After looking up information about where the Super Bowl will be held this year, 2010, I ran across a bit of trivia that I found interesting.
The Miami Dolphins have a new naming rights deal with Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville and Anheuser-Busch InBev’s joint brewing project, Land Shark Lager, which renamed the facility “Land Shark Stadium”. The sponsorship deal is reportedly for eight months and the name will revert to Dolphin Stadium in time for Super Bowl XLIV and the 2010 Pro Bowl, possibly to be replaced by another sponsor name if a deal can be secured before that time.
The stadium serves as host to the Miami Dolphins, the Florida Marlins, the Miami Hurricanes, and the annual Orange Bowl college football game.
Land Shark Stadium was the first of its kind in the NFL to be constructed entirely with private funds. Joe Robbie led the financing campaign to build Joe Robbie Stadium (JRS) for the Miami Dolphins of the NFL. JRS revolutionized the economics of professional sports when it opened in 1987. Inclusion of a Club Level, along with Executive Suites, helped to finance the construction of the stadium. Season ticket holders committed to long term agreements and in return received first-class amenities in a state-of-the-art facility.
Since its construction, the stadium has hosted four Super Bowls (XXIII, XXIX, XXXIII and XLI), two World Series (1997 and 2003), and three BCS National Championship Games (2001, 2005, 2009). The stadium served as host for the second round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, and will host Super Bowl XLIV and the 2010 Pro Bowl.
We traveled over the Bay Bridge in California many years ago. It is huge and has a vast amount of traffic traveling over it each day. I cannot imagine what hassles the commuters in California feel while waiting for the bridge to be repaired. Investigators said the two metal rods and a 5,000-pound beam that came tumbling off the Bay Bridge Tuesday was likely caused by high winds. The pieces that fell off had been recently installed — on Labor Day weekend — after workers repaired yet another problem on the Bay Bridge, which first opened in 1936.
During our visit that year, we also traveled up the coastline to Carmel and Monterey. If I was able to choose a new place to live, one of these coastal communities would be my choice. The views are spectacular and the year round temperate climate sounds appealing.
While visiting Monterey, we had a strange thing happen. We were eating in a restaurant when the waitress asked if we were someone she knew from her home town. She even knew our names! It just goes to show that you have friends in many places, even if you are unaware of them. Are there friends you have lost contact with? MyLife.com is a wonderful site for finding old friends.
I have been searching for a former classmate for a long time. MyLife has made my search easy and fun. Who might be looking for you? Check out MyLife for a fun and easy way to find out.
I am so sorry for not having updated this blog in so long! We have been busy traveling on the weekends.
We visited Louisville, Kentucky so that my husband could attend the knife maker’s guild show. The show was held at the Seelbach Hilton Hotel. This was the most beautiful and historical hotel we have stayed at in all our years of travel.
Appearing on the National Register of Historical Places, this 4-diamond luxury hotel is considered the premiere hotel in the state of Kentucky. Built in 1905, it is considered a landmark to “the golden era” with its grand ambiance inspiring author F. Scott Fitzgerald to use The Seelbach as a backdrop for Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s wedding in The Great Gatsby.
If you ever visit Louisville, be sure to tour or stay at the Seelbach. You won’t be dissapointed.
Hubby and I spent the weekend near St. Louis. What an awesome city! We plan to return and check out some of the sites. I would like to visit the St. Louis Zoo. We passed a few signs for casinos that I am sure hubby would like to check out.
Bernese Oberland area of Switzerland
While the United States is rich in history, it cannot compare to European countries. If you are interested in history, you will have struck the mother lode when traveling in Switzerland. From August 23 – 30, 2009 you can study the history of Europe’s Switzerland and save at participating hotels like the Beau-Rivage Palace.
Beau-Rivage Palace
One of Switzerland’s oldest hotels, the Beau-Rivage Palace is where you will
discover Swiss “Pearls” as many gems of history unfolded in this magnificent place. The Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne, Switzerland is where the Treaty of Lausanne was signed. You history buffs will remember that this important treaty led to the international recognition of the sovereignty of the new Republic of Turkey as the successor state of the defunct Ottoman Empire. Included in your stay at this 1861 hotel is a historical guided tour.
Hotel Kandersteg
Also participating in Swiss Historic Week is the hotel Kandersteg of Bernese Oberland. Noted for giving guests an authentic dinner similar to the one Swiss novelist, Jeremias Gotthelf would have enjoyed, guests will not go away hungry. The experience includes 1 gourmet menu in the Doldenhorn (7-course menu), 1 menu in the Chässtube and the Wystube (raclette/fondue), and 3 dinners in the Ruedihus. This hotel also has many modern amenities.
Grandhotel Giessbach
Bernese Oberland is also the location of the turn of the century Grandhotel Giessbach. This amazing hotel offers a mix of old with many modern amenities.
There are so many fabulous, historical hotels in Switzerland that there is an award for “The Historic Hotel / Restaurant of the Year”. This year’s recipient is the Gasthof Hirschen of Eglisau. This hotel is over 300 years old, and has been in the same family for most of its life!
Hotel Gasthof Hirschen
To travel in a country so rich in culture and heritage is a history buff’s dream come true. Be sure to consider Switzerland when planning your next adventure.
When my husband and I were first married, we were fortunate to visit Germany, Holland and my favorite country, Switzerland. As tourists, we discovered the history of each place and saw many new things we had never known existed.
We like to refer to these items of new found interest as Swiss “Pearls”. Pearls are gems and we found gems in the Swiss culture that we will always treasure. One such pearl is that the cities of Basel, Geneva, Winterthur, Zug and Zurich offer special ladies’ tours which relate the history of these cities from a distinctly female perspective.
Ladies Tour the City
I think of dark beer when I think of European countries but did you know that hops are used not just in beer, but also find their way into schnapps, vinegar, oil, pralines, pasta, tea, cosmetics and herbal remedies. In the Hof Hopfentropfen brewery in Switzerland, visitors can attend a brewing seminar or a demonstration brewing. You might be surprised to find that at the brewery, you can help with the production of the brewery’s own special beer!
Making Beer
Check out all that Switzerland has to offer. You will discover Swiss “Pearls” like making cheese or even how paper was manufactured in Medieval times.
Medieval Papermaking
When we visited Switzerland, we were fortunate to purchase a unique bell that we display in our family room. I have since discovered that it is possible to cast your own bell at the bell foundry in Berger in Bärau. What an awesome souvenir a self made bell would be to remember your trip to Switzerland. This is a picture of the bell we purchased:
Casting a Bell
The enjoyment of visiting Switzerland is only limited by time! Plan your trip now.
It has been so many years since our family has visited Mammoth Caves. I think it is time to go there again! The park encompasses large parts of Edmonson County, Kentucky and smaller area of Hart County and Barren County which is not far from where we live.
Mammoth Cave is the most extensive cave system known so far, with over 365 miles already explored. One might think that the name comes from the prehistoric Wooley Mammoth however, the name actually comes from the word mammoth as in large in size.
When we visited the cave, we took a tour much like the first tours of 1797 when the cave was discovered. It was surprising how cool the temperature was since it was horribly hot outdoors. The guide turned off his light and we felt an unusual sense of calm as we were in pitch black darkness. I was glad to have the light back once again.
Archeological investigations proved that prehistorically the Mammoth Cave was used by Native Americans as a burial place, as most mummies presented evidence of pre-Columbian funerary practice.
The main attractions remain features such as Grand Avenue, Frozen Niagara, and Fat Man’s Misery which was the tour we took. The cave tours vary in difficulty and length, the cave being either lighted electrically or by the paraffin lamps carried by the visitors themselves.
You don’t even have to swim to enjoy the beauty of these pools.
The Hotel Caruso Belvedere is set at the highest point in the sun-splashed Amalfi Coast town of Ravello, so the open-air infinity pool offers unobstructed, panoramic views of one of the world’s most dramatic coastlines—and the sea beyond. It doesn’t hurt that the pool itself is flanked by 11th-century Roman ruins.
See more of these beautiful pools and their locations at World’s Most Amazing Hotel Pools via the Budget Travel website.
If you are looking for an exciting location for a fun, family vacation, check out the Wildwood vacations website.
We visited Wildwood and the New Jersey waterparks when my daughter graduated from Coast Guard training 5 years ago. If you have ever watched an old movie that was set on the beach and showed the boardwalks, it was probably near Wildwood. Morey’s Piers is a classic, family owned resort area that includes fun amusement rides, waterparks and outstanding accommodations.
Morey’s Piers is hosting the Radio Disney Summer Concert Series that includes many of your favorite top Radio Disney artists. The concerts are free so make your teen happy with this fabulous addition to your vacation plans.
Check out the Morey’s Piers website for directions, hours and lodging information. This will be a vacation spot that will become a favorite for your family.
Do you have a GPS unit? We visited with friends this evening and got a kick out of hearing stories of how their GPS units took them on wild and crazy adventures. Have you had a funny experience from relying on your GPS unit?
I have another question. Do you rely on a service like MapQuest to get you to a destination? Have you had good luck with MapQuest? I only ask because I put in addresses to find the best route to our son’s reception and got some crazy directions! I hope none of our guests rely totally on MapQuest. Yahoo Directions website was more reliable in this instance.
