Baltimore: Carb Cake Capital of the World

Baltimore is the largest city in the state of Maryland, part of the Chesapeake Bay region of the United States.of America It is a major seaport. Baltimore is famous for its crab cakes, claimed to be the best in the world. You can have steamed crabs and broiled crab cakes. Only question visitors ask is, where can I get the best Baltimore crab cake? That is a pretty tough question to answer, as it will depend on who you ask.

Here are some suggestions: ask for jumbo-lump blue crab meat which the Baltimore residents claimed is the best crab meat. It is the best and biggest part of the crab meat and very tasty. A restaurant in Baltimore serves the Chesapeake Crab Cake Platter.

Baltimore is also the birthplace of the Old Bay Seasoning, a blend of herbs and spices. Old Bay Seasoning was invented by German immigrant Gustav Brunn in the 1940s and it has been very popular till today, not only for crab cakes, but also to season shrimps and as a topping on fried chicken, popcorn, corn on the cob, salads, eggs, french fries and potato chips. Its ingredients include bay leaf, cinnamon, celery salt, mustard seed, black and red pepper, and ginger.

Gustav Brunn formed a company called Old Bay Company to producing crab seasonings which are packed in the unique yellow can container. Around 1990, Old Bay Company was bought over by McCormick and Company which continued the tradition of packing the around 1990. McCormick continues to pack the Old Bay Season in the classic yellow can. It is distributed world wide by McCormick and Company.

San Diego and South Mission Beach

I visited San Diego, California, sometime back in the 80's. San Diego is located by the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, the second largest city in California and the eighth largest city in the United States. It is a pleasant city with access to some beautiful beaches, the largest of which is Mission Beach. It has a pleasant, mild and sunny weather throughout the year with average monthly temperatures of about 14°C in January to 22°C in July.

San Diego is very near the Mexican border with the United States sharing a border with Mexico at Tijuana, just approximately 16 miles or 25 kilometers south of San Diego. Americans and tourists go to Tijuana to buy prescription drugs, fake brand-name clothing and accessories plus for entertainment. There are many night clubs at Tijuana. I went there, but didn't buy anything.

The residents of neighbouring states of Arizona and Nevada flock to San Diego in the Summer when temperatures reaches into the 100s. They would seek San Diego Beach Rentals for their sojourn there. Mission Beach Rentals are popular with the beach lovers. Mission Beach is a stretch of sandbar along the Pacific Ocean east of San Diego. There are many well-known bars in Mission Beach which are relaxed, beach-style gathering places for residents as well as visitors. The more popular one are The Sandbar Sports Grill, The Beachcomber and The Pennant.

If you are going to San Diego with a large of extended family, a great option would be Togethering, vacations with extended families. You can get accommodation for groups of approximately 12 to 27 people. You can then spend a relaxing time with the uncles and aunties or nephews and nieces, etc.

Wedding Photographers Directory by States

I am old enough to have memories of weddings of long ago. The family will just get a relative or friend who has a camera and some skills to help. Today's generation is different. They have different expectations for their (hopefully) once a lifetime event. They want something more professional. I know because I have married off 2 daughters, and both of them engaged professional photographers. I have to admit that they did a much better job at what used to pass off as wedding photographs. Not only did they produced beautiful photographs to keep memories alive, the professional photographers even produced impressive slide shows for the wedding receptions. Reluctant to admit it, but it was much better than the weddings of the past. Was nice to see myself on the screen at the wedding reception too, as the brides' father.

But how do you go about getting a professional photographer for your wedding? Some get them by word of mouth. With the ubiquitous Internet, you can now search for the perfect wedding photographer for your wedding. One way is to go to find wedding photographers. There you will find all the states of the United States of America listed. If you are looking for wedding photographers in California, go to California wedding photographers. Happened to be in Texas? There is Texas wedding photographers.

If you happen to be a professional photographer, there is a provision for you to list on that site. Unfortunately, when you click "Add listing", at the time of publishing, I got a message "Details soon....". Perhaps by the time you read this post, they will have the details up. Clicking on "Contact" produced the same "Details soon...." message. I am no professional photographer, so you may ask why I am so interested. The reason is I have a friend who is a professional photographer who do wedding photographs, and she is a member of WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International). See Mana Photo Graphics for your wedding photos, I would like to let her know about this site. Perhaps I will try again later.

Waterfalls location map for United States of America

Waterfalls are great places to visit. They give a sense of peace and serenity. The sound of falling water can be considered white noise which promotes relaxation. It will lull your babies to sleep. Negative ions are also aplenty at waterfall. As the falling water breaks up into small droplets, electrons are knocked loose from the water atoms and combine with oxygen atoms in the air to create negative air ions. Many believe negative ions promotes good health, mood, and energy and also affecting serotonin levels in the brain. Negative ions also bond with impurities in the air and remove them. Air around waterfalls are thus purer.

There are lots of waterfalls around the United States of America. And if you believe visiting waterfalls is good for you, here is help - Waterfalls By Location. With that aid, you can easily locate waterfalls plus nearby lodging options. For example, if you want to look for waterfalls plus nearby lodging options in California, click on "California" at the side of that location map and you get to California Waterfalls and Hotels By Location. Click on one of those numerous pins, and you will see a tool tip like for example "Huntington Falls", and below that is a link "Search hotels nearest to this waterfall. Click on that and you will be taken to a list of Hotels near Huntington Falls.

What a tool if you are a waterfall lover!!!!!

Siesta Key, Florida

While there is the word "Key" in it, Siesta Key actually is not located in Florida Keys, but is a barrier island off of the central western coast of Florida between Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, just below Tampa, coordinates 27°16′31″N, 82°33′9″W. Portion of it lies within the city boundary of Sarasota. Siesta Key is best known for its beaches, especially Siesta Beach. There are a few beaches in Siesta Key, all comprising 99% pure white quartz sand with a texture like refined sugar. Visitors says the sand never feels hot. Beaches include Crescent Beach, Siesta Beach and Turtle beach, but the most well known is Siesta Beach. The beach has won for itself numerous awards including being named the “Best Overall” in the "1987 International Sand Contest", the “Best Sand Beach in America 2004” by the Travel Channel, rated one of the best for walking by National Geographic Traveler, ranked third in the Top 10 US beaches in a poll by USA Today.com reader poll ranked and voted Number 3 in its list of Top 10 U.S. beaches Best Beach 2000 by Florida Living Magazine.

Other beaches in Siesta Keys include Crescent Beach and Turtle beach, but they are not as well know or popular as Siesta Beach. Further, there are lifeguards on Siesta Beach all year round, but Turtle Beach has no lifeguard. However, parking is often full in Siesta beach, but you can be sure of find a parking space at Turtle Beach. The sand is also more coarse in Turtle Beach with more shells which may attract beach combers and shell collectors. You may also find petrified sharks' teeth to take home and treasure, especially after a storm. Crescent Beach is harder to access and is more quite and secluded.

Crystal lovers has called beaches on Siesta Key as crystal beaches because the beaches
consists of quartz crystals. These crystal lovers believe that quartz crystals have physical, mental or emotional healing properties. However, these claims are not backed by any scientific studies, so you will have to take it with a pinch of salt.

You can find numerous wild life in Siesta Key with its lush tropical forest and sparkling ocean which is inhabited by wild rabbits, herons, wild parrots and other native birds, gulls, terns, plovers, pelicans, egrets, herons, ibis, spoonbills, storks, cranes, manatees, dolphins and a large varieties of fish species in the Gulf, bays, lakes, rivers and streams.

Getting accommodation for your vacation in Siesta Key is no problem as there are many types of accommodations there, including hotels, motels, apartments, condominiums, beach resorts, houses, cottages and suites.

Florida for Nature and Beach Lovers

The United States of America is a huge federation of 50 states covering an area of 3.7 million square miles which put it as the third largest country in the world in terms of land area. Its climate ranges from severe cold polar in Alaska to warm tropical in South Florida and Hawaii. It is not uncommon for residents in the cold north to escape to the warmer weather in the south in winter. It is also not uncommon for retired residents in the north to move south to spend their retirement years in warmer weather. Many also journey to the south for their vacation

A prime candidate for such move is peaceful Kissimmee, Florida. Kissimmee is a peaceful town boasting of a few resorts, museums and art galleries. Nature lovers will love Kissimmee for there are some a wide expense of wetlands. Those who are interested in conservation of the environment may be interested in how Kissimmee restored the Kissimmee River. For the majority, probably the reason they go to Kissimmee is because it is very near to Orlando, the world capital of theme parks. The world famous Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Studios, etc., are located in Orlando. Orlando is an easy drive from Kissimmee. There are hotels here that provides shuttle bus services to the resorts in Orlando. Plus you probably can get cheaper accommodation here than in Orlando. For accommodations, try Kissimmee vacation rentals.

Beach lovers can check out Panama City Beach with its 27 miles of beautiful white sandy beach. They call it sugar sand. The sand is white because quartz crystals were washed down from the Appalachian Mountains centuries ago. The ocean water crystal clear and great for swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving. You may also be interested in skiing, parasailing, diving or fishing. College students and other youngsters will love the annual Panama City Spring Break with its concerts, contests, giveaways and beach parties.

You will love Panama City Beach if you are a golf enthusiast because there are plenty of golf courses.

Panama City Beach lay claim to the title of "Seafood Capital of the World" and you can actually find a wide array of seafood restaurants in Panama City Beach where you can enjoy fresh seafood newly harvested from the ocean.

Other attractions in Panama City Beach includes theme parks. Shipwreck Island is the largest water park around. From Panama City Beach, you can also join cruises of every kind, enjoy the beautiful scenery visit the Zoo World Zoological and Botanical Park which features a wide variety of animals, including rare and endangered species.

There is also St. Andrews State Park adjacent to Panama City Beach. St. Andrews has more than 1,000 acres of spotless sugar white sand, dunes, and emerald waters. You can snorkel, swim and do other things you normally do on a beach. You may be lucky and catch a glimpse of some wildlife like foxes, deer, coyotes, and other animals. There are two fishing piers and jetties which provide excellent vantage points year-round for casting your lines if you are interested in fishing. You may get spanish mackerel, red fish, flounder, sea trout, bonito, cobia and bluefish.

Remember to book your accommodation at Panama City beach vacation homes.

Another interesting place to visit for family vacation, nature and beach lovers in the Florida Panhandle is Fort Myers Beach. You can escape the crowd here. Watching loggerhead turtles laying eggs at the Lovers Key State Park during the nesting season (Spring and Summer). Bottlenose dolphins, West Indian manatees, marsh rabbits, roseate spoonbills, and bald eagles also make their home here.

Matanzas Pass Preserve is a wetland eco-systems containing one of the last maritime oak hammocks in the area. There is 1.25 miles of trails that wind through the canopies of mangroves and the oak hammock for your hiking pleasure while you enjoy a nice view of the Estero Bay. You will probably spot plenty of wildlife ranging from dolphins, manatees, herons, egrets, pelicans and snowbirds, and also the native plants.

An unique place to visit is the Mound Key, constructed with shells left by the Caloosa Indians over 1,000 years ago. However, it is accessible by boat only.

Or visit the Thomas Edison and Henry Ford winter homes for a glimpse into the life of these 2 great personalities. Or take a stroll on the Fort Myers Beach Pier, which reaches about 600 feet into the gulf. Cast a line here and get a catch you can take a photograph with to boast about at home.

For accommodation, chose and book yours online via Fort Myers Beach vacation rentals.

Accommodation for students of University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

One of the 16 public state in the state of North Carolina is the Universities of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill which specializing in medicine and law. If you happen to have children taking their tertiary studies at UNC Chapel Hill, you will be worried about getting affordable and safe accommodation for your children. If so, it looks like you are in luck because there seem to be a charitable person or group of persons who have set up a website to help in this respect. I am referring to UNC Chapel Hill student apartments or UNCLiving, and it says "For the students, by the students" on that site. I don't see any advertisements which means some kindly soul or souls are financing the site. On my part, I wouldn't mind seeing a couple of ads, as it is only fair to try to recover some of your cost, if only to try to cover for hosting fees, etc, but no, not a single ad on their site other than the free classified ads.

OK, I found some information on how the above site came about. UNCLiving.com was founded by Sir Joe and Sir Billy (not even their full name is revealed, shows how humble they are) sometime late in the fall of 2006 (obtained from About Us). After creating NCSULiving and getting such good feedback, the two could not help themselves to continue to expand. The basic idea is that students need a way to search for living accomodations without driving from place to place or being at the mercy of a property manager. To that I would say a big AYE because I have an environmental site Enviroman Says and I know very well the wastage in time, precious fossil fuel, and increment to the green house gasses that driving from place to place to hunt for accommodation will involve.

And at their Site Map, I saw a link The Warehouse (this don't seem to be a part of UNCLiving site, and the term Warehouse don't convey an idea of condusive living) where for a total cost per month is just $595.00, you get water, electricity, T-1 internet access, cable TV, fire safety features, locked main entrance with intercom and remote lock, key card access, guard on duty every night, fitness center, large capacity, stackable, GE washer and dryer in every apartment, located just three blocks west of the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill so it is not necessary to drive or even take the bus (another plus for the environmentally and fitness concious) and is located in the heart of downtown Chapel Hill within easy walk to more than fifty restaurants.

Some of the sites listed in their Site Map even have the blueprints (plans) of their apartments published. An example is Autumn Woods Blueprints so you will know exactly what you will be getting.

Looks like a really interesting and environmentally friendly site to me, something I myself will like to create if I have the ability.