Boys, Beer, Baby food, Bug spray, & Bananas

Yup - most of our vacation photos included at least 3 of the above. It was a wondrous trek around Texas culminating in a relaxing, beach-bumming foray around Galveston. Rich with historical perspective, warm gulf waters, good eats, and plenty of commercial excitement, I could not have been more impressed with our dirty, little Gulf city - the seat of the county bearing the same name.

Did you know Galveston was home to a number of state firsts, including:

• the first post office (1836)
• the first naval base (1836)
• the first Texas chapter of a Masonic order (1840)
• the first cotton compress (1842)
• first Roman Catholic Cathedral (St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica) (1847)
• the first parochial school (Ursuline Academy) (1847)
• the first insurance company (1854)
• the first gas lights (1856)
• first Jewish Reform Congregation (Congregation B'nai Israel) (1868)
• the first opera house (1870)
• the first orphanage (1876)
• the first telephone (1878)
• the first electric lights (1883)
• the first medical college (now the University of Texas Medical Branch) (1891)
• and the first school for nurses (1890)

That only scratches the surface of this town's historical importance. If you like history and beaches, I strongly suggest visiting this little gem. And ask me where to go and NOT to go. I got some great advice from former locals and students. Hint: eat at The Original Mexican!

Why am I blogging like I'm some sort of travel review columnist? 3 reasons:

1. This is the HEB Plus of blogs - no one really goes there unless you live near by and ran out of gas.
2. I work for one of the largest OLTAs, which gives me an insider's perspective on the travel industry.
3. I'm always in the hunt for some self-indulgent, mundane, inane nonsense which I could publish only to never be heard.
   

Moving on ... a few days ago, Hotwire.com (a Hotels.com sister company - both are owned by Expedia.com) introduced an excellent new site for all the travel freaks out there. It is called Travel Ticker, dedicated to hot travel deals.

This is the first time Hotwire has introduced a new site since the original Hotwire site was created in 2000. Travel Ticker is a consumer-focused model versus a transactional site so visitors are taken off the site when they actually book any travel items. This allows the site to be fully devoted to uncovering great deals for U.S.-based travelers in a fun and innovative way.

Selections are updated hourly and geo-targeted – meaning visitors will first see deals related to where they live, whether its Seattle, St. Louis, or Sarasota. The site also uses a click-based rating system so deals sorted and ranked by visitor popularity throughout the day. As background, Travel Ticker was first established in 2006 as a free online newsletter for people looking for great travel deals. When the newsletter reached more than 11 million subscribers, it was clear that more frequent updates were needed and that a true community had formed. Thus, a new site joined the Hotwire family.

So how do they find these great rates? The team works around the clock to search for bargains and relies on the relationships and network of more than 10,000 contacts Hotwire has in the travel industry to highlight little-known deals for travelers.

• Visit today at http://www.travel-ticker.com.
  

Now that I've bored everyone to tears (I think I'm up to 5 visitors now) I leave you with a "must-see" movie recommendation. American Splendor. Have you seen it?

Daily Manna from the 'Net for Tuesday, July 22, 2008

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 'Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' 'But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 'I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.' Luke 18:9-14 NIV | Listen