New York compared to other states. I marvel that these reports are still rolling in -- I mean, the lousy business and jobs environment in New York State has been in the making for FORTY YEARS. You'd think there'd be change? Nope, all we get are more reports lamenting how lousy it is here. It's all too bad.

There ARE jobs around here, I think. You have to be a bit more creative these days. This is actually a great time for the small business or independent entrepreneur. All the big companies are high-tailing it out of here, so the board is wide open with opportunity. How about an enrolled agent cpe job? These jobs are becoming more important. I am thinking or hiring someone to help me de-tangle the mess that is the tax code. The site offers a hefty enrolled agent ethics course (a highly recommended course) as well as a myriad of other tools to get you going. I would much prefer a local agent to a nationalized, faceless entity.

I think there are opportunities out there. Gone are the days of the "Father Knows Best" and "Leave It To Beaver" jobs where you just walk into an office or factory and get a cushy job for the rest of your life. Nope, that's only for the politicians these days. The rest of us have to hunt around.

What do you think? Are you optimistic about your region's job opportunities?

Vacation for NY Residents in Their Very Own City

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New York is one of the greatest cities in the world, and millions of people visit there every year. While many tourists from around the world come into the city on vacation, it is possible to enjoy the city even if you live there. If you are a resident of New York, you might want to consider taking a vacation in your very own city. What could you possibly do on a trip in your own city?

Accommodations

One of the most important parts of the process is making sure that you have some place to stay. Many people in this situation would be tempted to simply stay at home and go out to see things in the city. If you want it to really feel special and feel like a vacation, you need to stay somewhere other than your home.

For example, if you live in the suburbs of the city, you could book a hotel room inside the city. This will make it feel as though you are traveling somewhere away from home. Otherwise, it will just feel like you are going out for the day and then coming back to your regular life in the evening. If you're planning on being gone for an extended trip, you might need to find some of the best self storage New York has to offer. This way, you can still access your things while you're 'away' from your home.

Seeing the Sights

When you live in New York City, it's common to take all of the tourist attractions for granted. Many people who live in the city have never actually been to the Statue of Liberty or to Central Park. They've never been to The Met or to The Empire State Building. On your vacation, you should spend some time taking in these sights. They'll make you feel that much more proud to be a New Yorker.

Other Options

Besides just sight seeing, you may want to do some of the activities that New York is known for. For example, you might want to take in a Knicks game, watch a Broadway show or one of many other activities along the way.

Regardless of which options you choose to pursue, just make sure that you have a good time. If you treat it like a vacation and enjoy your time in one of the best cities in the world, it will be one of the most memorable trips of your life.

2012 Paris Motor Show: Cherchez La Femme! [Updated]

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To explain, "Cherchez la Femme" is a popular French phrase that loosely translates to "look for a woman", and which is often used to suggest that the root of a man's wrongdoing is - you guessed it, a woman.

The root of our personal "wrongdoing" can be traced to an extensive, high-resolution photo gallery of the femme fatales of the 2012 Mondial de l'Automobile in Paris, which awaits your curiosity just below the jump…

In case you are more interested in the metal beauties of the Paris Motor Show, you can check out our full list of automotive premieres with links to the respective stories by following this lead.

Either way, we hope you enjoyed our coverage of the first major international auto show of the 2012 fall season.

PHOTO GALLERY

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