Found this article A Room With A Zoo on MSN and it's a very nice presentation of places you can get up close and personal with animals of all descriptions. These Hotels & Destinations are beyond what you would call "pet friendly" and proud of it!
After all these years of cheap energy and waste, big brand hotels are now jumping even higher to get on the green band wagon making it possible for anyone to afford saving our planet. No more linen changes daily, forget about leaving your room with the thermostat set at freezing while you are at Wally World all day. Go ahead, leave all the lights on when you go out, those energy efficient bulbs use a lot less electricity. Take that 30 minute shower, etc.
As a former hotelier I feel qualified to offer my opinion. My advice to hotels to go even more green? Simple, stop building them! Don't we have enough brands and types? Do we need more "boutique" hotels, "loft" hotels, "limited service" hotels, "extended stay" hotels, "resort" hotels, "full-service" hotels, "transient" hotels, "conference" hotels, "casino" hotels, ad nauseum. Everyone claims to be an expert in their "niche" market, but just how many niches does it take to change a traveler? Answer: When hotels start paying you to stay there!
But seriously, here in a nutshell here is what the big boys are doing to capture a bigger slice of "green" travelers:
Yep, it's a proven fact. All you need to do is look at some of the bigger players on your favorite NFL team to know that while these big guys might appear to be fat they are actually fit as a fiddle! And most of these guys can sit down at the trainers table and test well within normal ranges for blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure! By the way, I would never call an NFL player FAT, not if I want to live, I refer to them as BIG or GINORMOUS and those seem to be ok.
At least when it comes to fitness! And, it turns out that those skinny little wide receivers are more prone to heart disease than their blocking buddies! It's enlightening (and encouraging, in a weird way) to discover that almost 25% of thin people are more prone to heart disease than their overweight brethren.
Yep, it's a proven fact. All you need to do is look at some of the bigger players on your favorite NFL team to know that while these big guys might appear to be fat they are actually fit as a fiddle! And most of these guys can sit down at the trainers table and test well within normal ranges for blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure! By the way, I would never call an NFL player FAT, not if I want to live, I refer to them as BIG and it seems to be ok.
At least when it comes to fitness! And, it turns out that those skinny little wide receivers are more prone to heart disease than their blocking buddies! It's enlightening (and encouraging, in a weird way) to discover that almost 25% of thin people are more prone to heart disease than their overweight brethren.
Funny thing about the Marines. As much as you think you hate it when you are in it, you tend to only remember the good times when you are no longer a part of it and woe the person who says a bad word about MY Marine Corps! Then, when you first step that un-booted foot on the civilian shore again your new concept of freedom takes on a life of it's own. Suddenly you can eat what you want, stay in the rack as long as you want, grow your hair down to your butt if that's what makes you happy and all sorts of un-marine things.
Naturally, this sort of attitude has great potential for disaster – and brother did I ask for it! All of a sudden I turn around and I am a FAT 55 year old capable of being weighed accurately only by a truck scale out on the interstate! Seriously, at 5'-9" tall and close to 400 lbs. that is nothing short of blobsville.
Long story short, self-esteem goes down the tubes, depression leads to eating, eating leads to depression, a cycle you can ride straight to hell if you aren't careful – and on this hog a helmet won't help! At the point where I thought I had reached bottom I discovered the book, Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution and saw light at the end of the tunnel. If I had learned anything at all about my yo-yo battle with weight over the years since leaving the Corps I had forgotten it and then it hit me; everything I had put in my mouth up to that point had done absolutely nothing for me but make me unhappy, why not try something new?!
And when I went through my Mother's losing battle with cancer my stress relief was eating. I am paying for that now but believe me, it's never too late to change, no matter what your age or condition. I have already lost a 120 pounds but a guy as big as me can lose that in no time.
