13 sht 2007

Enironmentally friendly accommodation

The majority of visitors to this site are from the United States of America, and for the sake of the environment, if you plan to vacation in another place, it would be preferable to chose a place near to your home so as to shorten the journey. It is a good thing that this worldwide online accommodation booking site list all the 51 states of America. Not only that, they have special categories of hotels such as eco green lodging which is most relevant to what this site is all about.

In addition to category of hotels that have adopted environmentally friendly practices, they also have other special categories such as spa resorts, yoga retreats and a few others, even a haunted hotels!!! category for the brave ones.

Unfortunately for our one and only Spaceship Earth which still have no lifeboat, either hotels in the United States have not taken to environmentally friendly practices on a wide scale, or for reasons of their own, are not listing their environmentally friendly hotels with this site because I checked quite a number of America's state, but all those I checked had no environmentally friendly hotel listed. I can't check all the 51 states, so if you happened to be staying in one of those states listed and you check your state, you may just find something. Further, things are not static, and I am sure operators of this site are hard at work, and hopefully before 31st December, 2008, you will find such American eco green lodgings listed in the site without any problem.

Why before 31st December, 2008, you may ask. Simple. With the Special Offer Code SPC7258603, you can get $10.00 off for reservations over $100. But this special offer is not forever. You have until 31st December, 2008 to make use of it.

10 sht 2007

Ecotourism in Sarasota County, Florida, United States of America

Sarasota County is in Florida, in the south eastern part of United States with its administration seat in Sarasota. It has 2 state parks and have very good beaches. It also has many barrier islands, one of which, Siesta Key
, have one of the best beaches in the United States. More about that later. This a haven for diverse wildlife including ducks, warblers, hawks, ospreys, meadowlarks, herons, ibis, wading birds, waterfowl, migrating birds, wild turkeys, snow geese, bald eagles, hummingbirds, falcons, etc. Dolphins and manatees are aplenty in Sarasota. There used to be plenty of turtles laying eggs on its beaches, but unfortunately the are now few and far in between. But there are conservation efforts going on.

It has Florida's biggest and oldest state parks - the Myakka River State Park. It has excellent hiking trails. The Myakka River, fondly called "Florida Wild and Scenic Myakka River", flows through its woodlands, wetlands and prairies. It is good for wildlife observation and you can go hiking and fishing, among other eco friendly activities. There are canopy walkway for you to take to the treetops and view foliage, twigs, birds, caterpillars, and insects at the tree tops, plus get spectacular views of the entire park.

The other state park is the Oscar Scherer State Park. Its habitats include pine flatwoods, scrubby flatwoods and the hardwood hammock plus varieties of other plants like wild grape, blueberry, cabbage palm, persimmon, prickly pear cactuses, coontie, wax myrtle, mangrove trees and giant leather ferns. You can see rabbits, river otters, bobcats, foxes, indigo snakes, alligators, gopher tortoises and gopher frogs in the state park.

A walk on its beaches can be considered an ecotour for you are likely to find prehistoric sharks' teeth and marine fossils washed up to its beaches from the sparkling ocean water.

If you are a bird watcher, the place to go is the Celery Fields, a low, marshy area drained to grow celery. Its deep lakes attracts many bird species. It is also a site of archaeological findings.

If fine beaches is what you are looking for, head for Siesta Key, a 8 mile long barrier island off Sarasota on Florida’s West Gulf Coast, famous for its white 99% quartz sand beaches. The white sand is very reflective and deflects off the heat from the sunlight so that the beach feels cool and comfortable. The most famous and popular is Siesta Key Beach where the sand is finest. It is one of the best beaches in the United States and have plenty of awards to prove it. However, if privacy and being away from the crowd is what you value, there is Crescent Beach and Turtle beach.

Siesta Key also has lush foliage, mature trees and tropical flowering shrubs, wild sea oats. Its mangroves is a habitat for diverse native birds. In its sparkling green ocean water are dolphins, manatees and other aquatic wildlife.

If you plan to go to Siesta Key, you can do it on line at accommodations, where you can find a variety of choices, including hotels, motels, apartments, condominiums, beach resorts and houses, cottages and suites.

6 sht 2007

Siesta Key, Florida, United States of America

Siesta Key has the word "Key" in it, but don't get confused and think that it is located in Florida Keys. Siesta Key is actually a barrier island off of the central western coast of Florida situated between Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, just below Tampa. A portion of it lies within the city boundary of Sarasota. It is famous for its beaches, especially Siesta Beach, a long stretch of 99% pure white quartz sand with a texture like refined sugar, and which never feels hot. The beach has won for itself numerous awards including being named the “Best Overall” in the "1987 International Sand Contest", the “Best Sand Beach in America 2004” by the Travel Channel, rated one of the best for walking by National Geographic Traveler, ranked third in the Top 10 US beaches in a poll by USA Today.com reader poll ranked and voted Number 3 in its list of Top 10 U.S. beaches Best Beach 2000 by Florida Living Magazine.

There are other beaches like Crescent Beach and Turtle beach, but are not as popular as Siesta Beach. There are lifeguards on Siesta Beach all year round, but Turtle Beach has no lifeguard. However, you can be sure of getting a parking space on Turtle Beach. They all can be referred to as a crystal beaches because the beaches consists of quartz crystals. There are people who believe that quartz crystals have physical, mental or emotional healing properties, but these are not backed by any scientific studies.

Siesta Key is covered by lush tropical foliage and inhabited by wild rabbits, herons, wild parrots and other native birds, gulls, terns, plovers, pelicans, egrets, herons, ibis, spoonbills, storks, cranes, manatees, dolphins and an estimated 1000 species of fish in the Gulf, bays, lakes, rivers and streams.

If you plan to visit Siesta Key, various kinds of accommodations are available, including hotels, motels, apartments, condominiums, beach resorts and houses, cottages and suites.
 

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