Gallagher's Travels: Letter From the Editor: September 2006

Letter from the Editor

December 2006

Dear Friends,

Perhaps it's the cooler weather or the thought of changes for the New Year but something has motivated me to clean closets and sort through boxes and boxes of old files and letters. Mountains of them. Horror still waits in the closets!

Christmas cards and photos of people I don't remember (Sorry!). Passionate expressions of undying love from old flames and I don't even wonder: "Where are they now?"

My sisters and I are the same way, (Well one joined "Hoarder's Anonymous" and has reformed.) but I'm famous for the cry, whether it's been in the refrig for three months or the freezer for a year or especially books and clothes of unknown vintage… "But it's still good!" Mold is what makes cheese good, clothes styles always come back, and I even found and read an old review of this book from the 60's I have always wanted to read!

Then years of intense travel adds to the pile. Restaurant menus, hotel and historic site photos, guide books, walking tour brochures, maps, thousands of little notebooks with the first dozen pages written in. Then I have souvenirs, some of which I'll never get rid of, others that are totally befuddling and should go out the door in a flash.

As an art (some good, some of dubious quality) collector, if I should get it all framed I would need George Soros to pay the invoice. Then books, perhaps someday they'll figure a way to use all those millions of books that I wasn't able to sell and donated to the library sale and then they weren't able to sell them either! Maybe they can become an energy source we can run our cars on?

I have a small shredder and no way was it up to the job of 2 foot piles of old credit card offers, tax forms, and other miscellaneous paper stuff that you MUST shred to avoid the dreaded identity theft. This is a job that it's best not to fall behind in or perhaps as an alternative wait for a free shred day at your bank!

After a couple of weeks it's enough to drive one out of town! Time for another trip!

This is a very busy time for all of us with lots of happy times and some sad. Enjoy your families and friends and everyone around you. Take them into 2007 to cherish for another year.

Happy Trails!

Mary E. Gallagher

mary@gallagherstravels.com

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I can now visit the Westin Arlington Gateway, which began a pilot Travelers' Renewal Program designed to help guests ease the wear-and-tear of traveling (or in some cases from being at home). Although the program was created in response to Westin's landmark attitudinal research study on the physiological and psychological effects of travel, just ask any road warrior about the stress of travel today. Many are putting their foot down and saying NO!

The three-pronged program features a Travelers' Renewal Menu, Station and Kit. The menu will offer remedies for common travel ailments, such as green tea to reenergize, aloe and pineapple sorbet to sooth sore throats and hot chicken soup to quell a stomach upset. Travelers' Renewal Stations will provide fruit, hand purifier, and water in Westin hotel lobbies to help keep guests hydrated and healthy when they arrive and at least until they leave the hotel's doors. The Travelers' Renewal Kit will be available for purchase, offering items to make traveling easier, from a refreshing hand purifier to Sudoku games.

FACT: Many travelers are sick on the road. Nearly 8 in 10 have taken flights while feeling under the weather.

RENEWAL REMEDY: The Travelers' Renewal menu includes a portfolio of cold relief and stomach-calming snacks, including vitamin C-dense Boost Juice, a honeysuckle and lemon elixir, and a Havana Treat Plate that is filled with foods that ease digestion such as bananas, rice, and toast. The Renewal Station at the hotels' doors will also offer hand purifying towelettes, water, and hydrating fruits to help guests reduce their exposure to germs and combat illness on the road.

FACT: Travel can be physically depleting. Nearly one in four frequent traveler's experiences physical stress while flying.

RENEWAL REMEDY: The Travelers' Renewal Menu will make available various products to lessen physical discomfort, including a heating pad, ice pack, and humidifier. Guests will also be able to request common over-the-counter medications anytime day or night.

FACT: Travel can interrupt sleep habits. Fifty-five percent of survey respondents experience significant shifts in sleep habits away from home.

RENEWAL REMEDY: Westin will offer insomnia relief products like a goodnight banana and milk smoothie to guests, and foods dense with good carbohydrates to help jetlagged guests fall asleep, and protein-rich foods to help them face the new day feeling energized.

FACT: Travelers often feel off-balance or out of control, and two-thirds of them do something to alleviate their sense of lost control while traveling.

RENEWAL REMEDY: The Travelers' Renewal Kit will offer mind-enriching distractions like Sudoku and a copy of Prevention magazine, in addition to hand purifying towelettes, a healthy energy bar, and other renewing treats.

FACT: Travelers don't have to feel run down away from home.

RENEWAL REMEDY: The editors at Prevention magazine have an arsenal of tips for healthy travel, and Westin guests will have access to this information throughout their stay. Guests will learn everything from the fact that the scent of citrus has revitalizing properties to how to get the best workout on the road.

For more information on the Travelers' Renewal products visit www.westin.com/travelersrenewal.

Westin Hotels & Resorts, with 127 hotels and resorts in 31 countries and territories, is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc

www.starwoodhotels.com>

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One of the fastest growing destinations for travelers is Africa. Whether you want to tour wineries, see big game or have very reasonable and skilled plastic surgery, Africa is the place to go.

Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Retreat announces it has received the Relais & Châteaux Environment Trophy 2007. The award was bestowed upon the reserve in recognition of Bushmans Kloof's exceptional environmental and conservation projects. These include its Rock art conservation programme; providing a sanctuary for the endangered Cape Mountain Zebra and Clanwilliam Yellow Fish; its support of the Cape Mountain Leopard project; as well as alien vegetation clearing. Other environmental friendly practises at the lodge include the cultivation of organic kitchen gardens; recycling waste material; and water and energy saving.

Relais & Châteaux is an international association of the world's finest restaurants and hotels and is dedicated to protecting and preserving the environment. The global Environment Trophy, awarded for the fourth time, was jointly presented to Bushmans Kloof and The Little Nell (Aspen, Colorado USA) in recognition of the respect for the environment and nature demonstrated in such a remarkable manner by the two Relais & Châteaux properties. The two joint winners were selected from among almost 300 Relais & Châteaux member properties across the globe that have developed initiatives to help protect the environment and nature.

Situated in the majestic Cederberg Mountains, just 270km north of Cape Town, this 7500 hectare wilderness that is Bushmans Kloof, is a South African Natural Heritage Site. It is located within the Cederberg Wilderness Area, which forms part of the Cape Floral Region, a World Heritage Site. Earlier this year (April 2006), Bushmans Kloof was positioned amongst the top three in the International Tourism for Tomorrow awards, which was held in Washington DC during the 6th Global Travel & Tourism Summit.

Today Bushmans Kloof stands as a true conservation success story and the owners, management and staff will continue their dedication and commitment to preserving the natural environment and heritage for generations to come.

Contact Bushmans Kloof Reservations for further information: Tel (021) 685 2598

Fax (021) 685 5210; e-mail info@bushmanskloof

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