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Green living, playful parenting and the pursuit of happiness

Unplug & Save $$ on Vacay: Digital Detox Hotel Deals

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doubletree lancaster

A vacation is what you take
when you can no longer take what you’ve been taking.

-Earl Wilson

The WSJ ran an article titled “When Guests Check In, Their iPhones Check Out,” about the “deals” a few hotels are offering travelers who pony up their digital devices for some true downtime. (How sad is it that we have to be told how to relax?)

The Renaissance in Pittsburgh PA, does seem to offer an actual discounted rate (and kayak lessons!) if you book the “Zen and the Art of Detox” package: Your laptop, cell phone, and all other digital devices must be surrendered upon check-in, and will be held for you until your departure. Prior to your arrival, the television, phone, and ihome dock station will be removed from your guest room and replaced by literary classics.

Likewise, the Quincy in DC knows where it’s at: If you want to be free at last, lock up your electronic devices in your in-room safe upon check in and forget about them for the weekend! (If you feel better keeping your cell phone on your person so that friends and family can reach you, we understand.  But we trust that you’ll only use it in case of an emergency!)  Detoxing from your technology is all about relaxing, spending time outdoors – and doing the things you never seem to have the time to do.

Guests booking our “Be Unplugged” Package will receive:

  • $25 Gift Certificate to a local book store – buy a book, sit under a tree, and relax for an afternoon
  • City Walks Flash Cards – Each card outlines a self-guided map and insider information
  • A Journal – cleanse your mind by keeping a journal

However, the Quincy’s Be Unplugged package doesn’t appear to actually offer a discount; plus the rate is based on double occupancy and seemingly geared more towards harried businessmen in serious need of break, than towards families looking to unplug and enjoy the town together.

The others listed in the article seem to treat the enforced electronic embargo as a therapeutic perk. A luxury, like a continental breakfast or a complimentary spa service.

Which is all fine and good—  these hotels are offering packages that are pretty awesome on their own terms, emphasizing relaxation and outdoor activities (I wouldn’t turn down a visit to the Teton Mountain Lodge, Lake Placid Lodge or Via Yoga). But those are definitely different from the long-weekend types of trips most of us take with our kids.

I think hotels are missing out on an opportunity here: a chance to not only highlight the best family-centric sights their city has to offer, but the chance to really make a difference in the quality of a family’s vacation.

Keep in mind that:

  • Only 57% of Americans use all their vacation time.
  • The majority of Americans (68%) check their work emails on vacay.
  • 32% (one-third) of parents describe their stress levels are extreme, and kids with chronically stressed parents are more likely to report having a great deal of stress themselves.
  • 75% of parents and 60% of kids wish they spent more time together, and, lest we forget,
  • Obesity rates are still rising, topping 20% in every state except Colorado.

What I would love to see is hotels offering a decent discount rate for families who:

  • stay a minimum of 3 days,
  • turn over all their electronic devices, including cellphones and TV privileges,
  • take part in specified family activities in the area: sit-down meals, museums and other tourist attractions, parks, trails, challenges. Ideally these family activities would be discounted as well in partnership with the hotel, and bonus points could be given for outdoor endeavors.
  • Then, a prize or additional discount could be awarded if x number of activities were completed. Or, maybe even just points or miles for your next stay with that chain.

Dontcha think? It would be like camping, only with a nice cushy bed and a hot shower.

As a for-instance, locally the DE State Parks issue an annual Great Pursuit Challenge, which is a list of activities at the parks throughout the state. If you do at least 21 over the course of the year, your family earns a one-year park pass. (There is also a trail-specific Trail Challenge.) Now, I live by the northern tip of the state, and I’m not so familiar with the southern end. It would be awesome if a hotel had a Challenge Package that offered a discount for participants, giving them a sample itinerary of the activities/trails nearby to help maximize their time and directions from place to place. Offering a healthy picnic lunch to take with, or coupons to local restaurants near those activities, would be a stellar bonus!

Then an affiliated hotel could offer a similar package in Kent & New Castle Counties, and maybe if you did the whole thing with connected hotels you could earn a BOGO night on a room during off-peak season. That would definitely motivate me to stay in a hotel while doing the New Castle County leg of the Challenge, even though I live so close by.

I realize DE is unique because it’s so small, but other cities could issue similar challenges regionally. A great way to encourage both out-of-state travel and family staycations; real vacations where stressed-out, cash-strapped families can spend fun time together.

I’d leap onto a deal like that in a heartbeat, especially since my family is so challenge-oriented anyway. We like to check things off lists.

Whattya think? Would you book my family digital detox? Or is it really that difficult for the average family to get away and unplugged now?

And, it is occurring to me that some hotels may offer deals like this already and I just don’t know it (I don’t get out much). Let me know if you know of any, regardless of location, and I’ll give them a proper shoutout.

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nPower PEG (Personal Energy Generator): Pretty Dang Awesome

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npower peg

 

Genius means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way.
—William James

Last week I was in NYC for Consumer Electronics Week, attending the Techlicious Moms blogger conference. (Spoiler: I won an iPad 2. Thanks, Target!!)

There were oh so many wondrous toys. Admittedly, I often have a hard time reconciling my love of geeky tech with my need to be eco-conscious, but there were a surprising number of vendors whose products were genuinely green innovations or built on a platform of sustainability.

I’m very pleased that eco-savviness has become a priority in the tech world, that the green consumer is enough of a spending force to be reckoned with that companies are responding, though generally speaking we have a long row yet to hoe.

The nPower® PEG blew me away: simple concept, beautifully executed. One of those things that make you wonder how no one came up with this before.

You know how we shake our heads at our children and say, “I wish I could harness that energy?” Guess what… you can. And you can use it to power your cell phone, iPod, digital camera, GPS…

The nPower® PEG is a backup battery charger that harnesses the kinetic energy you create while walking, running, biking, or, in the case of crazy kids, bouncing off the frickin’ walls. You start with a charged PEG (via USB); then you just need to carry it vertically in your purse or backpack and go about your day. The energy created by your motion continually tops off the internal battery so you have power when your devices run low.

The energy output varies, depending on the physical activity levels of the user and the battery-suckage of the device that needs charging, but—

  • 1 minute of walking provides approximately 1 minute of listening time on an iPod Nano
  • 11 minutes of walking provides approximately 1 minute of talk time on an iPhone 2G
  • 26 minutes of walking provides approximately 1 minute of talk time on an iPhone 3G

I love that the company (Tremont Electric) is committed to sustainability as a defining corporate value: limiting the resources needed to manufacture & market their products; educating employees & customers alike about environmental concerns & actions; closing the cycle by developing a buy-back program (as the plan is to make the PEGs lighter yet more powerful) to ensure proper recycling and repurposing. YES.

This would be not only a “clean and green” tech purchase for me— it would be hugely practical. I attend a lot of events and conferences where it’s a given that participation is virtual (Twitter, mostly) as well as in-real-life. However, I need to first successfully find the things, and as my husband likes to remind me over and over again, I have pathetic navigation skills. I tend to kill my cellphone battery with the GPS before I even walk in the door, and I still need to get home. I’m bloody well afraid to even look at my phone when I’m at the event itself for fear of killing the battery and leaving me stranded. It would be awesome to have that reserve battery power on hand.

A more obvious use for us is for when we go hiking and camping, so that I can blog on location (via phone for now, there isn’t a unit yet that can power a laptop or iPad), and so we have use of our phones in the event of an emergency.

Or, if I were running a marathon (one can dream), I’d know my kinetic energy would continue to power my iPod so I could cross the finish line listening to Eye of the Tiger. These are important issues.

The lovely team I talked to also mentioned uses such as in biomedical devices (like pacemakers) and commercial units at sea to convert wave energy.

HOW AWESOME IS THAT? Admit it. It’s pretty dang awesome.

It appears that the genius of the nPower® PEG has been recognized, happily enough. They’re totally backordered but you can put your name on the waitlist if you are so inclined.

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Disclosure so everything’s on the up-and-up: I attended CE Week as a guest of Techlicious thanks to sponsors Cohn & Wolfe. The nPower people have no idea who I am and I received no product or compensation for this product, which makes me feel *sad face* for a moment until I remember how fricking awesome the product is.

Unexpected Circumnavigation

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unexpected navigation christi grab

How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book.
-Henry David Thoreau

When I was young, I wanted to be two things. One I think everyone knows: to be a writer.

Two, I wanted to be a marine biologist. I wanted to swim with dolphins and save the whales; to travel the oceans and dive in lagoons, and I don’t know what all. I wanted to make a difference.

I can’t swim, and I suffer a touch of the agoraphobia. Meh. Mere complications.

What really killed the dream for me was sophomore year Biology.

In August, I picked up my Biology textbook from my high school book sale. It was a beautiful, heavy, photo-filled hardback, hugely satisfying, and I kid you not when I say I remember what it felt like to open that book and hear it crack for the first time.

I read that textbook like it was the latest Neil Gaiman offering (that’s what I was heavily into at the time). I took notes. The school year hadn’t even started yet. I couldn’t wait to learn. Yes, I realize how geeky that last sentence was, but it’s true.

My teacher… let’s just say our personalities did not mesh. And that she was not the most inspiring educator in the world. Oh, and by the way, she totally killed my love for science. The Godzilla of learning.

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Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood.
Daniel Burnham

A few weeks ago I saw the movie Coral Reef Adventure in IMAX at the Tropicana in Atlantic City. I’ll talk more about that movie in its own post, but suffice to say: I wept over how coral reefs have been affected since that summer 20 years ago, when I was poring over photographs of reefs in science magazines. I was awed by the divers who used their talents not only to document and access the damage done, and possibilities to turn the tide, but also to bring the vivid imagery of the beauty of our oceans to a wide audience. Who used visuals and music and words to inspire.

Who reminded me of who I used to be.

Just for kicks, since that day, I’ve signed up for swimming lessons. I’ve checked out scuba lessons, just out of idle curiosity. And I’ve priced out how much a family trip to Fiji to the Cousteau resort might cost. You know. Just wondering how much an eco-tour might set me back. Just curious as to how a citizen scientist like myself might help the cause.

I was just messing around. I couldn’t acknowledge what I might be thinking. C’mon. I’m 34 and I can’t even swim. I took a train to NYC recently by myself and I was practically having anxiety attacks worrying over whether I could miss my stop. How could I ever manage to get us to Fiji?

But, you know. I also got onto a train to NYC by myself. That’s so far out of my comfort zone it’s not even funny.

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And then I read The Unexpected Circumnavigation: Unusual Boat, Unusual People. I read about a couple, with almost no boating experience, dedicating two years of their lives to circumnavigating the globe in a powerboat. They learned what they needed to begin, and they learned the rest as they went. They persevered. And along the way they experienced so much, saw so much… that my heart just sort of cracked open.

I thought, if they can do it… if they can realize their dream… then why can’t I?

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
–George Eliot

It probably is too late for me to become a marine biologist. I’m a dreamer but I’m not an idiot.

But it’s not too late for me to make a difference.

It’s not too late for me to learn to swim, to dive, to take control of my fears and see the world for myself. And to write about it. To inspire.

I’ve always said that I want to be the next Henry David Thoreau. And HDT, god bless ’em, said, “How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.”

It’s not too late to step confidently in the direction of my dreams.

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It’s an unexpected circumnavigation of my own… to discover that after all this time, I’m still very much the same person I was at 14. That I still have the same aspirations and castles in the sky.
It’s an astounding feeling. I can’t even tell you. I’ve circled back and yet so much has been opened up ahead of me.

What’s your dream?
Is it the same that you had when you were young?

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As a member of From Left to Write online book club, I received a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

You can read other members’ posts inspired by The Unexpected Circumnavigation: Unusual Boat, Unusual People Part I on book club day, June 28th (that’s today, folks) at From Left to Write.