Thursday, March 11, 2021 Greetings from chilly Southern California! It’s been raining on and off here the last couple of days, which has been great since we really need it. However, in the middle of the night on Tuesday the rain was so loud it woke me from a deep sleep, which is very rare especially in Los Angeles. I opened up my curtains to see if it was hail or if there was any flooding and I saw two large objects about the size of eggs. Hail in L.A. is even rarer than rain but hail the size of eggs would be breaking news. After rubbing my eyes in disbelief, I realized that what I was seeing wasn't chunks of ice but rather eggs. I figured the strong wind and rain must have knocked a bird's nest down. I started Googling “what to do if you find abandoned bird eggs.” The answers were mixed with most results warning not to touch them or bring them in the house unless you have an incubator. Who the heck has an incubator? Side note: This jolted my memory and I now vaguely remember my siblings having one when I was a kid. I went downstairs to take a closer look as I debated what to do. Upon further inspection, I realized they were plastic Easter eggs from our neighbor's garden. It gave me a good chuckle and I was relieved no birds were abandoned and that I hadn't woken my wife or neighbors asking for a heat lamp. A Brilliant Reader Travel Tip: How to Protect Your Belongings on a Road Trip We recently ran a few tips last week about road trip safety (Tip 1, Tip 2 and Tip 3). One of them prompted a reader to write in with his genius tip that had never crossed my mind before. Bill P. shares what he and his family do when taking a road trip. He says: I’d previously spent a year in Europe before our marriage and have been many times so my family has generally profited from my past mistakes. Here is a tip that works for us. With six of us traveling, typically from point to point with tourist stops on the way, we have a lot of luggage. So, we bring a ... Read Bill's tip here. When Can We Travel Safely? This week, I wrote about how disappointing it was that the CDC's new guidelines for those who have been fully vaccinated still discourage travel. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see multiple cautious doctors disagree. Here's when they think it's safe to travel and when I will be comfortable. Just In: The great state of Maine has just created a new plan called Moving Maine Forward. Here's who can enter without a COVID-19 test. 12 Things in Travel You Need to Know Today Yesterday's Surprising TSA Checkpoint Numbers Delta Air Lines adding in-flight contactless payment American, United cancel 27,000 furloughs after stimulus package passes Hawaiian Airlines Starts Long Beach-Maui Service JetBlue Is Changing Its Pandemic-era Flight Boarding Policy — Here's What to Know JetBlue founder's Breeze Airways cleared for takeoff by DOT Travel search platform Kayak set to open its first 'tech-forward' hotel in Miami Beach France eases COVID-19 restrictions on some international travelers (not Americans) Storm Brings Rare Snow To Santa Barbara The Most Traffic Congested Cities In The World Video of the Day: The Secret To Using Salt & Pepper Shakers Is it worth it to get a travel credit card? Here are some factors to consider Read it all here in today's travel news round-up. When can you travel to Europe again? Why buy plane tickets and reserve a car now? Another busy week for the travel industry and I just wrote a post on why you might want to buy your plane tickets today for spring and summer travel. Also, when will you be able to travel to Europe again? Read it all here. Hands Down the Best Beach Toy for Kids After one toss, my son was hooked. He seriously would not stop asking for one and he’s never done that before and since then, I've had countless readers email or tweet me to say how much their kids love it. Here's where to get it ... and it's inexpensive, too. This Week’s Travel Contests |