Top 5 Reasons To Visit Maryland's Waterfowl Festival

1. The Old Bay steam that drifts up from a cup of Maryland crab soup when you eat it outside under red and orange sugar maple trees in Easton's colonial downtown square in mid-November.

2. The hot crabcakes and warm mulled cider that complement the Old Bay steam rising off of your cup of Maryland crab soup when you eat it outside in Easton's colonial downtown square in mid-November.

3. That joy multiplied five times when you notice that every member of your family from the oldest to the youngest   (including the dog) is enjoying himself or herself just as much as you are.

4. The small-town charm of fishing derbies, painting, photography and carving workshops, a world championship goose and duck calling contest, DockDogs competitions, art galleries, live music, horse-drawn carriages, wildlife and conservation expos, oysters, local wines, and more decoys and duck-illustrated mailing stamps than you ever knew existed.

5. Not having to battle hundreds of thousands of people on the Washington D.C. metro to get a glimpse of what's going on. And the knowledge that a free, open parking spot will be right there waiting for you when you pull in. Now that's what I call sanity.

The 40th Annual Waterfowl Festival will take place this weekend, Friday through Sunday, November 12-14, in Easton, Maryland, a small town on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Admission is $10 for all three days (free for children under 12). For more information, to buy tickets, or to volunteer call 410-822-4567. Or visit www.waterfowlfestival.org for a full schedule of events. 

Photo: melissagrimesguyphotography.com

Post originale: http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2010/11/waterfowl-festival-celebrates.html

The Radar: LP's Top Countries for 2011, TSA Secure Flight Policy, Places You'll Never Visit

• Hope you wrote that bucket list in pencil. Lonely Planet has culled the knowledge of its in-house travel experts to put together an "it-list" of top ten countries to visit in 2011. Coming in at number one is Albania, the off-the-radar Balkans' country stepping-out with a new tourist motto, "Albania: A New Mediterranean Love." Rounding off the list: Brazil, Cape Verde, Panama, Bulgaria, Vanuatu, Italy, Tanzania, Syria, and Japan. [Lonely Planet]

• On Monday, TSA's Secure Flight program took full effect meaning all travelers making airline reservations-- whether booking online, over-the-phone, or with a travel agent--must provide complete passenger data before a boarding pass will be issued. TSA will use this data (name, date of birth, and gender) to conduct an identity check and cross-reference with the no-fly list. Read more on TSA's website, but the most important thing to remember is the name on your reservation must match the name on your government-issued ID. [IndependentTraveler.com]

• Inspired by Ian Frazier's Travels in Siberia, Flavorwire put together a list of "10 Books About Places You'll Never Visit." Sounds like a challenge. [Flavorwire]
  

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Photo: Elenita Roshi/MyShot

Post originale: http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2010/11/the-radar-lps-top-countries-fo.html