Discounted Ski Lift Pass: Liftopia!

So maybe you missed all the deals by planning a last minute ski vacation. Or not. Still: you want to save on your lift ticket. (Need shoe money from somewhere, right?) Go to Liftopia: their motto is "Ski More. Pay Less."

Liftopia partners directly with ski resorts to bring you lift ticket deals you won't find anywhere else. Book online and save up to 80%!

Why not! It takes two minutes to check out if your desired ski resort is part of the program or not. It covers the entire US worth of skiing.

And remember: wear a helmet! It's your head.

iTunes on the Android

I was having issues playing my music on my Android phone.  On my PC, my music lives in iTunes.  I like iTunes because it allows me to make playlists so I can listen to exactly what I want.  But to get the music to my droid, I was using an app called DoubleTwist that gave me only grief.  Hard to set up, hard to sync.  Made me listen to pandora instead, which I like, but sometimes you just want to listen to your own playlist.  Am I right?

My most recent discovery is iSyncr -- it allows me to play my iTunes playlists directly on my Android phone.  I am not someone who buys a lot of apps.  More often than not, I go for the free apps (and still, I ignore those).  iSyncr is worth the $2.99 I paid.  No more sync issues.  Easy, fluid app.  And if I wanted to pay an extra 99 cents, I could do it wirelessly.  But I say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  I can deal with the wire.

There you have it: iTunes playlists on your Android Phone.  Easy Peasy.

Translation Software for the Android

Ever been traveling in a foreign country and meet someone who seems really cool, but you can't communicate because you don't speak each others' languages? That barrier is dissolving. And the future solutions will only become more elegant. I've spoken of my love for my Android phone, but now I feel like Natalie Portman: I'm indescribably happy. Well, actually, I can describe it.

I've found translation software. Software that allows you to talk into your phone, push two buttons and have it spit out the translated sentence into decent sounding French. And Spanish. And Vietnamese -- although I don't know how decent sounding the Vietnamese is because I don't speak it. But based on the other two, I would be hopeful. I think I need to go back to Vietnam to make sure.

This app developer has the same app in Italian, Hindi, Indonesian and many more. User reviews are all around 4 stars and some even higher. For some reason, they are not available on the iPhone, although there are plenty ofiPhone translation apps, naturally.

No longer will you have to resort to smiles and hand gestures to communicate. Now, you can phone it in and be there, all at the same time.

Get ready to make new friends on your next trip!

iTunes on the Android

I was having issues playing my music on my Android phone.  On my PC, my music lives in iTunes.  I like iTunes because it allows me to make playlists so I can listen to exactly what I want.  But to get the music to my droid, I was using an app called DoubleTwist that gave me only grief.  Hard to set up, hard to sync.  Made me listen to pandora instead, which I like, but sometimes you just want to listen to your own playlist.  Am I right?

My most recent discovery is iSyncr -- it allows me to play my iTunes playlists directly on my Android phone.  I am not someone who buys a lot of apps.  More often than not, I go for the free ones (and still, I ignore those).  iSyncr is worth the $2.99 I paid.  No more sync issues.  Easy, fluid app.  And if I wanted to pay an extra 99 cents, I could do it wirelessly.  But I say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  I can deal with the wire.

There you have it: iTunes playlists on your Android Phone.  Easy Peasy.

Resort at Squaw Creek: Make it Easy to Ski

Last week, I went on a press trip to the amazing Resort at Squaw Creek in Lake Tahoe, California.  It was amazing for the following reasons:

1. Makes the tumult of getting your kids on skisand to the slopes very easy
2. The room is very well suited to putting your kids to bed and still keeping the lights on for yourself
3. The service is impeccable

Skiing with little kids is not the most fun you'll have in life.  Squaw Creek solves a lot of the issues.  You can rent skis, purchase ski lift tickets and even get right on a chair lift, just steps from the resort's swimming pool.  That's how close everything is.  If you want to get your kids to lessons at Squaw Valley, there is a free shuttle from the lobby that takes you to the door.  (It's a short walk, otherwise.)

At the end of the day, when you ski down to the hotel, there is a ski concierge waiting for you, to take your skis off your hands.  The next morning, you can call to have them ready and waiting for your arrival.  It should always be this way -- at least on vacation.

Our room was actually a suite.  The bathroom had 2 doors which opened to the master bedroom or to the suite.  There was a kitchenette with a DISHWASHER (!!!), refrigerator and a set of dishes, pots, pans, coffeemaker, etc.  It was loaded.  The couch pulled out into a double bed and the windows looked over the ski lift.  In retrospect, I might take the "forest view" room, which is less money, because at night I would hear the bulldozers grooming the slopes.
We ate at a few different restaurants in the resort: the deli, the pub and the fancy restaurant.  The service at all three was truly outstanding.  The food was very good, but stopped short of a meal you would remember.  You can tell that they train their staff in a serious way -- to be friendly, helpful, outgoing, but not too friendly.  They really walked the line of fine service.  This is not common - even at some comparable resorts - and must be commended.

They have a great deal this season whereby you present your boarding pass on the day you arrive and you get afree, half-day lift ticket.  Sweet!

And the skiing at Squaw: it's world class, gorgeous, well-groomed, A+ ski resort.  When it's clear and you get a view of the Lake from the top of the mountain and ski down a beautifully groomed, expansive bowl -- what could be better?

OK, skiing with Jonny Moseley on this gorgeous mountain is the gravy.  

Wake Up Call: Alarm Clock App For the Android!

To paraphrase Aretha: I have never loved a phone the way I, I love my Android. I like having an alarm better than setting up an appointment ("wake up") on my calendar.  More reassuring.  Can't trust the hotel wake up call 100%, am I right?  In the Android Market, I like twofree alarm apps.  I'll tell you which one I like best:

Alarm Clock Xtreme!  Because all alarm clocks should be extreme, right?  Anyway, the reason I like it is because I can choose songs from my playlists on my phone to wake me up.  OR, I could (and I tested this), record my voice saying "Wake up Elizabeth!"  Not that I want to wake up that way, but knowing I could wake up to just about anything makes me feel very powerful.

I also like AlarmDroid, which has some snazzy features whereby you shake the phone to go to snooze.  It has a power nap mode so that you can set the alarm to go off in 1 hour and 12 minutes and 5 seconds -- if you can't deal with figuring out the time, I guess.  It also let's you record your voice and stuff like that.  Why is this one number 2 in my book?  Honestly, who can remember?  As I write and play with this version, I'm liking it more than Xtreme.

It's FREE!  Get both.

There are paid versions of these apps as well, but you really have to geek out to care.  I just want it to work.  And they do.

Ski Tips With Jonny Moseley!

I skied with Jonny Moseley last week atSquaw Valley.  It's not every day I get to ski with a Gold Medalist, so naturally I asked for a ski tip. And I video taped it for your enjoyment. Here's the catch: it was a windy day so the sound is gawdawful! But Jonny Moseley is so super cute (yes, I do believe I'm 16 again), so I couldn't just trash the video.

Here's what's happening:

• Jonny tells me that he knows what it's like to be a mom who hasn't skied for a while. (Oh. Really?)
• If you haven't skied in a while, he has one extra-special tip that will improve your skiing markedly (this is where the wind really starts to blow)
• When you want to turn to the left, lift your left heel to your butt (his word) as you make the turn.

Jonny is the Chief Mountain Host at Squaw Valley and gives all-mountain tours for the Very Lucky.

More about my Squaw trip later in the week.