Archive for the 'Washington D.C.' Category
Priceline gives weekly updates on Thanksgiving and Christmas air travel
October 21, 2009 9:59am
If you are still waiting for a good deal to book your holiday travel, we suggest you tune into Priceline’s travel blog. Brian Ek is giving a weekly update on flight costs for travel around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Earlier this month we talked with Ek about holiday airfare prices and concluded that if you had to pick between traveling during one of the holidays, Thanksgiving was going to be cheaper. However, in this week’s analysis, prices are going up for Thanksgiving and coming down slightly during Christmas.
“At the macro level, Thanksgiving airfares increased to an average $372, while December holiday airfares dropped to an average $423. Thanksgiving is still the better deal, but Christmas is looking better,” Ek writes.
These averages are based on flights booked by Priceline customers. So, what does it mean for SoCal travelers?
Ek said that airfares between Los Angeles and Chicago were down 9% for winter travel and up 20% for Thanksgiving. However, fares between Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., were down 8% for Thanksgiving travel and unchanged for winter travel.
For more end-of-the-year travel booking advice, read “Holiday travel planning tips from the experts.”
—Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
Image: Priceline logo. Credit: Priceline.com
Free White House garden tours planned for Oct. 17-18
September 21, 2009 5:55am
Curious about the gardens of the White House? You’ll get a chance to visit them for free Oct. 17 and 18 during the annual White House Gardens and Grounds Tours in Washington, D.C.
New this year is the Kitchen Garden, a patch of vegetables, berries and herbs that First Lady Michelle Obama and local schoolchildren planted in March on the South Lawn of the White House. The garden, which yields produce for the first family’s meals and formal dinners, will be “viewable from a distance along the tour route,” the White House said in a news release last week.
The main route will include the South Lawn, the Rose Garden, the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden and the Children’s Garden.
Three airfare sales: Take your pick — JetBlue, Southwest or Virgin America
September 8, 2009 6:41pm
Fresh from the long Labor Day weekend, Southwest and JetBlue launched new sales this morning. Fares are just as cheap on Virgin America too. Great timing, because I bet travelers are either thinking about the great holiday they just took and realizing they ought to take breaks more often, or had to forgo a weekend getaway and are still hoping to pack in an escape before the end of the year. At our convenience are three airfare sales.
JetBlue: The R&R sale has flights starting at $29 each way, pre-tax. I found flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Boston (BOS) for $109 each way or $239 round trip, after taxes. When I checked Long Beach (LGB), there were flights to San Francisco (SFO) and Las Vegas (LAS) for $39 each way, pre-tax. I also saw flights to Seattle (SEA) for $69 each way and Washington (IAD) for $109 each way, pre-tax. Purchase your tickets by Sept. 10 at 10:50 p.m. for travel through Dec. 16. Some blackout dates and restrictions apply.
Southwest: Check out the Click ‘n Save 3 Days of Deals sale with fares starting at $49 each way. I found flights between Burbank (BUR) or Los Angeles (LAX) and Las Vegas (LAS), Oakland (OAK), Sacramento (SAC) and San Jose (SJC) for $49 each way, pre-tax. I also found flights between Burbank (BUR) and Seattle (SEA) for $69 each way, or Chicago (MDW) for $94 each way, pre-tax. Purchase by 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 10 for travel through Dec. 17. Travel valid every day of the week, some blackout dates and restrictions apply.
Virgin America: I found $39 one-way main cabin fares on Virgin America between Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO), and $69 one-way to Seattle (SEA) midweek. There were also $39 flights between Orange County (SNA) or San Diego (SAN) and San Francisco (SFO). I also found cross-country flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Washington (IAD) starting at $99 each way. All prices noted were pre-tax. Purchase by Sept. 22 for travel between Sept. 12 and Nov. 18, Dec. 2-16 or Jan. 6 - Feb. 10. Some blackout dates and restrictions apply.
— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
[Photo: In this July 19, 2005, file photo, a JetBlue Airbus flies over a pair of Southwest Airlines' jets from Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, bound for New York's JFK Airport. Credit: Associated Press / Reed Saxon, file]
Theme park news: Bye-bye Big Bad Wolf, Club 33 waiting list, fact-checking Epcot’s future, Darth Vader dance-off
July 25, 2009 7:04am
A roundup of my theme park Twitter updates for the last week:
> Popular Mechanics fact-checks five Epcot rides that predicted the future. (Orlando Updates)
> Waiting list for one of 480 membership slots at Disneyland’s private Club 33: 18 years. (OC Weekly)
> Video awesomeness: Darth Vader dances to MC Hammer’s “You Can’t Touch This” at Star Wars Weekends 2009 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Longer version. (Orlando Attractions)
> Free X2 after-hours ride time on Friday nights this summer at Six Flags Magic Mountain plus 2 free tacos and milkshake with paid admission.
‘Compliment Guys’ begin their 10-city, feel-good tour
July 20, 2009 10:41am
Time to turn that frown upside down and take a cue from the “Compliment Guys.” Purdue University undergraduates Brett Westcott and Cameron Brown, who have a lot of fabulous things to say about just about everything, begin a multi-city cheer-spreading tour today, with the sole mission of helping people look on the bright side.
Last year, according to Lafayette Online, the two stood in the center of campus weekly “giving out free compliments to thousands of passersby. Initial suspicion of their motives quickly melted in the face of their enthusiasm and earnestness.”
“When I started giving compliments on the Purdue campus almost a year ago, I never expected it to be so well received all over the world,” said Westcott, as reported by Lafayette Online. “This trip will allow us to share the same good feelings with people around the country that we have exchanged at Purdue.”
The BrightSide tour begins today in New Orleans. Read the rest of this entry »
Be my guide: Social media travel tips are valuable but limited by the crowd
July 9, 2009 10:10am
View Be My Guide: Cross-country road trip in a larger map
When it comes to collecting travel tips, there’s strength in numbers. For the last two weeks, I have been traveling across the country in my 1999 Pontiac Grand Am and using the collective knowledge of readers and online social-media wanderers to lead the way.
The response was overwhelming —literally, my e-mail in-box could barely hold it all. But the tips were invaluable and led me to hidden gems that AAA or most other travel agencies would never have listed. I’ve put a lot of them on the Google map above.
For many of the 14 cities I visited, locals whispered to me via the Web, pointing me to the underground hot spots. Some of the best suggestions popped up in Chicago, Nashville, Austin and Albuquerque. The pearls in those cities were mostly small, unassuming places outside the usual downtown bar scenes. They’re hidden from the public eye.
Be my guide: Las Vegas dance clubs don’t stray from pop
July 5, 2009 5:17pm
I’ve covered many types of music in my two-week, reader-driven road trip across the country. There was soul in New York, rock in Washington, D.C., blues in Chicago, folk-country in Nashville, jazz in New Orleans, weird dance rock in Austin, Texas, and weird circus music in Albuquerque.
One genre I have avoided like a pounding jackhammer to the chest is techno. I managed to dodge the hyper dance scene in El Paso, Texas, but in the Las Vegas Strip area, there’s nowhere to run. I would have to face my fear and fist-pump my way through the crowds.
Having received no reader tips for spots to go in Las Vegas, I took a shot in the dark. A single cover fee gains you entry to four large clubs at the Palms Casino Resort, just off the Strip. So I decided that’s where I would spend my night. Let the smoky, sweaty dancing ensue.
Do good, get 50% off at 2 Washington, D.C., hotels
June 30, 2009 1:54pm
Proving it can pay to be nice, the Savoy Suites Hotel and the Carlyle Suites Hotel in Washington, D.C. are cutting room rates in half for guests who sign up for community service programs. For every five hours that you volunteer, under the “Serve America and Stay in D.C.” deal, you get 50% off one night’s bill.
What’s the catch? Well, the hotels say the deal is nonrefundable (meaning your charge card is charged immediately), and availability is limited. The offer is also timed for summer, when the nation’s capital can get steamy.
Metrobus shuttles and alternative routes available for D.C. Metro commuters
June 23, 2009 9:51am
The Washington Metro Transportation Authority has asked D.C.-area commuters to avoid the Red Line after the collision Monday that left at least seven people dead and injured more than 70. The crash took place between the Fort Totten and Takoma Metrorail stations. Metro has provided alternative routes and metrobus shuttles for passengers. The MARC Brunswick train line is also closed today.
Metrobus shuttles: There will be free Metrobus shuttles to take passengers around the crash site, traveling between the Silver Spring, Fort Totten, Brookland-CUA, Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood and Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metrorail stations. Metro warns commuters that there could be long lines and wait times.
Working Red Line routes: The Red Line will still run between the Glenmont and Silver Spring Metrorail stations and between the Shady Grove and the Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood Metrorail station.
Closed Red Line route: The Brookland-CUA, Fort Totten and Takoma Metrorail stations will be closed to Red Line traffic.
Metrobus alternative routes: To avoid the service disruption, Metro suggests that passengers get themselves to Metrorail stations between Shady Grove and Grosvenor-Strathmore, or use the following Metrobus lines:
• Metrobus C8 line (Glenmont to White Flint)
• Metrobus Q2 line (Wheaton to Rockville)
• Metrobus C2, C4 line (Wheaton to Twinbrook)
• Metrobus J1 line (Silver Spring to Medical Center)
• Metrobus J2, J3, J4 line (Silver Spring to Bethesda)
• Metrobus L7, L8 line (Friendship Heights)
On Twitter – @mvngmomentarily and their blog MovingMomentarily, described as “a blog about the love-hate relationship D.C. has with the Metro,” are following other D.C. Metro commuter experiences on Twitter and linking to news updates related to the crash.
– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
Photo: Wreckage of a rush-hour collision between two Metro trains in Washington, D.C., that killed at least seven Monday. Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press
Be my guide: Music-driven road trip to Los Angeles kicks off in New York
June 22, 2009 7:20am
My reader-guided musical road trip from New York to Los Angeles starts today, June 22, and already I’ve received plenty of tips on where to go. Watch for updates and photos over the next two weeks on the Daily Travel & Deal Blog and, later, a story in the Los Angeles Times Sunday Travel Section.
Nearly three dozen people posted comments on my earlier blog post. Many others e-mailed suggestions or Twittered them in 140-character, bite-sized nuggets (except for “adamstue,” who rebelled against Twitter’s length limit on messages by simply sending a series of tweets – sneaky).
A few trends emerged. Many readers were excited about stops in New Orleans and Washington, D.C. , but Houston and El Paso didn’t fair so well. And I received plenty of earnest pleas to hit Memphis instead of Nashville.
