Holiday Travel Tips from aarp.org

Holiday Travel Tips

5 HOLIDAY TRAVEL TIPS

These simple steps can save you time and headaches with air travel, baggage and crowds
by: Alexis Flippin, Frommer’s Travel, from: AARP.org


'Tis the season to be traveling, whether you're jetting off to far-flung places or taking a road trip to see family. Crowded airports and gridlocked roads — not to mention free-floating anxiety — can make holiday travel a headache. With our holiday travel tips, though, it doesn't have to be.

These holiday travel tips will make your journey a breeze.

1. Avoid Flying at Peak Times
If your travel schedule is flexible, avoid flying on the busiest days of the season: the day before Thanksgiving and the two days immediately preceding and following Christmas and New Year's. Also, book flights at off-peak times, such as early morning. If at all possible, fly on the holiday itself, when airports have an almost empty, tumbleweed-blowing-in-the-desert feel.


2. Hit the Road With Technology by Your Side
Portable GPS navigators are wondrous things, providing the fastest and most direct routes to your destination — and voice auto-commands help keep your eyes on the road. Upgraded models offer real-time traffic information, but unless your car has built-in GPS capability, these can be pricey. A much more economical alternative — as infree — is Google Maps, available on most smartphones. It not only provides driving directions but also has color-coded lines indicating the severity of traffic ahead: green lines indicate good conditions, yellow means fair, and red or red/black signal poor conditions.

3. Travel Light
Don't be weighed down with packages. Order gifts online, and have them sent directly to the recipient, or mail your packages ahead of time. If you're a procrastinator, you can take advantage of the annual Free Shipping Day on December 17, when some 1,500 merchants guarantee free delivery by Christmas Eve. And, if you're flying, don't wrap the gifts you bring — airlines have the right to open any wrapped package.

4. Don't Check Your Bags
The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are traditionally the busiest times to fly, which means the odds of losing your luggage rise exponentially with the increased air traffic. Not to mention the expense of paying $25 or more per bag. (Consider shipping your luggage ahead of time with these tips from AARP money expert Sid Kirchheimer.) Be on the safe side: carry on your luggage.

5. Take the Back Roads
Driving the interstates can be dull at any time, but holiday travel often adds big-time gridlock to the mix. If you have some time on your hands, why not leave the major highways behind, and hit the back roads for serendipitous pleasures? (These 7 iconic drives are some of the best in the U.S. any time of year.) Of all the holiday travel tips, this one will help you to focus on the joys of the season most of all.

The Silver Line (ing) is Transforming Dulles Metro Area

Dulles Metrorail Project Overview

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) is constructing a 23-mile extension of the existing Metrorail system, which will be operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority from East Falls Church to Washington Dulles International Airport west to Ashburn.

The extension will provide a direct connection via passenger rail from Dulles International Airport to downtown Washington DC.

Phase 1 and 2
The project will include 11 new stations. It will be built in two phases. Phase 1 is complete and Phase 2 id scheduled for completion early 2014..

Phase 2 will run from Wiehle Avenue to Ashburn in eastern Loudoun County. The extension will serve Reston Town Center, Herndon, Dulles Airport, Route 606 and Ashburn.  Service to Reston Town Center will be operational in February 2014.

The purpose of Dulles Metrorail is to provide high-quality, high-capacity transit service in the Dulles Corridor. New Metrorail service in the corridor will result in travel time savings between the corridor and downtown D.C., expand the reach of the existing regional rail system, offer a viable alternative to automobile travel and support future transit-oriented development along the corridor.

Herndon Station
(previously called Herndon-Monroe)

Location: 
In the median of the Dulles Airport Access Highway/Dulles Toll Road near Monroe Street

Type of Station: Ground level

Station Facilities:
Pedestrian bridges and station entrances from both sides of the Dulles Airport Access Highway/Dulles Toll Road
Bus drop-off/pickup (south side only)
Kiss & Ride (existing)
Parking for approximately 3,500 cars (total including existing garage of 1,950 spaces)
30 bicycle racks on the north side; five lockers on the south side, 46 racks in garage

Schedule:
Trains are anticipated to run every six minutes in the peak period (rush hours) and less frequently in the off-peak.

What's the Big Deal?
Northern Virginia and Dulles Airport Travelers will be able to access downtown Washington DC on one rail line in minutes.

Travelers can experience all Northern Virginia has to offer in the Dulles Corridor and downtown Washington DC without spending Washington DC hotel prices.

Embassy Suites Dulles Airport-

13341 Woodland Park Drive
Herndon, VA 20171

703-464-0200

is only 5 miles / 10 minutes from the new Reston Metrorail stop.

All guests enjoy :

• Free Metrorail and Dulles Airport Shuttle Service
• Free cooked to order breakfast daily
• Complimentary Evening Reception
• Two Room Suite
• Free hotel shuttle in three mile radius of hotel

Click Here to discover more about Embassy Suites Dulles Airport and the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.

Take an arial tour of the new Reston VA Station

The New Dulles Corridor Metrorail Station Map

George Mason University to Host Civil War Conference

from fairfaxnews.com

Mason to Host Civil War Conference

By Michele McDonald
George Mason University

While Civil War battlefields literally are close to home for many Virginians, an upcoming conference will look at the conflict’s international impact on global trade, social issues and rebellions in other countries.

Chaired by George Mason University’s Provost Peter Stearns, “The American Civil War in a Global Perspective” plans to explore those issues and more on May 31, 2014, at the Center for the Arts on the Fairfax Campus.

“Mason is delighted to be participating in the sesquicentennial commemorations,” says Stearns, who is also a professor of history. “The chance to focus on the international dimensions of the Civil War opens some important and unexpected opportunities for new interpretations. We look forward to the discussions.”

The program is the sixth installment in the popular annual Signature Conference series sponsored by the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission.

The Civil War was an intense regional struggle, but it was also an international event in many ways. Considering it from this standpoint provides a number of unexpected connections between the American crisis and the wider world, while shedding new light on the war itself.
The conference will juxtapose the Civil War with other internal conflicts during the same period — the national unification's in Europe, the struggles over identity in Japan, and rebellions in China and in India. Each case has distinctive features, which comparison helps to highlight, but some common issues provide fresh insights into the American experience.

Historians of international acclaim will discuss the war’s wider impacts in areas ranging from the global cotton trade to international abolition efforts, from changes in the future of military operations to the implications of the Civil War as one of the first wars fought in an industrial age.

The registration fee is $15 (conference only) or $25 (conference and lunch). Advance registration will be open until May 1 or when capacity is reached. For more information and online registration, visit www.virginiacivilwar.org or call 804-786-3591.

The Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission was created by the General Assembly to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in Virginia. In addition to the Signature Conference series, the commission sponsors programs that include the award-winning Civil War 150 HistoryMobile exhibit, a major gallery exhibition curated in partnership with the Virginia Historical Society, a statewide document digitization program, an Emmy-nominated documentary and much more.

from embassysuites.com:

Click Here for the Fairfax County Civil War Loop!

Cyber Monday Countdown Northern Virginia

Dulles Airport VIRGINIA HOLIDAY CRAFT SHOWS HOLIDAY cONCERTS   cyber monday hotel sale Embassy Suites Dulles Airport Cyber Monday is December 2, 2013 and the countdown has begun for one of the biggest Cyber Monday Hotel sales in Herndon, VA. For one day, enjoy  25 % off regular hotel rates till December 31, 2014 at Embassy Suites Dulles Airport. * Can't wait till December 2? Check out our other offers that include free cooked to order breakfast, complimentary evening reception, free high speed internet access gift cards, bonus points and more. ENJOY FREE NIGHTS 2X,3X,4X FASter Our More Nights, More Points promotion lets you earn 2x points on two-night stays, 3x points on three-night stays, and 4x points on four-night stays. Book your stay by January 31, 2014. ...LEARN MORE shop, sip, and stay this holiday Get your Holiday shopping started at the Leesburg Premium Outlets and treat yourself to a Holiday getaway at the same time. with our Holiday Shopping Package. Your package includes a $25 gift card to Leesburg Premium Outlets and your choice of one bottle of red or white Virginia Wine with dinner at the hotel Restaurant or through Room Service. ...LEARN MORE MILITARY FAMILY HOLIDAY SPECIAL Our way of saying, "Thank You". For active & retired military and their families enjoy exclusive savings of 10%. And of course with every stay at Embassy Suites Hotels, guests enjoy two-room suites, free cooked-to-order breakfast and complimentary drinks and snacks at the nightly Evening Reception. ...LEARN MORE BOOK NOW CYBER MONDAY SPECIAL* FOR STAYS FROM DECEMBER  2013 through DECEMBER 31, 2014  % off regular rate Free Internet Access Free cooked to order breakfast Complimentary Evening Reception Two Room Suite * offer subject to availability  PHOTO GALLERY Book Online or Call (703) 464-0200 to reserve your package today! Embassy Suites Dulles Airport 13341 Woodland Park Road, Herndon, VA 20171 TEL: 703-464-0200 | FAX: 703-464-0210 Visit hotel website