Bon Voyage: Make tracks to California train stations (Part 3)

Amtrak passengers traveling north from Redding make one stop before they get to Oregon. The number 14 Coast Starlight arrives at about 5 a.m. each morning at the Dunsmuir Station — the third train in the series of active Northern California stations featured in Bon Voyage. ...

Continue reading:
http://www.redding.com/news/2012/apr/15/bon-voyage-make-tracks-to-california-train-part/

Bon Voyage: Make tracks to California train stations (Part 2)

Unless it's their destination, passengers who catch the southbound Amtrak Coast Starlight from Redding may never see much of the depot at the train's next stop. Chico's is the second in the Bon Voyage series that highlights active Northern California train stations. ...

Continue reading:
http://www.redding.com/news/2012/apr/08/make-tracks-to-california-train-stations-151-two/

Bon Voyage: Make tracks to California's train stations

If you've not traveled on Amtrak's Coast Starlight in the past decade, you may not know that community volunteers, train aficionados and county historical societies have build or rebuilt several of Northern California's active stations. The next few columns will describe some of the spiffy made-over stations that might be worth the price of a ticket by themselves. ...

Continue reading:
http://www.redding.com/news/2012/apr/01/bon-voyage-make-tracks-to-californias-train/

Bon Voyage: How to save money while airfares soar

For 10 years, rising airfares have me feeling a little jet lagged before I ever get near a plane.

If the Federal Aviation Administration's economic predictions released this month are accurate — and likely they'll prove so — I might as well take a Dramamine.

Until airlines get more competition, high airfares aren't flying away. The FAA predicts it will be at least a decade or two before that happens. Mergers and partnerships are reducing the number of flights and cities served, so competition is waning.

It's nothing new. For 10 years, travelers have felt their wallets squeezed before they ever squeezed themselves into economy class. ...

Continue reading:
http://www.redding.com/news/2012/mar/18/bon-voyage-how-to-save-money-while-airfares-soar/

Bon Voyage: There's more Mexico than Baja

While reports of crimes against tourists in northern and western Mexico may discourage some from visiting our neighbor to the south, other travelers are learning there's more to Mexico than Baja. Almost three times the size of Texas, Mexico offers travelers a variety of ecosystems to visit, outdoor adventures and relaxing holidays. ...

Continue reading:
http://www.redding.com/news/2012/mar/11/bon-voyage-theres-more-mexico-than-baja/

Bon Voyage: Choose a good taxi driver, company

You researched the best price on your air or train ticket, bought travel insurance and carefully packed your bags. Did you forget anything?

Unless you plan to take a bus or get a ride from a friend, you'll probably need a taxi or shuttle from home and possibly at your destination. You were careful to choose your ticket. Why not put the same careful care into selecting a taxi company? While a taxi doesn't require the large outlay of money and it's a comparably shorter trip, on-time and safe arrival is vital to your vacation plans going smoothly. ...

Continue reading:
http://www.redding.com/news/2012/mar/04/bon-voyage-choose-a-good-taxi-driver-company/

Bon Voyage: Car trips with Rover don't have to be ruff

Mitt Romney is in the proverbial doghouse with some dog lovers.

The story of Romney transporting his dog Seamus in a carrier on top of his car for a 12-hour family road trip in 1983 — at one point hosing dog and carrier down when the dog developed diarrhea, then continuing the trip — was covered in the Boston Globe and on Fox News in 2007. It resurfaced in Newt Gingrich's January "For the Dogs" ad, then again Feb. 14 at the Westminster dog show when protesters representing Dogs Against Romney held photos of dogs with the slogan "I ride inside." ...

Continue reading:
http://www.redding.com/news/2012/feb/25/bon-voyage-car-trips-with-rover-dont-have-to-be/