Houston 40 years since the moon landing

Next week America will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, when astronaut Neil Armstrong uttered the first words spoken— “Houston. Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."

Outer space has fascinated mankind for centuries, and space is often synonymous with Houston, home to Johnson Space Center and Mission Control. Beginning with NASA’s own Space Center Houston, museums and organizations around the city are celebrating the anniversary, from special events and commemorations to exhibitions and world premieres.

Three attractions in Houston CityPass are celebrating the anniversary in different ways:

Space Center Houston
Year-Round

The official space museum in Houston is one of only a few places in the world where visitors can see a Saturn V rocket, an Apollo capsule that was actually flown (Apollo 17), see and touch rocks brought back from the moon by Apollo astronauts and sit in the gallery of Mission Control where the famous words of the Apollo 11 touchdown were first heard. In addition, Space Center Houston offers Level 9 tours; behind-the-scenes tours that let visitors glimpse into the lives of astronauts.

The Health Museum: Facing Mars
May 30-September 2, 2009

Facing Mars is a U.S. premiere featuring interactive stations that encourage visitors to "walk on Mars," test and launch rockets, "fly over" the Martian landscape and consider the implications humans face in their quest to reach the Red Planet. This innovative exhibit focuses on the real challenges of sending human explorers to Mars.

With more than 28 experiences, Facing Mars combines a range of hands-on experiences with compelling artifacts, such as a rare Mars meteorite from West Africa and stunning imagery to engage participants in the physical, psychological and scientific challenges involved in journeying to Mars.

Visitors can become a rocket scientist for the day and explore the challenges of aerodynamic stability. They’ll experience what it is like to "walk on Mars" at a station that subtracts 60 percent of their weight to simulate Martian gravity. Visitors may also explore some of the potential psychological and emotional stresses that astronauts may face on their journey, examining how contagious emotions can be and discovering where their own personal space threshold lies. An actual size model of the Mars Exploration Rover is on loan from NASA.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: The Moon: "Houston, Tranquility Base Here. The Eagle has Landed."
September 27, 2009-January 10, 2010

The Moon: "Houston, Tranquility Base Here. The Eagle has landed." is an exhibition that pays tribute to the achievements of the Apollo space missions, placing the unforgettable pictures of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in the context of age-old fascination with earth's closest neighbor. The exhibition provides an overview of 500 years of fascination with the ever-changing phases, yet ever-constant image of the moon. Approximately 30 works of art will be on view, from an exquisite 15th-century Madonna whose virginity was likened to the immaculate surface of the moon, to romantic moonlit landscapes by Caspar David Friedrich and groundbreaking treatises on the moon--including Galileo Galilei's Sidereus Nuncius of 1610—as well as 17th-century telescopes and other early scientific instruments, moon gloves and maps.

Houston CityPass helps visitors bypass ticket lines and offers a savings of 45% on the price of adult admissions ($39, a value of $70) and 43% on youth admissions ($29, a value of $50.) Houston CityPass also includes admission to the Downtown Aquarium, Houston Zoo, and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The George Ranch Historical Park and Children’s Museum are option tickets.

Other events noting the 40th anniversary of the moon landing include:

Discovery Green: Spacefest
July 17-20, 2009

Discovery Green downtown park has partnered with NASA and Rice University to celebrate this historic anniversary. A partial list of activities include:
• Driven to Explore NASA mobile exhibit
• Discovery Dome honoring the Apollo astronauts
• Films, including Apollo 13 and In the Shadow of the Moon will be shown, in addition to original footage of worldwide news coverage of the Moon landing and John F. Kennedy's Rice University stirring speech proclaiming America's intent to land on the moon
• The Wish Wall, an interactive exhibit for Houstonians to record memories of the Race to the Moon and hopes for the next great space adventure

Houston Astros
July 20, 2009

The Houston Astros will wear caps featuring the Apollo 11 mission patch, and giving away replica caps with the same logo to the first 10,000 fans, courtesy of the United Space Alliance. The pre-game ceremony will feature Houstonians who played an important role in the Apollo program.

Houston Symphony: The Planets-An HD Odyssey
January 21, 23, 24, 2010

In January 2010, the Houston Symphony is joining forces with NASA and celebrated producer/director Duncan Copp to present a spectacular presentation of The Planets-An HD Odyssey. Merging NASA's latest exploration images with Gustav Holst's The Planets, the Houston Symphony-commissioned event will be a world premiere.

On a giant screen over the stage, the latest images from the Mars Rovers, Hubble Space Telescope and past probe missions Magellan, Voyager and Galileo will provide a stunning visual canvas of images, as the Houston Symphony and music director Hans Graf perform Holst's musical score. Brief interviews with the greatest scientific experts on each of the planets will be integrated into the concert’s music and images.

New York Summer Vacation Deals Heat Up To Match Citypass Deep Attraction Discounts

New York is suddenly affordable. Summer in New York City is steaming up with last-minute vacation bargains and deals. First-time visitors to the U.S. should make a beeline for New York CityPass, a pocket-size booklet of must-see, bold-face attraction tickets, priced 44% less than regular admissions. Hotel rates have been slashed up to 30% and airfares are at all-time lows. The city is pulling out all the stops to make Summer 2009 a budget bonanza.

New York CityPass goes straight to the heart of the city, to the places visitors really must see. Tickets to New York’s most famous attractions are bound in a convenient one-purchase booklet that speeds visitors past most entrance lines: Empire State Building Observatory, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Statue of Liberty from Liberty Island or as admired from a cinematic Circle Line cruise, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural History, and the Guggenheim Museum. New York CityPass is $79 USD for adults, a savings of $61, and $59 USD for youth, age 13-17, a $42 savings. Bookets are valid for nine days, allowing plenty of time to combine these legendary landmarks with shopping, dining and other must-see city icons, parks and neighborhoods.

Times Square is now very pedestrian friendly. It’s the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Henry Hudson. On America’s birthday this year, the Statue of Liberty reopened the climb to the crown. Visitors seeking the thrilling experience of the climb to the top of the crown can get important information on how to reserve tickets in advance (a must) at www.citypass.com. NYC & Co, the city’s convention and visitors bureau, has created The Real Deal site with exclusive offers throughout New York City on hotels, dining, shopping and more, including many great deals for families. A Sunday Stays program discounts Sunday night bookings by 20-30%. During July and August, a Signature Collections Third Night promotion at select luxury hotels offers a free third night.

A great alternative to CityPass is the New York Pass

After vegas

After 4 days of too much eating, drinking and not enough sleeping we moved onto New York for, well … more of the same. The Big Apple is renowned as being an expensive city, but at the moment they are almost giving things away to encourage you to spend your dollars! I spent hours in Macys, Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdales, Century 21 ….. in fact anywhere there was a sale taking place. Many items were 75% off the already reduced prices and I bagged bargains galore. For attractions, The New York pass is your best bet – gives free entry into everything you want to see like The Empire State Building, Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty, Intrepid and Madame Tussauds to name just a few and we saved absolute fortune over the individual entry prices.

NYC Family Vacation

With its role as world financial capital, many people may forget that New York is a place full of family vacations spots. As a matter of fact, there are many family oriented things to do and sights to see in New York.

For instance, there are 5 zoos in New York City; some of them better known than others. The five zoos are Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, Bronx Zoo, and Staten Island Zoo. Each zoo has something slightly different to offer than the others and if you have a true animal lover in your family there really is no harm in stopping by all of them. Also if you purchase the New York Pass you will find that most of the zoos mentioned above offer free admission to card holder.

For the child who loves drama, New York City offers many theatrical productions that might suit him or her just fine. The first is geared towards girls and is American Girl Place. You can enjoy dining, shopping, and theatre while spending a day with your special little girl. This is a great bonding experience for mothers and daughters. The Manhattan Children’s Theatre produces several high quality shows for children and families throughout the year at quite reasonable prices (season tickets are also available for those who live nearby). The New Victory Theater offers a different type of theater experience for families to enjoy. The Paper Bag Players are a must see experience. They offer a different type of theatre for children that encourage audience participation that gets your children involved in the dramatic process. If you have the time you should also check out TADA! Youth Theater in order to show your children that even children have talents that need to be explored and can make a difference not only in their own lives but also in the lives of others.

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Exciting Things To Do In Atlanta

Atlanta is Georgia’s largest city and is filled with great summer things to do for this season’s holidaymakers. Travelers with children of varying ages will find themselves with their hands full of all the family-oriented attractions and activities that the city has to offer.

Before you start your summer vacation and wander around with your family, get yourselves the Atlanta CityPass that will give you instant admissions to the most popular attractions in the city. The Atlanta CityPass not only gives you great savings on cash, but also helps you save on time as you no longer need to fall in line for tickets for every attraction. The Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, High Museum of Art, Atlanta Botanical Gardens, Zoo Atlanta, Atlanta History Center and Fernbank Museum of Natural History are just some of the places you can go to with the Atlanta CityPass.

If you have children ages 2 to 8, the Imagine It! Children’s Museum of Atlanta is highly recommended. Your kids will be encouraged and excited to learn new things with the museum’s colorful hands-on exhibits. There are so many things to see, listen to, touch and explore in this 30,000 square-foot establishment, even older kids and parents are going to find themselves enjoying the place!

The Fabulous Fox Theater is proud to present the Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival. The Fox, as it is more popularly called, has the biggest screen in Atlanta and features blockbuster hits of the past and present. The Fox adds a few more movies this August that will definitely draw dozens of moviegoers. Some of the movies are Iron Man, Kung Fu Panda and Indiana Jones - Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

If you wish to spice your family summer vacation up with a little adventure, then Georgia’s Stone Mountain State Park is right for you. Just sixteen miles east of Atlanta stands the 3,200 acre-park that centers the world’s largest exposed granite mountain. The first thing you should do when you get to the park is to ride the sky-lift gondolas that will take you over 800 feet above ground, giving you the most beautiful views of Georgia’s countryside. Within the park are other interesting things to see and do such as a petting zoo, a riverboat, an antique automobile museum and an antebellum plantation. Settle your family in the park’s campgrounds or any of the park’s lodging options for the laser light show in the evening, which is a regular event in the Stone Mountain State Park during the summer.

Atlanta is genuinely rich of cool surprises for everyone taking a vacation. It has been among the most sought for getaways for families, couples and those who prefer traveling alone. Top the above mentioned attractions and activities off with the city’s wide array of dining options, and you are definitely bound to have one of the best family summer vacations.

There are just a few days left until I ventured out into the city that never sleeps. In just over 48 hours I, along with my friend Irma will be boarding an over night Greyhound bus bound for New York City. We arrive Friday morning at 11am. Hostel is booked, Amtrak tickets back to Oakville are booked, and everything is set to go. We plan on being complete and total tourists for our three day stay (okay 68 hours total), what else can you do on your first trip to New York, especially when the stay is so short. We’re going to grab the City Pass, which will provide access to the biggest tourist destinations for a discounted price.

There are quite a few things on my list that revolve around NYC so I will be running around crossing things off. We’re going to be taking in the Statue of Liberty, museums, Empire State Building, eating the local foods (I hear Little Italy has some phenomenal cuisine!) and one last completely amazing thing. Bon Jovi in Central Park! I seriously almost shit a brick wall when I heard that Bon Jovi would be putting on a free concert during my stay. I emailed Irma promptly and ensured she would agree to spending Saturday afternoon grooving to some awesome 80’s tunes, and of course she complied.

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CityPass Frees Time and Money for Statue of Liberty Visitors

CityPass, the big city expert on budget-price attractions tickets, makes visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island much simpler and affordable this summer. In addition to saving almost 50% to see the city’s selected most-famous attractions, New York CityPass ticket holders get a time-saving advantage: they move to the front of the line awaiting security protocols, bypassing general admission lines at Battery Park.

One of six New York CityPass tickets (others include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Empire State Building, Guggenheim Museum, American Museum of Natural History, and Museum of Modern Art), Statue Cruises’ ferries serve Liberty Island and Ellis Island as a National Park Service operator. Note: There are two ways to enjoy the Statue of Liberty with CityPass; with Statue Cruises boats delivering visitors the Statue of Liberty and spending several hours on both islands, or viewing it as part of a narrated two hour half-circle cruise with Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises.

Summer is the ideal time of year to experience the Statue of Liberty. It is an American icon and a magnificent work of art. CityPass spotlights the Statue of Liberty this month as its featured attraction at www.citypass.com. The information includes tips to plan for the first Statue Cruises departure; how to breeze past long lines and where to enter the security tent for boarding, and ways to enjoy the history and highlights of the statue and immigration museum.

Actual admission tickets are bundled in a pocket-size ticket booklet. Also included are hours, tips, transportation directions, four pages of expert advice taken directly from the pages of National Geographic Traveler magazine, shopping values, and dining offers, making New York CityPass a budget-busting little guidebook to the Big Apple. Adult New York CityPass: $74, a $134 value; kids, $54, a $106 value.

Purchase tickets at any participating attraction or in advance, online at www.citypass.com and sent to home, office or hotel addresses. Save shipping fees with the print-at-home voucher option; vouchers are redeemed at a participating attraction.

CityPass saves money and time in 11 North American destinations: New York, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, Hollywood, Houston, Texas (new this year), and Southern California.