Red Cross
Help Haiti Now
Yele
H.E.L.P. – Haitian Education & Leadership Program
Haiti Children
Help for Haiti – sponsored by the White House
UNICEF 1-800-4UNICEF

Get involved! Its very important!

Let them know you heard about it on www.TwoJetSetDivas.com!

M&M’s Valentine’s Day Contest:
Visit the contest website and write a 150 word-essay explaining why you and your sweetie can use Ms. Green’s (the green m&m’s) help to heat up your romance. Essays are judged on relevance, creativity, style and panache.
To participate you must be over 21 and live within the 50 United States.
The prize includes two roundtrip ticket to Paris, a two-night stay in the city, and $1500 to spend on romantic dining and activities.
DEADLINE: February 12th

Free JetBlue Airfare:
Become a fan on JetBlue on Facebook and have the chance to win Grand Prize All-You-Can-Jet pass, which includes an entire year of unlimited travel on JetBlue. You can even sign up for the bonus prize everyday where one pair of roundtrip tickets will be awarded each week.
You must be 18 years or older to enter the contest and a US resident.

Megabus gives away 100,000 Free Tickets:
Low-cost bus service provider Megabus is giving away up to 100,000 tickets everyday on certain routes. Megabus operates in the midwest and the east coast.
Tickets must be used between January 6th and March 20th, 2010.
Tickets are free minus the 50 cent booking fee. Use the promotional code GETAWAY to book.
Contest ends January 31st

Win $10,000 towards a trip:
Tell your worst travel disaster story and Travel Guard Insurance may award you $10,000 towards the trip of your dreams. They began accepting applications Dec. 1st 2009. One winner will selected every month to wina FLIP digital camera. Each monthly winner will be entered to win the Grand Prize: $10,000

Free Trip to Mexico:
Intracell drug company is searching for 1,000 people to participate in a drug trial to combat the #1 travel disaster – Montezuma’s Revenge. They will pay for a one-week stay in Mexico or Guatemala and round trip airfare. In exchange you must be willing to come into one of their testing sites for blood & stool tests should you become ill.
Hmmmmm, I don’t know. You might want to think about this one!

Win a Bloggers Trip to Costa Rica:
Internationally travelled blogger Nomadic Matt is offering a contest in conjunction with Gap Adventures. The winner will go on the 2-week Gap Adventures Costa Rica Explorer Tour that departs on March 28. The trip includes stops in Tortuguero, at Arenal Volcano, Monteverde and Manual Antonio National Park. Most breakfasts and a few lunches and dinners are included, but the winner will be responsible for other meals and activities not included on the tour. Airfare is covered in the prize, and the winner does not need to be from the United States.
Checkout Nomadic Matt’s blog for more info. Must be 18 to enter and you can live ANYWHERE.
DEADLINE: February 14th.

There is a 1 in 500 chance that you will win any of these prizes. However, if you are that one and need a travel partner, I have vacation days stored up!!

My sister and I arrive in the NYC to celebrate. I’ve always wanted to be in the midst of the confetti and noise as the ball drops in Times Square. Or at least that’s what I thought!! (Too cold! My sister says its the closest she ever got to death.) We get to Laguardia — wait, wait, wait. No luggage. We really only have 2.5 days in the city, hey they’ll call us when it gets in right? Night 1 – no luggage, Night 2 – no luggage, Morning 3 – no luggage, fly home in the same ole ‘ish.

So, what happend to our stuff?

Well, its probably up for sale at the Unclaimed Baggage Center (UBC) in Scottsboro, Alabama.

99.9% of all unclaimed luggage is returned to its rightful owner. A portion of the remainder is bought site unseen and sold in the 40,000 sq ft. UBC, which sells approximately 1 million items annually.

So, what’s inside the bags? Below is a list of some of the most valuable AND unusual items found in the unclaimed luggage.

UNCLAIMED FINDS:
Full Suit of Armor – The suit turned out to be a replica of a 19th century original.

Collection of Ancient Egyptian Artifacts – An old Gucci suitcase was opened to reveal ancient items including a shrunken head, a mummified falcon, a burial mask, and scarabs, all dating back to 1500 B.C. The items were later sold by Christie’s auction house back in the ’80s.

$250,000 piece of Naval Equipment – A Naval guidance system for a F16 fighter jet was discovered among lost luggage, and surprisingly, was never claimed. The UBC turned the quarter-million dollar GPS back over to the Navy.

5.8-Carat Solitaire Diamond Ring – This platinum-set ring was found at the bottom of a sock in the corner of a plain-looking suitcase.

Barbie stuffed with Cash – After purchasing a Barbie doll for her little girl, a woman was startled to find $500 in cash, rolled and stuffed into the dolls body. Thankfully, her daughter pulled the head off promptly, revealing the bills.

Rattle Snake – Whether it slithered in while no one was looking, or it was purposefully packed, a live rattlesnake was found by workers unpacking unclaimed bags.

40.95-Carat Natural Emerald – The gem measured ¾ of an inch, and was found tucked away in a small plastic bag, stashed in the corner of a piece of luggage.

NASA Camera – The camera, which was specially designed for the Space Shuttle, was returned to the government agency.

Suitcase of Designer Dresses – In the late ’90s, UBC workers discovered an entire suitcase filled with Versace dresses, straight from the runway.

Expensive Art – What the store tagged and sold as a $60 painting turned out to be an original artwork, valued at $20,000.

All that’s interesting, but what I really want to know is has anyone at the Unclimed Baggage Center seen a green hoodie with Oscar on the front?? It was my fave.

Game Info:
Miami, Florida
Dolphin Stadium
Sunday, February 7th
Kick-Off 6:00p.m. EST

“The Coveted Game Day Ticket”
Expensive as Hell!
At least right now – season ticket holders, freinds and family of the team, and industry people are LUCKY with pricing.
If you have to go to stubhub.com or razortickets.com tickets are starting at about $1800 and are up to about $8,000. Thats ridiculous.
I have freinds that went to the SuperBowl in Phoenix 2008, bought tickets from a scalper for $500 each (they should have known then) and noe of the 5 tickets worked when they got to the gate. Bottom line: do not trust ticket scalpers for these games!! If it feels unbelievable, it is.

Fly Me There
Round-trip Friday February 5th and Returning Monday February 8th…
From the middle of the country:
St. Louis $349 on American Airlines

East Coast:
New York City (JFK) $497 on American Airlines

West Coast:
Los Angeles $609 on United

South:
Houston $536 on American Airlines

American Airlines is rocking out right now!

Lay My Head
There are many many options available in Miami. Personally, I think if you’re going to Miami, no matter what the reason, you should stay on South Beach. But, if you have to pay $600 to fly from L.A. maybe thats not an option so below is a wide span of options.

Holiday Inn Miami-Doral Area
(Recently renovated)
3255 N.W. 87th Ave.
$172 per night

The Wave Hotel
(Beach front, on the end of the strip out of traffic, my PERSONAL favorite South Beach stay)
350 Ocean Ave.
$340 per night

The Catalina Hotel and Beach Club
(4 Star, luxury resort)
1736 Collins Ave
$499 per night

Ground Transportation
If you’re staying on South Beach, you probably really don’t need this, its a very congested area and parking is horrendous. Take a cab to the game!

But if you simply must, after looking through lots of websites, I say just go with Hotwire.com. They have cars available in all categories right now, from Comact $22 per day to a Convertible at $85 per day.

Party, Party, Party
Updates to come!!
(In other words I’ve searched and come up with nothing…maybe I’m too early, who knows.)

You can keep yourself up to date with all things Super Bowl 2010 at the South Florida’s Host Committee 2010 website

If you’re planning on traveling down…take me! Please. (<– Bold & Italicize!)

The offer is available for 1,000 people under the condition that they come in for tests should they fall ill during the vacation. What’s in it for you? A round trip ticket to either Mexico or Guatemala and 3 star hotel accomodations for one week. However, the hotel must be in close proximity (no more than three hours) from one of the centers where the traveller will be required to give blood test and provide stool samples if they get sick.

Intercell hopes the trial will confirm initial findings that the vaccine significantly reduces the chances of contaminated food or drink leading to a nasty bout of Montezuma’s revenge.

The eye-catching offer has already been inundated by volunteers, particularly hard-up students looking for a cheap holiday. Of the 170 human trials so far the chances of one coming down with an upset stomach have been cut by three-quarters.

Travellers’ diarrhea is one of the most common and debilitating illnesses experienced by holidaymakers, particularly in the developing world. Attacks last four to five days, involve 18 trips to the toilet and cause dehydration, stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting.

Volunteers will receive the vaccine through a patch worn on the arm for six hours three weeks prior to travelling, followed by a booster dose one week before they set off.

Similar trips are planned to India – another destination notorious for stomach upsets – and the vaccine could be available within five years if it is proven to be safe and effective.

Gotta be in or near London to participate!
If you go for this foolishness, report back in, let us know all about it!

New Year's Day Mudslide at Pousada Sankay Resort

On New Year’s Day 2010 experiencing more rain than usual on the island of Angra dos Reis in a region of Brazil near Rio de Janiero, mudslides reign down covering 3 homes and a portion of the upscale waterfront lodge Pousada Sankay Resort.

Ten people were injured by the resort slide early Friday, and about 120 rescuers scrambled through mud and around toppled trees and large rocks to search for more survivors. Police helicopters and navy vessels helped in the rescue effort.

In addition to the two deadly mudslides in Angra dos Reis, local authorities said nearly 80 mudslides were reported throughout the region, toppling trees and destroying power lines. Rain-related deaths in Rio de Janeiro state from three days of heavy rains reached 50, officials said, and more rain was predicted across the region.

The mudslide at the Pousada Sankay resort apparently happened after tourists had returned to their rooms following the New Year’s celebration at the lodge on Ilha Grande, a 90-minute ferry ride from Angra dos Reis, fire department commander Pedro Machado said. He said at least 17 people died.

Globo TV reported that a boy and a teenage girl were among the victims, but authorities could not immediately confirm the information.

Police said some of the dead may have been in the houses. They did not immediately release the identities or nationalities of the victims.

A bulldozer was brought in to help in the search for survivors. Bodies recovered from the rubble were being transported off the island by boats and helicopters. Authorities said the search was expected to continue through the night.

Witnesses told local media the hillside lodge and the houses, which can only be accessed by boat, collapsed after being struck by a slab of earth nearly 300 meters (330 yards) wide.

A broad, raw scar of dirt remained on the jungle hillside above the lodge, which was smashed by mud, trees and other vegetation. Only a handful of houses and small patches of vegetation were left unscathed.

Wooden pieces of the lodge were seen floating near the shore and on the beach.

The hotel, which advertises nightly rates of about $200 and can accommodate 50 guests, was reportedly full. The lodge was inaugurated in 1994, according to its Web site.

Local officials in Angra dos Reis declared three days of mourning and canceled the city’s annual celebration scheduled for Wednesday.