Spunky Old Broads Live It Up in Sin City

February is Spunky Old Broads Month (don't you love it?)! So, gals, gather up your bosom buddies and head for Atlantic City on the Jersey shore. There's no place that quite says "Spunky Old Broads" like the casinos on the nation's oldest, most famous and delightfully tacky Boardwalk. Make sure you pack your sequins!

Home to the only beach front casino strip in the country, nearly every casino in Atlantic City boasts a posh hotel just waiting to pamper you and send you home with a smile on your face. Wine, dine, see a show, play the slots or try your luck at the blackjack table amidst the glitz and glam that is distinctly Atlantic City. In summer, America's world-famous, five-mile long, historic Boardwalk (built in 1870) stretches from the exciting Steel Pier amusement park all the way up to peaceful Garden Pier, home of the fabulous Atlantic City Art Center. The chilly days of winter will allow you to dabble unhurriedly through the Center's delightful three-gallery museum. You'll find wonderful folk and fine art by local, regional and nationally-known artists to take home as a reminder of your trip to Sin City.

The Atlantic City area is an artists' mecca. Just 15 minutes away in Oceanville is the Noyes Museum of Art, the only fine arts museum in South Jersey, or Down Jersey as the locals call it. Five galleries and a walkway hold changing exhibits of local art, framed against the serene backdrop of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. An hour west you can watch art in the making at the Wheaton Arts & Cultural Center in Millville. Make sure you visit the stunning Museum of American Glass and the eclectic Down Jersey Folklife Center. You'll find plenty of artists in residence willing to chat and demonstrate the creative process.

New Jersey's premier spot for gaming, live entertainment and shopping, the Wyndham Sky Tower (shown) is just a block from the Boardwalk and close to everything you want to see and do. Between visits to the galleries or stints at the tables, lounge around the pool, take a cleansing steam or gossip in the hot tub with your friends. Click the link above for full details on the Wyndham Sky Tower or click the post title to preview other Atlantic City timeshares.

Dog Sledding Coast to Coast

My friend just ran in the NYC "Iditarod." Of course this being crazy New York, the "sleds" were grocery carts and the "sled dogs" were campily dressed 20 and 30 somethings out for a good time. The day-long trek across the Brooklyn Bridge and into Manhattan featured skits, songs and lots of beer!

I've always wanted to experience the excitement of dog sledding. When I was growing up a neighbor had a sled team and trained in the park across the street on snowy weekends. I would marvel at his gorgeous Huskies, muscles bunching beneath their sleek fur coats, as they crashed silently through the snow to his cries of "Mush! Mush!" It all seemed so exciting and romantic.

You can experience the romance of the Alaskan wilderness in between cross country treks or downhill ski runs on either coast of America. In California's popular Mt. Shasta ski area and Vermont's fabled Green Mountains, adventuresome tourists can experience the excitement of dog sledding. Dogsled Express in Mt. Shasta offers one-hour sled rides through the majestic Mt. Shasta, Mt. Lassen and Castle Crags wilderness area. Green Mountain Dog Sled Adventures, profiled on the Travel Channel, carries you through the breathtaking Green Mountain wilderness, though you may have to wait until late winter to book your tour. Owner Bruce Linton and his team of dogs are currently in Alaska to realize their dream of racing in the famed Iditarod.

A dog sled adventure makes a nice change from charging down the ski slopes. What better way to fully experience the awesome majesty of nature than while being silently whisked through the pure, white snow. In Stowe, Vermont, enjoy a stay at the gracious Trapp Family Lodge (above, left; yes, it's the Sound of Music Trapp family). You'll delight in the Austrian-style guesthouses, spectacular views and live music. Make sure you sample the luscious pastries in the Austrian Tea Room. For a change of pace, on the West Coast, stay in Klamath Falls, Oregon and take a day trip down to Mt. Shasta in far north California. Stay at Eagle's Landing (right) in the heart of Oregon's winter ski country to experience all of winter's delights.

Cost of 'Bucket' Trip Will Eat into Your Nest Egg

Have you seen the Jack Nicholson/Morgan Freeman movie, The Bucket List? Two cancer buddies take "the road trip of a lifetime." In case you've wondered how much it would cost to join the party, Mary Forgione of the Los Angeles Times broke it down. The total cost for two? $105,730! Here's the breakdown:

• Private jet for 14 days at $3,880 per day comes to $54,230. But what better way to travel when you have a lot a ground to cover and a limited amount of time?
• Sky diving in Perris Valley, California (50 miles east of LA), including equipment and training, $249 a piece. Make sure you take the tandem jump so someone (probably the instructor strapped to your back) remembers to pull the ripcord.
• A fast eight laps at the California Speedway in Fontana will set you back $419 each for the Rookie Experience. The feeling you get sitting behind the wheel of a 600 HP speed machine, priceless.
• Dinner and a good night's sleep at the swanky Chateau de la Chevre D'or in Eze, France will cost you $1,448 to $1,616 per person, per night.
• Tenting on the Serengeti in Tanzania, Africa costs a cool $10,465 per person for a 13-day safari. There's no charge for serenading the locals with your off-key version of The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
• Getting up close and personal with the Pyramids of Giza, Egypt for 10 days, including a four-night cruise on the fabled Nile River, will set you back $4,335 per person. Airfare is extra, but what are private jets for?
• The chance to gaze into the still waters of the Taj Mahal's reflective pool in Agra, India costs $4,795 per person for a 12-day stay.
• A 14-day trek to the Tengboche Monastery in Nepal where on a good day you can see Mt. Everest in the distance, $2,695 per person. Food for the pack animals is extra.
• Cruising the Great Wall of China on a motorcycle (an experience available only in Hollywood, real people have to hike) starts at $1,299 for the 9-day China Discovery tour.

Explore the Everglades by Canoe

If you've always hankered to explore America's most famous swamp, this is the time to visit the Everglades. Unlike summer when the Everglades are sweltering, sweaty and a-buzz with mosquitoes the size of whale harpoons, in winter the swamp is not too hot, not too cold, not too humid and there's nary a mosquito in slapping distance. The conditions are perfect for a canoe or kayak trek through the primeval Ten Thousand Islands region of the Gulf Coast.

While most people visit the Everglades from the east side entrance near Miami, explorers will want to enter from Everglades City near Naples on the gulf side of the park. The small rural community of Everglades City is an active commercial and sport-fishing port and the jumping off point for most canoe and kayak excursions into the swamp. You'll find a number of full-service outfitters and a variety of guided tours available in Everglades City, including mangrove tunnels, sunset tours and moonlit paddles. A new GPS-marked paddle trail system through the Ten Thousand Islands area can lead you on a long, overnight trek from Everglades City to Goodland, but shorter day-trip routes are also available. Paddlers will also find fun and adventure cruising Collier County's new GPS-marked Paradise Coast Blueway. While you're paddling in the Everglades, watch for alligators sunning themselves, blue herons and egrets stalking fish in the shallows, and the amazing anhingas, a bird that dives and swims underwater to catch its darting, silvery prey.

After a day spent paddling through sawgrass, wandering the mangrove tunnels, exploring the cypress forest and enjoying the exotic wildlife in the swamp, head back to your luxurious timeshare in Naples on Florida's gorgeous Gulf Coast. The Charter Club Resort of Naples Bay (above, left) offers superb accommodations (right) coupled with excellent onsite amenities and a wide variety of area activities. For those who want to enjoy the flora and fauna of the Everglades more comfortably, the fabulous Naples-Caribbean Garden's Zoological Park, Rookery Bay, is located just fives miles south of Naples. And when you're not on the beach, you'll find plenty of charming boutiques and exciting eateries to explore in Naples. Click the post title to preview a complete listing of fabulous timeshares in the Naples, Florida area.

Snow Adds Magic to Yosemite Winter Vacation

Yosemite in winter? It's time to think outside the box when planning your winter vacation. The sheer cliffs, thundering waterfalls and clear blue lakes of this stunning Southern California national park are, if anything, more breathtaking shrouded in snow and ice. As you cross-country ski toward the spectacular sheer face of Half Dome on your way to Glacier Point, you experience the same awe that must have overcome the first explorers to this part of the Sierra Nevadas. It's just you and nature -- untouched, majestic and silent but for the sound of the wind whispering in the pines overhead.

Many of Yosemite's trails and features are open and accessible year-round. Badger Pass offers downhill and cross-country skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing. You can also try snowshoeing on ranger-led hikes or strike out on your own. The sled run at Crane Flat is an experience as exciting as any roller coaster you've ever ridden. Ice skate in the shadow of Half Dome at the Curry Village rink in Yosemite Valley where folks have been skating since 1923.

There are a number of hiking trails open during the winter. Several of the most notable are paved, wheelchair accessible and stroller friendly. The 1-mile Lower Yosemite Falls loop takes you through Ponderosa pines, incense cedars and canyon live oaks past the base of the falls. The gentle 1-mile roundtrip hike to Bridalveil Falls takes you through pine and cedar-scented forest quite close to the ice-shrouded falls on the shady side of the canyon. A slightly more difficult 3-mile hike to Mirror Lake affords spectacular views of Half Dome and Mount Watkins. Hiking lovers will want to take the Columbia Rock trail, a 3-mile hike that rises 1,000 feet to Upper Yosemite Falls. The panoramic view of Yosemite Valley is magnificent.

After a day of winter fun at Yosemite, return to your cozy Bass Lake, California timeshare (above, right). The 5-star WorldMark property offers spacious, comfortable accommodations with room for the whole family. Cuddle up around the fireplace and sip hot cocoa in the evening while you relive the day's exciting Yosemite adventures. Units are equipped with all the comforts of home, including a fully-equipped kitchen, CD/stereo, cable TV, iron and ironing board, hairdryer and more. Each unit has a washer/dryer so you'll be able to quickly dry out the kids' parkas and snowpants after a day of sledding and tubing. For complete information on WorldMark Bass Lake, click the post title.

Everyone visits Yosemite in the summer. It's the lucky few who savor the park's winter beauty and pleasures.

This Year Make Resolutions You'll Want to Keep

Happy New Year! I hope you've had an enjoyable day visiting with friends and family, watching parades and football, and my perennial favorite: making New Year's resolutions. In my family we seem to have as much fun guessing how long it will take us to break them as we do making them.

This year I've decided to pass by the too easily broken traditional resolutions -- exercise more, lose 10 pounds -- and focus on things that are important enough to me to demand real attention and effort. This year I'm making resolutions I plan to stick to! Maybe you'd like to add some of them to your list, too.

• Spend more time with family. I'm going to treat my family to a timeshare vacation. There's no better family vacation than a timeshare vacation. You can choose a resort with plenty of activities for everyone in the family from the small fry to the plugged-in teen. Myrtle Beach, SC is one of my favorite family timeshare destinations. You can gather for informal family meals where the kitchen overflows with great smells and laughter, take a picnic to the beach or descend on the local eatery. Timeshare vacations allow you to choose a vacation place and time that's convenient and interesting to everyone in the family -- and affordable to boot.
  


• Spend more time relaxing. Americans take fewer vacation days and have higher job stress levels than their counterparts around the world. Stress is a leading contributor to a host of medical problems that afflict our society. This year I plan to take my full share of vacation days, whether it's lounging on a Caribbean beach or skiing down the slopes of Tahoe.
  


• Take a risk or two. I'm going to go somewhere exotic and exciting this year. Maybe I'll find my sea legs during a yachting timeshare vacation in Cancun. Perhaps I'll pack the nieces and nephews into a motorhome and cruise the Florida theme parks. Maybe I'll finally take that African safari I've always dreamed about!



• Learn something new. I'm going to travel somewhere new this year. Meet new people, experience a new culture, try strange foods. Choosing where to go will be part of the fun. On Timeshare Giant the world is my oyster! There are timeshare resorts available in every nook and cranny of the world. It's time I dusted off my passport and went exploring!

In 2008, I wish you health, happiness, prosperity -- and fabulous timeshare vacations!

North Pole Timeshares a Hot Property!

It's holiday joy, not global warming, that is making the new North Pole Gingerbread Timeshare Villas such hot sellers. Driven by their inner child, people are snapping up the new offering like Christmas cookies disappearing from Grandma's dessert plate. It's a childhood dream come true for many -- and the ultimate timeshare vacation for those with children and grandchildren. Imagine spending Christmas with the Jolly Old Elf himself!

Your North Pole timeshare vacation starts when you board the Polar Express, the exclusive travel arm of the North Pole. You will be greeted by elves and taken by sleigh (of course, pulled by reindeer) to your Gingerbread Timeshare Villa. Quaint gingerbread villas are laid out along candy cane-fenced lanes. Icing sparkles from cookie-shingled roof tops and the sun glints off peppermint drop windows. Marshmallow snowmen grin from the yards and spun-sugar trees shade the gumdrop shrubbery-lined walkways.

Each gingerbread villa is made from Mrs. Claus' fabulous secret recipe and snacking is encouraged. Naturally (Santaland is a magical place, after all), everything is self-regenerating so if Junior eats a hole in the chocolate chip cookie door, you'll never know. Gingerbread Timeshare Villas come in several luxurious configurations from spacious two bedroom, two bath units on up to villas big enough to accommodate extended families of 20 or more. Each unit features a soothing melted chocolate hot tub, a wide variety of exotic hot chocolates on tap, the resort's famous never-ending plate of Christmas cookies, and, of course, a beautifully decorated Christmas tree next to the massive fireplace. (Santa puts on a few pounds this time of year sampling Mrs. Claus' cookies and the resort likes to make Christmas Eve a little easier on the big guy.)

You're in the heart of Santaland, Gingerbread Timeshare Villas are just moments away from the North Pole's many wonderful attractions. Sledding, tobogganing, ice skating and snowman making are family favorites; but you can also try your hand at ice sculpting, igloo making and a host of other winter activities. Children young and old flock to the elves' workshops where you can help make toys, bake cookies or wrap gifts. No visit the to the North Pole is complete without a ride in Santa's magic sleigh. After your ride, you're invited to pet your favorite reindeer and give them carrots to munch.

The highlight of a Christmas timeshare vacation to the North Pole is the annual packing of the sleigh on Christmas Eve. Then the magical moment arrives as Santa boards the sleigh, Rudolf's nose starts to gleam, the reindeer paw the ground and the sleigh lifts off the ground, flying toward the moon, as Santa's booming voice cries out: Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

Merry Christmas from Timeshare Giant.

Timeshare Vacations Afford Your Family Many Benefits

It is said that if you change your perspective you can see things differently. You see things you may have missed before. Or you see things from someone else's perspective. A trip to the countryside or a day of relaxation can almost be a new lease on life -- except when you begin thinking or worrying about what chores await you upon your return.

The beauty of a timeshare residence is that it allows you to escape to your home away from home, without giving up the amenities of home.

Timeshares afford owners the luxury of really escaping the familiar. You can swap your timeshare for an exotic location, discover new places, and learn new skills, experience adventures. You can really liberate your family from their classic roles by going someplace completely different, beyond your comfort zone.

Who knows? You might see new people emerge from this time spent together where everyone is experiencing a safari or the rain forest for the first time. It is like your family's version of "survivor." Or, a distant land, when your family is immersed in a new culture and language you don’t fully understand. You may just discover a new you, new tastes, or a life-defining moment.

Timeshare vacations allow you to open new outlooks and horizons. So, get out there. Explore new places and experiences. Share your time together and discover yourself and your kids and your spouse, in the process. Buy or lease a timeshare. It can be a new lease on life. For more information on timeshare opportunities and advantages, buying, selling, financing, visit Timeshare Giant today where you will find excellent resource to help plan your get away or to choose a location for your next trip and even to purchase or lease a timeshare.

It may be a good idea to rent timeshares in several different locations before deciding where to buy. Some people want a nearby timeshare that they can escape to easily. Others want to escape to an exotic location that would be too pricey to vacation to otherwise. Others want a timeshare in a location that would have high appeal so they can enjoy appreciation and always be able to swap time. Once you get a feel for timeshare vacations, you may even decide to purchase more time, or purchase in different locations as your lifestyle needs change.

There is no time like the present to get started in a timeshare investment. There is much valuable advice on Timeshare Giant. Look before you leap. Once you take the plunge, you will be happy you did!

Find Holiday Magic Aboard the Polar Express

Christmas is a magical time, especially for children. That innocent magic is poetically captured in the popular book The Polar Express, a family favorite since its publication in 1986. By Chris Van Allsburg, the classic story tells the tale of a young boy who rediscovers the magic of Christmas while on board a special train bound for the North Pole on Christmas Eve. When he wakes up on Christmas morning, he finds a sleigh bell in his pocket and realizes his journey was more than a dream. You may have taken your children or grandchildren to see the delightful 2004 film version starring Tom Hanks. This year you can give your children