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The perfect vacation, La Jolla, Spanish for the jewel, will quickly become a precious gem of your heart. Boasting some of Californias most beautiful terrain and attractions, La Jolla (pronounced la hoya) is also the home of exquisite arts, restaurants, activities, and shopping. Just a short drive north of San Diego, you wont need a passport to visit this exotic paradise.

The average April temperature is in the high-60s. Even in December, temperatures stay around 65 degrees. The average temperature for August is a mild and breezy 75 degrees. Regardless of when you visit, youre almost guaranteed perfect vacation weather.

How do you pick the right vacation rental? Answer a few questions. How many people in your party? How long are you staying? What do you want to do during your stay? How much money do you want to spend?

You can choose to stay on the breathtaking beaches, especially if you want to surf, windsurf, or swim. Between January and March this area is great for whale watching. Of course, the sunset in La Jolla is the main attraction. Stay near The Childrens Pool area, close to amazing offshore reefs perfect for scuba diving and snorkeling. The area, also known as Casa, is just a short walk away from town. Catch a glimpse of wildlife on Seal Rock, just offshore, which is home to seals and sea lions.

Here, there is a fine line between a luxury vacation and a business trip in La Jolla. Even the fiercest workaholic can find leisure and entertainment. The golf courses have ocean views. Its easy to plan a fantastic family vacation around your business trip. Legoland, the San Diego Zoo, many aquariums, and Disneyland make great day trips to bring out the kid in all of us.

Endless entertainment awaits you at La Jolla. The area thrives with gourmet restaurants, music, and theater. Nightclubs, wine bars, and comedy clubs entertain all sorts of pleasures. The La Jolla Playhouse opens its doors to award winning performing arts.

Boutique shopping makes Beverly Hills jealous. Girard Avenue and Prospect Place boast dozens of unique shops. Shopaholics are sure to find the right gift and La Jolla visitors wont be able to leave without a souvenir from this dream vacation.

The tranquil coastline turns hiking into a spiritual journey. Windsurfing, surfing, and even skydiving are better with the picturesque Pacific Ocean backdrop. Not up for so much activity? Try a relaxing day of spa pampering or sunbathing. La Jolla boasts many exclusive luxury spa resorts. The dramatic panorama of scenery is an indulgent place for weddings, holidays, anniversaries, and private romantic getaways.

La Jolla satisfies many interests, including the more sporting activities. Yellowtail, shark, and rock cod and other invigorating sport fishing trips are available almost year-round. A short drive to San Diego wins big with professional baseball and football, and minor league hockey.

Whether youre traveling alone for business or taking the family on vacation, La Jolla will take your breath away. With so many attractions, youll have to come back again to do it all. And with La Jolla residents expressing such wonderful hospitality, youll always feel welcome.

Copyright (c) 2006

You have probably seen or used bamboo fly rods if you know a fly-fisherman or if you are a fly- fisherman. In a throw-back to a simpler time, bamboo fly rods are still just as popular today as they were a hundred years ago. You can find brand new ones online or beautiful antique models on the popular antique show on public television. With all of the new and just as durable materials on the market like fiberglass, graphite, and others, why would someone want one of the simple bamboo fly rods? The answer probably lies somewhere between tradition and quality.

Understanding Fly Fishing

Before you understand fly rods, you will need to have an understanding of fly-fishing. Fly-fishing is done by waving the rod back and forth smoothly through the air and then letting the line out at just the right moment for gravity and force to cast it out into the water at the perfect spot. Bamboo fly rods must be flexible, lightweight, and have a sensitive touch-this is what they make them perfect.

Bamboo rods have been around for almost as long as fishing has been around. If you do an online search you can find not only information about bamboo fly rods, but how to care for them, how to make them, where to buy them, and you can even find antique rods for sale-some that were made before the first World War. The antique rods are not usually for use, but they would be a treasured part of any serious fly-fishermans collection.

How To Find Bamboo Rods

If you want to make your own bamboo fly rods there are several places that you can purchase the different pieces that you will need including the line guides, the pole pieces, the ferrules (the metal caps on the ends of the each pole piece that act as connectors), the cork grips and the reel as well. You should take special care when choosing a finish. The finish on bamboo fly rods should be durable and flexible and should withstand water damage. Once you have the parts, you can find instructions for putting it together in one of the many books or websites available online.

But, if the do-it-yourself route is not your style, you can purchase bamboo fly rods online. There are models that range from a simple pole with a hook on the end for as little as five dollars-and there are deluxe models with all of the bells and whistles that can run several hundred dollars.

Some people might want to take an old rod and refinish it. While this can be a fun and rewarding activity, it may cost more to restore some rods than they are worth especially if they are cracked.

Caring For Your Fly Rod

Caring for bamboo fly rods takes time and precision. If they are not cared for properly they will quickly decay and rot. Clean and dry the wood after each use and use furniture polish occasionally. The ferrules should also be kept free of debris and can be cleaned with denatured alcohol, Vaseline, or lighter fluid. The cork grips can be cleaned with toothpaste and a soft brush or dish soap or a cleaner that has bleach in it. Be careful not to remove any small pieces of cork. As the cork begins to get old it should be replaced.

Packaging comes in all shapes and sizes and can be made to fit your every need. No matter what is that you have to package and mail away or maybe just to give as a gift to your friend, there is a perfect way of packing it.

When looking for quality packaging supplies, you can look no further than your local post office other mail shipping establishment. They offer packing peanuts, bubble wrap, tape, and boxes of all sizes and shapes. If you have a business that you run inside your home and a majority of that business requires shipping products to customers, you may consider purchasing packaging supplies in bulk at wholesale prices. There are many different industrial and retail packaging stores located on the World Wide Web that can offer you a wide variety of shipping supplies like boxes, packing peanuts, bubble wrap, and labels.

Now days it is even possible to weigh and ship your packages right from the comfort of your home. If you have a postal scale and a printer, this can be a major time saver for a lot of small home businesses such as an E-bay business or a crafts business. Once you package the item that you want to ship, simply weigh it on the postal scale, and go to www.usps.com to pay for the shipping cost of that item. The label will then be printed through your printer and you can stick it on the box and have it ready for the mailman when he delivers your regular daily mail. The payment for the shipping can be made from your credit card, debit card, or from your www.paypal.com account if you have one.

Packaging and shipping right from home has been a major time saver for a lot of small business owners. They no longer have to waste their time standing in long lines at the post office, but now can be doing business while they ship their merchandise, which in turn makes their business more productive.

What Las Vegas jargon names "whales" is in fact the creme of the high rollers species. They are a handful of people that in some opinions don't exceed 500 individuals in the world. Las Vegas hoteliers are nuts about them; some claim four or five of those whales bet much more than the rest of the thousands customers they receive daily. No wonder they are suspected of going as far as selling their first born child to get one of those whales into their gaming area.Five tips to recognise a whale

* the size of the bet: $50,000 is the low end; Australian tycoon Kerry Packer likes to play seven blackjack hands at one time; his top bet was $375,000;

* the line of credit: 4 to 5 million dollars for one weekend; a fortune for us ordinary earthlings, pocket money for a "whale";

* the treat: whales get all the freebies from the hotel they play: fine dining, luxury accommodations, private jet transportation, expensive gifts... often the US visa for the Asian high rollers;

* the escort: it usually includes bodyguards, beautiful gals and close friends; Las Vegas history saved for the record a legendary tale in which the Saudi Prince Adnan Khashoggi dropped for a bet at Stardust with an entourage of a dozen people;

* the generosity: whether they win or loose, everybody's happy as long as they play; "whales" don't spare tips & gifts.

While the "whales" number just a few hundreds in the world, the amounts they can afford to lose are purely impressive; that is why hoteliers pay specially trained staff for "whales hunting". The Asians form a big part of this exclusivist market, about 80 %. The bottom line is to keep them coming in, at the same rate, after nine eleven.

Unfortunately, Las Vegas seems to be experiencing a decrease in whale strands these days. One reason, that all hoteliers agree about, is they don't get as much privacy in Las Vegas casinos as they would normally get in other gaming destinations of the world. While hotel owners in Las Vegas await their VIP saloons approved, the "whales" gamble in Macau, Monaco or Australia.

In the days that followed Englands qualification for Germany 2006, Sven Goran- Eriksson, Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen all said that they think England can win the World Cup. But, in my humble opinion yet again, although they have some highly talented and gifted players, I doubt they have a good enough team to do it. Look back at England s overall performances throughout the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign and you can see just what the team lacks, and why England will not win the World Cup next year. A great team is built not just with technical ability (of which England have absolutely loads), fame and fortune but also passion, teamwork, commitment, tactics and personality, (all of which England desperately lacks).

You look back at the England cricket teams success in the summer and you see all of those factors mentioned above. I may not be the most ardent follower of the sport but I think Im right in saying England actually only have a couple of player in the world rankings for batting and bowling, however as a team they are formidable. Michael Vaughans intelligence, calm head and Quiet but effective leadership and Andrew Flintoffs inspiration are the keys. But you can look around at the raw passion of Simon Jones, flamboyance of Kevin Pietersen, honest workmanship of Ashley Giles and you see the way the team is built.

They played with so much strength oh character. Every time they fell behind or lost wickets certain players would step up for their team and do something special, which could be anyone at different times. Look through the England football team and youll find arrogant, self-interested individuals with all the personality of a wet fish almost to a man. These guys dont look like theyre playing for England for love or passion of the game or their country. They seem to be playing for their profile as footballers, and the next big sponsorship deal. Passion isnt about spitting anger and diving in for tackles the way Rooney and David Beckham respectively tend to do. It isnt about getting sent off as it lets your team mates and your country down.

No, passion is about running so hard, you are playing as both full-back and wide midfielder the way Cafu and Roberto Carlos did when their star player was sent off in 2002 against England. I can picture it if Svens lot were to win the World Cup. I see Beckham striking a pose with the trophy, sticking out his chest and allowing a lock of his hair to fall across his face, Frank Lampard and John Terry grinning behind him, Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand in the background on their mobiles to their agents demanding pay-rises com-mensurate with winning the tournament. To cut a long story short, if England wins the 2006 World Cup, Ill run semi-nude around the Merdeka Square on the next rainy day after the tournament, if, the authorities allow it of course.