lifestyle

50 ideas to save energy, save money, and get healthier and fit – all while on vacation: from Inn-to-Inn Horseback Riding in Ireland, to New Zealand Multisport Adventure, to Everglades Multiday Kayaking Tour -

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All told, active travel accounted for an estimated $60 billion in vacation spending in 2007. "It used to be that adventure travel was very physical and risky, like climbing Mount McKinley," says Shannon Stowell, president of the Adventure Travel Trade Association and coauthor of Riding the Hulahula to the Arctic Ocean, a guide for adventure-hungry boomers.

The choices vary widely in terms of physical demands and comfort. At travel site iExplore.com, for example, trips considered "easy" involve nothing more than normal walking while sightseeing. A "moderate" rating might require three to five hours of physical activity daily. To go on a challenging trip, you must be fit enough to hike or bike for up to seven hours over steep or rugged terrain at elevations that sometimes exceed 10,000 feet. Typically, tour operators tailor activities to suit the group, offering more than one route to a destination, for example, and support vans to transport anybody who needs to take a break. Some offer deluxe lodging and meals to delight foodies; others put up tents at remote campsites and cook over the fire.

You won't fully enjoy even the easiest trips without some physical exertion, so if you haven't already, develop a workout routine well before your departure date. "Otherwise, better to hang out on the beach," warns Stowell.

Here's a sampling of options:  read more »

• Hiking
• Biking
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Original Source: New York Times

"Over the years, I have spent a lot of time in the western counties of Galway and Clare, and if nothing else, this is what I have gleaned: Ireland can be that place you missed as you traveled around Ireland, looking for Ireland.

Yes, you can find a thatched cottage here and there, if you try. Yes, you may even encounter a white clot of sheep blocking your rented car’s path, raising from musty memory some postcard caption about Irish Rush Hour. But to wander about, looking to bag with a digital camera some approximation of a time-faded Irish postcard, is to miss the complexities of a country that is thoroughly enjoying its wealth and adapting to its European Union membership while at the same time trying to preserve its dreamlike landscape and proud cultural heritage.

You may indeed hear a young Irish woman suddenly break into song in Kinvara. But you may also walk around the corner and be served dinner by a young man with an Eastern European accent instead of a brogue. Travel 10 miles up the road to Gort and you might wade into a celebration of Brazilian culture, staged by a transplanted community that is now an integral part of that old market town.

There you have it: delightful, post-millennial Ireland."

Images courtesy of New York Times

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"Focus on your waist, not your weight.

If you've tried every calorie-restricting diet out there but still can't keep the weight off, there's a reason: Diets don't work.

Over time, the majority of dieters regain any weight they may have lost, according to researchers… Instead, your goal should be to eat nutritious foods that make you younger -- and make that a lifelong habit. The good news? Your waist may shrink as a fringe benefit.

..."

Original Source