Executive Jet Charter

I wish I had more time to see all of the great countries in this world, not to mention the budget. Still, I try to make a point to take a trip once every two years, as I do believe that seeing as many places as possible is a great thing to try to do.

My goal is to visit as many countries as possible, yet there’s one that I’d like to visit over and over if my lifestyle should allow me to. I love this country and consider it my second home at this point.

I went to Spain for the second time just last year, and I’ll never forget this memorable trip. Spain stands out to me, above and beyond everywhere else I’ve ever been.

This is a beautiful Southern European country with a culture that’s pretty unique to the rest of the world. There are so many things that make this country special, but I’ll name a few to start.

There are mountains and beaches in Spain, with beaches lining the East and South coast of the country. In the East, you can visit some great cities on the water, like Barcelona and Valencia.

The South of the country is a great resort district, with beaches, nightlife, and some great restaurants. Malaga and Marbella are two destinations worth visiting, as is Mijas, a picturesque coastal town in the South.

The resorts were a lot of fun, but I had the best time of all during the few days that I spent in Madrid. This was the most traditional of the cities I visited, and I mean that in the best of ways.

Between great restaurants, shopping, and all kinds of exciting nightlife, there was never a shortage of stuff to do when it came to Madrid.

There’s so much more that I loved about the country, and I’ll do my best to write another article as time permits. Visit Spain if you can, you won’t regret it.

The author of this article also writes about roof replacement cost and rubber roof repair

The Mapes Hotel in Reno, Nevada met its demise on Superbowl Sunday of 2000 when 75 pounds of explosives packed inside the structure’s support columns brought it to the ground. The controlled demolition came despite years of effort by a number of groups within the community to preserve the building with lawsuits, redevelopment proposals, and grass roots lobbying efforts. The National Turst for Historic Preservation even took up the cause, challenging the destruction in a lawsuit that eventually reached the Nevada Supreme Court.

While the logic and necessity of demolishing the Mapes is very questionable, one thing that is certain is that the hotel was an important part of Northern Nevada history. The opening of the Mapes in 1947 ushered in a new era in casino gambling, and changed the economy and way of life in Nevada forever. The Mapes was actually the first property in the country to combine a hotel, casino and live entertainment under the same roof. It also became the hotel of choice for celebrities staying in Northern Nevada. Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe stayed at The Mapes during the filming of ‘The Misfits’. Joseph McCarthy, America’s famed anti-Communist crusader, admitted to a reporter over cocktails in the Mapes Lounge that he really didn’t have a list of Communists in the US despite his frequent and vitriolic insistence to the contrary.

During the ‘Rat Pack’ era of the 50’s and 60’s it became along with the Cal-Neva Lodge in Lake Tahoe the place to be seen in Northern Nevada. The 11th floor, window walled Sky Room Lounge hosted performances by a roster of entertainment legends including Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Louis Prima, Keely Smith, Milton Berle and Mae West. Downtown Reno struggled during the 1960’s and 70’s but the Mapes continued to prosper. The hotel finally closed in 1982, due to financial problems experienced by the Mapes Family brought about by their other Northern Nevada casino holdings.

Reno never experienced the massive growth that occurred in Las Vegas and southern Nevada, and for that reason the destruction of the Mapes is more open to debate than the hotel demolitions to the south. Even the demolition of The Sands–perhaps the most historically significant casino in the state–is hard to argue against given the inability of such a small property to compete in the current Las Vegas marketplace and in light of the value of the mid-strip real estate. The old properties may have historic value to pop culture historians, but their survival doesn’t make economic sense. They’re simply ‘analog players in a digital world’.

That’s not the case in Reno, where vacant land and/or buildings ripe for redevelopment are abundant downtown and in the other casino areas of the city. The official reason that the Mapes had to come down was that the city needed the land to expand its vision for downtown redevelopment. While this is certainly a much needed effort, to suggest that the existence of the Mapes was a barrier is absurd. In fact, many of the proposals rejected by the city would have gone a long way to enhance the revitalization of downtown Reno and included artists lofts, office space and other mixed used properties. Despite receiving a number of viable concepts for the Mapes Building, the City Redevelopment Authority rejected all of them and the Mapes was destined for demolition.

The role of the City Redevelopment Authority was questioned throughout the process. Overlooking the Truckee River, the hotel was on a prime location between the downtown casino area and the riverfront district. Back in 1996, the city of Reno purchased the hotel and began entertaining proposals for renovation and redevelopment. A number of sound financial proposals were presented that would preserve the integrity of the structure including condominiums, office space, and perhaps most viable, upscale senior apartments. Oddly, all of these proposals were turned down by the citys Redevelopment Agency which eventually led to the demolition of the structure.

Following the 2000 demolition, the lot remained vacant for over a year until a temporary ice skating rink was hastily constructed the following winter. The site now houses a permanent ice skating rink which, while not a bad use for the land, isn’t the sort of game changing improvement suggested by the City Redevelopment Agency and their adamant insistence that the building be demolished. To the contrary, it appears they had no specific plan or even general idea of what to do with the land but for some reason wanted to see the hotel come down. This has led to all manner of speculation, ranging from financial self interest to a rumor that the structure was ‘haunted’ and needed to be destroyed to forestall future paranormal activity in Washoe County. Whatever the reason, the city of Reno lost a valuable landmark that played a significant part in the economic growth of the entire state.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected sports betting authority. He is also a consulting handicapper for Sports-1 Sportsbook and is in charge of setting NFL lines. He has written extensively on sports handicapping theory along with a wide range of other topics including fencing, self defense and flower arrangement.

Although we didn’t administer to adapt all things we want to look in the North Island of New Zealand, like for sample the art deco town of Napier, the Waitomo cave or the Waikaremoana lake, after having drove bottom to top through this island over 3000km I assume we got enough to place together our top 10, thus here we go:

1. the bubbling and smelling proof of the earth’s mighty forces in Rotorua, despite its distinct smell of farts..sorry I meant sulphur, and the “Sacred Water” of Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland (27k south – entry $35) packed with interesting thermal features from the Champagne Pool to the mineral terraces despite we missed the foreseeable lady Knox Geyser which goes off like a Switzerland clock every daytime at 10.15 (with a tiny manmade trick using some soap, cheeky);

2. forget about New Chums beach (Whangapoua/Coromandel), rated by someone one of the top 20 beaches in the world, what??, and the much photographed Cathedral Cove instead lose yourself in the pristine and secluded Whale Bay, near Matapouri along the Tutukaka coast, and you will see why I felt like taking off all my clothes and jumped in the water, not quite, I tried but the water was too cold even for immerse one foot;

3. the thunderous Waikato River and its Huka falls another evidence of the unstoppable force of the nature. Crossing the footbridge I could feel my feet shaking;

4. Te Papa, this interactive museum that overflows with Maori treasures and enthrals the visitors with insights of this land’s history. If the history doesn’t shake you up attempt the Earthquake house and I loved also the natural exhibitions with all native species on displays and a colossal octopus which eyes were bigger than a football ball (plus it’s free);

5. relax our body and mind at the many thermal Spas around NZ. The Polynesian Spa, overlooking lake Rotorua ($20 each), is voted one of top 10 spa by Conde’ Nast but we preferred our private pool at Taupo De Bretts Pool (only $10 with access to all pools if you stay at their campground). However we were less thrilled when we overheard the “party” going on next door.. ouch;

6. climb the giant dunes at Te Paki stream at 90 Mile beach and “surf” our way down for what it was supposed to be a high-speed ride to the bottom. Didn’t quite work that way probably because instead of using the conventional hired body board (the shop was closed) we made our own one out of a kellogg’s box and a 1-dollar k-way jacket; that was part of a competition between Chris and I but none of us succeeded and we ended up cover all over of sand in and out our clothes, don’t’ ask me how;

7. dig frantically all over Hot Water beach for our own natural hot pool (we caught the well-being bug). Theoretically, you have to do it 2 hours before or after tide, exactly what we did other than the only thing that seeped up was in practice freezing water ..umm not sure what went wrong, maybe we should have asked for a little help to make this fascinating natural wonder works;

8. unwind in the Coromandel Peninsula missing out time and mileage following the coastal road to the deserted glittering beaches such as Hahei and the 8km stretch of Waihi beach and enjoying infinite picturesque views like the one over the Coromandel Harbour, Bowentown and Matakana island;

9. go walkabout at Mt Maunganui, a favorite kiwi holiday’ spot overlooked by the gigantic hill “The Mount”. There is a excellent walk up to the summit and to the rocks on the joined Moturiki island, both offering spectacular shots over the sandy Bay of Plenty, or stroll along the long golden Papamoa beach;

10. the loop to the sleepy Matauri bay, north of the Bay of Islands, with its beautiful white sand beach and crystal clear water even if the locals seem not really tourist-friendly.

Before you travel anywhere, make sure you checked John Driuers’ interesting free travel guide, and travel tips