This is turning out to be the summer of bed bugs. There have been numerous issues on the news of bed bug invasions throughout the US.

In researching bed bugs I found this website Bed Bug Reports. They give many good examples of how to check for bed bugs in hotels prior to going to sleep.

These little blood suckers get you when you are asleep and can live years between meals. They also can readily crawl in to your luggage over night. You then bring them home.

The list on www.bedbugreports.com, gives a list of complaints from users of the website along with a list of hotels, some very fancy where people have been bitten. They also have some pictures of bed bug bites which are pretty disgusting.

The short answer is yes.  A study by The University System of Georgia concluded that kids who spent a year studying abroad experienced greater success. Here are some of the key findings of the study:

Graduation rates were higher for Georgia students who studied abroad than for those who stayed home. The six-year graduation rate averaged 89 percent for study-abroad students, as against 83 percent for the control group.

Grade-point averages ran a bit higher for students who had studied abroad, particularly among those with lower SAT scores. The mean GPA of study-abroad students with 1000 SAT scores (500 points each on the verbal and math section, close to the national average) was 3.22, a strong B, compared with 3.16 for those who had not studied abroad.

If you can afford to send your kids to a foreign country for a year you probably should. Not only will they learn about another culture but they will do better academically when they return.

According to a report from the ITB, hotel reservations are down 14% worldwide. That does not seem to be the case in middle eastern cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi where reservations are actually up this year. A larger than usual number of visitors are visiting UAE according to airlines such as Etihad and Emirates.

Hotels in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other cities in the Middle East region are among the leading performers in the global hotel industry, said professional services firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. [khaleej Times]

In response, many online reservation sites have launched to meet the demand of these travelers. Among these is a newly launced UAE Hotel Site that distinguishes itself as an easy to use website for budget consious business travelers. One way that the global economic crisis has hit even the United Arab Emirates however is in the hotel rates. According to a UAE.ae Hotel site by Cheaperthanhotels the hotel rates have remained accessible if enough shopping is done.

High rise hotels in downtown Dubai are seeing more travelers than other regions

Recently I was looking up some information to go to the Buffalo area this summer and thought I would stop over to Six Flags Darien Lake or catch a concert over there. I didn’t realize that Six Flags no longer owns the park. It looks like they sold it last year.

Too bad. I guess this economy is also getting big guys like Six Flags. I found the information on this website: Six Flags Darien Lake. They have pictures of the coasters, etc. Hopefully they are still up there.

If anyone has any more information on Darien Lake Amusement Park? Is that what they call it now, make a comment!

If you are looking for a vacation with a little adventure, consider the small Central American country of Belize. Belize is heating up as one of the top vacation spots for Americans. The national language is English.

They were a colony of Britain up until 1981. The country is very poor but the people are wonderful.

Belize has wonderful Mayan ruins.Located across the rolling hills of Western Belize near the Guatemalan border is the Mayan Ruins of Xunantunich (Maiden of the Rock) Plaza can be found spanning several hundred feet up. El Castillo, the tallest temple at the site, provides a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside and portions of Guatemala

Visiting Mayan Palaces is another wonderful trip to consider while visiting. Also in the western portion of the country is the town of

If you are looking for a great new attraction in Orlando from the King’s of entertainment, you have to visit the new Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom in Disneyworld. Open Now, the roller coaster offers and experience not offerred by the likes of disney yet.

Looking to keep more visitors from going to rival Universal Studio’s in Orlando, Disney created this new rollercoaster. They took their job serious for this attraction by sending the makers to Mount Everest.

You can visit www.disneyeverest.com for all information on the disney attraction or www.hotelsanddeals.com/walt_disney_world_resort.html to find good priced lodging near the kingdom.

The Kennedy Space Center offers exciting ways to see the NASA facilities. For an introduction, embark upon the Kennedy Space Center tour, running throughout the day and included with admission. Bring your camera to the LC-39 Observation Gantry and capture panoramic launch pad views.

Special Interest Tours provide an even more in depth look and commentary from expert guides, but seating is limited – you’ll want to call ahead to reserve your space. The NASA Up Close Tour gets closest to the launch pads and now stops at the International Space Station Center. Or choose the Cape Canaveral: Then and Now Tour and explore the historic launch sites of the manned Mercury and Gemini programs and the active unmanned rocket programs of today.

Millions of people all over the world held their breath while a single man put his foot onto the moons surface. It was a journey that began just a short distance from where the Appollo/Saturn V Center stands today.

For those who remember, the event remains in their minds just as those footprints remain in the lunar soil. Here along the tour route, it returns spectacularly to life. From “Go Fever,” to the thunderous launches and the mission dangers, the moon landing still raises goosebumps over 30 years later.

While planning a trip to the Space Center, we recommend checking lodging from Travel-locator.com. http://www.travel-locator.com/kennedy_space_center.html lists out all the hotels near the Space Center.

Recently while searching the internet, I found the coolest site for Travel Reviews, Bevohead.com. Most of the time my searches on Yahoo or Google don’t provide exactly what I want when I search on travel. <br /><br />With Bevohead, I can get reviews on most locations in the US and Canada from people that actually visited the attractions, restaurants, or hotels I want to check out. <br /><br />With an upcoming trip to Orlando, this turned out being an invaluable resource. I had been to Orlando numerous times before, but always got stuck with a crummy hotel. The pictures on these hotel sites show beautiful images and oftentimes over-rated descriptions. I ended up staying at the Marriotts Sabal Palms due to a user’s review and it was great. <br /><br />Thanks Bevohead!

Carlsbad Caverns National Park Major Destination this Summer.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park will attract thousands of tourists this summer. Hotel reservations in the Carlsbad, California area have been up significantly over the past month. This is according to online hotel booking site
www.bookyourstay.com. According to bookyourstay.com, The park already tops the list of early hotel reservations.

Carlsbad Cavern, with one of the world’s largest underground chambers
and countless formations.It is very popular among families mainly because of the easy accessibility of over 100 caves including Lechuguilla Cave—the nation’s deepest limestone cave at 1,567 feet (478m) and fourth longest.

The park offers year-round tours and hosts special sponsored events on holidays outlined by the parks official website www.nps.gov.

According to www.bookyourstay.com there is still plenty of space available in over 10 local hotels near the national park.

www.bookyourstay.com