Rich Parker

SLM521

Course Module

“Run away! Run away!”

with apologies to Monty Python and the Holy Grail and the killer bunny

Objective: Now that you anticipate the imminent completion of your course work for SLM 521, it’s time to get back to the family you put on “hold” over the past semester before summer session begins.

In this module, students will with resources which can help plan day trips or weekend getaways.

In this module, students will be able to create an itinerary for a weekend away with or without the kids.

Introduction: Almost every large city, small town and tiny burg in the U.S.A. has jumped on the Internet bandwagon to help attract tourist trade. Local websites can help travelers find and book accommodations, browse dining opportunities, recommend activities and entertainment, lead visitors to shopping bonanzas and, of course, offer directions on the quickest or most scenic routes to get to your destination, their fair city. Travelers need leave nothing to chance; everything can be planned before you ever locked up the house. (You did lock the house and turn off the stove, didn’t you?)

Activity:

ü Visit several websites devoted to tourism and commerce in cities and towns within a day’s driving distance from home.

ü Investigate information on hotels, motels and Bread and Breakfast Inns.

ü Find out what there is to do during the day; find out what nightlife is like.

ü Where are the best places to eat; how wide is the variety of restaurants within the area?

ü Uncover the best bargains for souvenirs. If you’ve left the kids behind, you’re not going to want to come home empty-handed.

ü Do you want to arrive quickly or would you rather take the more scenic route? Discover your options.

Activity: Design a weekend itinerary for a relaxing, local getaway after your coursework is over for SLM 521. Include:

Ø At least two hotels, motels or B&B’s, their features and room rates; those who follow in your footsteps are going to want choices.

Ø Recommend at least three local tourist attractions that might keep us out and about during the day Saturday and early Sunday.

Ø Suggest as least three restaurants for Saturday night. Advise us as to their menu and how much we’re likely to spend dining at each establishment.

Ø Lead us to at least one good place to do a little shopping either for ourselves or gifts for others; this could be a mall or smaller, locally owned shop. Tell us what we can expect to find.

Ø Finally, leave us with directions and a map. If you’d rather not start us at your front door (“We know where you live!”), pick a convenient place (Washington or Baltimore) from which we can all start our trip.

Resources: Here are just a couple of suggestions; websites devoted to local tourism that might give you some ideas of where you’d like to go and what you’d like to see.

v Why not start by considering spending more leisure time in beautiful historic Westminster, Maryland. You can find out all about the quaint town at http://tourism.carr.org

v Want to head a little bit further out of town? There’s enough to do in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to keep your busy all weekend. Check out the excitement at http://www.gettsyburg.com

v Looking for more excitement; do the big city lights attract you? Let’s travel to Baltimore and see what’s happenin’. You can discover everything you need to know at http://www.baltimore.org/index2.htm

v Maybe just a little further out of town? There’s plenty to experience in Richmond, Virginia. Start your planning at www.richmondva.org

v Or are do you really need some very, very quiet “R&R”? That’s pretty much all you’ll find if you travel off season to Chincoteague Island on the Virginia’s eastern shore. Discover the quiet pleasures of the island by visiting http://chincoteaguechamber.com

v Or choose your own favorite destination

Rubric for Grading:

A full twenty points will be awarded to any itinerary which gets us there and keeps us busy all weekend long. Consult the activity section for all the necessary ingredients of the itinerary. In addition, an attractive package will only encourage us all the more to pack our bags and be on our way.