Photography Seminar or Six-Week Class Series at Landers Photography School

Photography has progressed exponentially over the past century with the development of digital cameras, faster shutter speeds, and smiling. Capture the latest trends of emotional technology with today’s Groupon to Landers Photography School . Choose between the following options: For $49, you get admission to one photography seminar of your choice (a $105 value). For $149, you get a six-week Introduction to Photography class series (a $364.80 value). The snapshooters at Landers Photography School share their experience with students to illuminate the technical basics of manual camera use as well as professional compositional techniques. The two-hour seminars welcome all levels of photographer, with beginners trying the Getting to Know Your Camera class to explore the various knobs, buttons, and howling noises that new camera-owners may encounter. Low-light Photography ensures bright stills in dim rooms or on gloomy days, and Landscape and Nature lessons address finicky issues that arise when composing images of the outdoors. Experts coach students in Travel: Taking Better Vacation Pictures so travelers can capture clear, compelling shots of sunsets, beaches, or the inside of an airport’s customs office. The six-session Introduction to Photography series educates participants with 12 hours dedicated to photography fundamentals. Attendees apply technical basics such as how to use apertures to adjust light exposure and time-sensitive shutter speeds to lectures on visual-composition theory. Each week, participants present their shots to be evaluated by the class instructor and perused for cameos from Where’s Waldo. No experience is necessary, but students must provide their own camera with full manual capabilities or a cardboard box with a caricature artist taped inside. Groupon Says The Groupon Guide to: Telecommuting Without loved ones to share it, is a home office just a “house” office? Read more…

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Photography Seminar or Six-Week Class Series at Landers Photography School

Two-Night Stay for Two in a Standard or Beachfront Room at La Copa Inn & Suites in Texas

Peaceful Beach on Adventure-Filled South Padre Island Sun, surf, and seemingly endless stretches of pristine beaches draw a motley mix of sojourners to South Padre Island: families and Texas residents escaping to weekend homes, thrill seekers, and for a couple of weeks every year, a flock of rowdy spring breakers. Located at the southernmost tip of Texas and adjacent to Laguna Madre Bay, the vacation spot gives visitors unencumbered access to Gulf’s spa-like waters, as does the beachside La Copa Inn & Suites. Just beyond the hotel grounds, a plethora of activities—from kite surfing to horseback riding—call for adventure, and the landscape itself seems to invite lazy, sun-soaked afternoons. La Copa lodgers rise from Tempur-Pedic mattresses to the scent of belgian waffles and coffee wafting in from the hotel’s continental breakfast, spread out every morning. Those in Beachfront rooms can rouse themselves with a cup of coffee on their private balconies, taking in the view and the salty sea air while recounting dreams about Texas reclaiming itself as the country’s largest state. Outside, a turquoise pool hugs a circular jacuzzi, which overlooks a grassy expanse and beyond, the ocean. South Padre Island, Texas: Family-Friendly Fun and Beachfront Leisure Though La Copa is just off the Queen Isabella Causeway, allowing for easy day trips into inland Texas, an array of outdoor challenges makes the case for staying put. A tandem parasailing adventure lets travelers experience the waves of the Gulf at 600 feet. As an expert captain and crew guide the boat, up to two people catch air and take in breathtaking views of the island from a parachuted perch. About a mile away from the inn, a beachfront water park beckons with undulating high-tech water coasters, tube chutes, and a five-story sand-castle-themed play area. A swim-up bar and adjacent beach dappled with palapas keep parents entertained, and the park’s man-made surfing wave—one of the largest of its kind—tempts daring boogie boarders and inflatable alligators to carve through its towering barrels. Groupon Says Read more…

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Two-Night Stay for Two in a Standard or Beachfront Room at La Copa Inn & Suites in Texas

San Antonio Resort Celebrates 2011 Six Flags Season with New Vacation Package

JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort offers Six Flags Fiesta Texas vacation package, in addition to other vacation options in time for the season. (PRWeb April 28, 2011) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/JW-San-Antonio-Marriott/Six-Flags-Vacation/prweb8347305.htm

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San Antonio Resort Celebrates 2011 Six Flags Season with New Vacation Package

$5 for $10 Worth of Café Fare and Drinks at Crosswalk Coffeehouse & Café in New Braunfels

Coffee continues to be the most efficient fuel for the human body’s complex system of fuel injectors, auxiliary hearts, and flux capacitors. Fill up your flesh tank with today’s Groupon: for $5, you get $10 worth of café fare and drinks at Crosswalk Coffeehouse & Café , located in New Braunfels. With two lounge areas, a full espresso bar, and a wide array of hearty sandwiches, Crosswalk Coffeehouse offers patrons a friendly, cozy space to delicately nibble on noshables and knock back cups of joe. Crosswalk Coffeehouse’s menu brims with sandwiches such as the FOURmage grilled cheese ($6.99), oozing with smoked gouda, cheddar, swiss, and gorgonzola, and breakfast options such as an egg and bacon sourdough sandwich ($3.99). Grab an espresso to keep fingers company when not tapping into the free WiFi, or keep hands warm during the winter by fashioning delicious mittens out of Crosswalk’s homemade ciabatta and pumpkin bread . Throughout the day, patrons can pass the time with fresh-baked pastries or $2 microbrews , and then get to know their newly acquired treat over a intimate conversation in Crosswalk’s sociable lounge. Groupon Says The Groupon Guide to: Vacation Packing How can a 10-gallon hat make traveling easier? Read more…

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$5 for $10 Worth of Café Fare and Drinks at Crosswalk Coffeehouse & Café in New Braunfels

$32 for Manicure and Pedicure at Mane St. Salon & Spa

Today’s modern world, with its plethora of countries, panoply of waterways, and constantly changing laws about what is and what isn’t “mail fraud” is as confusing as it is stressful. Get a clear definition of relaxation with today’s Groupon: for $32, you get a spa manicure and pedicure plus 20% off products and 40% off hair or massage services at Mane St. Salon & Spa on Babcock Road (a $72 value). Set in an elegant, relaxing atmosphere, the skilled staff at Mane St. Salon uses a variety of services to soothe and prettify soul sacks. Over one hour, their luxurious spa manicure and pedicure showers digits with regal treatment, fashioning cracked cuticles into glossy finger crowns and toe tiaras. Sink into the comfy spa chair and kick off clogs for the spa pedicure, which pampers lower paws with nail and cuticle care, a whirlpool foot bath, lower-leg massage, choice of nail polish, and your choice of either a hot-towel treatment with clay mask or a callous-remover treatment. Meanwhile, the spa manicure lavishes a similar detailed care to your grippers, leaving limb-enders fully equipped to both grasp fallen dimes and model coin collections. Groupon Says The Groupon Guide to: Vacation Packing How can a 10-gallon hat make traveling easier? Read more…

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$32 for Manicure and Pedicure at Mane St. Salon & Spa

Silverleaf Resorts, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Annual 2009 Results

DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Silverleaf Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ: SVLF) today reported the following results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009 and that it has extended its share repurchase program. Financial highlights for the quarter ended December 31, 2009: Net Income of $2.0 million or diluted earnings per share of $0.05 Vacation Interval sales of $46.7 million Financial highlights for the year ended December 31, 2009: Net income of $5.5 million or diluted earnings per share of

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Silverleaf Resorts, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Annual 2009 Results

Travelocity’s Unmatched Price Guarantee Expands to Vacation Packages with “Cure Cabin Fever” Sale

Travelocity’s Unmatched Price Guarantee Expands to Vacation Packages with “Cure Cabin Fever” Sale, Offering Extra Savings on Vacation Packages for Post-Holiday Getaways.

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Travelocity’s Unmatched Price Guarantee Expands to Vacation Packages with “Cure Cabin Fever” Sale

Is Corpus Christi, Texas A Vacation “party Town” Or Is It Family Friendly? More Ppl There On Holidays?

We are thinking about going on a family vacation to Corpus Christi and San Antonio over Memorial Day weekend 2007 (May 25-29). A few questions…
1. Is it going to be packed with partying college kids?
2. Will it be warm enough to swim on the beach in late May?
3. Where should we stay in Corpus and where should we go while we’re there?
Thanks!

Where Can I Find Nice Vacation Rentals In San Antonio? Apartment Or Houses, Preferably Near The Airport?

web sites would be better, since I’m not in the US right now.

Costa Rica : the Vacation That Will Change you

My recent vacation in Costa Rica was the first time I had ever traveled internationally, so naturally I was a little nervous about all of the “unknown” factors, like visiting a foreign country whose primary language was Spanish, getting through customs, finding my way around, and all those other “what if’s” that tend to go through your mind when you’re doing anything for the first time.

Little did I know that this would be by far the best place I’d ever visited as far as visually stunning nature, but also the most hands-on when it came to seeing and sometimes interacting with nature.

My sister and I started on our adventure when we met from adjoining flights at the small airport in San Jose, which is the capital of Costa Rica. We didn’t stay though, as we had reservations at a resort in Arenal, which was about three hours from San Jose.

If you want to travel somewhere but you don’t want to drive, it is very easy to arrange either public or private transportation anywhere you need to go, however, there are not many roads, so if you rented a vehicle with a GPS included, it could easily be navigated.

The only drawback we found with public transportation was that, although it was less expensive than private transport, you did need to set aside a few more hours to get to your destination, as they had many other pickups to make which added more time to the trip. However, when you consider that gasoline cost five dollars a gallon throughout pretty much the whole country, public transportation still seemed a genuine bargain.

As I stated earlier, we stayed first in Arenal, which is an area famous for the Arenal volcano. Arenal is a unique volcano because it actually erupts every night, and although you need to be close to the mountain to actually see it well, you may still see a bit of the bright eruption from a distance. Arenal was a beautiful area. Not only that, there were a ton of activities that you could sign up for within about one hour of the mountain, such as horseback riding, ziplining, hot springs tours, rainforest canopy tours and more.

We chose first to go horseback riding to La Fortuna Falls, which was a visual spectacle unlike any I’ve seen. La Fortuna Falls was a magnificently huge waterfall that required you walk down several hundred steps just to see the whole waterfall from the bottom up. There was also a lookout point about halfway through where you could gaze at the magnitude of the fall’s size, but also take in the lush tropical surroundings and watch for exotic birds and animals along the way.

Then came the canopy ziplining tour, which was not for the faint of heart, but by far the most exhilarating and rewarding experience during our stay. We travelled about one hour from our Arenal resort to the rainforest canopy, and from the drop off point, hiked about a half mile to the zipline platforms after we were suited up in our gear and had signed release forms.

Ziplining through the canopy of the forest at up to 40 miles per hour, and several hundred feet off the ground was unquestionably scary, but after we completed the first platform, everyone on the tour couldn’t get enough of it. There were 11 platforms in all, and the scenery from above was breathtaking. It is an experience I will never forget, and I’d recommend that anyone who fancies this sort of sport to do it while in Costa RIca.

From Arenal, we headed up the coast to Jaco. Jaco was probably our least favorite stop of the trip. It’s short on scenery, and the blatant prostitution is definitely intimidating, not to mention unsavory, especially for women travelling alone or families. The overall feel there was also not as friendly and open as our previous stay at Arenal, so we only stayed for two days and moved on to another small hotel in a tiny surf community called Playa Hermosa.

The stay there was really nice, laid back and relaxing. You could sit at little restaurants and bars right on the beach and watch the whales blowing and the surfers catching waves and the feel was just very casual. There were tons of beach areas to surf at too, if that’s what you’re into.

From Playa Hermosa, we moved on to Manuel Antonio. Manuel Antonio was, by far, the richest in up-close and personal encounters with wildlife, since it harbors a huge national park that is a haven for wildlife.

Not only is there an abundance of wildlife, but the animals there are so used to humans that they will not hesitate to cross directly in your path on one of the many hiking trails, or even snatch your lunch from your backpack as you’re basking on one of the inlet beaches along the trails. Yes we actually had small white-faced monkeys steal our lunch, they are notorious for their kleptomania!

In Manuel Antonio, you can choose from several reputable hotels, and there is also some great eating at one of their many laid back outdoor restaurants which feature the national dish of rice and beans, fish, beef and breakfast served all day.

In addition to seeing more monkeys than I can remember, we also got to see a sloth right outside of our hotel hanging out in a tree, parrots, miniature raccoons, lizards large and small, and several other unidentifiable wildlife scurrying through our path in the park or enjoying themselves in nearby trees.

As you can probably tell, Costa Rica was the trip of a lifetime – for me. I suspect that most others who take a trip there would think the same. It’s richness in beauty, wildlife, friendly culture and diversity in activities will please even the most discriminating travelers and thrill seekers. And oh, you can also just be a beach bum if you want, too!

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