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LOMA : Articles
Summer WebsitesBy Patricia Yevics
Director, Law Office Management
Maryland State Bar Association, Inc.
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If you are a regular reader of this column, you know that I am an advocate of the using the Internet. However, we all need to take a break from the office and what better place to start than the Internet. These sites are for those people who enjoy planning their own trips and enjoy getting a good deal or a great destination. If you would prefer to call your travel agent and say "Book me on a flight to Tahiti at the end of month" then this may be of no interest to you.
Listed below are just a few sites which will help with planning your summer plans:
Savvy Traveler http://www.savtrav.com
This site compliments National Public Radio's weekly program, The Savvy Traveler, with Rudy Maxa. The show and the site is fantastic. I have picked up a lot of practical information that has helped me many times.
Where is NPR http://www.npr.org
If you travel and you can't live without NPR, this site will tell you where to find the closest station nearest your destination.
Site for Maryland Tourism http://www.mdisfun.org/
This is a good place for information about what is happening in Maryland.
National Parks http://www.nps.gov
This is the National Park Service's site and has a list and picture of all National Parks
L.L. Bean http://www.llbean.com
Has the most outstanding searchable site for national parks. I was so impressed I bought something from the catalogue.
Good Site for Links http://www.dedas.com/hm-usa/states/md.html
This site is done by some guy in the Netherlands who loves to travel in the US. It has some good links including many cities, counties in Maryland.
Baseball tickets http://www.(Name of Team).com
All major league baseball teams have websites and you can order tickets. Last year we bought tickets to see the Pittsburgh Pirates play the St. Louis Cardinals. We saw Mark Maguire hit homeruns 51 and 52 and we bought the tickets on-line.
The National Arboretum http://www.ars-grin.gov/ars/Beltsville/na/
This is very close and an easy trip. If you have never been here it is worth the trip.
List of all Gardens open to the public for touring http://gardennet.com/GardensOnline/
If you are traveling and want to visit gardens or if you travel to visit gardens, this is a great site.
Golf Links http://www.golflink.com/
Great site to find the best links for golf all the country.
RollerCoasters http://www.rollercoaster.com/
Here a great site that talks about all the great roller coasters in the country. Remember the thrill of the old wooden roller coasters.
MapQuest http://www.mapquest.com/
Lets you enter destinations and then prints a map. This will give you directions locally or any where in the United States from any other location. The site will also help you plan a trip.
Travelocity http://www.travelocity.com/
Allows you to find the best air fares anywhere in the world. This is my favorite travel site.
It allows to enter your information and will then list three itineraries based upon your criteria
Also has a list of on-line guides for cities throughout the world. It even has Baltimore so it must be comprehensive.
Preview Travel http://www.previewtravel.com/index.html
You can find some car rental deals as well as some hotel prices. Just a word: Unlike many of the airlines, all of the great hotel deals are not always on the internet. It is however a great place to start. It is also a help if many of the hotels in a given location are booked.
American Automobile Association http://www.aaa.com
If you are already a member it allows you to order maps and triptiks on line. Even if you are not a member you can access the Weather Planner. This allows you to find the weather forecast for a given date and location up to a year in advance. I guess it is important if you are planning a big outdoor event. (But, who do you sue if it is wrong?)
The Weather Channel http://www.weather.com
Check this out before leaving on any vacation or trip. Admit it, you check the weather channel every day for two weeks before your vacation to see what the weather will be. Now you can actually print the results and take them with you.
Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com
THE best place to buy books to take on your vacation or for anything else. The cost is 25-30 % less than at retail stores. You order on-line and it is mailed to you within 2-5 days. Even with the shipping & handling, the cost is much less.
