Be sure to check out the new A-Team Blog at http://ping.fm/Tcb3U

Maya Lin’s Wave Field Mountainville, NY

In an abandoned quarry an hour north of New York City, rows of undulating grassy hillocks resemble the swells and peaks of the sea. This six-acre outdoor sculpture was designed by Maya Lin, best known for the Vietnam Veterans’ memorial in Washington, D.C., and is the newest permanent addition to the Storm King outdoor art center. Walk among the 15-foot green crests, or view them from on high, where the mounds appear to lose their solidity, resembling waves breaking on shore.

REPRINTED FROM http://www.travelandleisure.com

Wyoming Dinosaur Center Thermopolis, WY

The thrill of discovery keeps travelers on their knees, scraping for bones in the dust of the Rockies. This dinosaur graveyard is home to one of the richest collections of fossilized remains in the world. Its popular “Dig for a Day” program enables travelers to become amateur paleontologists and look for 150 million-year-old fossils. After a day rescuing Jurassic remains from the detritus of time, explore the 12,000-square-foot museum and its 20-plus mounted skeletons.

REPRINTED FROM www.travelandleisure.com

Biosphere 2 Oracle, AZ

This massive three-acre greenhouse was built as a research station to simulate the conditions of space colonization. Constructed to be airtight and self-sustaining, Biosphere 2 was the site of a two-year experiment with human “Biosphereans,” which went awry in 1991 when oxygen had to be pumped in, and subjects were sent crucial lifesaving supplies. Now managed by the University of Arizona and home to ongoing global-warming experiments, the self-contained mini-world with several climactic zones, including its own ocean with a coral reef and a rainforest, welcomes visitors.

RREPRINTED FROM www.travelandleisure.com

From animal encounters to ziplining, family vacations are redefining fun.

From February 2011 By April Orcutt

 

Nate Levinson of Katonah, NY, was only seven years old when he came face-to-face with a jaguar. Pacing just inches away, the majestic cat—easily three times his size—eyed him with curiosity. Fortunately, a sturdy fence separated the two at Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, FL. The thrilling experience for Levinson, now 17, is the reason the Gulf Coast family trip still ranks as his all-time favorite.
“I earned a lot of points with my kids by taking them to the Big Cat sanctuary,” says Nate’s father, Bruce Levinson.
Ten million families took trips with children in April 2010, according to John Packer, vice president of TNS Custom Research, and with improvements in the economy that number is expected to increase in 2011.
Say “spring break,” and most people think sun and sand, but for families looking to get away as winter thaws, there’s a world of options today—many of which have the ingredients to create lifelong memories. Whether heading to beach, desert, city, or the last remnants of snow, parents are ready to seek out new experiences beyond the norm—or just enjoy the great outdoors and some togetherness.
Take the arid red-rock country around Moab, UT, which includes the ultra-scenic Arches and Canyonlands national parks and a wide variety of hiking trails, paved bike paths, and mountain-bike routes over smooth ground called slickrock. Some families crave the fresh desert air so much they want to literally get up into it. Greg Simpson, 45, of Telluride, CO, took his daughter, Izzy, 10, and son, Aiden, 8, for a hot-air-balloon ride over and through crimson canyons.
“The kids were blown away by the amazing rock formations and folded ridges below,” says Simpson, “and by watching birds fly eye-level with us.”
Of course, some families want to continue winter sports fun—but with a warm-weather twist. Kid-friendly Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes, CA, accommodates them; after heavy-snow winters like 2010–2011, lifts are expected to operate through the Fourth of July.
“It just doesn’t get any better than skiing in a T-shirt,” says Joe Marca, 46, of Riverside, CA. Marca’s son, Quintin, 12, agrees—although he likes spring sledding, too.
As tempting as the bathlike warm water and sugar-white sands are, beach-bound families still need creative ways to cool off. Lucy Pritzker, 40, of Scotch Plains, NJ, took her three children to feed dolphins at Clearwater Marine Aquarium—just half a mile from popular Clearwater Beach on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Her six-year-old daughter, Hannah, even got a kiss from one, a kiss she’ll always remember—and one she describes as “Wet!”

 RREPRINTED FROM www.travelandleisure.com
From February 2011 By April Orcutt 

America's Top Roadside Attractions

The kids are cranky. They shout, “Are we there yet?” every two miles. Your family road trip to Orlando—and that endless ribbon of I-95—feels like it will never end. That is, until you detour over to U.S. 1, where there’s a roadside attraction to lighten moods, lift spirits, and inspire dreams: “Lunch with an Astronaut” at the Kennedy Space Center on Florida’s Cape Canaveral National Seashore.

“Every parent’s hope is that a family trip will inspire kids for the rest of their lives. You want to give them as many opportunities and as much exposure as you can,” says astronaut Chris Hadfield, who will command the International Space Station in 2012 and is the father of three grown children.

The road trip is an annual ritual that recalls the early days of our national highway system: parents load the trunk with luggage, pack a cooler with snacks, strap kids into the backseat, and, with a full tank of gas, hit the road. From the Joad family, to the Merry Pranksters, to the Griswalds, the collective road trip is ingrained in our national travel consciousness.

While not every road trip can raise the ambitions of a young astronaut, the stops and detours will be as memorable—and as fun—as the destination itself. Travel + Leisure sought out the coolest places to get out of the car, stretch your legs, and arouse the passions of little ones dozing in the backseat.

Children can dig in the dirt for dinosaurs that have been dead for the last 150 million years, when you take the family through Wyoming’s Big Sky country. Teenagers can hop on an Olympic bobsled to experience the force of gravity and the thrill of competition, right off I-80 in Park City, UT. And your entire crew can climb aboard a captured German U-boat beside Lake Michigan when you head south on Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive.

“Kids today stand a very good chance of fulfilling the dreams of President Kennedy—who challenged us to explore—and I hope they will,” says Buzz Aldrin, the Apollo astronaut who was the second man to set foot on the moon.

A childhood journey can be a world-changer if it creates a future explorer, explains Aldrin. Or, in the words of John F. Kennedy, “This country was conquered by those who moved forward.”

By Sarah Rose

CRUISE TO THE BAHAMAS

Cruising is one of the most enjoyable vacations anyone can embark upon and the Bahamas creates an incredible backdrop. Imagine yourself sitting on the Lido deck soaking in the rays as you sip on a mojito. Now envision yourself doing this for the cost of a night out to dinner. The Celebration ship is an amazing 3 day 2 night voyage from Ft Lauderdale to the Bahamas. We are advertising this great cruise as a promotion for our Lifetime Coastal Vacations Travel Package.

Be sure to get all the details of this great getaway by clicking on the banner on the top and bottom of this site. We assure you that this will me a memorable trip which will be enjoyed by all. You deserve to get away and this is the perfect way to spend time enjoying yourself with those you love.

So what are you waiting for? Contact us asap to get all the details and get your ticket for this voyage. You can sign up for your **free** cruise by going to http://ateamcruise.co.nr or by clicking on the banners on this site saying FREE CRUISE. We wish you the best and look forward to being your travel provider in the future.

Dream Vacations with Coastal Vacations

I don't know about all of you but vacations are something Ive always been fond of. It goes back to wanting to play , kick back and have some good fun. Do you remember summer vacation in school? You waited all year long for the last day of school. Many of us have fond memories of going on vacation with our families growing up. Can you think of a few? I bet you can. Well imagine if you can get those times back. How about making some with your kids now? Let me tell you a story of how Coastal Vacations can make this a reality.

The Coastal Vacations Travel Package gives you access to some of the lowest rates on the market. This is done because hotels, motels , resorts and all types of vacation accommodations don't always have full capacity. So to make money on those openings they have figured a way to get visitors. As a member you have access to all the deals they offer. The accommodations know you are still going to spend money when you travel. As that is the revenue that gives them life of course they want you to use their places.

My family personally went on a trip to Disney in Florida and stayed in a 5 bedroom 4 bath luxury home ten minutes from the park. The home had incredible master suite with a jacuzzi tube , huge shower and it lead out to a screened in pool. The other rooms were amazing as well. The suite master suite also lead to the pool. The layout of the home was incredible. It was all on one floor with a huge living room. There were three sitting areas in the living room. We spent many a night having a few drinks watching movies. We spent the majority of our time at the home in the pool area. It was screened in so no bugs or gecko's ( yes we saw hundreds of them) could bother us. It had 3 sitting areas so there was enough room for the 9 of us that made the trip.

The kitchen was a thing of beauty with it's large cooking areas , huge pantries and modern appliances. We loved the music system that played all through the home. You could have a great party in a home like this. Or spend some great quality time with the family. Oh I forgot to mention the rather large dining area that looked like something out of a upscale restaurant. Needless to say this was a vacation of a lifetime. We have so many memories and pictures of our trip. Just about any time any of us get together or talk on the phone the subject comes up. So now that Ive wet your appetite I bet you have one big question. How much did it cost?

Drum roll please (if you don't have an icon on your screen to hit for a drum roll then contact us right away for a 3 day 2 night vacation for the taxes only).

$735

Yes this was the deal we got. We created memories for a bit over $80 a person. What an incredible time we had. Would you like to travel like this? This is one of many trips we have taken and saved thousands. Get the details for yourself. Take a look at all the information. Then give us an email or a call. We look forward to seeing you somewhere around the world.

Create Free Leads and Make Money on the net

Making money on the internet is about advertising and creating good leads to market your product to. Through many trials and tribulations I have stumbled upon some good methods to use. Let me discuss some of the ways that I generate my own leads at little to no cost.

For years I did as many of you do and bought leads from the various lead vendors on the market. I must say that many of the leads allowed me to make great money. But in business one principle I follow is minimizing cost. So as I researched how to get leads I saw a few avenues of opportunity open. I noticed that many prospects were looking for information and not looking to invest right away. They didn’t want to seem rushed into a sale. So I began to give out info and free tools to get them to look at my business opportunity. It allowed me to create my own list that I could then follow up with. I did this follow up via the phone and with the use of an auto responder (A/R). If you research a/r's on GOOGLE you will find some very good ones. I have found a few free as well as low cost ones and used both with equal success.

The leads I generated were free and much more targeted than ones I had bought in the past. You can use a variety of methods to generate these leads. Video is great and each to do with tools like the social forums on the net. All that you need is a good lead capture system. I learned how to create capture forms using a free service called EMAILMEFORM. I also found many free websites that I could put the videos as well as capture form on. Then I promoted the site on various traffic exchanges as well as putting my website link everywhere I could. I used free classified, forums, safe list offline print and anything else I could advertise for free or at a low cost. I also began to use referrals. I gave away incentives to get leads. On another internet search I looked up FREE LEADS and found numerous sources of free leads. My opportunity is in travel so when I approached the prospects I made my pitch based on the travel benefits. Everyone loves travel. If I found someone in business already I offered to team up with them to generate sales for us both. For instance they could offer a vacation as a bonus for a prospect looking at their site or buying their product. This generated a ton of leads for me. In addition many saw my opportunity and then signed up with us.

Please take these tips and use them in your business. I will say that with a limited budget you can make good money using the various free tools the internet offers. You just have to be resourceful and think outside the box a bit.

For a one on one consultation about our business and how we might be of service to you be sure to take a look at our links and contact us asap. Good luck.

Create Free Leads and Make Money on the net

Making money on the internet is about advertising and creating good leads to market your product to. Through many trials and tribulations I have stumbled upon some good methods to use. Let me discuss some of the ways that I generate my own leads at little to no cost.

For years I did as many of you do and bought leads from the various lead vendors on the market. I must say that many of the leads allowed me to make great money. But in business one principle I follow is minimizing cost. So as I researched how to get leads I saw a few avenues of opportunity open. I noticed that many prospects were looking for information and not looking to invest right away. They didn’t want to seem rushed into a sale. So I began to give out info and free tools to get them to look at my business opportunity. It allowed me to create my own list that I could then follow up with. I did this follow up via the phone and with the use of an auto responder (A/R). If you research a/r's on GOOGLE you will find some very good ones. I have found a few free as well as low cost ones and used both with equal success.

The leads I generated were free and much more targeted than ones I had bought in the past. You can use a variety of methods to generate these leads. Video is great and each to do with tools like the social forums on the net. All that you need is a good lead capture system. I learned how to create capture forms using a free service called EMAILMEFORM. I also found many free websites that I could put the videos as well as capture form on. Then I promoted the site on various traffic exchanges as well as putting my website link everywhere I could. I used free classified, forums, safe list offline print and anything else I could advertise for free or at a low cost. I also began to use referrals. I gave away incentives to get leads. On another internet search I looked up FREE LEADS and found numerous sources of free leads. My opportunity is in travel so when I approached the prospects I made my pitch based on the travel benefits. Everyone loves travel. If I found someone in business already I offered to team up with them to generate sales for us both. For instance they could offer a vacation as a bonus for a prospect looking at their site or buying their product. This generated a ton of leads for me. In addition many saw my opportunity and then signed up with us.

Please take these tips and use them in your business. I will say that with a limited budget you can make good money using the various free tools the internet offers. You just have to be resourceful and think outside the box a bit.

For a one on one consultation about our business and how we might be of service to you be sure to take a look at our links and contact us asap. Good luck.

ADVERTISING

Advertising can make or break your business. The internet has made advertising something that the normal Joe or Jane can do. The trick is learning how to do it effectively. Now there are many schools of thought out there and many are very good but I'm going to focus on some things I've done online as well as offline.Offline MarketingOffline marketing can be looked at as traditional advertising. Whether it be magazine, newspaper ads, television or your basic flyers. Another avenue to add to this is what I consider the most effective which is word of mouth advertising. Let me go over some of the ways I've handled my advertising.Print advertising is something that our business has dabbled in. One of my favorite things to do is to write so for me this is a good fit. Now to make print advertising work you have to take 3 things into consideration. First is your budget. For print advertising to be the most effective you need to have it done consistently. Most people need to see things a few times before they make up their mind to buy. This is especially true in these times when the economy is struggling. Our business has advertised in a few of the local news periodicals in our area. I like to find the free publications that you can find all around the local area. You must follow the rules they have but if you stay within the guidelines you can effectively reach a good base of customers.The second thing to look at is what customer base you are trying to reach. Customers are what all businesses need. Anytime that you advertise the goal is to reach as many people as possible. When deciding where to advertise it is important to be sure that the publication is reaching the base you are trying to market to. When I advertise I make sure to have my ad be in line with the theme of the medium I am advertising in. This leads me into the last part of what I think is needed in print advertising.Wording is everything. If you can communicate effectively you will be more apt to get your point across. The way an ad is written makes the difference between success and failure. There needs to be something that makes you stand out from the crowd. A good product and a good catch phrase have closed many a deal. Be sure to keep up with this thread as I continue to go over the ways to use advertising to grow my business.

Adam
The Business Tutor
Teaching you how to minimize cost, maximize profits and free up time

Autoresponder

What is an autoreponder? Its a very important tool to anyone that works a home based business. Now there is alot of thoughts on the level of that importance. I for one find it an extremely important tool. Let me explain why.An autoresponder (a/r) is a tool where you can send pre-written emails out to a list that you have. It is an amazing time saver. You see you can create some pre-written emails that promote your product, opportunity or ideas and they have them automatice delivered to your opt-in list. As far as time goes it saves a bunch of it. Now many use it as a way to actually prospect. I dont see this as the most effective way to advertise. If you are like me you get 100's of emails a day. So to be honest it is impossible for me to look through each and everyone of them. For that reason I use my autoresponder as a follow-up tool. After a person has opted in to one of your squeeze/lead capture pages and you have contacted them then it's good to follow-up with some sort of autoresponder series. This is so you can really give them all the details on what you are marketing.Now for what a/r to use I can say that there are many out on the market. As a new business owner with a limited budget you can find a bunch that are free. Ive even learned that if you are truly computer savvy and have a server you can create your own. But as most people dont have the time or expertise to do so there are also a bunch of a/r's that arent free bunch truly worth it. The top 2 are aweber and getresponse. Im not going to endorse one or the other but I suggest that you look at all the features they offer and make your own decision. Another good option that I have used in the past is mlmpowermarketing.com . Great service and really easy to use.A good a/r is a much needed compliment to any generated leads that you might have. I see this as one of the best and most useful tools you can have in your business toolbox. Stay tuned in the following days as we go over an extremely important part of your business. It's one of my favorite parts. Its called advertising. I will show you how to keep ypur budget down and get the maximum leads for your time and budget.

Adam Frederick
Your Business Success Coach
Teaching you how to minimize cost, maximize profits and free up time

THE STEPS TO HOME BASED BUSINESS SUCCESS

The idea of starting and much less being successful can be daunting. What is need is a concise straightforward plan to pull the deal off. This plan must include the following:1- Time management2- A budget3- A system to put everything in motion4- Back-up plansLets start with time management first and explain how anyone regardless of the situation they are in can have the success they desire.Many of us that start out in a home based business do so to free ourselves from full time jobs. Another majority are those fortunate to be home but looking to add an extra income to the family finances. Whatever your situation you must make a plan on how to maximize the time you do have. The biggest asset in doing so is to use the many tools that are available to us through the internet. In my past years of running businesses the internet has become more and more useful to me. The first thing I use the internet for is to generate leads. Leads can be generated rather inexpensively by using the internet. In my travels I have found companies that will generate leads for you as well as I've been able to learn how to advertise and generate my own. Most that are working from home dont have huge advertising budgets so using the internet fits into our plans. This article is one way I generate leads. On a daily basis people read what I write and then click on my links to see what opportunities I have to offer. There are so many forums that you can become part of. I highly recommend this forum ( The Work at Home Forum) as it has a ton of users. These users are made up of many that are looking to start a business and trying to find out the facts. It gives them a great source of information and allows you to advertise to them for free. Now you can't blatantly advertise you product but with a good signature line link and good adcopy in your post many will be looking to find out more about you. People buy from people they like so if you put yourself forth in the correct manner you can build quite a base.Another option to create leads is to have a lead capture or squeeze page. You can make these sites as simple or as elaborate as you would like. I suggest the simpler the better. It should include information on what you are trying to sell as well as a way to capture the onlookers information. After inputing their info the page should direct them to a site to get the details on your opportunity. This next page should really give them the in's and out's of what you are selling. Remember first impressions are important.Now how does this relate to time management you might ask. Its simple. You can automate this process to some extend. Create one good adcopy ( or even a few) and post it in different forums. Place your lead capture or squeeze pages on all you signature lines as well as in traffic exchanges. Their are many good traffic exchanges out there but I truly recommend one called link referral. I get about 20 hits a day on my various sites from that one exchange. It takes me about 30 minutes for each site I promote. Thats a pretty good trade off in my analysis.Most of us have about 30 minutes a day to generate those type of lead numbers. I try to do it before I go to bed so they next day as others are surfing the exchange they see my information first.Well thats the first bit of information we will go over today. Tomorrow I will explain how using an autoresponder is important to your business and how it relates to managing your time.

Adam Frederick
Your Business Success Coach
Teaching you how to minimize cost, maximize profits and free up time

The excitement is real

Exciting is what we call it. Having just finalized the details of the A-Team Travel Clubs maiden voyage things are moving right along. How many of you have even been on a cruise? My wife April has been a many but this will be my first. I look forward to enjoying this trip with so many of you.

We can have contest as to who will eat the most lobsters or spend the most time on the dance floor. Believe you me I will enjoy myself immensely. Cruises are meant to be fun and especially on one of Carnival Cruise Lines fun ships we will all have a ball.

Now be sure to act fast as cabins are filling up. All the details are on a link on the right side of this website. In addition we are running a huge special as well for this cruise. If you can book 32 people to the cruise then you and a guest get your cabin for free(the 32 people have to be in 16 total cabins). So be sure to tell all your friends ( the ones you would like to cruise with) so you can get your cabin for free. (*you would only be responsible for taxes and fees)

Now this is the first of many exciting trips we will be hosting. Stay tuned to the site for more details as they surface. In addition make sure to enter our drawing to win vacation prizes.

This is the A-Team tuning out and we look forward to seeing you on the seas of the world.

Why Travel?

Travel is one of the most exciting things to do in the world. Everyone and I repeat everyone loves to travel. It has become a staple of our economy and provides jobs as well as priceless memories for generations to come.

Now when you think of travel what comes to mind? Is it white sand beaches with crystal clear blue waters? What about a romantic getaway with that special someone in your life? Maybe its a place to build lifelong memories with your family. Think of all the pictures you have in your photo album and how they make you feel? It's probably a great feeling. I know that some of the best times Ive have in my life have been traveling with my friends and now with my family.

Well if travel is so good why arent we always on vacation? For many the challenge is time. With so many dual income families and longer work schedules time is at a premium. Another challenge is the cost. With companies knowing that everyone loves travel and that after you have taken the familiy on one vacation you most definitely will do so again prices rise to reflect the demand. So here is our quandry. I want to travel and can get the time off to do it but even with the time off it's too expensive to take that dream trip. Well read on and see how we have folund a way to overcome this challenge.

Have any of you ever shopped at a discount store such as BJ's , Costco or Sam's Club? I bet most of you have. For those that havent here is the premise behind these stores. You pay a one time membership fee then you enjoy all the discounts the store offers. When you compare the prices in the discount stores to the normal stores most of the time you save at the discount stores. So in the long run you wind up saving more money shopping with them. Imagine this philosphy applied to the travel industry. What if you could buy a travel membership and get discounts on all aspects of travel? The membership would include discounted cruises where all you pay are the port charges, taxes and a small processing fee and get your cabin for free. It has 3 day 2 night vacations where you pay a processing fee and just your room taxes. What does this mean in real dollar? How about going to Disney World and staying in a Howard Johnson hotel and paying a grand total of $35 for your 3 day 2 nigt stay. This is truly possible. And thats only the beginning of the features of the memberships. For your convenience there is a file that you can download call the A-Team Coastal Profile on the top right of this blog.

Now this membership is incredible and has three different points of entry. They range from a price point of $1295 - $11000. While these are incredible prices for some the entry level of $1295 is still a bit steep. So we have found even more options so everyone can go on vacation. Imagine buying a single vacation for a low price and then paying just your processing fees and taxes. What about getting a 7 day condo stay for the same prices you are used to paying for hotel stays. I will tell you from experience my wife and I alway prefer condos. Its like a home away from home. You have all the luxuries of being at home. As travel agents and providers of discount travel vouchers we can provide that getaway that you crave.

In the following weeks this blog will go over some of the trips we have taken using our own product as well as tips and strategies on how to travel at a discount. Every once in a while I will be going into detail on how any of you can get involved in our business and learn to make money working from home as well. I look forward to sharing all of our experience and fun times about travel to all that have an open ear.

Be sure to enter our upcoming drawing to win a 3 day 2 night vacation voucher. Upon entering you will also receive our weekly newsletter that will include more special trips as well as detail of how to make money in the travel industry. See you on the beaches of the world.