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By John Hunter

Recently, I received an email that included the following directions: Go to the opening page of www.Google.com. Type in “weapons of mass destruction” (do not hit the return button). Hit the “I'm feeling lucky” button, instead of the normal “Google search” button. Read what appears to be a normal error message ENTIRELY and CAREFULLY. Maybe Google.com should be renamed Giggle.com.

If you are like me, fall vacations are very appealing. In the past I have relied on Mapquest maps or the National Geographic mapping software to plan my trips. While these programs are good, I may have found a better program for this purpose with www.Randmcnally.com. The Rand McNally website is amazing (and free). The site provides an easy to use template to take you anywhere by car. And you can book airline flights as well. Like the National Geographic software, you can add stops to your trip and find places to visit near your trip route.

Just for fun I plotted a trip from Rome, NY to Ogunquit, Maine. To plot a trip, you choose one of two options, the fastest route or the shortest route. Then you choose the amount of detail you wish to see. I chose the most detailed option and found that the directions printed on 19 pages (gulp!) in full color. The directions gave me the shortest route in miles (303 miles with a 7 hour 15 minute estimated driving time). The driving directions included 94 steps, each with a mini map for that particular piece of the journey and the distance that piece comprised. For example, step 3 directed me to “Turn right onto RT-46 S (Black River Blvd) and go southwest for 0.40 miles to Dominick St. That step provided a mini map drawn to ½ inch equals 1000 ft. scale. With this kind of detail, I don't see how anyone could get lost. And even the least able navigator won't have to ask anyone for directions.

As a comparison I plotted the same trip using different parameters. I chose the fastest route with minimum directions. The drive time was reduced to 5 hours and 50 minutes, a reduction of one and one half hours, but the distance lengthened to 342 miles. A good trade off of time versus distance, I think. With the shorter version, I found that instead of 94 steps with 94 mini maps, I had two maps with 34 steps that printed on 4 pages. The directions on the shorter version are very clear. Skip the longer version and save your paper and ink!

This website is very complete. You can even get a listing of road construction areas on your proposed route. If you want to find out the weather forecast for your destination, there is a link available. The weather site looks very much like a weather.com page.

Another travel site I found this summer is www.Iexplore.com. This site is definitely for the more adventurous and physically fit and is affiliated with National Geographic Society. Do you want to vacation in Bhutan? Iexplore has 14 different vacation packages that include options such as trekking, walking tours, photography tours, and festival and culture tours. Each package is rated by tour length, price and difficulty with separate ratings for physical difficulty, mental difficulty and technical difficulty. The trips range in difficulty from easy, rated 1 in each category to difficult, rated 4 in each category. To start your planning, click on a map of the general area you wish to visit or fill in the appropriate boxes. Once you have decided where you want to go, what you want to do and when you want to do it, select the physical, mental and technical levels of difficulty you think you can manage. The site will book your trip and sell you the necessary gear if you need it.

A third travel site is www.Lonelyplanet.com. This site provides unfiltered info for the inveterate traveler. The site and its various links provide personal tales and tips you won't find in most guidebooks. The various pages in the website are neatly arranged in a column on the left of the screen. You may plan trips by theme, by country or by continent. The site provides good information regarding special interests such as biking or traveling with a disability. Lonelyplanet also sells guidebooks for many, many places. If you are concerned about conditions in the country you plan to visit, the website provides country-specific warnings for political unrest, disease and so on. But to be on the safe side, you probably should check on these concerns with the U.S. State Department’s website that you can access at www.Firstgov.gov.

Finally, if you don't want to go anywhere, but also don't want to settle in as a couch potato, try www.Idealist.org. This site will help you fill those empty hours. The site lists more than 33,000 nonprofit and community organizations in 165 countries which you can search by name, location or mission. If you are too shy to search for activities to become involved with yourself, you can post a profile to help the appropriate organization find you. The site also provides a regular email service that lists volunteer opportunities that fit your criteria.

This site provides information in English, Spanish, French or Russian. You can search for various activities such as volunteering, interning, consulting and so on. Organizations can also sign up to post jobs, events, volunteer opportunities or projects for consultants. There is also a site for teachers that lists opportunities for student involvement, family volunteering, and curricula and classroom materials. Give it a look. You may find something you like.
Until next month...

John M. Hunter

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