FOLLOW THE SCOUTS!

Scouting Report 2008

  1. Willunga, Australia. (Dianna Mayfield/LPI)
  2. Willunga, Australia. (Dianna Mayfield/LPI)
  3. Willunga, Australia. (Dianna Mayfield/LPI)
  4. Willunga, Australia. (Dianna Mayfield/LPI)
  5. Willunga, Australia. (Dianna Mayfield/LPI)
  6. Willunga, Australia. (Dianna Mayfield/LPI)
  7. Willunga, Australia. (Dianna Mayfield/LPI)
  8. Willunga, Australia. (Dianna Mayfield/LPI)
  9. Willunga, Australia. (Dianna Mayfield/LPI)
  10. Willunga, Australia. (Dianna Mayfield/LPI)
  11. Chapada dos Veadeiros, Brazil. (Pedro Luz Cunha/Alamy)
  12. Chapada dos Veadeiros, Brazil. (Pedro Luz Cunha/Alamy)
  13. Chapada dos Veadeiros, Brazil. (Pedro Luz Cunha/Alamy)
  14. Chapada dos Veadeiros, Brazil. (Pedro Luz Cunha/Alamy)
  15. Chapada dos Veadeiros, Brazil. (Pedro Luz Cunha/Alamy)
  16. Chapada dos Veadeiros, Brazil. (Pedro Luz Cunha/Alamy)
  17. Chapada dos Veadeiros, Brazil. (Pedro Luz Cunha/Alamy)
  18. Chapada dos Veadeiros, Brazil. (Pedro Luz Cunha/Alamy)
  19. Chapada dos Veadeiros, Brazil. (Pedro Luz Cunha/Alamy)
  20. Chapada dos Veadeiros, Brazil. (Pedro Luz Cunha/Alamy)
  21. Graskop, South Africa. (Jason Lowe)
  22. Graskop, South Africa. (Jason Lowe)
  23. Graskop, South Africa. (Jason Lowe)
  24. Graskop, South Africa. (Jason Lowe)
  25. Graskop, South Africa. (Jason Lowe)
  26. Graskop, South Africa. (Jason Lowe)
  27. Graskop, South Africa. (Jason Lowe)
  28. Graskop, South Africa. (Jason Lowe)
  29. Graskop, South Africa. (Jason Lowe)
  30. Graskop, South Africa. (Jason Lowe)
  31. Weymouth, England. (Amanda Marsalis)
  32. Weymouth, England. (Amanda Marsalis)
  33. Weymouth, England. (Amanda Marsalis)
  34. Weymouth, England. (Amanda Marsalis)
  35. Weymouth, England. (Amanda Marsalis)
  36. Weymouth, England. (Amanda Marsalis)
  37. Weymouth, England. (Amanda Marsalis)
  38. Weymouth, England. (Amanda Marsalis)
  39. Weymouth, England. (Amanda Marsalis)
  40. Weymouth, England. (Amanda Marsalis)
  41. Purnululu National Park, Australia. (Jennifer MacFarlane)
  42. Purnululu National Park, Australia. (Jennifer MacFarlane)
  43. Purnululu National Park, Australia. (Jennifer MacFarlane)
  44. Purnululu National Park, Australia. (Jennifer MacFarlane)
  45. Purnululu National Park, Australia. (Jennifer MacFarlane)
  46. Purnululu National Park, Australia. (Jennifer MacFarlane)
  47. Purnululu National Park, Australia. (Jennifer MacFarlane)
  48. Purnululu National Park, Australia. (Jennifer MacFarlane)
  49. Purnululu National Park, Australia. (Jennifer MacFarlane)
  50. Purnululu National Park, Australia. (Jennifer MacFarlane)
  51. Bergerac, France. (Martin Crook)
  52. Bergerac, France. (Martin Crook)
  53. Bergerac, France. (Martin Crook)
  54. Bergerac, France. (Martin Crook)
  55. Bergerac, France. (Martin Crook)
  56. Bergerac, France. (Martin Crook)
  57. Bergerac, France. (Martin Crook)
  58. Bergerac, France. (Martin Crook)
  59. Bergerac, France. (Martin Crook)
  60. Bergerac, France. (Martin Crook)
  61. Gaziantep, Turkey. (Amanda Marsalis)
  62. Gaziantep, Turkey. (Amanda Marsalis)
  63. Gaziantep, Turkey. (Amanda Marsalis)
  64. Gaziantep, Turkey. (Amanda Marsalis)
  65. Gaziantep, Turkey. (Amanda Marsalis)
  66. Gaziantep, Turkey. (Amanda Marsalis)
  67. Gaziantep, Turkey. (Amanda Marsalis)
  68. Gaziantep, Turkey. (Amanda Marsalis)
  69. Gaziantep, Turkey. (Amanda Marsalis)
  70. Gaziantep, Turkey. (Amanda Marsalis)
  71. Moravský Krumlov, Czech Republic. (David Surowiecki)
  72. Moravský Krumlov, Czech Republic. (David Surowiecki)
  73. Moravský Krumlov, Czech Republic. (David Surowiecki)
  74. Moravský Krumlov, Czech Republic. (David Surowiecki)
  75. Moravský Krumlov, Czech Republic. (David Surowiecki)
  76. Moravský Krumlov, Czech Republic. (David Surowiecki)
  77. Moravský Krumlov, Czech Republic. (David Surowiecki)
  78. Moravský Krumlov, Czech Republic. (David Surowiecki)
  79. Moravský Krumlov, Czech Republic. (David Surowiecki)
  80. Moravský Krumlov, Czech Republic. (David Surowiecki)
  81. Wilson, Kans. (Morgan & Owens)
  82. Wilson, Kans. (Morgan & Owens)
  83. Wilson, Kans. (Morgan & Owens)
  84. Wilson, Kans. (Morgan & Owens)
  85. Wilson, Kans. (Morgan & Owens)
  86. Wilson, Kans. (Morgan & Owens)
  87. Wilson, Kans. (Morgan & Owens)
  88. Wilson, Kans. (Morgan & Owens)
  89. Wilson, Kans. (Morgan & Owens)
  90. Wilson, Kans. (Morgan & Owens)
  91. Tanabe, Japan. (Tetsuya Miura)
  92. Tanabe, Japan. (Tetsuya Miura)
  93. Tanabe, Japan. (Tetsuya Miura)
  94. Tanabe, Japan. (Tetsuya Miura)
  95. Tanabe, Japan. (Tetsuya Miura)
  96. Tanabe, Japan. (Tetsuya Miura)
  97. Tanabe, Japan. (Tetsuya Miura)
  98. Tanabe, Japan. (Tetsuya Miura)
  99. Tanabe, Japan. (Tetsuya Miura)
  100. Tanabe, Japan. (Tetsuya Miura)

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Travel Tips

Tagged
Packing
378300

My husband cut an old contact lens case in two and uses the halves to carry his medication when we're traveling. He prefers them to regular pillboxes because lens cases are watertight and compact enough to carry inside a shirt pocket.

— Jean Holtmann
Tagged
Hotels
451343

When I called to book a hotel room in Budapest, I was offered a rate of $75 per night. After I told the concierge that I was looking for a room in the $35 range, he agreed to the lower price without much fuss. It sometimes pays to barter.

— Julie Jensen
Tagged
Air Travel
367272

I switch from street shoes to flannel-lined moccasins at the airport. It saves time at the security checkpoint, and I'm comfortable during the flight. Once I land, I switch back to my street shoes.

— John Eymann
Tagged
Planning
377249

Most hotels provide cloth shoe mitts but not polish. In a pinch, a dollop of skin cream on a shoe mitt (or even a tissue) can make scuff marks vanish and leave shoes as shiny as if they'd been cleaned by a pro.

— John Nechman
Tagged
Planning
356273

Spring skiing often means a wild temperature shift from morning to afternoon. If you want the option of removing outer layers or switching to a lighter ski jacket midday, attach the lift ticket to your clothing with a split-ring key ring. You'll be able to move your ticket as the weather warms up.

— Don Harbold
Tagged
Packing
359255

I always pack a Petzl Tikka Plus headlamp. It's small, weighs next to nothing, and is perfect for reading in bed at night without disturbing my husband. They're sold online and at outdoor-gear stores for about $33.

— Linda Smejkal
Tagged
Packing
358268

Use an empty M&M's Minis tube to carry quarters. The top holds tightly, but still pops open easily enough, and the size is perfect to slip into a car door or bag. I find it very useful when traveling by car (for tolls and parking meters) and by airplane (for luggage carts or newspapers).

— Judi McDowell
Tagged
Technology
417278

When you go to a convention or trade show, don't assume that the official prices at recommended hotels are the best you can do. Go to the hotel Web site. I recently got an AARP rate at a major hotel that was 30 percent below the special price offered through the tradeshow sponsors. AAA discounts often work, too.

— Duane Dahl
Tagged
Planning
383274

When my husband and I travel, we take at least three different credit cards. I carry one he doesn't have, he carries one I don't have, and we both bring our primary card. If one of us has our wallet stolen, we can cancel two cards and still have one to use. We each have different ATM cards, too--useful if a machine doesn't honor one of the cards, or if we need more cash than our daily limit allows.

— Joyce Morden
Tagged
Planning
448632

My husband and I create personal cards (like business cards) before we leave home. We put our name, address, phone, and email address on them, as well as a picture of us. How many people have gotten home from a trip, looked at a slip of paper with a name and address, and wondered, Who is this? The picture helps link a name to a face.

— Susan Fornoff
Tagged
Shopping
353269

Anyone tired of the same boring postcards that are found at every roadside tourist trap should try shopping for vintage postcards at an antiques shop. They're a great addition to any photo album, as they often show what the local attractions looked like prior to development.

— Christian Galloway
Tagged
Technology
399279

Tell me I'm not alone: Almost every time I park my car at the airport, I have trouble finding it when I return. (I even reported my car stolen once after searching for hours, only to discover I was in the wrong lot!) I now use my cell phone to leave myself a message as to where I've parked my car.

— Perry Babel
Tagged
Air Travel
480625

It's often cheaper to buy a ticket to London and then fly onward within Europe via a regional low cost airline. Last summer, my husband and I bought consolidator tickets to London for $397. From there, we flew EasyJet to Nice for $72. The total cost was $469—much less than flying directly to Nice, plus we enjoyed a stopover in London.

— Jasmine Tata
Tagged
Transportation
358251

In Europe, my husband and I like to use public transportation. As a result, we frequently find ourselves studying itineraries displayed on train station walls, trying to read schedules posted at bus stops, or staring at kiosk-size town maps. On our last trip, my husband snapped digital photographs of those things. We were able to take the map or itinerary with us and could refer to it as needed by using the zoom feature.

— Anne Supsic
Tagged
Packing
411295

Travel soap dishes--the colorful plastic ones that have hinged lids--stop small, fragile items from getting damaged or lost in your bags. I can easily label and use them again and again and again.

— Revon Wolf
Tagged
Planning
387254

I've discovered a wonderful way to enjoy massages at a fraction of the usual cost. Some massage-training schools provide superb service in a spa-type environment. Do a Google search to see if there are training programs near your next vacation destination.

— Karen Gardiner
Tagged
Hotels
431335

Many tourist information offices provide discounted same-day booking services for local lodgings. My husband and I discovered this when we accidentally left a midweek gap in our travel plans between my husband's conference hotel and our B&B in Charleston. Instead of adding another night at either location, we stayed at one of the more elegant inns (normally over $200) for $70, courtesy of the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau.

— Audrey E. Vance
Tagged
Packing
353296

I used to lug around a clothes steamer and adapter to stay wrinkle-free while on the road, but I've since opted for something more low-tech. I now travel with a Platypus collapsible bottle and a spray bottle head. After checking into my hotel, I immediately hang my clothes and give them a spritz with water from the spray bottle. After several hours, the wrinkles fall out, and the clothing is dry and ready to wear.

— Dr. Cornelia Cho
Tagged
Cruises
516594

Public libraries in the ports of Alaska are a tremendous money-saver. Who wants to pay $5 a minute for Internet use from a cruise ship? During a port stop on a recent Alaska cruise, we found a city library that offered free Internet use for 15 to 30 minutes. Our only cost was a short wait in line.

— Gail G. Jenkins
Tagged
Technology
408309

To find a reasonably priced villa or apartment to rent, try going directly to the owner through a site such as abritel.fr. (Click on the British flag for English.) I arranged to spend two weeks in an apartment in Brittany and one week in an apartment in the Loire Valley, all for a total of $800.

— Suzanne Maurice-Roberts
Tagged
Dining
342246

While traveling abroad, I've frequently encountered some appallingly bad (and often very funny) English translations of menus. In those cases, I simply offered to clean up the translations in exchange for a meal. This has worked quite a few times.

— William Boyle
Tagged
Air Travel
343254

Don't settle for the first answer to your travel question. If you need flight information, it's a good idea to phone the airline more than once and ask the same question. Recently, I wanted to see if I could fly standby on an earlier flight the same day. The first time I called, I was told that the earlier flight was booked. The second time, however, an agent said there were in fact seats available, and I could certainly fly standby. In the end, not only was I able to get on the flight, but I was upgraded to first class.

— Lynn Babcock
Tagged
Car Rentals
348270

When booking a rental car online, click on "special offers" or "hot deals" to find the company's current promotional codes. Price your reservation using each code. Also, keep in mind that rates fluctuate according to seasons and slow periods. I managed to save more than $170 on a ten-day rental in Orlando, Fla.,by changing my reservation dates twice and by using different codes.

— Jeff Thomsen
Tagged
Packing
384270

Bring your own linens. They're useful in a million different ways. Obviously a soft cotton pillowcase makes those scratchy airplane pillows bearable, but it can also be used to gather loose items when deplaning. A nice sheet will cover up an ugly bedspread or sofa, and makes a great tablecloth or picnic blanket.

— Dori Egan
Tagged
Planning
379247

Before leaving for a vacation, I print out all our reservations and directions, and I create a contact sheet for emergencies. Then I gather all the papers together, punch some holes, and place them in a folder that has a middle section for three–holed papers. The side pockets hold brochures, business cards, ticket stubs, receipts, and maps that we collect along the way and want to bring home for our scrapbook.

— Sonal Gupte
Tagged
Packing
435627

Before I visit poorer countries, I pop into a thrift store and pick up some toys, stuffed animals, and an old suitcase or carryall. I try to avoid toys like Easter bunnies or Santas, which could be offensive, and expensive things that might embarrass parents. The contents of my extra bag bring joy to countless kids who have never had a thing.

— Ingrid Newkirk
Tagged
Car Rentals
359258

When parking in a crowded garage, don't settle for the first space available on a lower level. It's probably a half-day hike from the elevator. Instead, drive to the upper levels, where you can usually park right next to the elevator. This tip was very useful in Las Vegas, especially when checking in and out of hotels with our luggage.

— Shane Kays
Tagged
Packing
358265

Pick just two colors to mix and match throughout your trip. You'll cut down on luggage, not least because you won't have to bring a bunch of shoes to match a wide assortment of colors.

— Lori Fields
Tagged
Planning
358252

If you're divorced and plan to travel out of the country with your children, check the legal requirements in advance. When I tried to take my kids to Cancun, I learned too late that Mexico requires a notarized letter of consent signed by both parents for minors traveling alone or with one parent or guardian. If the parents are divorced, a copy of the parental custody agreement is allowed instead. The airlines enforce this rule before you get on the plane.

— Marge Stratton
Tagged
Planning
350267

Make a master list of jobs to do around the house before you leave (hold the mail, water the plants, take out the garbage). Keep the list on your computer, print it out, then check off each job as it gets done. You'll be able to go without worrying that you forgot to stop the newspaper.

— Glenda McMurray

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