If you’ve ever booked a Caribbean vacation with friends—and agreed to let them do all the planning—you know that the likelihood that they’ll customize the itinerary to suit their tastes could leave you out in the cold. For that reason, take control of your upcoming holiday plans by personally designing a stay that includes your favorite activities, attractions, and entertainments. How to assure yourself of…
Scholars at Atlanta’s Georgia Tech University delved into a topic that few academic institutions have attempted: The origins of the term “going viral.” Their discovery, that going viral has been around for more than 120 years, came about as the result of access to databases covering more than 10 million newspaper pages. The first example? Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan’s 1896 Democratic National Convention speech….
Once upon a time, spring break made parents of college-age kids crazy because these school sabbaticals earned reputations for being endless parties inviting risky behaviors by unleashed collegiates. It’s not hard to understand why students wanted to break free after a semester of hard work in classrooms, labs, and during exam times. Over time, spring break grew to be such wild occasions, average travelers grew…
How important are arts and music festivals? Georgia Southern University Masters candidate Kimberly F. Rudolph wrote her honors thesis on the topic. Art festivals, she discovered, are more than excuses to shop. They’re unifying, too! According to Rudolph’s research, art and music festivals are community-building events that bring like-minded people together, so even if our politics and opinions are diverse, when we share entertainment experiences,…
Ever wonder why news reports of immigration surges from Central America always exclude Belize? The U.S. Center for Immigration Studies recently called this English-speaking nation the land “that creates few problems for the U.S.,” and it also speaks to a population that has no desire to live anywhere else in the hemisphere. Further, while Belize and neighboring nations enjoy similar, if not identical climates, that…
There are plenty of reasons to rely upon regular routines, including staying more efficient, cutting stress, and enhancing happiness. Further, routine keepers tend to avoid procrastinating since routines are known to buffer life’s endless demands and provide much-needed structure. But the downside of routines is that they don’t work for everyone, could trigger boredom and monotony, and can stop us from growing in new and…
Can time spent on a beach make a major difference in the way you approach life and survive the downturns? It can, say doctors who authored and vetted the article about improved mental health for WebMD. Will it replace therapy, drugs, and meditation? Perhaps, they say. And since it costs you nothing to sit on a beach, it makes sense to bury your toes in…
If you’ve ever discussed travel proclivities with others, it probably took less than 10 minutes to see how diverse expectations are, even among people you know well. Some grew up taking family holidays and they stick to those traditions. Others are all about finding new places, people, and experiences. In fact, everyone develops a travel style that is unique. By answering these questions, you can…
If you’re a frequent visitor, you already know that there is no “bad season” to vacation in Belize. Come down in the summer and you’ll be rewarded with small crowds, money-saving deals, and no queues at attractions. Given today’s weather reports, the weather in Belize could feel downright comfy compared to temperatures in your area. Spring in Belize marks an end to Central America’s “dry…
Because today’s offspring tend to have a more sentimental attachment to Mother’s Day, it can be easy to let that third Sunday in June slip by with a last-minute card, but your dad deserves more, writes Catherine Boeckmann for The Farmer’s Almanac. While first recognized by Richard Nixon’s administration, the tale behind the origins of Father’s Day is much more intriguing. While the declaration of…