Travelsmartplanet

This is a UH-1 Huey helicopter shown at the Valiant Air Command Warbird museum in Florida. Here you can find a collection of vintage war aircraft, photos, uniforms and personal artifacts of the vets, and you can even meet some of these vets as they volunteer to work on the restoration of these planes.

At the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, FL you can actually ride a zip line over Africa at Treetop Trek Aerial Adventures. It’s really funny to watch the gorillas pointing up in awe at the humans flying above them.

This is Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach. You can normally not see it from the road due to the high hedges, but when Trump hosted a press conference here concerning his nomination, the hedges were trimmed, and we were able to get this view. It was originally built by Marjorie Merriweather Post.

At the northeast corner of the Space Coast Regional Airport beside the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum is this sign advertising bi-plane rides. We watched as this bi-plane coasted along the runway and rose into the air.

The Antique Car Museum has one room dedicated to Franklin D. Roosevelt, including this gorgeous bust.

The mailbox in front of the Antique Car Museum in Fort Lauderdale is unusual – rims, spark plugs and what seems to be an oil cap.

The Antique Car Museum in Fort Lauderdale has this amazing collection of cigarette lighters from Packard cars.

This is a 1909 Packard Model 18 Gentleman’s Runabout found in the Antique Car Museum in Fort Lauderdale. It has a 4 cylinder 18 hp engine with 3 speeds. The lamps and lights are all acetylene, with kerosene side lamps and solid white rubber tires. This is one of only 11 left of the 802 produced by the Packard Motor Co., and of only 159 total that exist between the years 1899-1915.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to be able to flashback to calm and pleasant airline travel of the 1970’s? Well you can! We just drove from Montreal to tiny Plattsburgh Airport to take Allegiant Air to hot sunny Florida. Easily, we turned off the main road, and drove right up to the airport door. I stepped out with the luggage, and Stan just parked the car across the street.

There was NO line at the Allegiant Air desk and friendly helpful service, I was done in under two minutes. There was NO lineup at security. Since you already drove through the border, there was NO customs and immigration to deal with. In probably about 5 minutes we were going up the elevator to the waiting room.

The room had a retro counter with a man selling candy, snacks, sandwiches and drinks. When I asked him the prices, He said, “What do you want, they’re all in my head?”

There weren’t overhead screens to keep track of the flight. They send any changes to you to your cellphone – and call if necessary, too. The building is going through a renovation so things might be a bit more twenty-first century when you fly.

Those of you already planning your winter sunny getaways will be happy to know that Allegiant Air flying out of Plattsburgh offers low prices with just a short drive away for Montrealers who want a nonstop flight to sunshine. Just be advised that there are extra charges for luggage (even carry-on), choosing seats, and such things as printed boarding passes for you (you can do it at home for free).

Travelers who shop around will find substantial savings when flying with Allegiant, as well as good deals on hotels, rental cars and attractions. Montrealers wishing to spend their hard-earned dollars at their destination, rather than on transportation, can fly to sunny Las Vegas and Florida.

www.allegiantair.com

Grandson of Jacques Cousteau, Fabien Cousteau was entranced by his grandpa’s films and underwater life. Right now he’s in the Florida Keys with a 5-person crew making a documentary and doing science experiments about the ocean.

They will live there for 31 days in the 37-sq. ft Aquarius Reef Base, a school bus size laboratory which is 18 metres below the ocean’s surface a few kilometers off of Key Largo, Florida. Cousteau raised the cash to save the lab which was threatened to close due to US federal budget cuts.

Remaining in an underwater lab allows them to scuba dive for extended periods of time without having to return to the surface to decompress. This Mission 31 will add to the legacy of Jacques Cousteaus’s 1963  Conshelf II 30-day underwater experiment in the Red Sea. He filmed the Oscar winning documentary “World Without Sun” there.

This mission can be broadcast live online. The aquanauts will communicate with public through social media and video chats. It ends on July 2nd. “For the first time, I’m able to invite the world on a Cousteau expedition in real time”, said Couseau.

http://aquarius.fiu.edu
http://aquariusreefbase.org
www.ustream.tv/aquariusreefbase
www.facebook.com/AquariusReefBase