Based in Santa Monica, Terry Gardner is a freelance journalist whose passions are travel, scuba diving,the environment and Mojitos. She has written for travel sections of the LA Times and Chicago Tribune. Other publications include Alert Diver, American Way, "Desert Golfer" and Cowboys & Indians magazine. She can be e-mailed through her website: www.terrytravels.net

Blog Entries by Terry Gardner

Let's List Governor of California On eBay

Posted November 5, 2009 | 09:32 AM (EST)


For months (if not years) we've been reading that the State of California is broke. Each week it seems like more teachers and state employees are furloughed. Two possible solutions occurred to me after reading today's Los Angeles Times:

1. Auction off the Governor's seat on eBay to raise money...

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Lesson From the Road -- Know the Code for Your Destination Airport

3 Comments | Posted November 3, 2009 | 02:17 PM (EST)


Or Cinderella's Bag Misses the Ball

Unlike Cinderella who got a pumpkin and mice to substitute for a coach and six horses, Robin Kennedy of Jacksonhole, Wyoming came up bagless the night of Air New Zealand's Matchmaking Ball on October 16, 2009.

When I first heard about her missing...

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Air New Zealand Matchmaking At Altitude and In Auckland

Posted October 22, 2009 | 05:55 PM (EST)


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Matchmakers Mingling and Posing (Photo by Rick Friedman)

When it comes to dating, I usually want what I can't have. When a guy takes an instant shine to me, I suspect he has a character defect. When a guy is unavailable (i.e.,...

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Air New Zealand Matchmaking Flight - Pre-Flight Party

Posted October 20, 2009 | 04:00 PM (EST)


On Wednesday night, October 13th at LAX, love may not have been in the air, but fun certainly was.

Last summer, Air New Zealand launched a Matchmaking website in connection with the flight. Kiwis, Canadians and Americans have been messaging each other through the website all summer. Kathryn Gregory,...

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Stretching My Heart Across Air New Zealand's Wings

1 Comments | Posted October 13, 2009 | 06:06 PM (EST)


Last February, New Zealand romanced me for three weeks from Northland to Queenstown, and I returned home with less than half my heart. On the evening of October 13, 2009, I'm flying back to visit my cardiac parts. I hope Air New Zealand can help me meet a Kiwi...

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The Dubnoff Center Continues To Help Kids While California Continues To Cut Funds

Posted October 7, 2009 | 08:39 PM (EST)


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Remember how Nero fiddled while Rome burned? That's how I felt when I read reports of how little the Sacramento legislature accomplished this summer. On July 11, 2009, Shane Goldmacher reported in The Los Angeles Times that: "On Tuesday, legislative committees considered a...

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Commerce Residents Choke on Fumes

Posted September 30, 2009 | 05:59 PM (EST)


I was shocked to read in Column One of the LA Times last week that residents in Commerce, California have a 29% increased risk of cancer caused by air pollution in the area. Trains idling in train yards spew gray diesel smoke and apparently other carcinogens.

Another contributor to...

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3 Travel Lessons: The Advantage of Persistence, Flexibility and an Upgrade

1 Comments | Posted September 25, 2009 | 04:33 PM (EST)


Travel often seems to teach me lessons I never learned in school.

Of course, when I was a kid -- there were friendly skies to fly, if you lost something at a hotel, you usually got it back, and I had less responsibility.

DON'T GIVE UP
The...

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Next Up for the Santa Monica Pier is Cirque du Soleil's "Kooza"

Posted September 18, 2009 | 01:10 AM (EST)


Cirque du Soleil helped the Santa Monica Pier celebrate its 100th birthday on 9/9/09. Next up for the partying centenarian is "Kooza," Cirque's new show that originated in Montreal.

"Kooza" arrives on October 16th and runs to November 29, 2009. Cirque's website describes "Kooza" as the tale of "The Innocent,...

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Social Media Can Lead to Travel Deals and Discounts

Posted September 16, 2009 | 12:00 PM (EST)


I don't really care what Ashton Kutcher had for lunch, but when it comes to bargains, hold me back. Despite my misgivings that I'd be mired in the minutiae of other people's lives, I've turned to social media -- Facebook and Twitter -- to help me find great deals ahead...

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GM Forget the Guarantee, Fight for Clean Air.

6 Comments | Posted September 12, 2009 | 04:12 PM (EST)


Will California ever be permitted to implement its Clean Air Act? First we had a President that removed the words "Environment" and "Protection" from the EPA's mission statement. Under the Bush Administration, I believe EPA stood for the Embracing Petroleum Agency.

We finally have a President that takes the long...

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The Santa Monica Pier: Still Hip at 100

3 Comments | Posted September 6, 2009 | 01:50 AM (EST)


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Santa Monica Pier 1949
Photo courtesy of the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corporation

If you live in the Los Angeles area or will be visiting this week, there's a big shindig in Santa Monica on Wednesday evening, September 9, 2009 to...

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Ted Kennedy: Master Sailor and Senator

Posted August 30, 2009 | 01:47 AM (EST)


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I had hoped Senator Edward M. Kennedy would be miraculously cured of brain cancer. My alternative prayer was that he would live to see meaningful health care legislation passed.

I consider myself an independent (even though I'm registered as a Democrat...

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Freiburg, a Very Eco-Friendly German City

3 Comments | Posted August 24, 2009 | 11:19 AM (EST)


FREIBURG, GERMANY - Green-ness permeates Freiburg. The old-town center is car-free; it's one extensive pedestrian zone of streets, squares and lanes. My energy tour of Freiburg was provided by the Innovation Academy: http://www.innovation-academy.de/english/ueber_uns/dozenten.html with Erhard Schulz as my tour guide (after Hans-Jorg Schwander provided a crash course in clean...

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No WiFi at the Inn... but Great Hospitality

Posted August 11, 2009 | 10:16 PM (EST)


Today, my roommate and I checked into two different hotels. We began at the Marin Suites Hotel in Corte Madera but soon determined that our room didn't have the WiFi connectivity I was promised. I specifically booked a room "poolside," because the guy told me: "It has the best...

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Top Ten: Women Warriors of Twitter

4 Comments | Posted August 7, 2009 | 10:58 AM (EST)


Warrior, femme fatale, however, you slice it, some ladies got more game than others. Whether they fight in stilettos or tennis shoes, these chicks can tweet circles around most people. Remember the Sirens of Ancient Greece? What would Odysseus have done if they could not only sing but tweet? These...

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Many Doors into Travel Writing

2 Comments | Posted August 5, 2009 | 10:21 AM (EST)


I actually stumbled into travel writing myself. My passion for travel and my innate curiosity led me down this path. When I was in the church choir I thought my choir director believed I was a genius. I was about 8, and I thought he called me "Terry the Wise."...

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New Site Serves Up News Women Want

3 Comments | Posted August 4, 2009 | 05:45 PM (EST)


Remember when your Mother used to give you a fly by kiss on the cheek that sounded like a "smack" or you got your hand smacked for trying to grab an extra cookie? There's a new social media site aimed at women to "hit " or "smak" you with the...

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Could Love Be in the Air?

1 Comments | Posted July 13, 2009 | 06:17 PM (EST)


Is it possible to find love in the air? That's the question Air New Zealand hopes to answer for a group of people departing from LAX on October 13, 2009.

These Kiwis may actually be onto something. When I interviewed Matt Daimler of SeatGuru.com (a website that helps passengers...

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Vacation Rentals Can Save Money, But It's Buyer Beware

3 Comments | Posted July 7, 2009 | 11:34 AM (EST)


Here's a no-lose proposition: You get better accommodations, you get them for less and you get other discounts.

We're talking vacation rentals. Families or groups can save on the per-night cost versus a hotel, generally speaking, and by preparing and eating meals in. Rentals may offer more privacy than a...

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