In touring a coastal Mid-Atlantic seaport village, my Mom came upon a small one room schoolhouse complete with authentic period of time school furniture. People forget how many of them existed well into the middle of the last century in remote rural areas. The building would have made a perfect set for movies like High Noon or shows like Little House on the Prairie about times gone by. With green screens and computer technology, that school could look like locations all over the U. S.A.

We were looking at pictures taken on our annual camping trip. They’re all digital photos and we watched them on the television through our FIOS modem. I hadn’t really noticed that my brother LB2 never smiled often, especially when the camera was pointed in his direction. It’s because he’s having so many problems with his teeth. Some of them broke and he;s very self conscious about it. He did make some appointments with an orange nj dentist or someone up his way and they’ve started working on him once a week. I can’t wait until they’re done so my handsome brother is smiling once more.

I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen any television commercials advertising great travel deals in a while. I think a channel of nothing but special offers and last minute deals would be well received. It would have the ability to show pictures and videos of the destinations. And people love to save money so they’d definitely be tuning in.

Have you ever seen a television show set in Vegas that didn’t have scenes in a casino? My parents have been to Las Vegas and apparently there is gambling everywhere. You’ll find gambling at casinos, at big hotels such as the Stratosphere hotel and in restaurants. You can even find slot machines at the airport! I was amazed that I’d never seen a television show about gambling and casinos but then I learned there was one called The Casino in 2004.

Do you dream of being an or watching live recording of the show American Idol? Go to Walt Disney world, where they’ve just opened the American Idol Experience. Park visitors will be able to have a chance to perform or watch a version of the show on an authentic looking set. A limited number of performers will be selected from even preliminary shows each day. The best from those seven shows will all compete in the day’s eighth and final show, after receiving a little vocal coaching and practicing with an iPod. No worries if you haven’t had an acne treatment, the seven contestants will even receive help with makeup. The winner of the eighth show will receive a Dream Ticket, which is a pass that guarantees the holder an audition at a real “American Idol” audition. The American Idol Experience opened in February.

Criss Angel’s Cirque du Soleil show Believe opened recently. If I found myself in the neighborhood of the Las Vegas strip, I’d be very tempted to check out Criss’ new show. We loved him on Mindfreak. I’m curious about this show though, because to me it looks like it’s not so much a magic or illusion show but more like a Broadway play of sorts. Criss portrays a character in the show, and the show has a storyline. Tickets are about $100, which seems awfully high to me. I’ve read a number of reviews that were extremely unfavorable, but I’m still curious. I’m hoping that at some point it becomes available on DVD or pay per view so I can take a gander. If any of you are going to Vegas and see it, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I was trying to think of what documents I’ve heard mentioned on tv. We hear about driver’s licenses and the lack of them, also visas and birth certificates from time to time. When we travel we have to have a passport but I don’t think I’ve ever heard a tv character say they need or have one. What documents have you heard mentioned on television?

Have you ever seen any of the commercials for trips to Walt Disney World? They always seem to involve a set of parents and two kids. It always seems to be night time in the commercials and a horse drawn carriage is always involved. Without a doubt, Walt Disney World is the best of Orlando vacations, but do little kids get the connection between horse drawn carriage and magic? My oldest never got excited when he saw these commercials. If your kids have seen Disney commercials, how did they react?

Recently my family spent a weekend in Wildwood, NJ. We watched a little television while we were there and I was surprised to see some real estate commercials. I don’t think we see those at home, and I live less than two hours away. I saw two spots for a realtor, a number of spots for residential properties and even two for a commercial property. No condo hotel spots that I saw but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some on since Wildwood is really developing and condo buildings are popping up everywhere. Are any real estate commercials on in your area?

Do you remember the show the Love Boat? I used to love to watch that show ever week. I was so bummed when it was canceled. I was with a group of people recently and we were all talking about cruises and the Love Boat came up. All of us in the group have been on real cruises and we got to talking about the differences between a real cruise and a Love Boat cruise. We all thought of three immediately. The first was that cruise ships now have several different restaurants whereas the Love Boat only mentioned one or two. The second was that the Love Boat did show children from time to time but never children’s clubs like the ships of today have, today cruises now try to attract families. The third was weather. Love Boat travel was not interrupted by travel or sickness, there was never any discussion of travel insurance. Can you think of any other differences?