Reviews by Friends of MotorcycleMark

LibbyMcMillan says "Never enough time in this great Southwestern City!" about Top 10 Things to Do in Albuquerque

LibbyMcMillan — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 01:50:06 GMT

Albuquerque New Mexico's Top Ten Cool Things to Do

New Mexico's largest city is a great destination for families, couples, adventurers, and seniors. This beautiful city, stretching from the base of the Sangre de Christo mountains to the lush Rio Grande river valley and beyond has countless fun things to do year-round and they're all affordable. Here are my favorite things to do when I hit town:

Ride the tram to the top of the mountain
If you go when it's cool outside, be aware that the temperatures at the top of the mountain are FAR chillier than those below. Take a coat or sweatshirt. The ride is scary but safe and affords fantastic views of the city. High Finance restaurant and bar, at the mountain's top, has wicked-good hot drinks, which will be practically necessary in winter, when the peak is covered in snow.
Go see an IMAX movie at the Natural History Museum
If you like dinosaurs and such, plan on an extra couple of hours to take in the museum as well. Either...

...

LibbyMcMillan says "The Nutcracker is a four-star performance" about New Mexico Ballet

LibbyMcMillan — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:00:10 GMT

New Mexico Ballet's Nutcracker is one for the ages
You may have seen this classic Christmas ballet performed before. But unless you've seen one of the world's top metropolitan ballet companies perform it in an iconic setting, you haven't really seen the Nutcracker yet. Albuquerque, New Mexico may not spring to mind as one of the world's top performing arts cities, but, in fact, Albuquerque ballet schools have launched a steady plethora of students and professionals onto company stages around the world: ABT, Joffrey, San Francisco Ballet. Its principal ballerinas and lead male dancers are extremely well-trained, classically beautiful performers, adept at their craft.

Add a professional symphony, a world-class performing arts hall (The Popejoy, on the UNM campus) and you've got the ingredients for a stellar bit of Christmas magic. New Mexico Ballet performs this classic with verve and talent, and - surprisingly - with occsional humor, too, which helps keep the audience...

...

LibbyMcMillan says "A-1 Express: affordable parking near TPA" about A-1 Express Services Inc.

LibbyMcMillan — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:45:09 GMT

A-1 Express Services makes flying in/out of Tampa pleasant
You know you have to leave your car SOMEWHERE.....but does it have to be a major line-item in your budget? Not any more. This friendly little lot offers the cheapest parking I found near the Tampa airport, and STILL provides peace of mind, with 24-hour security (they're also open 24 hours), free airport shuttles, and clean restrooms in the office.

How to Get the Deal
It's simple. Go to the company's web site and pre-pay for your parking. It's that simple. I just left my car there for 2+ weeks and paid only $7 per day. Plus they will even bring your car around for free, in the middle of your reservation, if you're doing back-to-back trips and need to do the suitcase shuffle. All the while maintaining professional demeanor, cheery disposition and decent shuttle buses. The lot is only about 2 miles from the airport, and right off the freeway. . . very easy to reach, and if you need help, they give...

...

LibbyMcMillan says "General Palmer: walk to everything in Durango" about General Palmer Hotel - Durango, CO

LibbyMcMillan — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:54:22 GMT

Durango is terrific and the General Palmer is a wonderful home base
I had always favored the historic Strater hotel in downtown Durango. But my sister booked a room for us at the General Palmer, on a recent roadtrip to southwest Colorado. The location is practically identical to the Strater, only one block south and closer to the town's famous train station.   Smaller and more intimate, the General Palmer - built in 1898 - makes a great first impression and then follows through.

The lobby was beautiful, filled with antiques and providing views of the snow-covered mountains that form the bowl in which the city sits. The front desk gal was warm and helpful.   Our room was smallish but cozy and nicely decorated. The bed was great.

The only down side was the noise: not a major factor, but typical of an older hotel.   You can hear what's happening in the hallways outside your door, and in the room next to you. Request an end room if you're a light sleeper. Many of the...

...

LibbyMcMillan says "Hotels.com offers loads of info" about Hotels.com

LibbyMcMillan — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:27:30 GMT

Hotels.com shows hotels, area maps, amenities, nearby attractions & more

Hotels.com may not always be the absolute best place to book a room, but it is certainly the easiest place to learn the most information in the shortest amount of time. You can search by location, and by hotel chain, if you like. You can find options near major attractions or airports. And all the hotels that match your search criteria come up in a list, but more importantly, also appear as icons on a map. So if you know you want to be on the south side of a city, for example, you can instantly see which of your options are worth checking out further.

I particularly like the fact that you can see how other guests have rated each property. (three stars, four stars, etc) These ratings mean something when considered against the number of reviews factored into the rating. If one guest had a beef, I don't give that opinion too much weight. If 127 people average out at 2.0 stars out of 5, that...

...

Jolie says "Meet my Granddaughter Lexi, an American Girl Bitty Baby " about American Girl Bitty Baby

Jolie — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 04:41:35 GMT

My daughter asked Santa for a baby doll for Xmas. That was all that she wanted and nothing more. When she got her American Girl bitty baby she was an instant mommy and I was an instant Grandma to baby LEXI (yes, that is what my daugher named her American Girl bitty baby.)

The bitty baby is blond and blue eyed, just like my daughter, and made of sturdy construction. She is also small enough to carry around easily.

Since bitty baby came into our family, bitty baby has been to the movie theater, out to dinner, Xmas dinner, her Great-grandma's house and more. She is a full member of the family now and is with my daughter 24 x 7.

I, (I mean Santa), had originally picked out a baby from Target for $30. But, I have to admit, for $10 more, the American Girl bitty baby was so much nicer. She is actually normal looking with a cute little face and a button nose. Some of the babies look a little demented. But, the American Girl biddy baby is actually pretty cute!!!

Now, if I can just avoid buying the......

Jolie says "I am not a huge Brad Pitt fan, but he was good and "hot"" about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Jolie — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 04:19:25 GMT

Yah, what Mike said! That was a thorough review!!

I liked Benjamin Button and I even cried during the movie a few times. The acting was good, the story line well developed, and it was such a touching love story.

I did think that the movie was a little slow going for the first hour, but when Brad Pitt turned into a man and he was courting his "love", it captured more of my attention. Hehehehhe. Again, I am not a huge Brad fan, but his acting was good, he looked good, and the storyline was touching.

I would consider seeing Benjamin Button in the theater but dont read too much-- it is a little over-hyped in my opinion.

For whatever it's worth, I thought Angelina did just as good of a job in Changeling. They are quite the duo.

My rating: a solid B
...

LibbyMcMillan says "Bananagrams: fast fun for wordsmiths!" about Bananagrams game

LibbyMcMillan — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:59:46 GMT

Bananagrams will make you laugh until you cry
I first spied the yellow zippered banana-shaped bag in a gift shop in Durango, Colorado.....the minute my sister and I realized it held letter tiles for a crossword speed game, we bought it and took it home anxious to play. Our dad is a crossword junkie, and we are both Scrabble addicts.   Turned out to be the best $15 we ever spent!

The first time we played this game, we were hooked
You dump all the letters upside on the table, then take 18 letters each (for 3 players).   Everyone turns over their letters at the same time, then starts making their own crossword puzzle using every letter. Just like Scrabble, no capitalized words, no contractions, no acronyms, no foreign language.

How it Works
As soon as the first person has used all his tiles, he shouts PEEL, at which point he and all the other players must take a tile.   This new tile is often placed quickly by the person who "peeled," meaning he will likely keep shouting "Peel!"...

...

LibbyMcMillan says "Pandora's transition to iPhone is seamless" about Pandora Media, Inc. Pandora app for iPhone

LibbyMcMillan — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:33:47 GMT

Pandora is the coolest thing ever . . . and now it's available for iPhone.
If youre a music lover and you haven't yet discovered Pandora, just go there now. It will change your life! :-D Pandora has determined the many musical qualities of every song you can imagine (and tons you've never heard of and might not ever find on your own) in what it calls the Music Genome Project. This brilliant move allows your Pandora station to know what you like by the very first song you enter into your own customized radio station.
Then it fills up your station with songs that have similar qualities (things like harmonies, minor/major key, upbeat tempo, etc). You do NOT have to understand music or be a musician to use Pandora. Just know a couple of songs you like and this program does the rest; it "learns" what you like and don't like and continues to refine your station(s).

(See my full review at http://www.viewpoints.com/Pandora-Radio-reviews)

The Pandora App brings all...

...

LibbyMcMillan says "$1.99 for Local Knowledge: Around Me" about TweakerSoft Around Me 1.0

LibbyMcMillan — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:01:31 GMT

Around Me leads iPhone Users to Gas, Dining, Movies and More
iPhone isn't perfect (don't get me started) but it does have its addictive features. All the cool new apps that are available for free or next to nothing top that list. One of my favs is called Around Me. Using your phone's present location in a GPS way, the app pulls up a number of nearby options in any category you choose: gas, restaurants, theaters, hotels, coffee houses, groceries, banks, hospitals.

Get Lots of Info and Save It
So if, like me, you are still travelling with an official GPS in your car, it doesn't even matter if you miss your turn. Just stop the car, give Around Me a second to assess your location, then ask it where the nearest "whatever" is.......and not only will it give you a whole list, you can see a map of and route to each thing, as well as get the phone number, address and web site. When this page pops up, you can even all that info to your list of Contacts and permanently save it. ...

...

LibbyMcMillan says "Love my little Passport" about Western Digital WDC 3200BMV external 250 gig USB hard drive

LibbyMcMillan — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 14:26:54 GMT

Keep your promise to yourself..........to back up your files
It's fast and easy with the Passport!

Love this palm-sized hard drive!
When I bought my latest computer, I knew it was past time to protect all my photos. In the last year, I'd had two friends lose all their digital images. I wasn't into burning a million CDs (coz thats about how many pics I have) so I went in search of a small external hard drive which hooks to my computer via USB cable. At Costco, I found the Passport for just over $100. Aptly named, the passport is almost exactly the same size as......a passport, of course!.........and came with its own little zip-up carrying case and USB cord.

Easy to Use
The passport couldn't be any easier to use. Simply plug it in, and Move or Copy files onto it: it holds a jillion pics and documents. I could almost say it's fun to use. It's small enough, it fits in my camera bag or purse if I want to take it on the road with my computer and continue...

...

Jolie says "Redmoon Theater offers a magical theatrical experience!" about Redmoon Theater- Winter Pageant Redux

Jolie — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 04:10:17 GMT

I took my kids this past weekend to the Redmoon Theater to see their Winter Pageant. Honestly, I dont even know how to describe this 50 minute show other than magical- simply magical.

The Winter Pageant at the Redmoon is a visual wonder- celebrating the 4 seasons of Chicago with limited language and extravagant sets and visuals. There is use of lights, bubbles, darkness, movement, and more. Think a hybrid of blue man group and circ de solei and a broadway set.

I didnt know how my kids would react to the play but they were soooo taken by the show. The actors and actresses start 15 minutes early and engage the kids from moment one. The 50 minute show continues to engage them every step of the way. And, at the end, they even bring out cookies and parts of the set to look at closely.

If you can fit in a visit to the Redmoon Theater before the 21st of December, I would strongly encourage you to go. The Winter Pagent is amazing for both kids and adults and for only $10-$15 per ticket- it is a must......